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Using the System Setup Program: Dell™ PowerEdge™ 1300 Service Manual

Overview • Entering the System Setup Program • System Setup Screens

Overview

This file describes the System Setup program, which is used to change the system configuration information stored in NVRAM on the system board.  For in-depth information about the System Setup program, refer to the Dell PowerEdge 1300 Systems User's Guide.

CAUTION: Whenever you make changes to the System Setup program or add, reposition, or remove ISA expansion cards, add or remove memory, 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 SCSI host adapter). See "Configuring ISA and PCI Expansion Cards" in the "Using the Resource Configuration Utility" section in the User's Guide for more information about how PCI devices are configured based on settings in the RCU.

Entering the System Setup Program 

Enter the System Setup program by performing the following steps:

  1. Turn on (or reboot) your system.
  2. Press <F2> immediately after you see the following message:
    Press <F2> for System Setup

    3. If you wait too long and your operating system begins to load into memory, let the system complete the load operation; then shut down the system and try again.
NOTE: To ensure an orderly system shutdown, consult the documentation that accompanied your operating system.

System Setup Screens

Figure 1, System Setup Screens, shows sample System Setup screens.   The actual contents of your setup screens may differ slightly from the example shown, depending on the characteristics of your PowerEdge 1300.  Table 1, System Setup Options, briefly describes each setup option.

Figure 1. System Setup Screens

sysetup1.gif (7689 bytes)

sysetup2.gif (6884 bytes)

 

Table 1. System Setup Options

Option Function
Time Resets the time on the computer's internal clock.
Date Resets the date on the computer's internal calendar.
Diskette Drive A  Identifies the type of diskette drive installed in your computer.
IDE Drives:

Primary (Drives 0,1);
Secondary (Drives 0,1)

 Identifies drives attached to the IDE1 and IDE2 connectors on the system board.  Each EIDE connector supports two EIDE drives (Drive 0 and Drive 1).

In the Primary and the Secondary drive sections, the Drive 0 and Drive 1 options identify the type of EIDE hard-disk drives installed in the computer.   Options include:

  • Auto (auto detect drive type/characteristics)
  • None (no disk installed)
  • Usr1 or Usr2 (user defined drive parameters)
  • A specific drive-type number (retrieve drive characteristics from a table in BIOS)
note.gif (515 bytes) NOTES: If you do not have any IDE/EIDE hard-disks or CD-ROMs installed in your system, specify None as the Type setting for the both Drive 0 and Drive 1 in the Primary and Secondary IDE drive sections in System Setup.

If you have the optional EIDE CD-ROM installed, specify None in the Drive 0 and Drive 1 Type setting for the Primary IDE drive section and specify Auto for the Drive 0 Secondary IDE drive Type setting. Also, ensure the optional EIDE CD-ROM is connected to the IDE2 connector on the system board.

Operating systems that bypass the system BIOS may not obtain optimum hard-disk drive performance.
Reserved Memory Designates a region of system board memory that can be supplied by an expansion card (known as "setting a memory hole").  Do not enable the reserved memory feature unless an expansion card that requires special addressing is installed.
CPU Speed Indicates the processor speed at which your system boots.
Num Lock Determines whether system boots with the <Num Lock> mode activated on keyboards (does not apply to 84-key keyboards).
Reset Button Enables and disables the reset button.
Video DAC Snoop Controls how VGA and graphics devices on the PCI or AGP bus respond to palette register accesses.
  • On — forces VGA and graphics devices to snoop VGA palette register accesses and forward them to the ISA bus.
  • Off — forces VGA and graphics devices to respond positively to palette register accesses.
Processor 1
Processor 2		 Displays the version or stepping number of each processor slot in the system.
Keyboard Errors Enables or disables the reporting of keyboard errors during POST.
System Password Displays the current status of the password security feature.
Password Status Prevents the system password from being changed or disabled at system start-up.
Boot Sequence Determines whether the system boots from diskette (if present), hard-disk, or CD-ROM.  Press <Ctrl> and the right-arrow key to select the order.
Device List Provides a list of available boot devices and boot device order.
Setup Password Restricts access to the setup program.  Overrides system password.
Auto Power On Turns system on automatically at preset days/times.  If the system is connected to a power strip and the power strip is turned off, Auto Power On cannot function.
Power Management Switches an energy-conserving monitor (DPMS) and most EIDE drives to low power mode during periods of inactivity.
caution.gif (709 bytes) CAUTION: Check monitor documentation to make sure monitor is a DPMS-compliant monitor.  Enabling Power Management on non-DPMS monitors may damage the monitor.
note.gif (515 bytes) NOTE: Not all EIDE drives support this feature.  Enabling Power Management on drives that do not support it may cause the drive to become inoperable until the system is restarted and the Power Management feature is disabled.
Chassis Intrusion Displays the status of the chassis intrusion monitor at system start-up.  To clear Detected status, use the right- or left-arrow key to select Reset.
Mouse Enables or disables the built-in PS/2-compatible mouse port.  Disabling the mouse allows an expansion card to use IRQ 12.
Serial Port 1
Serial Port 2		 Configures the built-in serial ports.  Options are Auto (the default) to automatically configure a port, a particular designation (COM1 or COM3 for Serial Port 1; COM2 or COM4 for Serial Port 2), or Off (disabled).
Parallel Port Configures the built-in parallel port.  Default address is 378h.   Alternate addresses are 278h or 3BCh.  Set to Off to disable the parallel port.
note.gif (515 bytes) NOTE: Do not set Parallel Port to 278h if you have an Extended Capabilities Port (ECP) device connected to the port.
Parallel Mode Controls whether the built-in parallel port acts as an AT-compatible (unidirectional) or PS/2-compatible (bi-directional) port.  Refer to the documentation that came with the device to determine correct setting.
IDE Controller Controls integrated IDE drive controller operation.  If IDE Controller is set to Auto and the system detects a drive controller card installed, the integrated IDE controller is disabled.  If a drive controller card is not detected, the integrated IDE controller is enabled.  When IDE Controller is set to Off, the integrated IDE controller is always disabled.
Diskette

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

Auto (the default) turns off the built-in diskette drive controller (when necessary) to accommodate a controller card installed in an expansion slot.

Write Protect prevents anything from being written to diskette drives using the system's built-in diskette drive controller.  Read access is enabled.  When Write Protect is selected,  Auto is also selected.

Off turns off the built-in diskette controller.
Speaker Turns the built-in speaker On or Off.  A reboot is needed for a change to take effect.
SCSI Turns the integrated SCSI controller On (default) or Off.
System Data These fields display information about the system.  These fields are not selectable.

Microprocessor

 Displays type and speed of the installed microprocessor(s).

Level 2 Cache

 Displays the size of the integrated cache (512 KB).

System Memory

 Displays the amount of installed and detected memory, except for memory on EMS expansion cards.

Video Memory

 Displays the amount of installed and detected video memory.

Service Tag

 Displays the 5-character service tag number programmed into NVRAM.

Asset Tag

 Displays the programmable asset tag number (if assigned). 

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