HP Vectra VL400 Instruction Manual

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If you don’t know what to do, click
one of the items below:
What To Do First ➤
Diagnose Your Hardware ➤
Frequently Asked Questions ➤
If you can identify the problem area,
click one of the items below:
Problems Starting the PC ➤
Problems Using the PC ➤
Problems with Software ➤
Problems with Audio (Sound) ➤
Problems with Hardware ➤
The PC Detects and Error during Startup ➤
If you still can’t fix the problem, contact your support provider. But first, go to:
Collecting Information Before Contacting Support ➤
This information can be useful when fixing a problem:
Recovering Hard Disk Contents ➤
Clearing the BIOS (CMOS) Settings ➤
Updating the BIOS ➤
Recovering from a BIOS Update Failure or BIOS Corruption ➤
System Board Connectors ➤

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Have you set up your PC
correctly? !Ensure you have connected your PC correctly.
Is there really a problem or
don’t you know how to do
something?
!For help on using the Windows operating system, click the Start
button at the bottom of the screen then click Help.
!For help on using an application or software utility, consult its
paper documentation or the online help (usually accessed by
pressing the F1 key in the software).
Restart your PC and see if the problem recurs
Is the problem hardware or
software related? !
Run HP e-DiagTools to see whether you have a software or
hardware problem.
You can create a hardware profile of your PC (Support Ticket) that
can be faxed or mailed to support. See Diagnose Your Hardware
for information on using e-DiagTools.
Is the problem is related to
an application? !Refer to the application’s online and/or printed documentation. You
can also check the software manufacturer’s support Web site.
Check for Viruses !Your problem might be caused by a virus. Use your anti-virus
software to check for viruses. It is recommended that you run a
thorough check on your entire system.

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Get the Latest Updates !Connect to HP’s Support web site for your PC. Here you can get
the latest BIOS, driver and software updates for your PC.
If you have not done so already, you can also use HP
e-DiagTools to download and install the latest BIOS from the web
(refer to HP e-DiagTools).
If your problem cannot be
resolved !Record the details of the problem so that you can describe it
accurately. See Collecting Information Before Contacting Support.
Contact your HP dealer, or contact your authorized support
provider outside of peak times (mid-morning and early evening).
This should ensure your problem is dealt with as quickly as
possible.

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Frequently Asked Questions 1of11
Solving general problems:
How can I reinstall my PC’s operating
system? !Use the CDs provided with your PC.
Why is my PC running
slowly/producing strange messages? !If you are connected to a network, the slowness of your PC may be
caused by the network.
Your PC may be infected by a virus. Use an antivirus utility to
erase any viruses.
Or, update your PC’s BIOS. You can download the latest BIOS
and instructions from HP’s support web site.
I’ve been experiencing problems with my
PC ever since I installed some new
software. What can I do?
!Uninstall the software to see whether this solves the problem. If
the problem continues, contact the software manufacturer for help
or information on known compatibility problems.
Can I use USB hardware devices with the
operating system preloaded on my PC? !Yes. USB is supported by both Windows 98 and Windows 2000.
How can I find out what hardware and
BIOS version are used in my PC? !Restart the PC and press ESC during the Power-On-Self-Test
(POST). The BIOS version will be displayed at the top of the
screen.
Where can I get information about the
latest HP drivers? !From HP’s support web site.

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Frequently Asked Questions 2of11
When I boot my PC under Windows 98, a
message indicates there is a registry
error and that Windows will fix the
registry. What should I do?
!This bug is documented at:
http://support.intel.com/support/chipsets/storagedrivers/ultraATA
To fix this problem, install the latest IDE driver on HP’swebsite
(version 6.01.007 or later). Ensure that you install the chipset
driver before the IDE driver.Models purchased after November 1st
2000 are supplied with the correct driver.
My PC runs scandisk when I boot under
Windows 98 SE even if the previous
shutdown appeared to finish normally.
Why?
!Sometimes your PC may appear to shutdown successfully when it
it has not. In these cases the operating system thinks that
Windows has been shutdown incorrectly and runs scandisk.
A patch for this problem can be found at:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q273/0/17.ASP
Why doesn’tmyPCstartwhenusinga
console switch? !This only applies to switches that internally connect both power
lines of the PS/2 mouse and keyboard.To solve the problem, use
one mouse for each PC connected to the console switch.
Why does my PC emit a long series of
beeps during the boot process when my
screen remains blank?
!The beeps are created by the HP e-DiagTools Pre-boot
Diagnostics utility. For an explanation of the beep codes, refer to
page 56.
When I started my pc the first time, the
mouse scrolling wheel did not work. Is
there a problem?
!This only affects some Windows 95 users. If the machine is
rebooted, the scrolling wheel will function correctly and the
problem will not show up again.

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Frequently Asked Questions 3of11
How can I use the LEDs on the front
panel to troubleshoot my PC? !The LEDs on the front panel indicate the various states your PC is in.
The On/Off LED indicates the power modes status of your PC. The
three states are: green (PC is on), blinking green (PC is
suspended) and off (PC is off).
The Lock LED indicates whether your PC is locked or not. The two
states are: orange (PC is locked) and off (PC is not locked).
I have an event log which says that the
RPC hung. What can I do? !This is because Windows NT SP6a uses 99% of the CPU. This
bug has been acknowledged in the Microsoft knowledge base(Ref
Q266208 available on: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/
articles/Q266/2/08.ASP?LN=EN-US&SD=SO&FR=0)
The problem does not occur with SP5, this is why the hp VL400
comes pre-installed with SP5.
Why are the beep codes from the
e-DiagTools pre-boot diagnostics feature
reporting a null serial number and PCID
on my VL400?
!If the PC is unplugged and then plugged in again, both the serial
number and PCID are lost (reset to zero). If, subsequently, a pre-
boot failure occurs before the BIOS has been able to boot the PC
(and refresh the serial number and PCID in the micro-controller),
you will see a null serial number and PCID in the Virtual Call
Assistant.
The suggested workaround to this issue is to communicate the
serial number and model information over the telephone.

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Frequently Asked Questions 4of11
Problems with power management:
My PC hangs when coming back from
suspend under Windows 98. What
should I do?
!Occasionally, under Windows 98 SE, the PC does not wake from
standby mode. To solve the problem, open the power
management window by clicking
Start > Settings > Control Panel > Power Management
In the System Standby field, enter a value that is smaller than the
value in the Turn Off Monitor field.
My parallel port did not work after waking
up from standby mode S1 under
Windows 98
!This is a known bug of Windows 98 ACPI. See
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q242/9/
39.ASP?LNG=ENG&SA=AL
Hitting a key on my keyboard does not
always wake up the PC. Why? !Your PC may be in a “deep sleep”mode. Normally, you can wake
the PC by pressing any key or the On/Off button. However, the
operating system can disable the keyboard.
To enable the keyboard, right-click My Computer and select
Properties > Hardware > Device Manager.
Right-click on Keyboard, select Properties and check the
“Allow this device to bring the computer out of standby”checkbox.
I have a SCSI hard disk but my PC has a
problem with power mangement under
Window 98. How can I solve this
problem?
!Disable “Suspend to RAM”in your PC’s BIOS settings.

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Frequently Asked Questions 5of11
Problems with audio (sound):
I cannot hear music when I play an audio
CD under Windows 95 SR2.1. What
should I do?
!To solve this problem, select:
Control Panel > System Properties > Device Manager >
CDROM > Properties > Settings
And uncheck the DMA checkbox.
Why do I get a blue screen under NT4
when installing the sound drivers or
upgrading my machine from NT4 to
Windows 2000?
!This problem can be solved in several ways:
•Ifapreviousversionofthedriverwasalreadyinstalledit mustbe
uninstalled beforethenewdriverisinstalled. Try to use thelatest
installer: PS4026 or more recent.
•If the PnP OS field is set to Yes, change it to No
Why do I get a blue screen under NT4
when playing multimedia files? !Download the the driver 4.02.4028 (or later) from:
www.support.vectra.hp.com/vectrasupport/level4/901vfa109en/
901vfa109en.html

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Frequently Asked Questions 6of11
Problem with recovery CD-ROMs:
Why does my Image Creation and
Recovery CD not create the utility
partition correctly?
!This feature cannot work independently. First, create the HP utility
Partition. Then, create your main partition and install your
preferred operating system. Your HP Utility Partition should now
be ready for use.
Note: This problem only affects HP Image Creation and Recovery
CDs with the part numbers 5970-0170-xx and 5970-0190-xx.
When using the Image Creation and
Recovery CD-ROM, the PC stops. Why? !When the BIOS setup field "State after power failure" is set to "Off"
the PC stops and does not reboot correctly. To solve the problem,
manually power on the PC and continue the recovery process.
Why is my PC not booting from the
CD-ROM? !It is likely that some BIOS-level settings (boot device order,
security settings etc.) do not have correct values. Restart your PC
and enter the Setup program by pressing the appropriate function
key (F2 on most HP PC models, or F1 on others). Change the
incorrect settings, then try booting from the CD-ROM again.
It is also possible that the CD-ROM drive is not connected
properly.

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Frequently Asked Questions 7of11
Problems with LANs:
I get an error message in Windows 98
when changing the name of the
workgroup. What can I do?
!After changing the Workgroup Name in the Network Properties
window your computer will prompt you to reboot. After rebooting,
reboot a second time to fix the problem.
When my PC wakes up from suspend
mode, the LAN does not work. Why? !This problem affects users with Windows 95 who have Advanced
Power Management enabled and a HP/Intel Pro 100+
Management Adapter LAN card.
There are two possible ways to fix this problem.
•Disable Advanced Power Management.
To do this, go to Settings > Control Panel > Power
and disable the Allow Windows to manage power use on this
computer option
•Disable the LAN card’s BootROM
To do this, use the BROW utility which is available on the HP
Web site.
How can I use the LEDs on my LAN to
check if my network is active? !LED
10/100 LNK
ACT
Description
Green: Link
integrity 10
Yellow: Link
integrity 100
Yellow: Port traffic
for either speed
Flashing
Reversed polarity
Network traffic
present
Steady
Good 10BA E-T
connection
between NIC and
hub
Heavy network
traffic
Off
No connection
between NIC and
hub
No traffic