|
Manageability | |
Additional System Setup Options |
|
Security | |
Jumper Settings |
|
Password Protection | |
Software Installation and Configuration |
|
System Settings |
Fault management features:
- Alerts to warn you about events generated by Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) drives on a local or remote system
- An event log that reports System Name, Component Name, Date and Time, Event Type, Event Severity, Event Class, and Event System
Configuration management features:
- Remote Wake Up support
- A System Properties window that enables network administrators to view, set, or disable certain hardware configuration settings for the local and remote systems in a Dell DMI network
- Support for the Microsoft® System Management Server (SMS), which allows the exporting of one or more groups to an SMS directory that the SMS administrator can access
- A monitor component for systems running Windows® 2000 and having a display data channel (DDC)-compliant video subsystem and monitor
- Automated inventory control of one or more groups for the remote systems in a Dell DMI network
- Network administrators can automate inventory to occur every day, week, or month at a certain hour, on the hour; or they can enable inventory as needed
- Support for the application program used to create user-definable attributes (UDAs)
Asset management features:
- Remote viewing, entering, and modifying of an asset tag for a remote system in a Dell DMI network
- Automated and manual mapping of one or more groups to a user-defined directory
For more information about the Dell OpenManage IT Assistant, see the online Dell OpenManage IT Assistant documentation that accompanied the software.
Requirements for use: a network interface controller (NIC) that supports Remote Wake Up in each system; enablement of the Remote Wake Up option in system setup.
NOTE: This feature does not work if the system is shut off using a power strip or surge protector.
Requirements for use: an integrated NIC that supports remote system alert in each Managed PC system.
NOTE: This feature does not work if the system is shut off using a power strip or surge protector.
NOTE: This feature does not work if the system is shut off using a power strip or surge protector.
The computer provides the following methods of physically securing the chassis:
The chassis intrusion monitor can detect when the chassis is opened. The Chassis Intrusion option in system setup displays the status of the monitor.
Alert! Cover was previously removed.
To reset the Detected setting, enter system setup during the system's power-on self-test (POST). In the Chassis Intrusion option, press the left- or right-arrow key to select Reset, and then choose Enabled, Enabled-Silent, or Disabled.
NOTE: When the setup password is enabled, you must know the setup password before you can reset the Chassis Intrusion option.
This ring is used to attach commercially available antitheft devices. To prevent unauthorized removal of your computer, loop the galvanized security cable around an immovable object, insert the attached locking device into the security cable slot on the back of your computer, and lock the device with the key provided.
 |
NOTE: Before your purchase an antitheft device, make sure it works with the cable slot on your computer. |
The computer provides two types of password protection:
System passwords allow only those who know the password to have full use of the system. Your Dell system does not have the system password feature enabled when you receive it.
NOTICE: Although passwords provide security for the data on your system, they are not foolproof. If your data requires more security, it is your responsibility to obtain and use additional forms of protection, such as data encryption programs.
NOTICE: If you leave your system running and unattended without having a system password assigned, or if you leave your computer unlocked so that someone can disable the password by changing a jumper setting, anyone can access the data stored on your hard drive.
System Password settings in system setup:
NOTE: You cannot change or enter a new system password if either of these options is displayed.
NOTE: You can only assign a system password when System Password is set to Not Enabled.
The option heading changes to Enter Password, followed by an empty 32-character field in square brackets.
You can use up to 32 characters.
As you press each character key (or the spacebar for a blank space), a placeholder appears in the field. The password assignment operation recognizes keys by their location on the keyboard, without distinguishing between lowercase and uppercase characters. For example, if you have an M in your password, the system recognizes either M or m as correct.
Certain key combinations are not valid. If you enter one of these combinations, the speaker emits a beep.
To erase a character when entering your password, press <Backspace> or the left-arrow key.
|
NOTE: To escape from the field without assigning a system password, press <Tab> or the <Shift><Tab> combination to move to another field, or press <Esc> at any time prior to completing step 5. |
If the new system password is less than 32 characters, the whole field fills with placeholders. Then the option heading changes to Verify Password, followed by another empty 32-character field in square brackets.
The password setting changes to Enabled. Your system password is now set; you can exit system setup and begin using your system. Password protection takes effect when you reboot the system by pressing the reset button or by turning the system off and then on again.
When you turn on your system or press the reset button, or when you reboot the system by pressing the <Ctrl><Alt><Del> combination, the following prompt appears on the screen when Password Status is set to Unlocked:
Type in the password and
- press <ENTER> to leave password security enabled.
- press <CTRL><ENTER> to disable password security.
Enter password:
If Password Status is set to Locked, the following prompt appears:
Type the password and press <Enter>.
|
NOTE: If you have assigned a setup password, the system accepts your setup password as an alternate system password. |
If you enter a wrong or incomplete system password, the following message appears on the screen:
** Incorrect password. **
Enter password:
If you again enter an incorrect or incomplete system password, the same message appears on the screen. The third and subsequent times you enter an incorrect or incomplete system password, the system displays the following message:
** Incorrect password. **
Number of unsuccessful password attempts: 3
System halted! Must power down.
Even after your system is turned off and on, the previous message is displayed each time an incorrect or incomplete system password is entered.
|
NOTE: You can use Password Status in conjunction with System Password and Setup Password to further protect your system from unauthorized changes. |
To delete or change an existing system password, perform the following steps:
If Not Enabled appears in the System Password option, the system password has been deleted. If you want to assign a new password, continue to step 6. If Not Enabled is not displayed for the System Password option, press <Alt><B> to reboot the system, and then repeat steps 3 through 5.
Setup passwords allow only those who know the password to have full use of system setup. Your Dell system does not have the setup password feature enabled when you receive it.
Setup Password options in system setup:
The system prompts you to enter and verify the password. If a character is illegal for password use, the system emits a beep.
After you verify the password, the Setup Password setting changes to Enabled. The next time you attempt to enter system setup, the system prompts you for the setup password.
NOTES: The setup password can be the same as the system password.
If the two passwords are different, the setup password can be used as an alternate system password. However, the system password cannot be used in place of the setup password.
A change to Setup Password becomes effective immediately (rebooting the system is not required).
When you start system setup, the Setup Password option is highlighted, prompting you to type the password.
If you do not enter the correct password, the system lets you view, but not modify, system setup options.
|
NOTE: You can use Password Status in conjunction with Setup Password to protect the system password from unauthorized changes. |
To change an existing setup password, you must know the setup password.
The setting changes to Not Enabled.
NOTICE: This process erases both the system and setup passwords.
 |
CAUTION: Before you open the computer cover, see "Safety First—For You and Your Computer." |
See "Jumper Settings" to locate the password jumper (labeled "PSWD") on the system board.
This erases the existing password(s).
NOTE: Before you assign a new system and/or setup password, you must replace the PSWD jumper plug to reenable the password feature.
CAUTION: Before you perform this procedure, see "Safety First—For You and Your Computer."
Booting your system with the PSWD jumper installed reenables the password feature. When you enter system setup, both password options appear as Not Enabled, meaning that the password feature is enabled but that no password is assigned.
Each time you start your computer, it compares the installed hardware with the system configuration information stored in nonvolatile random-access memory (NVRAM). If the system detects a discrepancy, it generates an error messages for each incorrect configuration setting.
You can use system settings as follows:
You can view the current settings at any time. Dell recommends that you print the system setup screens (by pressing <Print Screen>) or record the information for future reference.
Before you use system setup, you need to know the kind of diskette drive(s) and hard drive(s) installed in your computer. If you are unsure of this information, see the Manufacturing Test Report that was shipped with your system and is located in the Dell Accessories folder.
If you wait too long and your operating system begins to load into memory, let the system complete the load operation; then shut down the system and try again.
|
NOTE: To ensure an orderly system shutdown, consult the documentation that accompanied your operating system. |
The system setup screens display the current configuration information for your computer. Information on the screen is organized into four areas:
Fields to the right of the option titles contain settings or values. Those you can change appear bright on the screen. Those you cannot change (because they are set by the computer) appear less bright. When <Enter> appears to the right of an option title, press <Enter> to access a pop-up menu of additional options.
The following table lists the keys you use to view or change information on the system setup screen and to exit the program.
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
 or  |
Moves to the next field. |
 or  |
Moves to the previous field. |
 or  |
Cycles through the options in a field. In many fields, you can also type the appropriate value. |
 or  |
Scrolls through help information. |
 |
Enters the selected field's pop-up options menu. |
| spacebar or
 |
In the selected field's pop-up options menu, cycles through the options in a field. |
  |
Exits system setup without rebooting the system and returns the system to its previous state—the boot routine.* |
 |
Exits system setup and reboots the system, implementing any changes you have made. |
 |
Resets the selected option to its default setting. |
|
*NOTE: For most of the options, any changes you make are recorded but do not take effect until the next time you boot the system. For a few options (as noted in the help area), the changes take effect immediately. |
The boot sequence allows you to specify the order of the devices from which the system will attempt to boot.
|
NOTE: Write down your current boot sequence in case you want to restore it. |
Option settings:
When you select this option, the system prompts you to press <Ctrl><Alt><b> at the Dell logo screen during system boot. A menu then appears that allows you to select PXE, RPL, BootP, or NetWare as the active boot mode. If a boot routine is not available from the network server, the system tries to boot from the next device in the boot sequence list.
When Off is selected, the system remains off when AC power is restored. When On is selected, the system starts up when AC power is restored.
When Last is selected, the system returns to the AC power state existing at the time that AC power was lost. If the system is on when AC power is lost, the system starts up when AC power is restored. If the system is off when AC power is lost, the system remains off when AC power is restored.
NOTE: This feature does not work if you turn off your system using a power strip or surge protector. Time is kept in a 24-hour format (hours:minutes). To change the start-up time, press the right-arrow key to increase the number in the highlighted field or press the left-arrow key to decrease the number. If you prefer, you can type numbers in both the date and time fields.
The default for Auto Power On is Disabled.
The Diskette Drive A and Diskette Drive B options have the following possible settings:
- Optical, 360 KB
- Optical, 1.2 MB
- Diskette, 720 KB
- Diskette, 1.44 MB
- Not Installed
Press <Enter> to configure these options as explained in the following subsections.
- Sound determines whether the integrated audio controller is On or Off. The default is On.
- Network Interface Controller determines whether the integrated NIC is On, Off, or On w/ MBA. The default is On. If you select On w/ MBA, you are prompted to press <Ctrl><Alt><b> at the Dell logo screen during system boot. A menu then appears that allows you to select PXE, RPL, BootP, or NetWare as the active boot mode.
- Mouse Port enables or disables the system's integrated Personal System/2 (PS/2)-compatible mouse port. Disabling the mouse allows an expansion card to use interrupt request (IRQ)12.
- Serial Port 1 and Serial Port 2 configure the system's integrated serial ports. You can set these options to Auto (the default) to automatically configure a port, to a particular designation (COM1 or COM3 for Serial Port 1; COM2 or COM4 for Serial Port 2), or to Off to disable the port.
If you set a serial port to Auto and add an expansion card containing a port configured to the same designation, the system automatically remaps the integrated port to the next available port designation that shares the same IRQ setting as follows:
- COM1 (input/output [I/O] address 3F8h), which shares IRQ4 with COM3, is remapped to COM3 (I/O address 3E8h).
- COM2 (I/O address 2F8h), which shares IRQ3 with COM4, is remapped to COM4 (I/O address 2E8h).
NOTE: When two COM ports share an IRQ setting, you can use either port as necessary, but you may not be able to use them both at the same time. If you are running the Microsoft® Windows® 95 or IBM® OS/2® operating system, you cannot use both serial ports at the same time. If the second port (COM3 or COM4) is also in use, the integrated port is turned off.
- Parallel Port configures the system's integrated parallel port. Press <Enter> to configure the Parallel Port options explained in the following subsections.
Mode: You can set this option to PS/2, EPP, ECP, AT, or Off to disable the port. Set this option according to the type of peripheral device connected to the parallel port. To determine the correct mode to use, see the documentation that came with the device.
I/O Address: This option determines the I/O address used by the parallel port and appears except when Mode is set to Off. You can set I/O Address to 378h (the default), 278h, or 3BCh.
NOTE: You cannot set the parallel port to 3BCh if Mode is set to EPP. DMA Channel: This option determines the direct memory access (DMA) channel used by the parallel port and appears only when Mode is set to ECP. The available options are DMA 1, DMA 3, and Off.
- IDE Drive Interface: enables or disables the system's integrated enhanced integrated drive electronics (EIDE) hard drive interface. With Auto (the default) selected, the system turns off the integrated EIDE interface when necessary to accommodate a controller card installed in an expansion slot. As part of the boot routine, the system first checks for a primary hard drive controller card installed in an expansion slot. If no card is found, the system enables the integrated EIDE interface to use IRQ14 and IRQ15. If a primary controller is detected on the expansion bus, the integrated EIDE interface is disabled. Selecting Off disables the integrated EIDE interface.
- Diskette Interface: controls the operation of the system's integrated diskette drive controller. With Auto (the default) selected, the system turns off the integrated diskette drive controller when necessary to accommodate a controller card installed in an expansion slot.
With Read Only selected, nothing can be written to any diskette drive using the system's integrated diskette drive controller. (The system can still read from the drives.) When Read Only is selected, Auto is also in effect, meaning that the system turns off the integrated diskette drive controller as necessary.
Selecting Off turns off the integrated diskette drive controller; this setting is used primarily for troubleshooting purposes.
- USB Emulation: determines whether the system's basic input/output system (BIOS) controls Universal Serial Bus (USB) keyboards and mice. When On is selected (the default), the BIOS controls USB keyboards and mice until a USB driver is loaded by the operating system. When Off is selected, the BIOS does not control USB keyboards and mice, although they function during the boot routine. Set USB Emulation to Off if you are using a PS/2-compatible keyboard and mouse.
- Primary Video Controller: determines which video controller to use when the system boots. When Auto is selected, the system uses a video expansion card, if one is installed or the onboard video controller if a video expansion card is not installed. When Onboard is selected, the system uses the onboard video controller even if a video expansion card is installed.
- Video DAC Snoop: lets you correct video problems that may occur when you use certain video expansion cards. The default is Off. If you are using a video expansion card and problems such as incorrect colors or blank windows occur, set Video DAC Snoop to On.
Primary Drive n identifies drives attached to the primary EIDE interface connector (labeled "IDE1") on the system board; Secondary Drive n identifies drives connected to the secondary EIDE interface connector (labeled "IDE2"). Use the secondary EIDE interface connector for EIDE CD-ROM drives.
NOTES: For all devices obtained from Dell that use the integrated EIDE controller, set the appropriate Drive option to Auto. You must have an EIDE device connected to the primary EIDE interface if you have an EIDE device connected to the secondary EIDE interface.
The following settings identify the type of EIDE devices installed in the computer:
- Auto (use this setting for all EIDE devices from Dell)
- Off
- User 1 or User 2
- A specific drive-type number
To choose a setting for each option, press <Enter> to access the field's pop-up settings menu. Then type characters from the keyboard or press the left- or right-arrow key to cycle through the settings.
A drive-type number specifies the parameters of a hard drive, based on a table recorded in the system's basic input/output system (BIOS).
NOTE: Operating systems that bypass the system BIOS may not obtain optimum hard drive performance.
If You Have a Problem
If the system generates a drive error message the first time you boot your system after you install an EIDE drive, it may mean that your particular drive does not work with the automatic drive-type detect feature. If you suspect that your problem is related to drive type, try entering your drive-type information in one of the following ways:
Use the drive-type number found in the documentation that came with the drive, or if the drive was installed by Dell when you purchased your system, access the Manufacturing Test Report from the Dell Accessories folder.
To set the drive-type number in system setup, highlight the appropriate drive option (Primary Drive 0 or Primary Drive 1) and type the correct drive-type number. If you prefer, you can press the right- or left-arrow key to increase or decrease, respectively, the drive-type number until the correct one is displayed.
The Drive 0 and Drive 1 options display the following parameters for each drive:
- Drive Type is the drive-type number for the selected hard drive.
- Capacity (automatically calculated by the system) indicates the number of millions of bytes of storage provided by the drive.
- Cylinders is the number of logical cylinders.
- Heads indicates the number of logical heads in the drive.
- Sectors indicates the number of logical sectors per track.
If none of the supported drive types match the parameters of your new drive, you can enter your own parameters. To do so, highlight the Drive 0 option and type u to display User 1. You can then press the right- or left-arrow key to switch between the User 1 and User 2 settings (only two user-defined drive types are allowed). Then press the <Tab> key to highlight each of the parameter fields in succession, and enter the appropriate number for each field.
|
NOTE: You can use the User 1 and User 2 drive types for both the Primary and Secondary Drive 0 and Drive 1 options. However, if you select the User 1 or User 2 drive type, you may not obtain optimum hard drive performance. Also, you cannot use the User 1 and User 2 drive types for hard drives with a storage capacity that is greater than 528 megabytes (MB). |
This option is useful when applied to self-starting servers or host systems that have no permanently attached keyboard. In these situations, selecting Do Not Report suppresses all error messages relating to the keyboard or to the keyboard controller during POST. This setting does not affect the operation of the keyboard itself if a keyboard is attached to the computer.
- The microprocessor type and BIOS level.
- The size of the integrated level 2 (L2) cache.
- The system's five-character service tag number, which was programmed into NVRAM by Dell during the manufacturing process. Refer to this number during technical assistance or service calls. The service tag number is also accessed by certain Dell support software, including the diagnostics software.
Your system automatically displays the day of the week corresponding to the settings in the month, day-of-month, and year fields.
To change the date, press the left- or right-arrow key to select a field, and then press plus (+) or minus (–) to increase or decrease the number. If you prefer, you can type numbers in the month, day-of-month, and year fields.
Time is kept in a 24-hour format (hours:minutes:seconds). To change the time, press the left- or right-arrow key to select a field, and then press plus (+) or minus (–) to increase or decrease the number. If you prefer, you can type numbers in each of the fields.
The following figure shows the jumper on the system board.
System Board Jumper
|
NOTICE: Make sure that your system is turned off and unplugged before you change the jumper setting. Otherwise, damage to your system or unpredictable results may occur.
To change the jumper setting to disabled, pull the plug off its pins. To reenable the setting, carefully fit the plug onto the pins indicated.
| Jumper | Setting | Description |
|---|---|---|
| PSWD |  (default)
|
System password features are
enabled. System password features are disabled. |
jumpered  unjumpered |
||
When you obtain software, check it for viruses with virus-scanning software before installing it on your computer's hard drive. Viruses, which are pieces of code that can replicate themselves, can quickly use all available system memory, damage or destroy data stored on the hard drive, and permanently affect the performance of the programs they infect. Several commercial virus-scanning programs are available for purchase, and most bulletin board services (BBSs) archive freely distributed virus-scanning programs that you can download with a modem.
Before you install a program, read its documentation to learn how the program works, what hardware it requires, and what its defaults are. A program usually includes installation instructions in its accompanying documentation and a software installation routine on its program diskette(s) or CD(s).
The software installation routine assists you in transferring the appropriate program files to your computer's hard drive. Installation instructions may provide details about how to configure your operating system to successfully run the program. Always read the installation instructions before running a program's installation routine. You may be instructed to modify some operating system start-up files, such as config.sys and autoexec.bat, or the installation routine may modify start-up files automatically.
When you run the installation routine, be prepared to respond to prompts for information about how your computer's operating system is configured, what type of computer you have, and what peripherals are connected to your computer.
or 