Manuals

System Setup: Dell Dimension� XPS Pro150n, Pro180n, and Pro200n

System Setup Options: Dell Dimension XPS Pro150n, Pro180n, and Pro200n

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 value in the highlighted field, or press the left-arrow key to decrease the value. 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 in the month and day-of-the-month fields.

Diskette Drive A and Diskette Drive B

Diskette Drive A identifies the boot diskette drive and Diskette Drive B identifies the second diskette drive 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 as follows:

Auto
User
None

Rebooting is required for changes to take effect.

EIDE Devices

For most EIDE drives, the user should select Auto.

SCSI Devices

For most SCSI drives, the user should select None.

Using the Auto-Detect Feature

To use the auto-detect feature, highlight the appropriate subcategory and type:

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:

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 Pre and Lz fields are not used with this system. The Size parameter (which indicates the capacity of the drive in millions of bytes) is automatically detected and displayed by the system.

NOTE: Selecting the User option disables some of the drive's advanced features, such as logical block addressing support and Mode 3 and Mode 4 support.

Base Memory

Base Memory displays the maximum 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 the following:

System workspace (1.5 KB) used for system functions such as interrupt-handling operations and BIOS record keeping

User memory (637.5 KB) available for use by MS-DOS programs

Dedicated system functions (1 KB) reserved for special system functions such as PS/2-compatible
mouse operation

Extended Memory

Extended Memory displays amount of memory available as extended memory. This category has no user-selectable options.

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.

Rebooting is required for changes to take effect.

CPU Speed

CPU Speed indicates processor speed at which the system boots: the processor's rated speed or a lower compatibility speed.

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).

Rebooting is required for changes to take effect.

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 Do Not Report, which suppresses all Post error messages relating to the keyboard or the keyboard controller. However, an attached keyboard will still operate properly.

Rebooting is required for changes to take effect.

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. Options for this category are as follows:

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.

Rebooting is required for changes to take effect.

Password Status

When Setup Password is set to Enabled, Password Status allows the user to prevent the system password from being changed or disabled at boot time.

To lock the system password, the user must first assign a setup password and then change Password Status to Locked. In this state, the system password cannot be changed through the System Password category and cannot be disabled at boot time by pressing <Ctrl><Enter>.

To unlock the system password, the user must enter the setup password and then change Password Status to Unlocked. In this state, the system password can be changed or disabled at boot time by pressing <Ctrl><Enter>. See Using the Password Features.

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

Rebooting is required for changes to take effect.

Boot Sequence

The Boot Sequence category can be set to Diskette First (the default option), CD-ROM First, 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 CD-ROM First causes the system to try booting from the CD-ROM drive first. If the CD in the drive is not bootable or if there is no CD in the drive, the system then tries to boot from diskette drive A. If there is no diskette in drive A, the system boots from the first 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.

Rebooting is required for changes to take effect.

Error Detection

Error Detection allows the user to enable or disable the system's ECC capability when parity SIMMs are being used. When the computer contains only parity SIMMs and this category is set to Enabled, the system corrects all single-bit memory errors and detects all multibit memory errors. When this category is set to Disabled, no ECC error checking is performed.

If the computer contains any nonparity SIMMs, this category is automatically set to Disabled and cannot be changed.

You must reboot your system for any changes to take effect.

Power Management

Power Management allows the user to reduce system power consumption for DPMS-compliant monitors and most EIDE hard-disk drives. With this category enabled (default is disabled), these monitors and drives automatically switch into low-power mode after a specified period of system inactivity (time-out).

CAUTION: To avoid damaging the monitor, check the monitor documentation to ensure the monitor is DPMS-compliant before enabling this feature.

NOTE: To save monitor power, the user must also enable Video Power Down.

Options for the Power Management category are:

Disabled (the default)
Minimum (60-minute monitor time-out)
Regular (20-minute monitor time-out)
Maximum (10-minute monitor time-out)

For all settings except Disabled, the hard-disk drive time-out is 20 minutes.

Rebooting is required for any changes to take effect.

Video Power Down

CAUTION: To avoid damaging the monitor, check the monitor documentation to ensure the monitor is DPMS-compliant before enabling this feature.

Video Power Down selects the amount of monitor power saved when Power Management is enabled and the system has entered a time-out period. When Power Management is disabled, Video Power Down is automatically disabled.

Options for this category are:

Standby (default; 20% power saved)
Suspend (90% power saved)
Sleep (95% power saved)

NOTE: This category appears only if the installed video card supports this feature.

The higher the percentage of monitor power saved, the longer the monitor takes to return to full power when a time-out period ends.

Rebooting is required for changes to take effect.

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.

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 a Dell�-installed internal modem, the system's second built-in serial port should not be used, regardless of whether the Serial Port 2 category is set to COM2 or COM4. The reason for this is that Dell sets all internal modems to COM2, IRQ3. Changing Serial Port 2 to COM4 will not prevent a conflict, since COM4 also uses IRQ3.

Rebooting is required for changes to take effect.

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.

Rebooting is required for changes to take effect.

Parallel Mode

Parallel Mode controls the mode used by the system's built-in parallel port. The options are:

AT (the default) for a unidirectional device
PS/2 for a bidirectional device

NOTE: Software used with many new printers requires that the printer be configured for PS/2 operation. See the documentation that came with the printer and its software for configuration requirements.

ECP for an ECP device

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.

See the documentation that came with the peripheral device to determine the correct mode for the parallel port.

Rebooting is required for changes to take effect.

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.

Rebooting is required for changes to take effect.

Diskette

Diskette controls the operation of the system's built-in diskette drive controller.

With Auto (the default) 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.

Rebooting is required for changes to take effect.

Speaker

Speaker determines whether the built-in speaker is On (the default) or Off.

System Data Categories

The following categories, which are not user-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 microprocessor 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.