Dell Dimension 8400 Series User manual

www.dell.com | support.dell.com
Dell™ Dimension™ 8400
floppy drive light*
hard drive light
power button
Service Tag
headphone connector
USB 2.0
connectors (2)
CD or DVD drive eject button
floppy drive eject button*
*On computers with a
floppy drive.
voltage selection switch
power connector parallel connector
keyboard connector
USB 2.0 connectors (6)
line-out connector
microphone connector
line-in connector
mouse connector
VGA video connector
serial connector
network adapter
optional sound-card connectors**
diagnostic lights
surround connector
center/LFE connector
TV-OUT connector**
DVI connector
PCI card (3), PCI
Express x1 card (1),
PCI Express x16
card (1) slots
**Not present on all computers.

Notes, Notices, and Cautions
NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer.
NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the
problem.
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.
If you purchased a Dell™ n Series computer, any references in this document to Microsoft
®
Windows
®
operating systems are not applicable.
____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2004 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, Inspiron, Dell Precision, Dimension, OptiPlex, Latitude, PowerEdge, PowerVault,
PowerApp, DellNet, PowerConnect, and Axim are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation;
Microsoft, Windows, and Outlook are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products.
Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.
Model DHM
October 2004 P/N U7035 Rev. A01

Contents 3
Contents
Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1 Setting Up and Using Your Computer
Setting Up a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Printer Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Connecting a USB Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Connecting a Parallel Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Setting Up Your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Playing CDs or DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Adjusting the Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Adjusting the Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Copying CDs and DVDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
How to Copy a CD or DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Using Blank CD-Rs and CD-RWs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Helpful Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Connecting Two Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Connecting Two Monitors With VGA Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Connecting One Monitor With a VGA connector
and One Monitor With a DVI Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Connecting a TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Changing the Display Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
About Your RAID Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
RAID Level 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
RAID Level 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Configuring Your Computer for RAID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Configuring for RAID Using the Intel(R) Option ROM Utility. . . . . . . . 24
Configuring for RAID Using the Intel(R) Application Accelerator . . . . . 26
Setting Up a Home and Office Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Connecting to a Network Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Network Setup Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

4Contents
Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Standby Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Hibernate Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Power Options Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Hyper-Threading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2 Solving Problems
Troubleshooting Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Battery Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Card Fan Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
CD and DVD drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Hard drive problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
IEEE 1394 Device Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Lockups and Software Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
The computer does not start up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
The computer stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
A program stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
A program crashes repeatedly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
A program is designed for an earlier Windows operating system. . . . . 41
A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Other software problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Memory Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Mouse Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Network Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Printer Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Contents 5
Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
No sound from speakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
No sound from headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Video and Monitor Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
If the screen is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
If the screen is difficult to read. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3 Advanced Troubleshooting
Diagnostic Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Dell Diagnostics Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
What Is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Identifying Drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Reinstalling Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Restoring Your Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Using Microsoft Windows XP System Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Using Dell PC Restore by Symantec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Resolving Software and Hardware Incompatibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
4 Removing and Installing Parts
Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Turning Off Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Before Working Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Front View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Back View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Front-Panel Door and Hinge Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Reattaching the Hinge Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Reattaching the Front Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Opening the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

6Contents
Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
System Board Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
DDR2 Memory Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Addressing Memory With 4-GB Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Installing Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Removing Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
PCI Cards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
PCI Express Cards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Card Fan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
General Installation Guidelines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Connecting Drive Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Hard Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Removing a Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Installing a Hard Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Adding a Second Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Front-Panel Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Removing a Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Installing a Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
CD/DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Removing a CD/DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Installing a CD/DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Replacing the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Closing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Contents 7
5 Appendix
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Entering System Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
System Setup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Boot Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Clearing Forgotten Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Clearing CMOS Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Cleaning Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Computer, Keyboard, and Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Dell Technical Support Policy (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Definition of "Dell-Installed" Software and Peripherals . . . . . . . . 123
Definition of "Third-Party" Software and Peripherals . . . . . . . . . 123
FCC Notices (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Class A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Class B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
FCC Identification Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Contacting Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

8Contents

Finding Information 9
Finding Information
What Are You Looking For? Find it Here
• Warranty information
• Safety instructions
• Regulatory information
• Ergonomics information
• End User License Agreement
Dell™ Product Information Guide
• How to set up my computer Setup Diagram

10 Finding Information
www.dell.com | support.dell.com
• Service Tag and Express Service Code
• Microsoft Windows License Label
Service Tag and Microsoft Windows License
These labels are located on your computer.
• Use the Service Tag to
identify your computer
when you use
support.dell.com or
contact technical
support.
• Enter the Express Service Code to direct your call when
contacting technical support. The Express Service Code
is not available in all countries.
• Latest drivers for my computer
• Answers to technical service and support questions
• Online discussions with other users and technical
support
• Documentation for my computer
Dell Support Website — support.dell.com
NOTE: Select your region to view the appropriate support
site.
The Dell Support website provides several online tools,
including:
• Solutions — Troubleshooting hints and tips, articles
from technicians, and online courses
• Community — Online discussion with other Dell
customers
• Upgrades — Upgrade information for components, such
as memory, the hard drive, and the operating system
• Customer Care — Contact information, order status,
warranty, and repair information
• Downloads — Drivers, patches, and software updates
• Reference — Computer documentation, product
specifications, and white papers
• How to use Windows XP
• Documentation for my computer
• Documentation for devices (such as a modem)
Windows Help and Support Center
1 Click the Start button and click Help and Support .
2 Type a word or phrase that describes your problem and
click the arrow icon.
3 Click the topic that describes your problem.
4 Follow the instructions on the screen.
What Are You Looking For? Find it Here