DTA: System Setup and EISA Configuration Options
System Setup Options
Screen 1
Screen 2
Time
TIME resets the time on the computer's internal clock.
Time is kept in a 24-hour format (hours:minutes:seconds). To change the 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 preferable, type in numbers in each of the appropriate fields.
Date
DATE resets the date on the computer's internal calendar.
The system automatically displays the day of the week corresponding to the settings in the three fields that follow (month, day-of-the-month, and year).
To change the date, press the right-arrow key to increase the number in the highlighted field, or press the left-arrow key to decrease the number. If preferable, type in numbers in the month and day-of-the-month fields.
Diskette Drive A and Diskette Drive B
DISKETTE DRIVE A and DISKETTE DRIVE B identify the type of diskette drives installed.
The options are:
 5.25 INCH, 360 KB
5.25 INCH, 1.2 MB
3.5 INCH, 720 KB
3.5 INCH, 1.44 MB
NOT INSTALLED
IDE Drive: Drive 0 and Drive 1
The DRIVE 0 subcategory under IDE DRIVE refers to the IDE hard-disk drive installed in the computer.
For DRIVE 0 and DRIVE 1, the options are:
AUTO
USER
NONE
NOTE: Because the system supports only one internal hard-disk drive, the setting for the DRIVE 1 subcategory should always be NONE.
The user can set DRIVE 0 to AUTO to identify automatically the type of IDE drive installed; alternatively, the user can use one of the USER settings to manually set the parameters for the drive.
Using With IDE Devices
For most IDE drives, the system provides an automatic drive-type detect feature.
During the power-on self-test (POST), the BIOS identifies the manufacturer, capacity, and model number of each installed IDE hard-disk drive and displays that information on the screen. If a drive lacks the necessary identification code, the POST message indicates only that a drive is installed.
Using the Auto-Detect Feature
To use the auto-detect feature, highlight the DRIVE 0 category and use the arrow keys to set the TYPE parameter to AUTO. After the system is rebooted, the screen automatically displays the correct drive-type number and parameters for the IDE hard-disk drive.
Assigning the Drive Parameters Manually
If the IDE hard-disk drive does not support automatic drive-type detection, the user can use the USER option to manually define a set of drive parameters and assign them to the installed drive. The user can define a set of parameters for USER as described next.
At the DRIVE 0 category, use the arrow keys to set the TYPE parameter to USER. For each of the following parameters, press the <TAB> key to highlight the field and type in the appropriate number, using information from the documentation that came with the drive:
CYLS is the number of logical cylinders.
HDS is the number of logical heads in the drive.
SEC is the number of logical sectors per track.
The SIZE parameter (which indicates the capacity of the drive in millions of bytes) is automatically detected and displayed by the system. The PRE and LZ fields are not used.
NOTE: Before installing a new IDE drive, check the documentation that came with the drive to verify that all jumper settings on the drive are appropriate for the configuration.
Using With Non-IDE Devices
The IDE DRIVE category applies only to an IDE hard-disk drive installed in the system. If another type of hard-disk drive (for example, a SCSI drive) is installed, set the DRIVE 0 and DRIVE 1 categories to NONE.
Extended Memory
EXTENDED MEMORY (which has no user-selectable options) indicates the amount of system memory available as extended memory.
The value given in the EXTENDED MEMORY category is in kilobytes rather than megabytes. To convert kilobytes to megabytes, divide the kilobyte total by 1024.
Reserved Memory
RESERVED MEMORY allows the user to designate a range of system memory addresses that can be used to access memory on an expansion card. The user should not enable RESERVED MEMORY unless using an expansion card that requires special addressing.
Some expansion cards, typically network cards, need to be addressed in base memory, while others must be addressed in extended memory. For example, the user may have an expansion card that needs to be addressed starting at 80000h (512 KB). To use this card, the user must reserve a section of memory from 512 KB to 640 KB. The memory on the card will be addressable using this address range and will be dedicated to the card's function. It will not be available as general system memory unless the card is a memory expansion card, which in this example would supply base memory from 512 KB to 640 KB to the system.
The RESERVED MEMORY category has the following options:
NONE (the default option)
512K-640K
13M-16M
15M-16M
Fast Video BIOS
FAST VIDEO BIOS allows the user to shadow the video BIOS for improved performance. The default setting is ON. OFF becomes an option only if an ISA video card is installed in the computer.
When this category is set to ON, the system boots and immediately copies the video BIOS code into write-protected memory locations in RAM. This process is known as shadowing. Shadowing lets the system manipulate video display data more quickly, improving video performance.
The user can set this category to OFF to accommodate an older, slower ISA video card.
CPU Speed
CPU SPEED specifies the processor speed at which the system boots and runs.
Press the left- or right-arrow key to toggle the CPU SPEED category between the installed microprocessor's rated speed (the default) and a lower compatibility speed, COMPATIBLE, which accommodates speed-sensitive application programs.
Num Lock
NUM LOCK determines whether the system boots with the Num Lock mode activated on 101- or 102-key keyboards (it does not apply to 84-key keyboards).
Keyboard Errors
KEYBOARD ERRORS enables or disables reporting of keyboard errors during the POST.
This category is useful when applied to self-starting servers or host systems that have no permanently attached keyboard.
The default setting is REPORT. Selecting DO NOT REPORT suppresses all POST error messages relating to the keyboard or the keyboard controller. However, an attached keyboard will still operate properly.
System Password
SYSTEM PASSWORD displays the current status of the system's password security feature; it allows the user to assign and verify a new system password when this category is set to NOT ENABLED.
The current status options that can be displayed in the SYSTEM PASSWORD category are:
NOT ENABLED (the default)
ENABLED
DISABLED BY JUMPER
A new system password cannot be assigned unless the current status is NOT ENABLED, which is displayed in bright characters. See Using the System Password Feature.
Setup Password
The SETUP PASSWORD category lets the user restrict access to the computer's system setup program in the same way that access to the system is restricted with the system password feature. The options are:
NOT ENABLED (the default option)
ENABLED
DISABLED BY JUMPER
See Using the Setup Password Feature.
Boot Sequence
The BOOT SEQUENCE category can be set to DISKETTE FIRST (the default option) or HARD DISK ONLY.
Selecting DISKETTE FIRST causes the system to try booting from drive A first. If it finds a diskette that is not bootable in the drive or finds a problem with the drive itself, the system displays an error message. If it does not find a diskette in the drive, the system then tries to boot from the hard-disk drive (drive 0).
Selecting HARD DISK ONLY causes the system to boot only from the hard-disk drive, even if there is a bootable diskette in drive A. The user can select the HARD DISK ONLY option to prevent an unauthorized person from accessing the system by booting from a diskette.
Power Management
POWER MANAGEMENT allows the user to reduce system power consumption for certain types of monitors and most IDE hard-disk drives. With POWER MANAGEMENT enabled, these monitors and drives automatically switch into low-power mode during periods of system inactivity.
POWER MANAGEMENT options are MAXIMUM, REGULAR, MINIMUM, and DISABLED (the default option).
Power Management IDE Drive Monitor Standby
Setting Spindown Time-outsTime-outs
MAXIMUM 20 minutes 20 minutes
REGULAR 20 minutes 40 minutes
MINIMUM 20 minutes 60 minutes
See Using Power Management.
Serial Port 1 and Serial Port 2
SERIAL PORT 1 and SERIAL PORT 2 configure the system's built-in serial ports. These categories can be set to AUTO (the default option) 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 a port.
If the user sets a serial port to AUTO and then add an expansion card containing a port configured to the same designation, the system automatically remaps the built-in port to the next available port designation that shares the same IRQ setting. That is, COM1 is remapped to COM3; COM2 is remapped to COM4. Note that when two COM ports share an IRQ setting, the user can use either port as necessary, but may not be able to use them both at the same time. If the alternate port address (COM3 or COM4) is also in use, the built-in port is turned off.
Parallel Port
PARALLEL PORT configures the system's built-in parallel port. This category can be set to 378H, 278H, or 3BCH to automatically configure the port, or it can be set to OFF to disable the port.
When set to 378H, the port maps to I/O address 378h (the default primary port) and uses IRQ7.
When set to 278H, the port maps to I/O address 278h and uses IRQ5.
When set to 3BCH, the port maps to I/O address 3BCh and uses IRQ7.
NOTE: The built-in parallel port is automatically disabled if the system detects an installed expansion card containing a parallel port configured to the same address as specified in this category.
Parallel Mode
PARALLEL MODE controls the mode used by the system's built-in parallel port. The options are:
AT (the default)
PS/2
Set this category according to the type of device connected to the parallel port:
Select AT for a unidirectional device.
Select PS/2 for a bidirectional device.
See the documentation that came with the peripheral device to determine the correct mode for the parallel port.
NOTE: The system also provides hardware support for Extended Capabilities Port (ECP) mode. Options that use ECP mode may come with special drivers that need to be installed in order to use this mode.
Hard Disk
HARD DISK enables or disables the system's built-in ISA IDE interface.
Selecting AUTO allows the system to turn off the IDE interface as necessary to accommodate a controller card installed in an expansion slot. During the boot routine, the system checks for a bootable hard-disk drive on the PCI bus. If one is found, the system disables the built-in IDE interface. If one is not found, the system checks the ISA bus for a bootable drive.
Selecting OFF disables the built-in IDE interface.
Diskette
DISKETTE controls the operation of the system's built-in diskette drive controller.
With AUTO (the default option) selected, the system turns off the built-in diskette drive controller as necessary to accommodate a controller card installed in an expansion slot.
With WRITE-PROTECT selected, nothing can be written to diskette drives and tape drives using the system's built-in diskette drive controller. (The system can still read from the drives.) Note that the AUTO option also remains in effect; the system turns off the built-in diskette drive controller as necessary.
Selecting OFF turns off the built-in diskette drive controller. This option is used primarily for troubleshooting purposes.
Speaker
SPEAKER determines whether the on-board speaker is ON (the default setting) or OFF. A change to this category takes effect immediately (rebooting the system is not required).
System Data Categories
The following categories, which are not selectable, display information about the system:
MICROPROCESSOR displays the type of microprocessor installed in the computer.
EXTERNAL CACHE displays the amount of external cache memory.
VIDEO MEMORY displays the amount of video memory installed in the system. If the built-in video interface is disabled, the setting changes to ON-BOARD: DISABLED.
SYSTEM MEMORY indicates the entire amount of installed memory detected in the system, except for memory on EMS expansion cards.
After adding memory, check this category to confirm that the new memory is installed correctly and is recognized by the system.
SERVICE TAG displays the system's service tag number, which Dell programmed into NVRAM during the manufacturing process.
ASSET TAG displays the customer-programmable asset tag number for the system if an asset tag number has been assigned by the Asset Tag utility.
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