HP 280 G3 Microtower Business Manual

Maintenance and Service Guide
HP 280 G3 Small Form Factor Business PC

© Copyright 2018 HP Development Company,
L.P.
Bluetooth is a trademark owned by its
proprietor and used by HP Inc. under license.
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trademarks of Intel Corporation. Microsoft and
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is a trademark of its proprietor.
The information contained herein is subject to
change without notice. The only warranties for
HP products and services are set forth in the
express warranty statements accompanying
such products and services. Nothing herein
should be construed as constituting an
additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for
technical or editorial errors or omissions
contained herein.
First Edition: May 2018
Document Part Number: L16366-001
Product notice
This user guide describes features that are
common to most models. Some features may
not be available on your computer.
Not all features are available in all editions of
Windows. This computer may require upgraded
and/or separately purchased hardware, drivers
and/or software to take full advantage of
Windows functionality. Go to
http://www.microsoft.com for details.
Software terms
By installing, copying, downloading, or
otherwise using any software product
preinstalled on this computer, you agree to be
bound by the terms of the HP End User License
Agreement (EULA). If you do not accept these
license terms, your sole remedy is to return the
entire unused product (hardware and software)
within 14 days for a full refund subject to the
refund policy of your seller.
For any further information or to request a full
refund of the price of the computer, please
contact your seller.

About This Book
WARNING! Text set o in this manner indicates that failure to follow directions could result in bodily harm or
loss of life.
CAUTION: Text set o in this manner indicates that failure to follow directions could result in damage to
equipment or loss of information.
NOTE: Text set o in this manner provides important supplemental information.
iii

iv About This Book

Table of contents
1 Product features ........................................................................................................................................... 1
Standard conguration features ........................................................................................................................... 1
Front panel components ........................................................................................................................................ 2
Rear panel components ......................................................................................................................................... 3
2 Illustrated parts catalog ................................................................................................................................ 4
Computer major components ................................................................................................................................ 4
Cables ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Miscellaneous parts ............................................................................................................................................... 6
Drives ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7
3 Routine care, SATA drive guidelines, and disassembly preparation .................................................................... 8
Electrostatic discharge information ...................................................................................................................... 8
Generating static ................................................................................................................................. 8
Preventing electrostatic damage to equipment ................................................................................. 9
Personal grounding methods and equipment .................................................................................... 9
Grounding the work area ..................................................................................................................... 9
Recommended materials and equipment ........................................................................................ 10
Operating guidelines ........................................................................................................................................... 10
Routine care ......................................................................................................................................................... 11
General cleaning safety precautions ................................................................................................ 11
Cleaning the computer case .............................................................................................................. 11
Cleaning the keyboard ....................................................................................................................... 11
Cleaning the monitor ......................................................................................................................... 12
Cleaning the mouse ........................................................................................................................... 12
Service considerations ......................................................................................................................................... 12
Tools and software requirements ..................................................................................................... 12
Screws ............................................................................................................................................... 12
Cables and connectors ...................................................................................................................... 13
Hard Drives ........................................................................................................................................ 13
Lithium coin cell battery .................................................................................................................... 13
SATA hard drives .................................................................................................................................................. 14
SMART ATA drives ................................................................................................................................................ 14
4 Removal and replacement procedures ........................................................................................................... 15
Preparation for disassembly ............................................................................................................................... 15
v

Access panel ......................................................................................................................................................... 16
Expansion card ..................................................................................................................................................... 17
Front bezel ........................................................................................................................................................... 21
Power button board ............................................................................................................................................. 22
Drives ................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Optical drive ....................................................................................................................................... 23
Hard drive .......................................................................................................................................... 25
WLAN module ...................................................................................................................................................... 26
Solid-state drive module ..................................................................................................................................... 27
Memory ................................................................................................................................................................ 28
DIMMs ................................................................................................................................................ 28
DDR4-SDRAM DIMMs ......................................................................................................................... 28
Populating DIMM sockets .................................................................................................................. 28
Removing and installing DIMMs ........................................................................................................ 29
RTC battery .......................................................................................................................................................... 31
Fan duct ................................................................................................................................................................ 32
Fan sink ................................................................................................................................................................ 33
Processor ............................................................................................................................................................. 34
Power supply ....................................................................................................................................................... 35
System board ....................................................................................................................................................... 37
System board callouts ....................................................................................................................... 38
Antenna cable ...................................................................................................................................................... 39
5 Computer Setup (F10) Utility ........................................................................................................................ 40
Computer Setup (F10) Utilities ............................................................................................................................ 40
Using Computer Setup (F10) Utilities ................................................................................................ 41
Computer Setup—File ....................................................................................................................... 42
Computer Setup—Storage ................................................................................................................ 43
Computer Setup—Security ............................................................................................................... 44
Computer Setup—Power .................................................................................................................. 46
Computer Setup—Advanced ............................................................................................................. 46
Recovering the Conguration Settings ............................................................................................................... 47
6 Troubleshooting without diagnostics ............................................................................................................ 48
Safety and comfort .............................................................................................................................................. 48
Before you call for technical support .................................................................................................................. 48
Helpful hints ........................................................................................................................................................ 49
Solving general problems .................................................................................................................................... 50
Solving power problems ...................................................................................................................................... 54
Solving hard drive problems ................................................................................................................................ 55
Solving media card reader problems ................................................................................................................... 57
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Solving display problems .................................................................................................................................... 58
Solving audio problems ....................................................................................................................................... 62
Solving printer problems ..................................................................................................................................... 64
Solving keyboard and mouse problems .............................................................................................................. 65
Solving Hardware Installation Problems ............................................................................................................. 66
Solving Network Problems .................................................................................................................................. 68
Solving memory problems .................................................................................................................................. 71
Solving USB ash drive problems ........................................................................................................................ 72
Solving front panel component problems .......................................................................................................... 73
Solving Internet access problems ....................................................................................................................... 73
Solving software problems .................................................................................................................................. 75
7 POST error messages and diagnostic front panel LEDs and audible codes ......................................................... 76
POST numeric codes and text messages ............................................................................................................. 76
Interpreting system validation diagnostic front panel LEDs and audible codes ................................................ 81
8 Password security and resetting CMOS .......................................................................................................... 83
Resetting CMOS and/or the password jumper .................................................................................................... 84
Changing a Setup or Power-On password ........................................................................................................... 85
Deleting a Setup or Power-On password ............................................................................................................ 86
9 Using HP PC Hardware Diagnostics ................................................................................................................ 87
Using HP PC Hardware Diagnostics Windows ..................................................................................................... 87
Downloading HP PC Hardware Diagnostics Windows ....................................................................... 87
Downloading the latest HP PC Hardware Diagnostics Windows version ....................... 88
Downloading HP Hardware Diagnostics Windows by product name or number
(select products only) ..................................................................................................... 88
Installing HP PC Hardware Diagnostics Windows ............................................................................. 88
Using HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI ............................................................................................................. 88
Starting HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI ....................................................................................... 89
Downloading HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI to a USB ash drive .............................................. 89
Downloading the latest HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI version .............................. 89
Downloading HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI by product name or number
(select products only) ..................................................................................................... 89
Using Remote HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI settings (select products only) ............................................. 90
Downloading Remote HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI ................................................................. 90
Downloading the latest Remote HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI version ................. 90
Downloading Remote HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI by product name or
number ............................................................................................................................ 90
Customizing Remote HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI settings .................................................... 90
vii

10 Backing up, restoring, and recovering ......................................................................................................... 92
Using Windows tools ........................................................................................................................................... 92
Creating HP Recovery media (select products only) ........................................................................................... 92
Using HP Recovery Manager to create recovery media .................................................................... 93
Before you begin ............................................................................................................. 93
Creating the recovery media ........................................................................................... 93
Using the HP Cloud Recovery Download Tool to create recovery media .......................................... 94
Restoring and recovery ........................................................................................................................................ 94
Restoring, resetting, and refreshing using Windows tools .............................................................. 94
Restoring using HP Recovery Manager and the HP Recovery partition ........................................... 94
Recovering using HP Recovery Manager ........................................................................................... 94
Recovering using the HP Recovery partition (select products only) ................................................ 95
Recovering using HP Recovery media ............................................................................................... 95
Changing the computer boot order ................................................................................................... 96
Removing the HP Recovery partition (select products only) ............................................................ 96
Appendix A Statement of memory volatility ..................................................................................................... 97
Nonvolatile memory usage ................................................................................................................................. 99
Questions and answers ..................................................................................................................................... 101
Using HP Sure Start (select models only) .......................................................................................................... 102
Appendix B Power cord set requirements ....................................................................................................... 103
General requirements ........................................................................................................................................ 103
Japanese power cord requirements .................................................................................................................. 103
Country-specic requirements .......................................................................................................................... 104
Appendix C Specications ............................................................................................................................. 105
Index ........................................................................................................................................................... 106
viii

1 Product features
Standard conguration features
Features may vary depending on the model. For support assistance and to learn more about the hardware
and software installed on your computer model, run the HP Support Assistant utility.
NOTE: This computer model can be used in a tower orientation or a desktop orientation.
Standard conguration features 1

Front panel components
Drive conguration may vary by model.
Item Description Item Description
1 Optical drive (optional) 4 SD media card reader
2 Hard drive light 5 Microphone/headphone combo jack
3 USB ports (2) 6 Power button
NOTE: The Power On Light is normally white when the power is on. If it is ashing red, there is a problem with the computer and it is
displaying a diagnostic code. Refer to POST error messages and diagnostic front panel LEDs and audible codes on page 76 to interpret
the code.
2 Chapter 1 Product features