HP Vectra VE4 User manual

HP Vectra VE 4/xx PC Familiarization Guide 1 Product Overview and
Features •• 1
HP Vectra VE 4/xx PC Series Familiarization
Guide
Printed Manual Information
Trademarks
1 PRODUCT OVERVIEW AND FEATURES
Introduction
Vectra Products Comparison
Product Features
Microprocessor
Cache Memory
DRAM Main Memory Modules
System ROM
Video Controller
Video Drivers
Preinstalled Software
Disk Controller
Disk Shelves
Supported Drives
Security Features
Communications Ports
Supported Operating Systems
2 PC HARDWARE STRUCTURE
Introduction
Packaging
Internal Component Location
VE 4/xx System Board
VE 4/xx Backplane
Installing Accessories
Installing Main Memory
Installing Cache Memory
Installing Video Memory
Changing Video Settings After Installing Upgrade Memory
Replacing the Microprocessor
Understanding CD-ROM Installation
System Board Jumpers
3 TROUBLESHOOTING AND REPAIR
Introduction

HP Vectra VE 4/xx PC Familiarization Guide 1 Product Overview and
Features •• 2
Using the Setup Program to Configure the PC
Updating the System ROM
Diagnostic Utility
POST Errors

HP Vectra VE 4/xx PC Familiarization Guide 1 Product Overview and
Features •• 3
Printed Manual Information
Hewlett-Packard Company
© 1995

HP Vectra VE 4/xx PC Familiarization Guide 1 Product Overview and
Features •• 4
Trademarks
Centronics® is a registered trademark of Centronics Data
Computer Corporation.
Microsoft® and MS-DOS® are U.S. registered trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation. LANManager, Microsoft Windows,
Windows 95 and OS/2 are products of Microsoft Corporation.
Novell® and NetWare® are U.S. registered trademarks
of Novell, Inc.
OS/2™ is a product of International Business Machines.
PENTIUM™ is a trademark of Intel Corporation.
UNIX™ is a registered trademark of UNIX System Laboratories
Inc. in the U.S.A. and other countries.
Windows™ is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

HP Vectra VE 4/xx PC Familiarization Guide 1 Product Overview and
Features •• 5
1 Product Overview and Features

HP Vectra VE 4/xx PC Familiarization Guide 1 Product Overview and
Features •• 6
Introduction
After reading this chapter, you will be able to describe the features specific to the HP Vectra
VE 4/xx PCs.

HP Vectra VE 4/xx PC Familiarization Guide 1 Product Overview and
Features •• 7
Vectra Products Comparison
The following table compares the new HP Vectra VE 4/xx PCs with the HP Vectra VL2 and
Vectra 5/xx PCs.
Component HP Vectra VL2 (D31xxA series) HP Vectra VE 4/xx (D349xA and D350xA series) HP Vectra VE 5/xx (D339xA series)
Microprocessor 4/33s: 486SX-33 MHz ‘SL’
4/30s: 486SX2-50 MHz
‘SL’
4/50: 486DX2-50 MHz ‘SL’
4/66: 486DX2-66 MHz ‘SL’
4/100: DX4-100 MHz ‘SL’
4/50: 486DX2-50 MHz ‘SL’
‘WB’
4/66: 486DX2-66 MHz ‘SL’
‘WB’
4/100: DX4-100 MHz ‘SL’
5/75: Pentium™ 75 MHz
5/90: Pentium 90 MHz
5/100: Pentium 100 MHz
Math Coprocessor On the microprocessor
Main Memory
Standard
Maximum
Sockets
32-bit (70 ns)
4 MB or 8 MB
64 MB
Two
32-bit (70 ns)
4 MB or 8 MB
64 MB
Two
32-bit (70 ns)
8 MB
128 MB
Four
Cache Memory
(on
microprocessor)
8 KB
8 + 18 KB for DX4 only 8 KB for code, plus 8 KB for
data 8 KB for code, plus 8 KB for data
2nd Level Cache
Sockets 128/256 KB (Upgrade) One 258 KB (Upgrade) One 256 KB (Integrated) None
Video Controller Integrated Ultra VGA on
local bus (Cirrus Logic
5428)
Integrated 64-bit Ultra VGA on
PCI bus (S3 Trio 64) Integrated HP 64-bit Ultra VGA on PCI bus
(Cirrus Logic 5434)
Video Memory
Sockets 1 MB None 1 MB (expandable to 2 MB) Two 512 KB chips 1 MB None
Disk Controller IDE controller on local bus
(VL2) Enhanced IDE controller on PCI local bus Enhanced IDE controller on PCI local bus
Mass Storage
Shelves One front access 3.5 inch shelf
One front access 5.25-inch shelf
Two internal 3.5 inch shelves for hard disks
Integrated Ports 1 parallel port (bi-
directional)
2 serial ports
1 parallel, bidirectional with
EPP/ECP
2 serial ports
1 parallel, bidirectional
with EPP/ECP
2 serial ports
Accessory Board
Slots Four 16-bit ISA (full-length) Two 16-bit ISA (1 full length)
One PCI/ISA combination
One PCI
Two 16-bit ISA (1 full
length)
One PCI/ISA
combination
One PCI
Network Interface None
Power Supply 100 W (full range 90-264 Vac)
Color Old New Old
Security Power-on prompt and
mechanical cover lock only Power-on prompt, keyboard lock, mechanical cover lock,
disk and port disabling
Power-on prompt,
mechanical cover lock,
disk and port disabling
Passwords User Password only User Password and System
Administrator Password User Password and System Administrator
Password

HP Vectra VE 4/xx PC Familiarization Guide 1 Product Overview and
Features •• 8
Preinstalled
Software MS-DOS® 6.2, Windows™ for Workgroups 3.11 MS-DOS® 6.2, Windows™ for Workgroups 3.11, HP
Dashboard, HP User Tools,
Desktop Management
Interface (DMI)
MS-DOS® 6.2,
Windows™ for
Workgroups 3.11, HP
Dashboard, HP User
Tools, Desktop
Management Interface
(DMI)
BIOS ROM HP BIOS HP BIOS, Flash ROM HP BIOS, Flash ROM
BIOS System ROM
Localization English only English only English only
Vectra VE 4/xx
Vectra VL2/VL2e Vectra VE 5/xx

HP Vectra VE 4/xx PC Familiarization Guide 1 Product Overview and
Features •• 9
Product Features
NOTE New features compared to the Vectra VL2 family are shown in bold.
Overview
The HP Vectra VE 4/xx PCs are 486 processor, ISA/PCI-based PCs. The whole platform
consists of a system board and a backplane.
The VE 4/xx backplane has two ISA slots, one PCI slot, and one combination ISA/PCI
slot for accessory boards.
The I/O connectors are located on the system board. The same mid-profile package is used
as in the Vectra VL2 series PCs.
The Vectra VE 4/xx PCs are available with a new color scheme (called quartz, almost
white).
The main features of the system board are:
•A 32-bit host bus for processor and main memory (DRAM).
•A 32-bit Peripheral Component Interconnection (PCI) local bus for accessing the
system controller, video controller, enhanced IDE buffer components, and PCI slots.
•An Industry-Standard Architecture (ISA) bus for ISA-compatible super I/O controller and
ISA slots.
•A security system that provides protection against unauthorized use of the PC.
•A flash BIOS for easy updating.

HP Vectra VE 4/xx PC Familiarization Guide 1 Product Overview and
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Microprocessor
The microprocessor is either the DX4-100 with KB of cache memory boosted from 8 KB to
16 KB, or the new 486DX2 with internal cache write-back capability.
VL2/xx VE 4/xx
486DX2 type
486DX2 ‘SL’ power
management 486DX2 ‘WB’ called P24D, write- back and power management
Internal cache level 1 8 KB data 16 KB
8 KB data and 8 KB code
Addressing mode Write-through Write-back and write-through
DX4-100 type
Internal cache level 1 16 KB cache
(8 KB data and 8 KB code)
Addressing mode Write-through only

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Features •• 11
Cache Memory
The HP Vectra VE 4/xx also has a socket for a 256 KB second-level cache (write-back)
memory module (D2465A – a new accessory specific to the VE 4/xx series).

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Features •• 12
DRAM Main Memory Modules
The HP Vectra VE 4/xx has two sockets on the system board. 4 MB or 8 MB 32-bit memory
is supplied as standard, expandable to 64 MB. Any memory module can be fitted in any
socket. A specially configured model with 16 MB for users requiring additional memory is
located with two 8 MB SIMMS (therefore no free memory slot).
The PCs use 70 ns memory modules. The memory upgrades available are:
•4 MB, 32-bit, no parity (D2690A)
•4 MB, 36-bit (D2974A)
•8 MB, 32-bit, no parity (D2691A)
•8 MB, 36-bit (D2975A)
•16 MB, 36-bit (D2297A)
•32 MB, 36-bit (D2298A)
NOTE The PC doesn’t use the parity bits provided with the 36-bit memory module
accessories.

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Features •• 13
System ROM
The PCs have a system ROM that uses flash ROM technology (new compared to VL2).
The flash ROM can be updated with thelatest firmware using the HPROMinit program
supplied with the firmware upgrade (the HPROMinit program is specific to the VE 4/xx).
CAUTION Do not power off the PC during ROM flash update as this will result in
hardware damage.
The system ROM contains the following standard components:
•The HP BIOS.
Compared to the VL2 series, the following features are no longer supported:
◊◊ 360 KB and 2.88 MB flexible disk drives
◊◊ Custom parameters for hard disk drives
◊◊ AT SCSI BIOS shadowing
◊◊ Setup program help screens
◊◊ Mouse diabling
Compared to the VL2 series, the following new features are provided:
◊◊ Administrator password
◊◊ IDE CD-ROm detection at startup
◊◊ Memory holes below 1 MB
◊◊ Simplified Key AutoRepeat parameter settings
◊◊ BIOS auto-configuration for processor, memory, disk drives
◊◊ BIOS conflict auto-resolution for communications ports and flexible drives
◊◊ Full DMI support
•A power-on system hardware test (POST).
•A Setup program (in English only), accessible by pressing [F2] during the POST.
When the PC is started, the POST screen is displayed.
If the POST detects an error:
•Press [ENTER] to display a message describing the error and how to fix it.
•Press [F2] to start the Setup program to check the configuration.
•Press [F4] to validate the removal of a component.
•Alternatively, press [F1] to continue, ignoring the error.
New Feature: If additional components have been installed (for example, memory
or disk drives), the PC can be started without the Setup program being run. The
new components are automatically detected and configured (except some
accessory boards).

HP Vectra VE 4/xx PC Familiarization Guide 1 Product Overview and
Features •• 14
Video Controller
The HP Vectra VE 4/xx PC has a 64-bit PCI video controller (S3 Trio 64). The controller
has 1 MB DRAM video memory as standard, upgradeable to 2 MB using the new
accessory D3500A video memory upgrade kit (two chips of 512 KB).
The following video settings are available with 1 MB of video memory installed:
Resolution Number of Colors Refresh Rates
640 x 480 16
256, 32 K*, 64 K 60 Hz 60, 72, 75 Hz
800 x 600 16, 256
32 K*, 64 K 56, 60, 72, 75 Hz 60, 72, 75 Hz
1024 x 768 16, 256 i43 (interlaced), 60, 70, 75 Hz
1280 x 1024 16 i45 (interlaced), 60, 72, 75 Hz
*Not available for Windows NT™ or OS/2.
The following additional video settings are possible once the video memory has been
upgraded to 2 MB:
Resolution Number of Colors Refresh Rates
800 x 600 16* M 60, 72, 75 Hz
1024 x 768 32 K*, 64 K i43 (interlaced), 60, 70, 75 Hz
1280 x 1024 256** i45 (interlaced), 60, 72, 75 Hz
*Not available for Windows NT™ or OS/2.
**Not available for OS/2.

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Video Drivers
The following video drivers are supported for the Vectra VE 4/xx:
Operating
System Resolution Number of Colors
Windows 3.1
(preloaded) 1280 x 1024
640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024
640x480, 800x600, 1024x768
640x480, 800x600
16 (4 bpp)
256 (8 bpp)
32K/64K (15 & 16 bpp)
16M (24 bpp)
Windows NT
(3.1 and 3.5)
(distributed thru
BBS)
640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024
640x480, 800x600, 1024x768
640x480
256 (8 bpp)
64K (16 bpp)
16M (24 bpp)
OS/2 (2.11 and 3.0)
(distributed via
BBS)
640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024
640x480, 800x600, 1024x768
640x480
256 (8 bpp)
64K (16 bpp)
16M (24 bpp)
Windows 95
(distributed via
BBS)
1280 x 1024
640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024
640x480, 800x600, 1024x768
640x480*, 800x600*
16 (4 bpp)
256 (8 bpp)
32K/64K (15 & 16 bpp)
16M (24 bpp)
*Not available if 2 MB installed.
Italic font: requires 2 MB of video memory.

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Features •• 16
Preinstalled Software
Models with hard disk drives are supplied with preinstalled software:
Utilities and Drivers Software
• HP User Tools
• Video Drivers
• Logitech™ Mouse Drivers
• Plug and Play
• Desktop Management Interface
(DMI)
• Advanced Power Management (APM)
• MS-DOS 6.22
• Windows for Workgroups 3.11
• Dashboard

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Disk Controller
The integrated enhanced IDE disk controller supports up to four fast IDE devices. Two
connectors are provided on the system board and three on the cables. There are four
selectable channels and any type of IDE device can be connected to any channel (Fast PIO
mode 3 or standard IDE).
NOTE To get 32-bit access capability with specific drives, the CD-ROM drive must be
attached to a different connector from the hard disk drive(s). See “Understanding
CD-ROM Installation” for more information.

HP Vectra VE 4/xx PC Familiarization Guide 1 Product Overview and
Features •• 18
Disk Shelves
Two front access shelves, one of 1-inch, and one of 1.5 inch depth can accommodate 3.5-
inch or 5.25-inch drives. Two internal 1-inch shelves can accommodate 3.5 or 5.25-inch
drives.

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Features •• 19
Supported Drives
•3.5-inch, 1.44 MB flexible disk drive (D2035A/B)
•5.25-inch, 1.2 MB flexible disk drive (D2881A/B)
•3.5-inch, 270 MB IDE hard disk drive (D2388A)
•3.5-inch, 540 MB IDE hard disk drive (D2389A)
•Double-speed (2x) IDE CD-ROM drive with card (D2889A)
•Quadruple-speed (4x) HP IDE CD-ROM drive ( D2896A)

HP Vectra VE 4/xx PC Familiarization Guide 1 Product Overview and
Features •• 20
Security Features
The PCs have the following security features:
•power-on prompt, with user password
•communications port protection (ports can be disa bled in the Setup program)
•disk drive protection (disks can be disabled in the Setup program)
•system configuration protection, using an Administrator password
•cover lock and security bracket