Dell XPS 720 H2C User manual

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Dell™XPS™720H2COwner'sManual
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.
©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, XPS, H2C, Inspiron, Dell Precision, Dimension, OptiPlex, Latitude, PowerEdge, PowerVault, PowerApp, TravelLite, Strike Zone, and Dell
OpenManage are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Intel, Pentium,Celeron, and Intel Core 2 Extreme are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation; Microsoft, Windows,
Windows Vista, and the Windows Vista Start button are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Bluetooth is a
registered trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and is used by Dell under license.
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
April 2007 P/N KP688 Rev. A00
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
Finding Information
Setting Up and Using Your Computer
Optimizing for Greater Performance
Dell™QuickSet
Troubleshooting
Removing and Installing Parts
Appendix
Glossary
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.

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Appendix
Dell™XPS™720Owner'sManual
Specifications
System Setup
Clearing Forgotten Passwords
Clearing CMOS Settings
Cleaning Your Computer
FCC Notices (U.S. Only)
Contacting Dell
Specifications

Processor
Processor type
Intel®Core™2Duo(dual-core processor)
Intel®Core™2Extreme(dual-core processor)
Intel®Core™2Extreme(quad-core processor)
Cache
at least 1 MB

Memory
Type
800, and 667-MHz DDR2 unbuffered SDRAM; SLI
memory
Memory connectors
four
Memory capacities
512MB,1GB,or2GBnon-ECC
Minimum memory
1 GB
Maximum memory
8 GB

NOTE: See Addressing Memory Configurations to
verify the amount of memory available to the
operating system.

Computer Information
Chipset
Northbridge
Southbridge
NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI
C55XE
MCP55PXE
DMA channels
five
Interrupt levels
24
BIOS chip (NVRAM)
4 Mb
NIC
integrated network interface capable of 10/100/1000
communication

Video
Type
PCI Express

Audio
Type
HDA 7.1 channel

Expansion Bus
Bus type
PCI Express x1 and x16

PCI 32-bit
PCI (SLOT3, SLOT5, SLOT6)

Connector
three
Connector size
124 pins
Connector data width (maximum)
32 bits
Bus speed
33 MHz
PCI Express (SLOT1)

NOTE: If a graphics card is installed in each of the
PCI Express x16 card slots in the dual-graphics
configuration, the PCI Express x1 card slot is not
accessible for use.
Connector
one x1
Connector size
36 pins
Connector data width (maximum)
1 PCI Express lane
Bus throughput
x1 slot bidirectional speed —2.5 Gbps
PCI Express (SLOT7)

Connector
one x16
Connector size
164 pins
Connector data width (maximum)
8 PCI Express lanes
Bus throughput
x16 slot bidirectional speed —20 Gbps
PCI Express (SLOT2, SLOT4)

Connector
two x16
Connector size
164 pins
Connector data width (maximum)
16 PCI Express lanes
Bus throughput
x16 slot bidirectional speed —40 Gbps

Drives
Available devices
Serial ATA drive, floppy drive, memory devices,
Blu-ray™Discdrive,DVDdrive,DVD-RW drive,
CD-RW/DVD combo drive, and media card reader
Externally accessible:
two 3.5-inch drive bays
four 5.25-inch drive bays
Internally accessible:
four 3.5-inch drive bays for hard drives

Connectors
External connectors:
IEEE 1394
front and back-panel 6-pin serial connectors
Network adapter
RJ45 connector
PS/2 (keyboard and mouse)
two 6-pin mini-DIN
USB
two front-panel, six back-panel, and two internal
USB2.0–compliant connectors
System board connectors:
IDE drive
one 40-pin connector
Serial ATA
six 7-pin connectors
Floppy drive
34-pin connector
Fan
three 5-pin connectors
Liquid cooling (optional)
one 12-pin connector
PCI
three 124-pin connectors
PCI Express x1
36-pin connector
PCI Express x16 (SLOT7); card length up to
17.8 cm (7 inches only)
164-pin connector
PCI Express x16
three 164-pin connectors

ControlsandLights
Power control
push button
Power light
green light —Blinking green in sleep state; solid
green for power-on state.

amber light —Blinking amber indicates a problem
with an installed device; solid amber indicates an
internal power problem.
Hard-drive access light
green
Network activity light (front panel)
solid green indicates network connection
Link integrity light (on integrated network adapter)
green light —A good connection exists between a
10-Mbps network and the computer.
orange light —A good connection exists between a
100-Mbps network and the computer.
yellow light —A good connection exists between a 1-
GB (1000-Mbps) network and the computer.
off (no light) —The computer is not detecting a
physical connection to the network.
Activity light (on integrated network adapter)
yellow blinking light when there is activity on the
network; if there is not any network activity, the light
will be off
Diagnostic lights
four lights on the front panel (see Diagnostic Lights)
Standby power light
AUXPWR on the system board
Front panel LEDs
eight multi-colored LEDs provide illumination for the
front of the computer

NOTE: The color of the front panel LEDs can be
adjusted in system setup (see System Setup).
Back panel LEDs
two multi-colored lights provide illumination for the
I/O panel on the back of the computer

NOTE: The color of the back panel LEDs can be
adjusted in system setup (see System Setup).

Power
DC power supply:

CAUTION: To reduce the risk of fire, electric shock,
or injury, do not overload an electrical outlet,
power strip, or convenience receptacle. The total
ampere rating of all products plugged into an
electrical outlet, power strip, or other receptacle
should not exceed 80 percent of the branch circuit
rating.
Wattage
750 W or
1 KW
Voltage (see the safety instructions located in
the Product Information Guide)
auto-sensing power supply—90 V to 265 V at 50/60
Hz
Backup battery
3-V CR2032 lithium coin cell

Physical
Height

Without stand
55.5 cm (21.9 inches)
With stand
57.2 cm (22.5 inches)
Width

Without stand
21.9 cm (8.6 inches)
With stand
35.6 cm (14.0 inches)
Depth
59.4 cm (23.4 inches)
Weight

Typical configuration
21.7 kg (47.8 lb)
Maximum configuration
25.6 kg (56.4 lb)

Environmental
Temperature:
Operating
10°to35°C(50°to95°F)
Storage
–40°to65°C(–40°to149°F)

System Setup

Overview
Use system setup as follows:
lTo change the system configuration information after you add, change, or remove any hardware in your computer
lTo set or change a user-selectable option such as the user password
lTo read the current amount of memory or set the type of hard drive installed
Before you use system setup, it is recommended that you write down the system setup screen information for future reference.

Entering System Setup

1. Turn on (or restart) your computer.

2. When the DELL logo appears, press <F2> immediately.
If you wait too long and the operating system logo appears, continue to wait until you see the Microsoft®Windows®desktop, then shut down your
computer and try again.

System Setup Screens
The system setup screen displays current or changeable configuration information for your computer. Information on the screen is divided into three areas: the
options list, the active options field, and key functions.

System Setup Options
Relative humidity
20% to 80% (noncondensing)
Maximum vibration:
Operating
0.25 G at 3 to 200 Hz at 0.5 octave/min
Storage
0.5 G at 3 to 200 Hz at 1 octave/min
Maximum shock:
Operating
bottom half-sine pulse with a change in velocity of 20
inches/sec (50.8 cm/sec)
Storage
27-G faired square wave with a velocity change of
200 inches/sec (508 cm/sec)
Altitude:
Operating
–15.2 to 3048 m (–50 to 10,000 ft)
Storage
–15.2 to 10,668 m (–50 to 35,000 ft)
NOTICE: Do not change the settings in system setup unless you are an expert computer user. Certain changes can cause your computer to work
incorrectly.
NOTE: Keyboard failure may result when a key on the keyboard is held down for extended periods of time. To avoid possible keyboard failure,
press and release <F2> in even intervals until the system setup screen appears.
Options List —This field appears on the left side of
the system setup window. The field is a scrollable list
containing features that define the configuration of
your computer, including installed hardware, power
conservation, and security features.
Scroll up and down the list with the up-and down-
arrow keys. As an option is highlighted, the Options
Field displays more information about that option
and the option's current and available settings.
Options Field —This field appears on the right side
of the system setup window and contains information
about each option listed in the Options List. In this
field you can view information about your computer
and make changes to your current settings.
Press the left-and right-arrow keys to highlight an
option. Press <Enter> to make that selection active
and return to the Options List.

NOTE: Not all settings listed in the Options Field are
changeable.
Key Functions —This field appears below the
Options Field and lists keys and their functions
within the active system setup field.

NOTE: Depending on your computer and installed devices, the items listed in this section may not appear, or may not appear exactly as listed.

System
System Info
Lists system information, such as the computer name,
the BIOS version number and date, the system
service tag, express service code and asset tag, and
other system-specific information.
Processor Info
Identifies the processor type, clock speed, bus
speed, L2 cache, L3 cache, ID, and whether the
processor is multiple core capable, supports Hyper-
Threading and supports 64-bit technology.
Memory Info
Identifies the memory type, speed, and channel
mode (dual or single) by DIMM slot location.
PCI Info
Indicates the expansion card type by slot location.
Date/Time
Displays current date and time settings.
Boot Sequence
The computer attempts to boot from the sequence of
devices specified in this list.

NOTE: If you insert a boot device and restart the
computer, this option appears in the system setup
menu. To boot from a USB memory device, for
example, select the USB device and move it so that it
becomes the first device in the boot sequence.

Drives
Diskette Drive
(Internal default)
Enables and disables the floppy drive attached to the
DSKT connector on the system board and sets read
permissions for the drive.
lOff —All floppy drives are disabled.
lUSB —USB floppy drives are enabled
lInternal —The integrated floppy drive is
enabled.
lRead Only —The integrated floppy drive is
enabled with read-only access.

NOTE: Operating systems with USB support will
recognize USB floppy drives regardless of this setting.
SATA Drives 0 through 5
(On default)
Enables or disables drives attached to the SATA
connectors on the system board.
lOff —A device attached to the interface is not
usable.
lOn —A device attached to the interface is
usable.
lRAID On - A device attached to the interface
is configured for RAID (see About Your RAID
Configuration).
PATA Drives 0 through 1
(On default)
Enables or disables drives attached to the ATA
connectors on the system board, and lists the
controller details.
lOff —A device attached to the interface is not
usable.
lOn —A device attached to the interface is
usable.
SMART Reporting
(Off default)
Determines whether hard-drive errors for internal
drives are reported during system startup.
lOff —Errors are not reported.
lOn —Errors are reported.

Onboard Devices
Integrated NIC
(On default)
Enables or disables the integrated network interface
controller (NIC).
lOff —The integrated NIC is disabled.
lOn —The integrated NIC is enabled.
lOn w/PXE —The integrated NIC is on (with
PXE enabled).


NOTE: PXE is required only if you are booting to an
operating system located on another computer. If a
boot routine is not available from the remote system,
the computer attempts to boot from the next device
listed in the boot sequence.
Integrated Audio
(On default)
Enables or disables the onboard audio controller.
lOff —Integrated audio is disabled.
lOn —Integrated audio is enabled.
USB Controller
(On default)
Enables or disables the internal USB controller.
lOff —The USB controller is disabled.
lOn —The USB controller is enabled.
lNo Boot —The USB controller is enabled;
however, the BIOS will not recognize USB
storage devices.

NOTE: Operating systems with USB support will
recognize USB storage devices regardless of the No
Boot setting.
1394 Controller
(On default)
Enables or disables the integrated IEEE 1394
controller.
lOff —The 1394 controller is disabled.
lOn —The 1394 controller is enabled.
PS/2 Mouse Port
(On default)
Enables or disables the onboard PS/2-compatible
mouse controller.
lOff —The PS/2 legacy mouse port is disabled.
lOn —The PS/2 legacy mouse port is enabled.

LED Control
Front Upper LED

Adjusts the color of the upper front panel LEDs (see
Front and Back View of the Computer).
Front Lower LED

Adjusts the color of the lower front panel LEDs (see
Front and Back View of the Computer).
Rear Panel LED

Adjusts the color of the rear panel LEDs (see Front
and Back View of the Computer).
LED Intensity

Adjusts the intensity for the color of the upper and
lower front panel LEDs and the rear panel LEDs.

Performance
Multiple CPU Core
(On default)
Specifies whether the processor has more than one
core enabled.
lOff —Multiple CPU core technology is
disabled.
lOn —Multiple CPU core technology is enabled.

NOTE: The performance of some applications may
improve with an additional core enabled.
Advanced
Displays processor type and current BIOS settings for
processor clock speed, processor multiplier, front side
bus (FSB) clock, and CPU core voltage. These settings
may have been set by performance tuning
applications or may change depending on settings in
performance applications that you have installed.
For systems with Intel Extreme processors, the
following fields are adjustable through the BIOS:
lProcessor Clock Speed: Adjusts the multiplier
of the processor. For processors that cannot
be overclocked, this field reports the current
settings and cannot be changed.
lPerformance Application Support: Enables
software applications to display and modify key

system parameters to tune system
performance. These applications are not
installed or supported by Dell. The default is
Off.

NOTE: To enable overclocking of other system
components, you first need to enable the
Performance Application Support option in BIOS and
then download an application like NVIDIA nTune
version 5.0 or higher.

NOTE: Pressing <Alt><F> returns your system to the
factory defaults including RAID settings.
SpeedStep
(Off default)
Specifies whether Enhanced Intel SpeedStep®
technology is enabled for all supported processors in
the system.
lOff —Disable Enhanced SpeedStep
technology
lOn —Enable Enhanced SpeedStep technology
Virtualization
(Off default)

Specifies whether a virtual machine monitor (VMM)
can utilize the additional hardware capabilities
provided by Intel Virtualization Technology
lOff —Disable Virtualization Technology
lOn —Enable Virtualization Technology
HDD Acoustic Mode
(Bypass default)
Determines the acoustic mode at which the hard
drive operates.
lBypass —Do nothing (needed for older
drives).
lQuiet —The hard drive operates at a slower,
but quieter speed.
lSuggested —Allow the hard drive
manufacturer to select the mode.
lPerformance —The hard drive operates at a
faster, but possibly noisier speed.

NOTE: Switching to performance mode may cause an
increase in noise produced by the drive, but does not
affect the drive's performance.

NOTE: Changing the acoustics setting does not alter
your hard drive image.

Security

Admin Password
(Not Set default)
Used to prohibit an unauthorized user from changing
any configuration settings in the system setup.
System Password
(Not Set default)
Used to prohibit an unauthorized user from booting
to the operating system.
Password Changes
(Unlocked default)
This option locks the system password field with the
administrator (admin) password.

NOTE: When the system password field is locked,
you can no longer disable password security by
pressing <Ctrl><Enter> when the computer starts.
Execute Disable
(On default)
Enables or disables Execute Disable Memory
Protection technology.
lOff —Execute Disable Memory Protection
technology is disabled.
lOn —Execute Disable Memory Protection
technology is enabled.

Power Management
AC Recovery
Specifies how the computer will behave when AC

(Off default)
power is restored after an AC power loss.
lOff —The system stays off after AC power is
restored.
lOn —The system powers on after AC power is
restored.
lLast —The system returns to the previous
state after AC power is restored.
Auto Power On
(Off default)
Disables or selects when to automatically turn on the
computer.
lOff —Do not use the Auto Power Time.
lEveryday —Turn the computer on every day
at the time set in Auto Power Time.
lWeekdays —Turn the computer on Monday
through Friday at the time set in Auto Power
Time.

NOTE: This feature does not work if you turn off your
computer using a power strip or surge protector.
Auto Power Time
Specifies the time to automatically turn on the
computer.
Change the time to automatically turn on the
computer by pressing the up-or down-arrow key to
increase or decrease the numbers, or type the
numbers in the appropriate time field.

NOTE: This feature does not work if you turn off your
computer using a power strip or surge protector.
Low Power Mode
(Off default)
Specifies how aggressive the system is at conserving
power while in hibernate mode or turned off.
lOff —Add more functionality.
lOn —Conserve more power.
Suspend Mode
(S3 default)
Specifies the power management suspend mode.
lS1 —The computer resumes more quickly from
sleep mode.
lS3 —The computer conserves more power
when not in use (system memory remains
active).

Maintenance
Service Tag
Displays the system service tag.
SERR Message
(On default)
Controls the SERR message mechanism. Some
graphics cards require that the SERR Message
mechanism be disabled.
lOff —Do not use the SERR message
mechanism.
lOn —Use the SERR message mechanism.
Load Defaults
This setting restores the computer's factory-installed
default settings.
lCancel —Do not restore factory-installed
default settings.
lContinue —Restore factory-installed default
settings.
Event Log
Displays the system event log.
lMark all entries —Mark all event log entries
as read (R).
lClear log —Clear all event log entries.

NOTE: Once an event log entry is marked as read (R)
that entry cannot be marked as unread (U).

POST Behavior


Boot Sequence
This feature allows you to change the boot sequence for the bootable devices installed on your computer.

Option Settings
lDiskette Drive —The computer attempts to boot from the floppy drive. If the floppy disk in the drive is not bootable, if no floppy disk is in the drive, or if
there is no floppy drive installed in the computer, the computer attempts to boot from the next bootable device in the boot sequence.
lHard Drive —The computer attempts to boot from the primary hard drive. If no operating system is on the drive, the computer attempts to boot from
the next bootable device in the boot sequence.
lCD Drive —The computer attempts to boot from the CD drive. If no CD is in the drive, or if the CD has no operating system, the computer attempts to
boot from the next bootable device in the boot sequence.
lUSB Flash Device —Insert the memory device into a USB port and restart the computer. When F12 = Boot Menu appears in the upper-right corner of
the screen, press <F12>. The BIOS detects the device and adds the USB flash option to the boot menu.

Changing Boot Sequence for the Current Boot
You can use this feature, for example, to tell the computer to boot from the CD drive so that you can run the Dell Diagnostics on the Drivers and Utilities media,
but you want the computer to boot from the hard drive when the diagnostic tests are complete. You can also use this feature to restart your computer to a
USB device such as a floppy drive, memory key, or CD-RW drive.

1. If you are booting to a USB device, connect the USB device to a USB connector (see Back View).

2. Turn on (or restart) your computer.

3. When the DELL logo appears, press <F12> immediately.
If you wait too long and the operating system logo appears, continue to wait until you see the Microsoft Windows desktop, then shut down your
computer and try again.

4. At the Boot Device Menu, use the up-and down-arrow keys or press the appropriate number on the keyboard to highlight the device that is to be used
Fastboot
(On default)
Enables or disables the option to speed up the boot
process by skipping some compatibility tests.
lOff —Do not skip any steps in the boot
process.
lOn —Boot quickly.
Numlock Key
(On default)
Enables or disables the numerical and mathematical
features of the rightmost bank of keys on the
keyboard.
lOff —Right keypad keys function as arrows.
lOn —Right keypad keys function as numbers.
POST Hotkeys
(Setup & Boot Menu default)
Specifies the function keys to display on the screen
when the computer starts.
lSetup & Boot Menu —Display both messages
(F2=Setup and F12=Boot Menu).
lSetup —Display the setup message only
(F2=Setup).
lBoot Menu —Display the Quickboot message
only (F12=Boot Menu).
lNone —Neither message is displayed.
Keyboard Errors
(Report default)
Enables or disables keyboard error reporting when
the computer starts.
lReport —Display any keyboard errors.
lDo not report —Do not display any keyboard
errors.
NOTE: To boot to a USB device, the device must be bootable. To make sure that your device is bootable, check the device documentation.
NOTE: An error message is generated only after the computer attempts to boot from every device in the boot sequence and no operating system is
found.
NOTE: If you are booting to a USB floppy drive, you must first set the floppy drive to OFF in system setup (see System Setup).
NOTE: Keyboard failure may result when a key on the keyboard is held down for extended periods of time. To avoid possible keyboard failure,
press and release <F12> in even intervals until the Boot Device Menu appears.