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Using the Resource Configuration Utility
The Resource Configuration Utility (RCU) is used to tell the system
what expansion cards are installed and which expansion slots they occupy. With this
information, the system automatically configures Plug and Play expansion cards and PCI
expansion cards. Before your system was shipped from Dell™, a technician used the RCU to
enter the correct information for the expansion cards initially installed in your
computer.
The RCU also monitors the resources
required by any installed Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) expansion card. After
installing or moving a PCI expansion card, you should run the RCU to update the system's
database of available system resources stored in nonvolatile random-access memory (NVRAM).
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CAUTION:
Whenever you make changes to the System Setup program
or change settings for built-in devices, you must run the RCU, make any necessary changes,
and save the system configuration information. Failure to do so may cause resource
conflicts between PCI devices (such as PCI expansion cards, the built-in video controller,
or the built-in small computer system interface [SCSI] host adapter). See Configuring PCI Expansion Cards for more
information about how PCI devices are configured based on settings in the RCU. |
The RCU is PCI-aware and can be used to
configure PCI expansion cards. Configuration information for PCI expansion cards is
contained within the card, so no additional .cfg file is required. You should run the RCU
after installing or moving a PCI expansion card to keep the system's database of available
resources accurate.
The RCU is
included on the Dell Server Assistant CD shipped with your system.
You can run the RCU directly from the CD
or from a diskette that you create using the CD's main menu. Dell recommends that you run
the RCU from a diskette because it is not compatible with all operating systems. Also,
using a diskette to run the utility allows you to copy any system configuration changes to
the diskette for safekeeping. See Using the Dell Server Assistant
CD, for instructions on creating an RCU diskette.
PCI expansion cards do not require a
configuration file. The PCI configuration utility in read-only memory (ROM) automatically
uses the information maintained by the RCU to assign resources for PCI expansion cards.
After the RCU has configured all your
Plug and Play and PCI expansion cards, you can use the utility to lock the configuration
of your Plug and Play and PCI expansion cards so that they are always assigned the same
resources. See Locking and Unlocking Cards for details.
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NOTE: If your system detects
a card configuration problem during operation, you receive a warning message directing you
to run the RCU to correct the problem. |
The RCU uses menus to guide you through
the configuration process. The menus and their options are accessed through keyboard
commands.
To make a menu selection, use the up- or
down-arrow key to highlight the desired option, and then press <Enter>. In the Help
menu or Advanced menu, you can also select an option by pressing the key that corresponds
to the highlighted letter in the selection list.
To scroll up or down a screen, press the
<Page Up> or <Page Down> key, respectively.
The RCU has online instructions for each
of its procedures. If you need help at any time, press <F1> to see a help screen
that offers more details about the task you are doing.
If you are running the RCU from your
hard-disk drive, remove any terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) programs from memory before
starting the utility. These programs take up space in system memory even when they are not
running, thus reducing the amount of memory available to the RCU. See the documentation
that accompanied these programs for instructions on removing them from memory.
If you start the utility and there is
not enough memory to run it, a message is displayed. If you receive such a message, run
the utility from a diskette.
Follow these steps the first time you
use the RCU.
To run the program from a diskette,
insert into drive A the RCU diskette that you created from the Dell Server Assistant CD.
Then either turn on your computer or reboot it by pressing
<Ctrl><Alt><Del>.
1. To run the program from your
hard-disk drive, switch to the c:\rcu subdirectory, type sd
at the operating system prompt, and press <Enter>.
To run the program from the Dell Server
Assistant CD, restart the system from the CD. Select Configure System and then select
Run RCU from the CD's main menu.
2. When the Welcome screen appears,
read the information on the screen and press <Enter>.
The Main Menu appears as follows:
Main Menu
Learn about configuring your
computer
Configure computer
Set date
Set time
Maintain resource configuration diskette
Exit from this utility
The first option in the menu is already
highlighted.
3. Press <Enter> to read the
online overview of the RCU.
After reading the online overview, you are
ready to use the program to configure your computer for any PCI expansion cards currently
installed in your computer's expansion slots.
The following four sections describe
each of the menu options in the Main Menu and the submenus for those options.
The Learn About Configuring Your
Computer option presents an overview of the configuration process. As you finish reading a
screen, press <Enter> to view the next screen. Press <F10> to return to the
Main Menu.
The Configure Computer option takes you
through the configuration process step by step. Use this option the first time you
configure your system and every time you change your hardware configuration through the
RCU.
When you select Configure Computer, the
following menu appears on the screen:
Steps in configuring your computer
Step 1: Important Resource Configuration Information
Step 2: Add or remove boards
Step 3: View or edit details
Step 4: Examine switches or print report
Step 5: Save and exit
Step 1: Important Resource
Configuration Information
The Step 1: Important Resource
Configuration Information option uses seven information screens to explain the
configuration process. After reading the first screen, press <Enter> to see the next
one. When you have finished reading all seven screens, press <Esc> to return to the
Steps in Configuring Your Computer menu.
To review the information screens at any
time while you are in the RCU, press <F1> and select Resource Configuration from the
Help menu.
Step 2: Add or Remove Boards
This step is not used on PCI-only
systems.
Step 3: View or Edit Details
The RCU
lets you set a variety of system options through the .sci file. Through this file, you can
notify the system of changes to your hardware and memory configuration, manage
input/output (I/O) ports, and set other system operating parameters.
Some of the categories do not offer
options, but reflect installed hardware detected by the system. These items are displayed
for your information only; you cannot change them through the utility.
Display the list of system board options
as follows:
1. Start the RCU as described in Starting the Resource Configuration Utility.
2. At the Main Menu, select Configure
Computer.
3. At the Steps in Configuring Your
Computer menu, select Step 3: View or Edit Details.
A list of system board options appears on
the screen. Figure 1 shows settings typical for your system.
NOTE: Whenever you add an expansion card to the computer, its
presence is reflected by changes to the System Board Options screen.
To select a category on the list of
system board options, press the up- or down-arrow key to highlight the category and press
<Enter>. A pop-up menu appears, listing the options for that category. To select an
option, press the up- or down-arrow key to highlight the option and press <Enter>.
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NOTES:
Several system board categories allow you to edit such resources as memory address, I/O
ports, interrupt requests (IRQ), and direct memory access (DMA) channels. It may be
necessary to edit these resources to resolve a configuration conflict. To view the
resource screen for any device, highlight the option and press <F6>.
The edit resources feature is intended for users who are technically knowledgeable. Do not
change resource settings from their defaults if you do not understand how such a change
will affect system performance.
While in the Step 3: View or Edit Details menu, you can press <F7> to enter the
Advanced menu. See Advanced Menu for more information.
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When you have finished making changes,
save the new system configuration information and exit the utility as follows:
1. Press <F10>, and select Step
5: Save and Exit from the Steps in Configuring Your Computer menu.
2. Select Save the Configuration and
Restart the Computer from the menu that appears.
Figure 1.
View or Edit Details Screen (Example)
Step 4: Examine Switches or Print Report
The Step 3: Examine Switches or Print
Report option lists the required switch and jumper settings for each expansion card in
your computer. To view the settings, highlight the card and press <Enter>. Press
<F7> to make a copy of or print the settings. If your computer is attached to a
printer, you can print out the information or copy it to a file.
Step
5: Save and Exit
The Step 4: Save and Exit option allows
you to save or cancel the configuration changes you have made. When you select this
option, follow the directions on the menu that appears.
If you save your changes, the utility
saves the new configuration in your system's NVRAM and in a file on your RCU diskette.
Then, the utility automatically reboots your system.
If you cancel your changes, you can
remain in the utility to make other changes or exit the utility without saving any
changes.
Using the Maintain System Configuration
Diskette option, you can create a backup copy of the .sci file or use a previously saved
.sci file to reconfigure your system or to identically configure many other systems. You
can also delete .sci files from your RCU diskette or the configuration diskette(s) for any
hardware option.
The Exit From This Utility option allows
you to exit from the RCU and reboot your computer system.
The Advanced menu lets you lock or
unlock cards in a configuration, view detailed information about the system, and maintain .sci
files.
To see the Advanced menu, press
<F7> while in the Step 3: View or Edit Details menu. The following menu appears:
Advanced menu
Lock/unlock boards
View additional system information menu
Set verification mode menu
Maintain SCI files menu
Highlight the menu category you want,
and press <Enter>. Then follow the online instructions.
The following subsections describe each
category.
When you lock an expansion card, the RCU
cannot change the resources allocated to that card. Unlocking the card allows the system
to change the resources automatically as new cards are added. The default for the
Lock/Unlock Boards category is Unlocked. Dell recommends that you keep your cards unlocked
so that the RCU can do its job properly.
NOTE: If changes are made to the hardware or System Setup configuration,
locks may not be maintained.
The RCU contains detailed information
about the system board and the used and available resources. The options for the View
Additional System Information Menu category are:
- Board Specifications
- System Specifications
- Used Resources
- Available Resources
The Used Resources and Available
Resources options contain detailed information about resources such as IRQs, DMA channels,
and I/O ports, which may be useful if you need to resolve a resource conflict.
The settings for the Set Verification
Mode Menu category are Automatic (the default) and Manual. When this category is set to
Automatic, the RCU automatically checks for resource conflicts and tries to resolve them.
Unless you are technically knowledgeable, leave this category set to Automatic.
Each time you use the RCU to configure
your system, the system configuration information is saved in a .sci file and in system
memory. You should save the system configuration information to a backup file that can be
used to restore the information if the .sci file is damaged or lost. The options for the
Maintain SCI Files Menu category are Open (the default) and Save As.
The Open option creates a backup file
that overwrites the existing configuration. The Save As option allows you to select the
filename under which you want the .sci file saved.
The RCU automatically resolves resource
conflicts between two PCI expansion cards. It is extremely unusual for the RCU to fail in
resolving a resource conflict between two PCI expansion cards. If the RCU fails to resolve
the conflict, see chapter 11 "Getting Help," in your Installation and
Troubleshooting Guide for information on obtaining technical assistance. If the Set
Verification Mode menu category is set to Automatic, the RCU tries to resolve the
conflict. If the utility cannot resolve the conflict, some devices installed in the system
are deactivated and the following message is displayed:
Caution
The last board added caused an
un-resolvable conflict in your computer's configuration. This board has a 'De-activated'
status. You must remove this board or the one(s) it is in conflict with in order to save a
correct configuration.
If the caution message appears, press
<Enter> to display a list of all cards installed in your computer. The deactivated
card is enclosed by < > symbols.
You can remove the card(s) with which it
is in conflict, or change the resources on one or more cards.
If you remove the card(s) with which the
new card is in conflict, or if you want to change the resources of one or more cards, use
the procedure described in the next subsection.
1. Press <F7> in the Step 3:
View or Edit Details menu (from the Steps in Configuring Your Computer menu).
2. Select Lock/Unlock Boards and press
<Enter>.
3. Select the card(s) you want to
unlock, and press <Enter>.
4. Press <F10> to exit the
Advanced menu.
