System Setup Options

Time
Date
Diskette Drive A and Diskette Drive B
Primary Drive 0/1 and Secondary Drive 0/1 Boot Sequence
Base Memory
Reserved Memory
Extended Memory
CPU Speed
Num Lock
System Data Categories
Keyboard Errors
System Password
Setup Password
Serial Port 1 and Serial Port 2
Parallel Port
Parallel Mode
Hard Disk
Diskette

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. Numbers can also be typed in each of the appropriate fields.

Date

DATE resets the date on the computer's internal calendar. A system will automatically display the day of the week corresponding to the settings in the 3 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. Numbers can also be typed for 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 in the accessible drive bays.
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

Primary Drive 0/1 and Secondary Drive 0/1

The DRIVE 0, DRIVE 1 subcategories under PRIMARY and SECONDARY refer to the EIDE hard-disk, CD ROM, and tape drives installed in the computer. The options are:

AUTO
USER
NONE

EIDE Devices

For most EIDE drives, the user should select AUTO.

Using the Auto-Detect Feature

To use the auto-detect feature, highlight the appropriate subcategory and type "a" 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 EIDE drive.
Assigning the Drive Parameters Manually
If the EIDE hard-disk drive does not support automatic drive-type detection, use the USER option to manually define a set of drive parameters and assign them to the installed drive.
At the appropriate drive category, type "u" to select the USER option. For each of the following parameters, press the <TAB> key to highlight the field and then type 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.

NOTE: The PRE and LZ fields are not used with this system.

Base Memory

BASE MEMORY displays the amount of memory available to MS-DOS programs that do not use extended or expanded memory. This category has no user-selectable options. The default value for the BASE MEMORY category is 640 KB, which includes 1 KB reserved for system use.

Reserved Memory

RESERVED MEMORY allows a range of system memory addresses that can be used to access memory on an expansion card. RESERVED MEMORY should not be enabled unless an expansion card that requires special addressing is going to be used.

Extended Memory Displays amount of memory available as extended memory.

CPU Speed

Indicates processor speed at which the system boots the processor's rated speed or a slower compatibility speed.

Num Lock

NUM LOCK chooses 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 and 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

SETUP PASSWORD lets the user restrict access to the computer's system setup program. Options for this category are:

NOT ENABLED (the default)
ENABLED
DISABLED BY JUMPER

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 from the hard-disk drive only, even if there is a bootable diskette in drive A. Select the HARD DISK ONLY option to prevent an unauthorized person from accessing the system by booting from a diskette.

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 adds 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, either port can be used, as necessary, but both cannot be used at the same time. If the alternate port address (COM3 or COM4) is also in use, the built-in port is turned off.

NOTE: If the system includes an internal modem, the system�s second built-in serial port cannot be used, regardless of the setting for the SERIAL PORT 2 category.

Parallel Port

PARALLEL PORT configures the system's built-in parallel port. This category can be set to 378H (IRQ7), 278H (IRQ5), or 3BCH (I/O address 3BCh and uses IRQ7) to automatically configure the port, or to OFF to disable the port.

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
ECP

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.
Select ECP for an ECP 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 EIDE interface. Selecting AUTO allows the system to turn off the EIDE interface, as necessary, to accommodate a controller card installed in an expansion slot. During the boot routine, the system checks for a primary hard-disk drive controller card installed in an expansion slot. If no card is found, the built-in EIDE interface is enabled and the controller on the master EIDE drive is designated as the primary controller, using IRQ14. If a primary controller is detected on the expansion bus, the built-in EIDE interface is disabled. Selecting OFF disables the built-in EIDE interfaces.

Diskette

DISKETTE controls the operation of the system's built-in diskette drive controller. With AUTO selected, the system turns off the built-in diskette drive controller, as necessary, to accommodate a controller card installed in an expansion slot. Selecting OFF turns off the built-in diskette drive controller. This option is used primarily for troubleshooting purposes.

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
SECONDARY CACHE displays the amount of secondary cache memory contained in the processor module.
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. This value is given in kilobytes rather than megabytes.
SERVICE TAG displays the system's service tag number, which Dell programmed into NVRAM during the manufacturing process.