Dell 900 manual

www .dell.co m support .dell.c om Dell™ Dimen sion™ 900 System REFERENC E AND TR OU BLES HOO TIN G GUIDE[...]

____ ______ ______ ___ _ Information in this d oc ument is subje ct to change w ith out notice . © 199 9–2001 De ll C ompute r Corporation . Al l rights reserved. R ep rodu cti on in an y mann er wha tsoe ver wit hou t th e wri t ten p ermi ss ion of Del l Co mp uter C orp orat i on is st rictl y f orbidd en . T rad em ar ks us e d in thi s tex [...]

v Safet y I nst ructions Use the f ollo wi ng saf ety guidel ines to help prot ect yo ur comput er sys tem from poten- tia l damage and to ens ure your own per son al saf et y . NO TICE: Y our computer is designed to work only whil e uprigh t in the stan d ship ped wi th it. Do no t at tempt to p lac e the com pute r flat on a des ktop, and do no t[...]

vi groundi ng prong fr om a cable . If you mus t use an ext ension ca ble, use a th ree- wire cabl e with prop erly gr ounded plugs . • T o help protec t your computer syst em from sudd en, tran sient i ncrease s and decreas es in el ectri cal po w er , u se a s ur g e suppr esso r , l ine c onditi oner , or uninte rr upti ble po wer suppl y (UPS[...]

vi i • When si t tin g, make sure the wei ght of yo ur legs i s o n y our f eet and not on the fron t of your c hair seat. A djust your c ha ir ’ s height or use a f oo trest , if neces sar y , to ma intain proper po stu re. • V ar y y our work activi ties . T ry to organiz e yo ur wo rk so that you do not ha v e to type f or ext ended per io[...]

viii 3. Disconne ct any devi ces connec ted to the comp uter , i n cludi ng the monitor , from their e lectr ical outl ets to red uce the poten tial for per sonal i njury or shoc k. Also, disconn ect any t elephon e o r telec om munica tion l ines f rom t he c omput er . 4. Disconne ct the po wer cable to y our compute r , and then pr ess the po we[...]

ix Pr e f a c e About T his Guide Thi s guide is i ntende d f or any one who uses a Del l Dim ension 900 s yst em. It c an be used b y bo th fi rst-ti me and e xpe rienc ed computer users w ho w ant to learn a bout the f ea tur es and ope ration of th e sy stems or who want to upgrade t heir com puters . The c hapters an d appendi x es a re summari[...]

x Other Docume nts Y ou May N eed NO TE: Inf orm ation upd ates a re som etimes incl ude d with y ou r sy stem to descr ibe c hanges to your sy stem or sof tware . Alwa y s read the se updates bef ore con sulti ng any ot her doc umentation bec ause the updat es of ten contain the lates t inf ormati on. Besi des th is Ref erence an d T roubleshoo ti[...]

xi T y po gr ap hic al Con venti ons The fo llo wing li st defi nes (where app ropri ate) and i llus trate s typogr aphical con ven- tio ns used as visu al cu es for specifi c element s of text thr oughout t his document: • Int erf ace compon ents are windo w title s, but ton and icon nam es, menu names and sel ect ions, an d other options that a[...]

xii[...]

xii i Conte n ts Chap ter 1 Intro duct ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1 Ha rdw are Fe atu r es . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1 Sof tw are Fe atu res . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [...]

xiv Cha pter 3 B asic Troubl esho otin g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 -1 Ba cki ng Up Da ta F i les . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3- 1 In st allin g A dd itio na l Ha rd war e and S oftw ar e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 -1 DellWar [...]

xv Chap ter 5 Chec king I nside You r Com pute r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1 Exp an sio n C ard s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1 Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 Ne two rk Car ds[...]

xvi Appe ndi x C B eep Code s a nd S yste m Me ssage s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C -1 POST Beep Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C- 1 Sy ste m Me ssa ge s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C - 2 Appe ndi x D Reg[...]

xvi i Fig ure B- 11. Me mor y/ Cach e O pt io ns Sub men u . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1 6 Fig ure B- 12. PnP /P CI O pt ion s S ub me nu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1 7 Figur e D-1. VCCI Cla ss A ITE Regul ator y Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-3 Figur e D-2. VC[...]

xvii i[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Introductio n 1-1 CH APTE R 1 Introduction Dell ™ Dimension ™ 900 com puter syste ms are high-s peed per sonal computers tha t incl ude an I ntel ® Soc ke t 370 P entium ® III micropr oces sor with Strea ming Singl e Inst ruc tion, Multipl e Data (SIMD) Extensi ons or a Celeron ™ pro cess or with MMX ™ tec hnolog y . T[...]

1-2 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide The sy stem board incl udes the f oll o wing inte grated f eatur es: • Integr ated Int el 81 0e vid eo control ler with Dynamic V id eo Memor y and 4 MB of SDRAM fo r displ ay cac he. • Support s tw o one-thir d – lengt h 32-bit PCI expa nsion car ds for connec ting [...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Introductio n 1-3 • V ir us-s canning sof twa re. • V ideo dr iv ers desi gned to suppor t the i ntegra ted Int el Dir ect acce lerated gr aphics port (A GP) Gr aphics A cce lerator ( see “ V ideo Driver s ” in Chap te r 4 fo r more inf or - matio n). Bef ore c hangi ng th e resol uti on, c hec k t he moni tor documen ta[...]

1-4 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide Fi gure 1 -1. P adlock R ing The padloc k rin g a llo ws you to sec ure the com puter co v er to the c hassis wi t h a p ad- loc k to pr ev ent unauthor iz ed ac cess to t he ins ide of t he c omputer . T o use t he padlo c k ring, inser t a commerci all y av aila ble padl[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Installi ng Upgrade s on the S y ste m B oard 2-1 CH APTE R 2 Installing Upgrades on the System Board T his c hapter descri bes ho w to instal l expan si on cards and sy stem memor y . It also tel ls you how to re mov e an d repl ace t he computer co v er and f ami liari z es you wit h int ern al component s. Sa fety F irs t—F[...]

2-2 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide I nstal lat io n Gu ide li nes K eep a stat ic-s ensit ive compone nt in i ts ant istatic p a c king ma teri al unt il y ou ar e r eady to i nstall the compone nt in t he com puter . J ust bef ore unw rappi ng th e a ntistati c p ac k- aging, di sc har ge static elec tric [...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Installi ng Upgrade s on the S y ste m B oard 2-3 Fig ure 2-1. R emo vin g the Co mputer C over 6. Sli de the co ve r tow a rd the bac k of t he computer a bout on e-h alf inc h. 7 . Lif t of f the cov er . T o repl ac e the comput er co ver , perf orm the fol lo w ing steps: 1 . Chec k all ca ble connect ions, espec ially th os[...]

2-4 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide Figur e 2-2. Remo ving t he Bezel 4. Place th e cov er on the comp uter , and s lide it to w ard the front of the compu ter . 5. Repl ace th e s crews that you r emov e d whe n yo u rem ov ed the co mputer co v er . 6. If yo u are using a pad loc k to secure y our sy s t e[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Installi ng Upgrade s on the S y ste m B oard 2-5 Figur e 2-3. Ins ide th e Co mp uter A C po w er r eceptacl e expa nsion-ca rd slo t s ris er -board br ac k et dis kette dr ive opt ica l dri v e powe r s u ppl y syst em boa rd vo ltage-select switc h USB co nne ctor mouse con nect or vid eo connect or par al lel p ort c onn ec[...]

2-6 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide Sys tem B oa rd Figure 2-4 sho ws the s ystem boa r d connect ors and s oc ket s, an d T able 2-1 descri bes their func tions. Fig ure 2- 4 . Sy ste m B oa r d F eat ure s pro ce ss or fan connect or ( FN1) USB por t conn ector (C N6) DC ma in po wer i nput connec tor (CN2[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Installi ng Upgrade s on the S y ste m B oard 2-7 u T able 2-1. System Board Connecto rs and Sockets Co nnect or o r Socket De scr ip tion BT1 B at tery so c ket CN1 Ke yboard an d mous e c onnector s CN2 DC main pow er input connector CN3 P aral lel port connect or (somet imes ref erred t o as LPT1 ), v ideo connect or , and se[...]

2-8 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide Jumpe rs Jum pers are small bl oc ks on the sys tem boar d with two or more pins em ergin g from them. Pla stic pl ugs contain ing a wire fit down o v er the pin s, creat ing a circui t. T o c hange a jumper set ting, pull the plug of f it s pin(s) and caref ully fit it do[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Installi ng Upgrade s on the S y ste m B oard 2-9 P rocesso r Mode Jumper Figur e 2-4 sho ws th e locati on of the proce ssor mode jumpe r (JPX1) in y our com puter . T able 2-3 de scribes the set tings and functi ons of the proc essor mo de jum per set tings. NVRA M J umper Figur e 2-4 sho ws the l o catio n of the nonv o latil[...]

2-1 0 Dell Dimen sion 900 S ys tem Ref ere nce and T roubl eshootin g G uide Bo ot -Block S elect Jumper Figure 2-4 show s the loc ation of th e boot -bloc k select jumpe r (JP7) in yo ur compu ter . T abl e 2 -5 des cribes t he set ti ngs and f uncti ons of t he boot-bloc k s ele ct j umper . Remo ving and R eplac ing th e Riser-B oard Brac ket Ce[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Installi ng Upgrade s on the S y ste m B oard 2-1 1 Fi gure 2-5. R emoving th e Ris er-Boar d Brack et T o r eplac e the rise r -boar d brac ke t, p erf or m the f ol lo wing steps : 1 . Hold th e bac k of the dis k et te dri ve w ith one hand to pre v ent it fro m movin g as you p er for m thi s pr oc e s s. 2. Sli p one finger[...]

2-1 2 Dell Dimen sion 900 S ys tem Ref ere nce and T roubl eshootin g G uide PCI Exp ansion Card Upgra des NO TE: This comput er doe s n ot support older e xpansi on card tec hnol ogies, suc h as I ndu s tr y- St a nd ar d A rchi tec tur e (ISA ) ca r ds . The ri ser boar d accomm odates up to t w o one-thi rd – lengt h , 32-bi t P er ipheral Com[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Installi ng Upgrade s on the S y ste m B oard 2-1 3 T o c hec k for an IRQ line i n the M icros of t Windo ws 98 or Windo ws Me oper ating sy s- tem , p erfo rm the f oll owin g s t eps : 1 . Clic k t he Star t but ton, point to Se ttings , and cli c k Contr ol Pa n e l . 2. Double -cli c k th e Sy ste m icon. 3. Click th e Devi[...]

2-1 4 Dell Dimen sion 900 S ys tem Ref ere nce and T roubl eshootin g G uide 5. Remo ve the scre w that se cures the f iller -bra c ket cap to the bac k panel of t he co mp ute r (se e Figu re 2- 8), a nd rem ove the filler -b racket cap . Figure 2-8. Removing the Filler-Bracket Cap 6. Unscrew a nd remo ve th e metal fil ler brac ket that co v ers [...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Installi ng Upgrade s on the S y ste m B oard 2-1 5 NO TICE: U se one h and to sup port t he riser board whi le i nstall ing an e xpansio n card into a n expan sion-card conn ector . Otherwis e, da mage t o th e rise r-board con necto r or sys tem board may o ccur . 7 . Inser t t he expans i on c ar d firm ly i nto t he expan si[...]

2-1 6 Dell Dimen sion 900 S ys tem Ref ere nce and T roubl eshootin g G uide 1 1 . Re place th e riser -board bra c ket a ccordi ng to the instr u ction s in “ Re mo ving and Repl acing the Riser -Boar d Bra c ket ” f ound ear lier i n this c ha pter . 1 2. Re place th e compute r cov er . 1 3. See the do cumentatio n that c ame wi th t he e xp[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Installi ng Upgrade s on the S y ste m B oard 2-1 7 NO TE: Y our com puter i s desig ned for peak perf ormance with spec i fi c DIMMs that ar e va lidat ed th rough rigoro us tes ting. T he syst em may not recogniz e other sync hronous dynam ic r andom-ac cess memory (S DRAM) DIMMs and m ay fail p ower -on se l f-t est (PO ST) .[...]

2-1 8 Dell Dimen sion 900 S ys tem Ref ere nce and T roubl eshootin g G uide 7 . Repl ace th e e xpansi on ca rds, riser -bo ard brac ke t, and the compu ter co ver , and reconnec t y our comput er and de vices to t heir e lectr ical outlet s and t urn the m on. 8. T o enter the sys tem set up progr am, restart the com puter and pre ss < Del>[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Installi ng Upgrade s on the S y ste m B oard 2-1 9 NO TE: The system memory value rep orted b y th e oper ati ng sys tem i s 1 or 2 MB l ess than t he memor y instal led beca use that m emory is reserved for vi deo funct ions. F or exa m ple, if the comput er has 64 MB of sys tem memor y , t he operati ng syst em may repor t 62[...]

2-2 0 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide Figur e 2-13. D rive Shelf NOTI CE: If you pr y out the bat tery wi th a blu nt obje ct, inse rt the ob jec t be tween th e ba tter y and th e s ocket. O the rwis e, y ou m ay d ama ge th e sys- tem board by pryi ng off th e socket or by b reak ing c ircuit tr aces on th[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Installi ng Upgrade s on the S y ste m B oard 2- 21 Fig ure 2-14. Sys tem Batt ery an d Batter y Socket 8. Lo wer the d riv e shelf and repl ace t he t w o scre ws t hat y ou remo v ed in s tep 5. 9. R eplac e the bezel , ri ser - board br ac ket, and co mputer c ov er , and rec onnec t your comp uter and devi ces to t heir elec[...]

2-2 2 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Ba sic T rou bles hoo ting 3-1 CH APTE R 3 Basic T roubleshooting Th is c hapter gui des y ou through some initi al c hec ks a nd procedur es that can solve basi c comput er probl ems. It can al so dire ct you to the appropr iate c hapter in this guide fo r detailed trou bleshoo ting inf or mat ion and pro cedures to solve m ore[...]

3-2 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide If y o u w ere t r ying to instal l n ew hardw ar e , doubl e-c hec k conf igurat ion set tings and avai l able sys t em res ou rc e s (s e e “ Reso lvin g S of tw are an d H ard ware Inc o mpa tibi li- tie s ” in Chapter 4). Also mak e sur e y ou c h anged the appr op[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Ba sic T rou bles hoo ting 3-3 5. R eseat t he video- inter fac e cable connec tors (b lue) in the video conn ector on th e bac k of the comput er and in the con nector on t he b ac k of the mo nitor . NO TE: On some monito rs, the video interf ace cable is perman ent ly at t ac hed. 6. T urn on the com puter , the moni tor , an[...]

3-4 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide Environmental Fact ors A number of e xtern al fact ors, incl uding t empera tur e e xtre mes and humidity , magneti c infl uences, sourc es of el ectro magnet ic i nterf erence ( EMI) , an d p oor i nput p ow er or signal quali t y , can i nterf ere wit h the per f ormance[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Ba sic T rou bles hoo ting 3-5 • If y ou hav e not al ready done so, pl ug the m onit or di rectl y int o an el ectri cal outlet , b ypassi ng an y pow er prote ction devi ces, po w er st rips , and e xtensi on cab les to verif y tha t th e m oni tor tur ns on . • If t he pow er indic ator i s not l it, c hec k for a bad po [...]

3-6 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide • Chang e the di spla y t ype to stand ard vide o graph ics ar ra y (V GA ) as fol lo ws: 1 . R estar t t he syst em. 2. F or Windo ws 98, Windo ws Me, and Windo ws 200 0, pre ss <F8> when you see t he Star ti ng Win do ws . .. message, a nd then se lect Saf e Mode[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Ba sic T rou bles hoo ting 3-7 If y ou are ex per ienci ng problems wi th a modem, perf or m t h e fol lowi ng c hec ks: • If y ou ha ve an y othe r telepho ne d evi ces plugged i nto this line, suc h as answe ring mac hine s, dedicated fa x mac hine s, surge pro tector s o r line spli t t ers, then b ypass them and plug t he [...]

3-8 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide 4. Remo ve all e xpans ion car ds instal led in the com puter (see “ Rem ovi ng Exp ansion Cards ” i n Chapter 2) e xcept t he netw ork car d to pre v ent a car d that is i nc orrec tly confi gured fro m causi ng an interr upt or input/ output ( I/O) por t resour ce co[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Ba sic T rou bles hoo ting 3-9 • Do ubl e-click t he My Comput er icon, and c heck to see if the driv e is recogniz ed by t he sy stem. Mos t of the common boot -secto r vir us es cause the opt ical dr iv e to “ disa ppear . ” Use vir u s-scan nin g sof t w are t o c hec k f or and rem ov e any vir use s. If Dell installed[...]

3-1 0 Dell Dimen sion 900 S ys tem Ref ere nce and T roubl eshootin g G uide the di ag nostic test s can pr o vide y o u with im portant i nf ormati on y ou will ne ed wh en talking t o Dell' s service an d support person nel. NOTICE : Use the Dell Dia gnost ics to test on ly your Dell com put er system . Us ing thi s progr am wit h othe r com[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Ba sic T rou bles hoo ting 3-1 1 3. Change th e first b ootable de vice to IDE CD-ROM in th e Boot Options scr een. W rit e dow n the fi rst boo table dev ice opti on that y ou are c hanging (usuall y Flopp y Disk A: ) so y ou can c h ange the set t ing bac k aft er you r un the dia gnosti cs. See App endix B , “ Sys te m Se t[...]

3-1 2 Dell Dimen sion 900 S ys tem Ref ere nce and T roubl eshootin g G uide Figure 3-1. Diag nostics Men u Dell Diagnostic s Main Screen W h en you se le ct Sel ect Dev ic es t o T est fr om the DI AGNOSTI CS MENU , t he main screen of the diagnos tics app ear s (se e Figu re 3-2). Th e main scr een lis ts the diagnos - tic te st devi ce groups , [...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Ba sic T rou bles hoo ting 3-1 3 Figure 3-2. Dell Dia gnost i cs M ain Scree n Do not b e concer ned if the De vice Gr oups area does not li st the names of all the comp onents or de vices yo u know ar e part of your comput er syst em. F or exa mple, you wi ll not see a m ouse l isted, alt hough y ou k now one is at t ac hed to [...]

3-1 4 Dell Dimen sion 900 S ys tem Ref ere nce and T roubl eshootin g G uide Ke y s Keys e xp lains the fu nction s o f al l th e ke ystr oke s t hat ca n b e u sed in the Dell Diagnost ics. Devi ce G roup Device Gr oup desc ribes the test group tha t is prese ntly hi ghlig hted in the Dev ice Groups list on th e main menu scr een. It also pro vide[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Sof twa re S olut ions 4-1 CH APTE R 4 Sof tware Solut ions Th is c hapter de scri bes sof t w are f eat ures a nd procedur es, suc h as po w er manage - ment f e atu res and r einstal ling dri v ers, that can of ten s olve pr oblems wit h y our co mputer sy stem. Using the P ower Management Features in Windows 9 8, W indows Me,[...]

4-2 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide The Power Sch e me s tab allows y ou to selec t the pow er sc heme ( Al ways On , Home/Off ice De sktop , or P o rtab l e/L a ptop ) and po w er mode set tings fo r y our com- pu te r . For W in dow s 2 0 0 0 an d W i ndow s M e, th e fo ll owi ng o pti on s a r e avai lab[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Sof twa re S olut ions 4-3 Y our S ystem ’s Driver s The device dr iv ers t hat can be reinstall ed on y our sy ste m are l ist ed below: • Inte l Ch i p Set Up da te U ti lity Driver — I nstall s Windo ws de vice i nstall at ion fi les ( .i nf ) that te ll the ope rating sy stem how cer t ain c hip set componen ts should [...]

4-4 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide 7. C l i c k Next . 8. Change the la nguage in t he L anguage l ist lo cated in the upper -right cor ner of the window , if nee ded. 9. Select the model of y our compu ter in the S yst em Model list. 1 0. Select you r computer ’ s operating system in the O per at ing Sys[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Sof twa re S olut ions 4-5 3. Click th e Device Manager tab. 4. In the Devi ce Manager list , c hec k fo r confli cts w ith oth er de vices . Confl icts are in dicat ed by a y ell ow e xclam atio n poin t (! ) bes i de the confl icti ng dev i ce or a red X if the de vi ce has been di sabled. 5. Double -cli c k the m alf unctio n[...]

4-6 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide Y ou can al so use t he Windo ws 2000 Hardw ar e Confl ict T roubles hooter . T o use t he troubl eshoot er , cl ic k th e Sta rt but to n and clic k Hel p . Do uble- cl ic k T roubl eshooti ng and Mainte nance on t he Cont ents t a b, and then doub le-cli c k I f yo u hav[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Sof twa re S olut ions 4-7 8. R emo ve t he operat ing sy st em CD from the CD-R OM or D V D-RO M driv e and clic k OK to restar t y our sys t em. The Getti ng ready to r un W indo ws for th e first time scr een appe ars. 9. If th e mouse t utori al starts, press <Esc> to e xit and th en press y . 1 0. Cli c k the regi ona[...]

4-8 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide R einstal ling Windows Me NOTIC E: The ope ratin g syst em CD pro vid es opt ions fo r rein stallin g your W indow s Me op erating system . The op tion s c an pote ntially ove rwr ite file s in s tal le d by D ell a n d po s si bl y aff ec t p r og r am s i n sta ll ed on [...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Sof twa re S olut ions 4-9 1 5. C lic k Finish . Wind ows Setup i nstal ls neces sary files, and then restar t s the sy stem. 16 . S el e ct Boot Fr om Har d Dr ive , and then pres s <Enter> . 1 7 . In the User Inf or mation windo w , t ype y our name and, if appl icabl e, compan y name , and then cl ic k Next . The Na me [...]

4-1 0 Dell Dimen sion 900 S ys tem Ref ere nce and T roubl eshootin g G uide 6. Read t he i nf ormati on in t he L icense A gr eement screen, and t hen p ress <F 8> to conti nue. 7 . When t he Windo ws 20 00 P rof essional Set up sc reen appear s, use the ar ro w ke ys to select the Windows 2000 pa rtiti on option that you want . T o continue[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Chec ki ng In sid e Y ou r Comp uter 5-1 CH APTE R 5 Chec kin g I nside Y o ur Co mputer Th is c hapter descr i bes troubles hooting proce dures f or expa nsi on cards and sys tem memory . Some pr oced ures r equir e yo u to acce ss the i nside of the comput er an d rem ov e and r einstal l component s. Proce dure s are al so in[...]

5-2 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide Figure 5-1. Expans ion-Ca rd Installa tion Figure 5-2. Incorrec t Expansion- Ca rd Installatio ns fully s eated not fu lly seat ed fr o nt e dg e no t se at ed br ac k et caught i n sl ot[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Chec ki ng In sid e Y ou r Comp uter 5-3 The fo llo wing subsec tions pr o vide troubl esh ooting pr ocedures for som e specif ic types of e xpan sion car ds. Modem In gener al, modem malfunct ions ma y be caused by an y of the fol lo w ing pr oblems: • Incor rect ly seat ed modem in the P eri pheral Component Interco nnect (P[...]

5-4 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide 7 . Repl ace the com puter cov er , connec t a ll e xter nal ca bles, and tu rn on the s y stem. Enter the sy st em set up program a s de scrib ed in Ap pendi x B, “ Syst em S et up Pr o- gram, ” and v er ify that th e S eria l P o rt 1 is s et to Enabled . NO TE: If y[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Chec ki ng In sid e Y ou r Comp uter 5-5 c. Repl ace th e patc h cabl e or netwo r k cabl e from the w al l jac k to the comput er . d. If replac ing t he pa tc h cable or netw ork c able do es no t sol ve t he pr oblem, tr y mo ving the computer to a kno wn good l ocati on on the network . e. If y ou stil l cannot connect to th[...]

5-6 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide 5. Chec k the DIM Ms and DIMM soc kets fo r brok en t abs and damag ed connector s. If a modul e is dam aged, replac e it. If a DIMM soc ket is dam aged, s ee Chapter 6 , “ Get t ing Help, ” f or ins tr uctions on obtai ning tec hnic al assi stance . 6. Re instal l th [...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Chec ki ng In sid e Y ou r Comp uter 5-7 9. R emo ve the r iser -board bra c ket. 1 0. Rei nstall a ll the expa nsi on cards y ou remo ved in step 5, rep lace the riser -board brac ke t, a nd r eplac e the computer co ver . See “ I nstalli ng Expan sion Card s ” in Chapter 2 f or instr ucti ons. 1 1 . In s ert th e Dell Dime[...]

5-8 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide 4. Insert the Dell Di mension ResourceCD i nto the optica l driv e . NO TES: For sys tems ru nni ng W ind ows 98 or Window s Me, also in sert the Microsof t Windo ws 98 Boo t Disk or Microso f t W indo ws Me Boot Disk into t he disk et te driv e. Fo r syst ems runn i ng Wi[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Get ting H el p 6-1 CH APTE R 6 Gettin g Help Thi s c hapter descr ibes th e tools Del l prov ides to hel p you w hen you ha v e a problem with y our computer . It also te lls you w hen and how to call Dell for t ec hnical or cus- tom er as si sta nc e. T echn ical A ss ista nce If y ou need as sistanc e wi th a tec hnical pro b[...]

6-2 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide Help T ools Dell pr ovid es a number of tool s to assi st you. Th ese tools a re described in the fo llo w- in g s ect ions . NO TE: Some of the f oll ow ing too ls ar e not al w ay s a vai labl e in a ll l ocati ons. Pl ease ca l l your local Del l repre sentativ e f or i[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Get ting H el p 6-3 • Elect roni c Quo te Servic e apmar k eting@del l.com (f or Asi an /Pa cifi c countr ies only ) sa les @de ll .c om • Elect roni c Inf o rmatio n Se r vice info @de ll .co m Au toma ted Or der- S tatus S yste m Y o u can call th is auto mated service to c heck on the stat us of an y Dell produc ts t hat [...]

6-4 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide R eturning Items for W arranty R epair or Cre dit P repare all items being retu rned , whether f or repa ir or credi t, as f ollo ws: 1 . Call Dell t o o btain an authori zati on number , and w rite it cl earl y a nd prominent ly on the outsi de of the bo x. Fo r the tel e[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Get ting H el p 6-5 Figure 6-1. Diagn ostics Checklist Name: ____ _______ ____ ___ ________ ___ ____ _______ ____ ___ ________ _______D ate: _____ ___________ ______ A ddress : _______ _______ _______ ____ _______ ___________ ___________ __Phone number : ____ _______ ____ __ Se r vice tag (bar code on th e bac k of the comput er[...]

6-6 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide D ell C o ntact Nu m ber s T abl e 6- 1 pro v ides a rea cod es a nd tel epho ne num bers f or eac h depa rtment or ser vic e avai l able in Jap an. T abl e 6-1. Dell Contact Number s Country ( City ) Ar ea L oc al Nu m ber or Departme nt N ame o r Se rvice C ode T ol l-Fr[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om S ystem Sp ecificat ions A-1 APPENDIX A System Spec ifications T able A-1. T ec hnical Specifica tions Micro pr ocesso r Micro proc essor type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intel Soc ket 370 P enti um III proces sor tha t runs at an e xt ernal sp eed of 1 00 MHz or an Intel Soc ket 370 Cel er on pro cessor th at runs at an e x[...]

A-2 Dell Dim ens ion 900 Sy s tem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g G uide Expansion Bus (c onti nue d) Expansi on-car d connec tors . . . . . . . . . . . . suppor ts two one -third – len gth PCI e x pansion ca rds Expansi on-car d connec tor si ze . . . . . . . . . 1 20 pins A CP I s pec ific a tion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 .0a [...]

suppo rt.del l.c om S ystem Sp ecificat ions A-3 Dri ve s Exter nall y acce ssibl e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . one 3.5-i nc h ba y fo r a slim-h eight 3 . 5-inc h disk et te driv e; one 5.25 -inc h bay fo r a slim- height o pti cal driv e Int ernall y accessi ble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . one bay f or 1 -i nc h – hi g h IDE ha rd- d [...]

A-4 Dell Dim ens ion 900 Sy s tem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g G uide Vi deo (c on ti nu ed) V ideo reso lutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800 x 600 pix els; 75- Hz refr esh rate with 1 6.7 m ill ion col ors 1 024 x 786 pi xel s; 7 5-Hz ref resh r at e with 64,000 color s 1 280 x 1 02 4 pix els; 75 - H z refr esh rat e with 256 [...]

suppo rt.del l.c om S ystem Sp ecificat ions A-5 Enviro nmental T empera tur e: Op era ting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 ° to 35 ° C (5 0 ° to 95 ° F) * Sto rag e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . – 40 ° to 65 ° C ( – 40 ° to 1 49 ° F) Relati ve hu midit y : Operat in g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[...]

A-6 Dell Dim ens ion 900 Sy s tem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g G uide[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Sy s tem Se tup Pr o gra m B -1 APPENDIX B Syst em Setup P r ogram Thi s app endix desc ribes th e syst em set up progra m, whic h you can u se to confi gure you r comput er as wel l as enabl e and disabl e your co mputer ’ s pas swo rd f eat ures. Eac h time you t urn on or restart y our com puter , the syst em compar es the [...]

B-2 Dell Dim ens ion 900 Sy s tem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g G uide T abl e B-1. Sys tem Setup Na vigat ion K ey s Keys Ac tion Mov es t he highl ight bar up o r dow n to select a n it em. Select s the subme nu f or the cur re nt optio n. Ret u rns to select ed screen f rom the Key H elp Gui de . S witc hes t o ful l sc reen mode . Ret ur [...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Sy s tem Se tup Pr o gra m B -3 System Setup Scree ns and Options Th e sys tem set up screens are orga niz ed as f oll ows: • Th e l ef t sid e o f eac h sc reen li sts op tions t hat de fine the install ed hardwa r e in you r sy stem . • Th e ri ght si de of eac h scr een disp l ays op t io ns t ha t co nt a in se t t ing s[...]

B-4 Dell Dim ens ion 900 Sy s tem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g G uide Main S creen Figur e B-1. Main Screen Menu T abl e B-2. Main Screen Menu Opti ons Option Fun ction Sys tem Inf ormat io n Di s pl ays the S ystem Inf or m atio n screen. See “ Syst em Inf ormat ion S creen ” f ound later in thi s appendi x. P roduct Inf ormat io n Di s[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Sy s tem Se tup Pr o gra m B -5 System Inf ormation Screen Fig ure B -2. Syste m Infor mation S creen Menu T able B-3. Syst em Inf ormati on Screen M enu Op tions Opti on Funct ion No ne Di sp l ays a c om pi la ti on of th e p re se nt se t t in g s of the ba si c syst em co nfigur at ion. NO TE: T he Glos sary in the sy ste m [...]

B-6 Dell Dim ens ion 900 Sy s tem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g G uide Pr oduct Informa tion Sc reen Fig ure B - 3. Pro duc t Info rm atio n S cre en Me nu T abl e B-4. P rod uct I nformat ion Sc reen Menu Options Option Fu ncti on None Displ ay s sy stem p roduct v ersi on number s and identif icati on co des. NOTE: The Gl ossa r y in th e s[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Sy s tem Se tup Pr o gra m B -7 Disk Drives Sc reen Fig ure B -4. Disk Dr ives Scre en Menu T able B -5. D isk Dri ves Screen Menu Options Opti on Func tion Flopp y Driv e A Selec ts th e typ e of disk et te dri ve. V alid se lections are 1 .44 MB , 3. 5-inc h (def a ult); 2.88 MB, 3.5-inc h ; 720 KB , 3.5- inch ; or None . Flop[...]

B-8 Dell Dim ens ion 900 Sy s tem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g G uide IDE P rimary Ch annel Maste r Submenu Fi gure B-5. ID E Primar y Chan nel Ma ster Su bmenu T abl e B-6. IDE Prima ry Channel M aster Su bmenu Opt ions Option Fu ncti on De vice Detec tion Mo de Specif ies the mode of dev ice detec tion on the c hannel. Select ions ar e Au [...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Sy s tem Se tup Pr o gra m B -9 On bo ar d Pe rip h er al s Sc re e n Fi gu re B -6. Onboard P erip herals S cre en Menu T able B-7. On board Per iph erals Screen Men u Opt ions Opti on Func tion Seri al P ort Confi gures the seri al p ort. Set thi s opti on t o Ena b le d (defa ult) or Disab led . If set to Enable d , you can s[...]

B-1 0 Dell Di men sion 900 Sy stem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g G uide IR Q I f p ort is se t to Enabl ed , avai l ab le in t er rupt s a r e 7 ( defau l t) and 5 . Operati on Mo de Se ts pa ra ll el p ort t o EPP (de f aul t ), ECP , Standard , or Bi-D ir ect ional mode of ope ration. NO TE: See the de vice manuf act ur er's doc umenta[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Sy s tem Se tup Pr o gra m B-1 1 Boot Optio ns Screen Fig ure B -7. Boot Options Scr een Menu T able B-8. Boot Opti ons Screen Menu Op tion s Opti on Func tion B oot Sequenc e Determi nes the se quence of t he fir st, seco nd, and th ird bo ot devi ces . The sel ec tions are Floppy Disk A: , Ha rd D is k C : , and IDE C D- ROM .[...]

B-1 2 Dell Di men sion 900 Sy stem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g G uide Num Loc k Af ter Boot Det ermines w hethe r the ke y board ’ s N u m L oc k m ode r ema ins on after the system boots. T he selec tions are Disab le d (defau lt) and En ab l ed . M em o r y T es t Conf igu r e s memo r y testing during boo t. If Fas t Bo ot is Dis a bl [...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Sy s tem Se tup Pr o gra m B -13 Date and Time Scr een Fi gure B -8 . D ate an d Time Screen Menu T able B-9. Da te and Ti me Screen Men u Opt ions Opti on Func tion Date R esets the d a te on t he comput er ’ s i ntern al cale ndar . Time R esets th e t ime on the comput er ’ s i ntern al cloc k. NO TE: T he Glos sary in th[...]

B-1 4 Dell Di men sion 900 Sy stem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g G uide System Sec urity Scree n Figur e B-9. System Se cu rit y Screen Me nu T abl e B -1 0. Syst em Secur ity Scr een Menu Opt ions Option Fun ction Super vis or Pa ssw or d Sets, c hanges, or cancel s a supervisor pass wor d. User P assw ord Sets , c hanges, o r can cels a use[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Sy s tem Se tup Pr o gra m B -15 Advanced Option s Screen Fi gure B -10. Advanced Options Screen Me nu T able B-11. Advanced Opti ons Screen Menu Op tion s Opti on Func tion Memor y /Cac he Options Di sp lays t he Memory/Cac he Options sc ree n. See “ Memory/Cac he Opt ions Submenu ” found l ater in this appendi x. PnP/PCI O[...]

B-1 6 Dell Di men sion 900 Sy stem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g G uide Memory/Cac he Options Submenu Figu re B-11. Memo ry/Cache O ptions Submenu T abl e B-12. Memo ry/Cache Opt ions Su bmenu Option s Option Fun ction Le vel 1 Cac he Sets L ev el 1 c ac he to En abl e d (def ault) o r Dis abled . Le vel 2 Cac he Sets L ev el 2 c ac he to En [...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Sy s tem Se tup Pr o gra m B -17 PnP/PCI Op tions Su bmen u Fig ure B -12. PnP/ PCI O ptions Sub menu T able B-13. P nP/PCI Opt ions Scr een Submen u Opt ions Opti on Func tion PCI IRQ Set ting Al low s the PCI IRQ set tings to be a ssigne d automati call y if se t to Au t o (def ault ) or manu ally if set to Manual . If s et t [...]

B-1 8 Dell Di men sion 900 Sy stem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g G uide Disabli ng a Fo rgotten Pa ssword If y ou for get y our user or super vis or pass wor d, y ou will be unabl e t o oper ate y our sys - tem or c ha nge set tings i n the sy s tem setu p program , respe ctiv ely , un til you di sab le the exi sti ng passw ord( s). Disabl in[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Sy s tem Se tup Pr o gra m B -19 5. Mo ve t he passw or d jumper ( JP6) t o the “ b y pass ” set ting descr i bed in “ P asswor d J um p er ” in C ha p ter 2. 6. R eplac e all e xpansio ns car ds and the ri ser - board br ac ket. 7 . R eplac e the comput er cov e r . 8. At t ac h the co mputer t o the el ectr ical outl e[...]

B-2 0 Dell Dimen sion 900 S ys tem Ref ere nce and T roubl eshootin g G uide 1 0 . M ove the NV RA M jum pe r (J PX 2) to th e “ re ta in ” set ting desc ribed i n “ NVRAM Jum per ” in Cha pte r 2. 1 1 . Re place al l expa nsions cards , the riser -boar d brac ket , and the comput er co ver . 1 2. At tac h the computer to the elect rical ou[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Be ep C ode s and S ystem Messa ges C-1 APPENDIX C Beep Co des a nd S ystem Me ssages Y o ur appli cation pr ogr ams, the op era ting sy stem, and the com puter itsel f can pr ov ide you with err or and stat us i nfor mation i n the for m of beep codes that sound through the com puter ’ s speak e r or messages t hat ap pear on[...]

C-2 Dell Dim ens ion 900 Sy s tem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g Guide S yste m Me ssag es The firs t column in T able C-2 lis ts sy stem messag es that may appear on the scr een during the start-up rou tine or dur ing normal sy stem opera tion. The se cond column i n the tab le l ists po ssibl e caus es of t he messa ges, and the t hi rd c ol[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Be ep C ode s and S ystem Messa ges C-3 Expa ns io n ROM Allo ca ti on Fail The I /O ex pansio n ROM fai ls t o allo cat e for an expa nsion card. T urn o f f the compute r and discon - ne ct y our system and d e vices fr om t he i r e l ect ri c al ou t le ts . R emo ve bot h of the cards . (See “ Expan sion Car ds ” in C h[...]

C-4 Dell Dim ens ion 900 Sy s tem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g Guide Memo ry E rro r at MM MM :S SSS: OOOO h (R: xxxx h, W: xx xx h) O ne or m ore DI MMs may be f a ulty or i mpr op- erly sea ted. See “ Syste m M e mo r y ” and “ R eseating DIMM s ” in Chapter 5 . NVRA M chec ksum Erro r An NVRAM c hec k sum error h as occ ur red. R [...]

suppo rt.del l.c om Be ep C ode s and S ystem Messa ges C-5 Pres s <D el> key to ente r SETU P or F1 key to Cont in ue ... A syst em confi gurat ion err or is dete cted, or the hardw are conf igurat ion does n ot matc h the sys tem set up program confi gurat ion data. Chec k the sy st em set up program set tin gs. Se e Ap pendix B , “ Sys- [...]

C-6 Dell Dim ens ion 900 Sy s tem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g Guide[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om R egu latory Not ices D-1 APPENDIX D Re g u l a t o r y N o t i c e s Elect roma gnetic In terf erence (EMI ) is an y si gnal or emis sion, radi at ed in free space or conduct ed al ong pow er o r signal leads, that enda ngers th e functi oning of a radio na vi- gati on or other saf ety ser vice or seriou sly degra des, obstr uc[...]

D-2 Del l Dimen sion 900 Sy s tem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g Gui de Inf ormat ion T ec hnolog y Equipment (IT E) , in cludi ng periph era ls, e xpansi on cards, print - ers, i nput/ou tput (I/O) de vices, moni tors , and so on, tha t are integr ate d int o or connect ed to the sy s te m should matc h the electro magnet ic env ironm ent cla[...]

suppo rt.del l.c om R egu latory Not ices D-3 Figur e D -1 . VCC I Cla ss A ITE Re gul ator y Ma rk Class B ITE Thi s is a Clas s B product base d on the standard of the V oluntar y Contro l Council f or Int erf er ence (V CCI) for inf ormati on tec hnolog y equipm ent. If thi s equipment is used near a ra dio or te levi sion r eceiv er in a dom es[...]

D-4 Del l Dimen sion 900 Sy s tem R ef erence and T roubl esho otin g Gui de[...]

suppo rt.dell .c om Inde x 1 In dex A Advance d Options sc ree n, syst em set up progr am, B-15 assi st ance tec h nica l , 6 -1 tel ephon e numb ers, 6-6 warra nty r epai r or cred it, 6-4 audi o dr iver, 4- 3 B batt ery loca tion, 2 -6 repl acing, 2-19 beep codes, C-1 Boo t Options scree n, syste m setup progr am, B-11 Bo ot-b loc k ju m per sett[...]

2 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide D Date a nd T ime screen, syst em s etu p progra m, B-13 DC po wer cables, 2-4 Dell Diagnos tics, 3- 9 Dell Dimensi on Resour ceCD, 3 -9, 4-2 diagnos ing pr oblem s, 3 -1, 6-1 Diagnost ics Check list , 6-5 diagnos tics. See Del l Diagnosti cs DIMMs capaci ties sup ported, 1-[...]

suppo rt.dell .c om Inde x 3 int egrated dr ive elect ronics . See IDE int erf ace ca bles about, 2- 4 Int ernet hel p tools, 6-2 J jumper s about, 2- 8 boot- block jumper se tting s, 2-10 NVRAM jumpe r settings, 2-9 passw ord jumper setti ngs, 2-8 proce ssor mode jumper s ettin gs, 2- 9 syst em board l ocati ons, 2-6 K ke ys and key com binati ons[...]

4 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide power su pply cables . See DC p ower cab les power -on se lf-t est. See POST proble ms diagnos ing, 3- 1, 6-1 help tool s, 6-1 with your order, 6- 3 Process or mode jumpe r setti ngs, 2-9 product inf ormat ion, 6-3 Product Inf ormat ion s creen, s ystem setup pro gram, B-6 R[...]

suppo rt.dell .c om Inde x 5 T techn i c al assi stan ce obtai ning, 6-1 warra nty r epai r or cred it, 6-4 techn ic al speci ficati ons, A-1 trou bleshoot ing about, 1- 3 basi c prob lems, 3-2 beep codes, C-1 checki ng con necti ons, 3-2 Diagn ostics Ch eckl ist, 6-5 dri ves, 3-8 envi ronment al fac tors, 3 -4 erro r m essag es, C-2 expans i on ca[...]

6 Del l Dimen sion 900 S y stem R ef erence and T ro ubl eshoot in g Guide[...]