Dell Precision Workstation 450 User manual

www.dell.com | support.dell.com
Dell Precision™ Workstations 450 and 650
User’s Guide

This document describes the features and operation of your computer. This document is
stored on your computer hard drive. For information on other documentation included with
your computer, see "Finding Information for Your Computer."
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.
Abbreviations and Acronyms
For a complete list of abbreviations and acronyms, see the Glossary.
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.
© 2003 Dell Computer Corporation. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Computer Corporation is strictly
forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, Inspiron, Dell Precision, Dimension, OptiPlex, Dell OpenManage,
and Latitude are trademarks of Dell Computer Corporation; Intel, Pentium, and Celeron are registered trademarks and
Xeon is a trademark of Intel Corporation; Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows NT, and Windows are registered trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation; IBM and OS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation;
ENERGY STAR is a registered trademark of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As an ENERGY STAR partner,
Dell Computer Corporation has determined that this product meets the ENERGY STAR guidelines for energy efficiency.
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 Computer Corporation disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names
other than its own.
Models: WHL and WHM
April 2003 P/N 6T345 Rev. A03

Contents 5
Contents
1Information About Your Computer
Finding Information for Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Caring for Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2About Your Computer—Dell Precision 650
Front View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Front View of the Computer (Doors Open) . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Opening the Drive Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Back View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
System Board Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3About Your Computer—Dell Precision 450
Front View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Back View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
System Board Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

6Contents
4Advanced Features
LegacySelect Technology Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Manageability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Alert Standard Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Dell OpenManage IT Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Chassis Intrusion Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Padlock Ring and Security Cable Slot . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Password Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
System Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Setup Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Disabling a Forgotten Password and Setting a New Password . 45
System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Entering System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
System Setup Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Boot Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
System Setup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Jumper Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Power Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
TAPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Installing a TAPI-Compliant Modem Card . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Installing a TAPI Sound Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Hyper-Threading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
IEEE 1394 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
U320 SCSI Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Integrated Striping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Creating a Stripe Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

7Contents
Deleting a Stripe Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Activating a Stripe Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Troubleshooting the Stripe Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
5Removing and Installing Parts—Dell Precision 650
6Drives
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
IDE Drive Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Connecting Drive Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
SCSI Device Installation Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
SCSI ID Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Device Termination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
General Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
SCSI Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Removing a Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Installing a Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Removing a Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Installing a Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
CD/DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Removing a CD/DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Installing a CD/DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
7Microprocessor Airflow Shroud
Removing the Microprocessor Airflow Shroud . . . . . . . . . . 100
Installing the Microprocessor Airflow Shroud . . . . . . . . . . 101

8Contents
8Removing and Installing Parts—Dell Precision 450
9Opening the Computer Cover
10 Memory
Memory Installation Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Removing a Memory Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Adding a Memory Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
11 Cards
Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
12
Installing a Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Removing a Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
13 Drives
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
IDE Drive Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Connecting Drive Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
SCSI Device Installation Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
SCSI ID Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Device Termination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
General Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
SCSI Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Removing a Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Installing a Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

9Contents
Removing a Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Installing a Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
CD/DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Removing a CD/DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Installing a CD/DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
14 Microprocessor Airflow Shroud
Removing the Microprocessor Airflow Shroud . . . . . . . . . . 156
Installing the Microprocessor Airflow Shroud . . . . . . . . . . 157
15 Microprocessor
Installation Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Installing the Microprocessor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Removing the Microprocessor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
VRM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Installing a VRM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Removing a VRM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
16 Battery
17 Closing the Computer Cover
18 Solving Problems
Troubleshooting Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Battery Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Card Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

10 Contents
Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Floppy drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
CD drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Problems writing to a CD-RW drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
DVD drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Hard drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Dropped or Damaged Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
General Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
The computer stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
A program stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
A program crashes repeatedly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
A program is designed for an earlier Windows operating system 200
A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Other software problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Other technical problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
General hardware problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
IEEE 1394 Device Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Memory Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Microprocessor Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Mouse Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Network Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Serial or Parallel Device Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Contents 11
No sound from speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
No sound from headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
System Board Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Video and Monitor Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
If the screen is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
If the screen is difficult to read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
19 Advanced Troubleshooting
Diagnostic Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
System Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Diagnostic Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Beep Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
When to Use the Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Starting the Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
What Is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Identifying Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Reinstalling Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Using System Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Creating a Restore Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Restoring the Computer to an Earlier Operating State . . . . . 235
Undoing the Last System Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Resolving Software and Hardware Incompatibilities . . . . . . 237
Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Windows 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
20 Cleaning Your Computer
Before Cleaning Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

12 Contents
Computer, Keyboard, and Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
21 Ergonomic Computing Habits
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
22 Your Operating System
Reinstalling Microsoft®Windows®XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Before You Reinstall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Reinstalling Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Reinstalling Microsoft Windows 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Microsoft Windows XP Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Transferring Information to a New Computer . . . . . . . . . . 252
Switching to Classic View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Desktop Cleanup Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Internet Connection Firewall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Setting Up a Home and Office Network . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
User Accounts and Fast User Switching . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
23 Regulatory Notices
FCC Notices (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
IC Notice (Canada Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
CE Notice (European Union) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
ENERGY STAR®Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Simplified Chinese Class A Warning Notice (China Only) . . . . 263
EN 55022 Compliance (Czech Republic Only) . . . . . . . . . 264
VCCI Notice (Japan Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Contents 13
MIC Notice (Republic of Korea Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Polish Center for Testing and Certification Notice . . . . . . . 267
BSMI Notice (Taiwan Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
NOM Information (Mexico Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
24 Warranty and Return Policy
25 Getting Help
Technical Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Online Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
AutoTech Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Automated Order-Status Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Technical Support Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Problems With Your Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Product Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit . . . . . . . . . 278
Before You Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Contacting Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
26 Glossary

14 Contents

1
SECTION 2
Information About
Your Computer
Finding Information for Your Computer
Specifications
Caring for Your Computer

2Information About Your Computer
www.dell.com | support.dell.com
Finding Information for Your Computer
What Are You Looking For? Find it Here
• A diagnostic program for my computer
• Drivers for my computer
•MyUser’s Guide
• My device documentation
Drivers and Utilities CD (also know as the
ResourceCD)
You can use this CD to access documentation, reinstall drivers, or run
diagnostics tools.
• How to set up my computer
• How to care for my computer
• Troubleshooting information
• How to open my computer cover
• How to locate other documentation
Setup and Quick Reference Guide
• Express Service Code and Service Tag
Number
• Microsoft® Windows® License Label
Express Service Code and Product Key
Located on your computer.

Information About Your Computer 3
• System board connectors
• Location of system board components
System Information Label
Located on the inside cover of your computer.
• How to remove and replace parts
• Technical specifications
• How to configure system settings
• How to troubleshoot and solve problems
User’s Guide Icon (Microsoft Windows 2000)
Double-click the User’s Guides icon on your desktop.
Windows XP Help and Support Center
1Click the Start button, and click Help and Support.
2Click User’s Guide.
• Warranty Information System Information Guide
What Are You Looking For? Find it Here
or

4Information About Your Computer
www.dell.com | support.dell.com
• Latest drivers for my computer
• Answers to technical service and support
questions
• Online discussions with other users and
technical support
• Documentation for my computer including
the Service Manual
Dell Support Website — support.dell.com
The Dell Support website provides several online tools, including:
• Knowledge Base — hints, tips, and online courses
• Customer Forum — 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
• Service call status and support history
• Top technical issues for my computer
•Frequentlyaskedquestions
•Filedownloads
• Details on my computer’s configuration
• Service contract for my computer
Dell Premier Support Website —
premiersupport.dell.com
The Dell Premier Support website is customized for corporate,
government, and education customers. This site may not be available in
all regions.
What Are You Looking For? Find it Here

Information About Your Computer 5
• How to reinstall my operating system Operating System CD and Installation Guide
After you reinstall your operating system, use the Drivers and Utilities
CD to reinstall drivers for the devices that came with your computer.
• How to use Windows XP
• Documentation for my computer and
devices
Windows XP Help and Support Center
1Click the Start button, and then click Help and Support.
2Type a word or phrase that describes your problem, and then click
the arrow icon.
3Click the topic that describes your problem.
4Follow the instructions shown on the screen.
NOTE: For help using Windows 2000, click the Start button and click
Help.
What Are You Looking For? Find it Here
or

6Information About Your Computer
www.dell.com | support.dell.com
Specifications
Microprocessor
Microprocessor type Intel®Xeon™
Level 1 (L1) cache 8 KB
Level 2 (L2) cache 512-KB
Memory
Type PC2100 DDR
Memory connectors four
Memory capacities 256-, 512-MB, and 1-GB non-ECC or
ECC
Minimum memory 256 MB
Maximum memory 4 GB
BIOS address F0000h
Computer Information
Chip set Intel E7505
Data bus width 64 bits
Address bus width 32 bits
DMA channels 8
Interrupt levels 23
BIOS chip 4-Mb
Memory speed 266 MHz DDR (PC 2100 DDR)