System Setup Options: Dell Dimension XPS P90c/P100c/P120c/P133c/P150c/P166c
System Setup Options: Dell Dimension XPS
P90c/P100c/P120c/P133c/P150c/P166c
System Setup Screens | Time | Date | Diskette Drive A
and Diskette Drive B | IDE Drive | EIDE Devices | Base
Memory | Extended Memory | Reserved Memory | CPU Speed | Num Lock
| Keyboard Errors | System Password | Setup Password | Boot Sequence | Power Management | Video Power Down | Serial Port 1 and Serial
Port 2 | Parallel Port | Parallel Mode | Hard
Disk | Diskette | Speaker
| System Data Categories
Screen 1
Screen 2
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 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 identify
the type of diskette drives installed in the accessible drive
bays. The category names (but not the settings) switch places
whenever the setting for Drive A Location is changed.
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
The Drive 0, Drive 1, Drive 2, and Drive
3 subcategories under IDE Drive refer to the EIDE
hard-disk, CD ROM, and tape drives installed in the computer. The
options are:
These subcategories can be set to Auto to automatically
identify the type(s) of EIDE drives installed; alternatively,
select one of the User settings to manually set the
parameters for an EIDE hard-disk drive.
For most EIDE drives, the system provides an automatic
drive-type detect feature.
During the POST, the BIOS identifies the manufacturer,
capacity, and model number of each installed EIDE 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 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 Users option to manually
define a set of drive parameters and assign them to installed
drive.
At the appropriate drive category, type u to set the Type parameter to User.
For each of the following parameters, press the <Tab>
key to highlight the field and then 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.
 |
NOTE: The PRE and LZ fields are not
used with this system. |
SCSI Devices
Because SCSI hard-disk drives do not use the built in EIDE
interface, the IDE Drive category does not apply to SCSI
devices. Leave the settings at NONE.
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.
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 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.
Some expansion cards need to be addressed in base memory,
while others must be addressed in expanded memory.
The options are:
None (the default)
512K - 640K
15M - 16M
CPU Speed specifies the processor speed at which a 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 lets the user accommodate speed-sensitive
application programs.
The system can be toggled between the rated processor speed and the compatibility speed at any time while the system
is running. To change speeds in real mode, press and hold down the <Ctrl><Alt><\> keys. (For keyboards that do not
use American English, press <Ctrl><Alt><#>.)
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 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 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:
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.
The Setup Password category lets the user restrict
access to the computer's system setup program in the same way
that access to your system is restricted with the system password
feature. The options are:
See Assigning a Setup Password.
Boot Sequence
The Boot Sequence category can be set to Diskette
First (the default) 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.
Power Management allows the user to reduce system power
consumption for certain types of monitors and most EIDE hard-disk
drives. With Power Management enabled, these monitors and
drives automatically switch into low-power mode during periods of
system inactivity.
Power Management can be implemented at 3 levels options are Maximum, Regular, and Minimum.
This category can also be set to Disabled (the default).
|
NOTE: The different levels apply to
the monitor only; hard-disk drive operation is the same
for all 3 levels. |
The following table shows monitor and had-disk drive power
time-out periods.
| Power Management Setting |
EIDE Drives Spindown Time-outs |
Monitor Standby Time-outs |
| Maximum |
20 min |
10 min |
| Regular |
20 min |
20 min |
| Minimum |
20 min |
60 min |
Saving Monitor Power
If using a VESA� DPMS-compliant monitor, enabling Power
Management reduces monitor power consumption during periods
of keyboard and mouse inactivity.
 |
CAUTION: Verify that a
DPMS-compliant monitor is being used before enabling this
feature or the monitor may be damaged. |
By setting Power Management to Maximum, Regular,
or Minimum, the user can set a predefined time-out period
after which the monitor will enter power-saving mode.
Before using the Power Management category to set
time-outs for the monitor, check the following:
device=c:\dos\power.exe
If the system includes the Dell�-installed Microsoft� Windows� operating system, the system already is
configured to use all power management features while running Windows.
Saving EIDE Hard-Disk Drive Power
For EIDE hard-disk drives that support the spindown power
management feature, enabling the Power Management feature
at any level causes EIDE hard-disk drives to switch to low-power
mode after about 20 minutes of system inactivity.
|
NOTE: Not all EIDE hard-disk drives
support this feature. |
In the low-power mode, the disks inside the drive stop
spinning. They remain idle until the next drive access, which
causes them to start spinning again.
When Power Management is set to Disabled, the
disks spin constantly as long as the system is turned on.
Video Power Down selects the amount of monitor power
saved when the Power Management category is enabled and
the system has entered a time-out period. When the Power
Management category is Disabled, this category is
automatically set to Disabled.
The higher the percentage of monitor power saved, the longer
the monitor takes to return to full power when the time-out
period ends. Refer to the following chart for the approximate
amount of monitor power saved for each of the 3 Video Power
Down options.
| Option |
Power Saved |
| Standby |
20% |
| Suspend |
90% |
| Sleep |
95% |
Serial Port 1 and Serial Port 2 configure the
system's built-in serial ports. These categories can be set 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 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.
Parallel Port configures the system's built-in parallel
port. This category can be set to 378H (IRQ 7), 278H
(IRQ5), or 3BC8H (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 controls the mode used by the system's
built-in parallel port. The options are:
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 PCI
and ISA EIDE interfaces.
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 bootable
hard-disk drive controller card installed in an expansion card.
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 both of the built-in EIDE
interfaces.
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.
Speaker determines whether the on-board speaker is On
(the default) or Off. A change to this category
takes effect immediately; rebooting is not required.
|
NOTE: The on-board speaker will work
only if the SPKR
jumper is in the enabled position. |
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.
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.
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