Dell Precision YT583 User manual

www.dell.com | support.dell.com
Dell Precision™ T7400 User’s Guide
Model DCDO

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.
____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2007 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, and Dell OpenManage
are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Intel and Xeon are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation; Microsoft,
Windows,and Windows Vista are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation
in the United States and/or other countries.
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 DCDO
August 2007 P/N YT583 Rev. A00

Contents 3
Contents
1 Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2 About Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Front View of the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Back View of the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Back Panel Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Inside View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
System Board Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3 Advanced Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
LegacySelect Technology Control . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Manageability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Alert Standard Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Dell OpenManage™ IT Assistant . . . . . . . . . 37
Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation . . . . . 37
Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
About RAID Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
RAID Level 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
RAID Level 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

4Contents
RAID Level 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
RAID Level 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Configuring Your Computer for RAID . . . . . . . . 44
RAID Configuration Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Entering the RAID Configuration Utility . . . . . . 44
Navigating Within the Configuration Utility . . . . 44
RAID Configuration and Management . . . . . . . . . 44
Exit Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Performing Configuration Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Creating a RAID Level 0 Configuration . . . . . . . 45
Creating a RAID Level 1 Configuration . . . . . . . 46
Creating a Second RAID Volume . . . . . . . . . . 47
Viewing RAID Volume Properties . . . . . . . . . 47
Synchronizing a RAID Volume (Virtual Disk) . . . . 48
Activating a RAID Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Deleting a RAID Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Replacing and Rebuilding a Degraded RAID Volume 49
4 Setting Up Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Installing Your Computer in an Enclosure . . . . . . . 51
Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Setting Up Your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . 54
Transferring Information to a New Computer . . . . . . 55
Microsoft®Windows®XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Microsoft Windows Vista™ . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Power Protection Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Surge Protectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Line Conditioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Contents 5
Uninterruptible Power Supplies . . . . . . . . . . 60
5 Securing Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Chassis Intrusion Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Removing the Chassis Intrusion Switch . . . . . . 61
Replacing the Chassis Intrusion Switch . . . . . . 62
Resetting the Chassis Intrusion Detector . . . . . 62
Security Cable Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
About Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Using a Primary (or System) Password . . . . . . 65
Using an Administrator Password . . . . . . . . . 68
Disabling a Forgotten Password and Setting a New Password
70
Trusted Platform Module (TPM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Enabling the TPM Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Security Management Software . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Activating the Security Management Software . . 72
Using the Security Management Software . . . . 72
Computer Tracking Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
If Your Computer Is Lost or Stolen . . . . . . . . . . . 73
6 System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Entering System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
System Setup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Boot Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

6Contents
Option Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Selecting the Boot Device for the Current Boot . . 84
Changing Boot Sequence for Future Boots . . . . 85
Booting to a USB Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
7 Clearing Forgotten Passwords . . . . . . . . 87
Clearing CMOS Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Flashing the BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
8 Cleaning Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Computer, Keyboard, and Monitor . . . . . . . . . 91
Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
9 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Solving Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Battery Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
E-Mail and Internet Problems . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Lockups and Software Problems . . . . . . . . . . 96
Memory Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Mouse Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Network Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Sound Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Contents 7
10 Troubleshooting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Diagnostic Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Diagnostic Light Codes Before POST . . . . . . . 105
Diagnostic Light Codes During POST . . . . . . . 108
Power Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Beep Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
When to Use the Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . 123
Starting the Dell Diagnostics From Your Hard Drive 124
Starting the Dell Diagnostics From the Drivers and Utilities Media
124
Dell Diagnostics Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
11 Reinstalling Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
What Is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Identifying Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities . . . . . . . . . . 130
Troubleshooting Software and Hardware Problems in the Microsoft®
Windows®XP and Microsoft Windows Vista™ Operating Systems
131
Restoring Your Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Using Microsoft Windows System Restore . . . . 132
Using Dell™ PC Restore and Dell Factory Image Restore 134
Using the Operating System Disc . . . . . . . . . 137

8Contents
12 Adding and Replacing Parts . . . . . . . . . 139
Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Turning Off Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Before Working Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . 140
Removing the Computer Cover and Front Panel . . . . 141
Removing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Removing the Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Replacing the Front Panel and Computer Cover . . . . 144
Replacing the Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Replacing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . 145
I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
I/O-Panel Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Removing the I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Replacing the I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Removing the Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Installing the Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
DC Connector Pin Assignments . . . . . . . . . . 160
Replacing the Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
About the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Removing the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Replacing the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Fully Buffered DIMM (FBD) Memory Overview . . 173
Memory Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Contents 9
Addressing Memory With 4-GB or Greater Configurations (32-bit
Operating Systems Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Removing Memory Without Memory Riser Cards . 175
Memory Installation (With Optional Memory Riser Cards) 179
Installing Memory (With Optional Memory Riser Cards) 180
Removing Memory (With Optional Memory Riser Cards) 187
Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Expansion Card Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Installing an Expansion Card . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Removing an Expansion Card . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Removing a PCI Express Graphics Card from an SLI Configuration
208
Installing PCI Express Graphics Cards in a Dual Configuration
215
Removing the Optional Graphics Riser Card . . . . 223
Replacing the Optional Graphics Riser Card . . . . 225
Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
General Drive Installation Guidelines . . . . . . . 227
Controller Card Data Cable Connectors . . . . . . 230
Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Removing a Hard Drive (Hard Drive Bays 1-4) . . . 230
Installing a Hard Drive (Hard Drive Bays 1-4) . . . 235
Removing a Fifth SATA Hard Drive (Optional) . . . 239
Installing a Fifth SATA Hard Drive (Optional) . . . 242
Drive Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Removing a Drive-Panel Insert . . . . . . . . . . 247
Replacing a Drive-Panel Insert . . . . . . . . . . 249
Replacing the Drive Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Installing a Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Media Card Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Installing a Media Card Reader . . . . . . . . . . 261
Optical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

10 Contents
System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Removing the System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Replacing the System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
13 Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Obtaining Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Technical Support and Customer Service . . . . . 282
Online Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
AutoTech Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Automated Order-Status Service . . . . . . . . . 283
Problems With Your Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Product Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit . . . . . 284
Before You Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Contacting Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
14 Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
FCC Notice (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
FCC Class B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Glossary 291

Contents 11

12 Contents

Finding Information 13
1
Finding Information
NOTE: Some features or media may be optional and may not ship with your
computer. Some features or media may not be available in certain countries.
NOTE: Additional information may ship with your computer.

14 Finding Information
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here
• A diagnostic program for my computer
• Drivers for my computer
• Desktop System Software (DSS)
Drivers and Utilities Disc
Documentation and drivers are already
installed on your computer. You can use
the Drivers and Utilities disc to reinstall
drivers (see "Reinstalling Drivers and
Utilities" on page 130), or to run the Dell
Diagnostics (see "Dell Diagnostics" on
page 123).
Documentation and drivers are already
installed on your computer. You can use
the Drivers and Utilities disc to reinstall
drivers or to access your documentation.
Readme files may be included on your
Drivers and Utilities disc to provide last-
minute updates about technical changes
to your computer or advanced technical-
reference material for technicians or
experienced users.
NOTE: Drivers and documentation updates
can be found at support.dell.com.

Finding Information 15
• How to set up my computer
• How to care for my computer
• Basic troubleshooting information
• How to run the Dell Diagnostics
• How to set up a printer
• How to open my computer
Quick Reference Guide
NOTE: This document may be optional and
may not ship with your computer.
NOTE: This document is available as a PDF
at support.dell.com.
• Warranty information
•TermsandConditions (U.S. only)
•Safetyinstructions
• Regulatory information
• Ergonomics information
• End User License Agreement
Dell™ Product Information Guide
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

16 Finding Information
• 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 support.
• Enter the Express Service Code to direct
your call when contacting support.
NOTE: As an increased security measure,
the newly designed Microsoft Windows
license label incorporates a missing portion
or "hole" to discourage removal of the label.
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

Finding Information 17
• Solutions — Troubleshooting hints and
tips, articles from technicians, and
online courses, frequently asked
questions
• 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,
service call and order status, warranty,
and repair information
• Service and support — Service call
status and support history, service
contract, online discussions with
technical support
• Dell Technical Update Service —
Proactive e-mail notification of software
and hardware updates for your computer
• Reference — Computer documentation,
details on my computer configuration,
product specifications, and white papers
• Downloads — Certified drivers, patches,
and software updates
Dell Support Website — support.dell.com
NOTE: Select your region or business
segment to view the appropriate support
site.
• Desktop System Software (DSS) — If
you reinstall the operating system for
your computer, you should also reinstall
the DSS utility. DSS provides critical
updates for your operating system and
support for processors, optical drives,
USB devices, and so on. DSS is
necessary for correct operation of your
Dell computer. The software
automatically detects your computer
and operating system and installs the
updates appropriate for your
configuration.
To download Desktop System Software:
1 Go to support.dell.com , select your
region or business segment, and enter
your Service Tag.
2 Select Drivers & Downloads and click
Go .
3 Click your operating system and search
for the keyword
Desktop System
Software
.
NOTE: The support.dell.com user interface
may vary depending on your selections.
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

18 Finding Information
• How to use Microsoft Windows Vista™
• How to work with programs and files
• How to personalize my desktop
Windows Help and Support
1 Click the Windows Vista Start button
, and then click
Help and Support .
2 In Search Help , type a word or phrase
that describes your problem, and then
press <Enter> or click the magnifying
glass.
3 Click the topic that describes your
problem.
4 Follow the instructions on the screen.
• How to reinstall my operating system Operating System Disc
NOTE: The Operating System disc may be
optional and may not ship with your
computer.
The operating system is already installed
on your computer. To reinstall your
operating system, use the Operating
System disc (see "Reinstalling Windows
XP or Windows Vista" on page 137).
After you reinstall your operating system,
use the Drivers and Utilities disc to
reinstall drivers for the devices that came
with your computer.
Your operating system product key label is
located on your computer.
NOTE: The color of your disc varies based
on the operating system you ordered.
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

Finding Information 19
• How to use Linux
• E-mail discussions with users of Dell
Precision™ products and the Linux
operating system
• Additional information regarding Linux
and my Dell Precision computer
Dell Supported Linux Sites
• Linux.dell.com
• Lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-
precision
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

20 Finding Information