HP Vectra VT6 Manual

Familiarization Guide
HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC
and
HP Vectra VT 6/xxx PC
This guide is for experienced HP Response Center personnel, CEs,
and reseller technicians. That is, personnel who have already
completed the HP Vectra PC family training course, or equivalent,
and have at least six months of experience servicing the HP Vectra
PCs.
It is a self-paced training guide designed to train you to install,
configure, and repair the PC. You can follow it without having any
equipment available.

Notice
The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.
Hewlett-Packard makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material,
including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for
a particular purpose. Hewlett-Packard shall not be liable for errors contained herein
or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing,
performance, or use of this material.
Hewlett-Packard assumes no responsibility for the use or reliability of its software on
equipment that is not furnished by Hewlett-Packard.
This document contains propriety information that is protected by copyright. All
rights are reserved. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, or
translated to another language without the prior written consent of Hewlett-Packard
Company.
Centronics® is a registered trademark of Centronics Data Computer Corporation.
Microsoft®, Windows® and MS-DOS® are registered trademarks of the Microsoft
Corporation.
OS/2TM is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
NextStepTM is a trademark of Next Incorporated.
Novell® and NetWare® are U.S. registered trademarks of Novell, Inc.
PENTIUMTM is a trademark of Intel Corporation.
SCO UNIX® is a registered trademark of the Santa Cruz Operation.
SolarisTM is a trademark of Sun Microsystems Incorporated.
SoundBlasterTM is a trademark of Creative Technology Limited.
Hewlett-Packard France
Grenoble Personal Computer Division
Technical Marketing
38053 Grenoble Cedex 9
France
1995 Hewlett-Packard Company

Contents
iii
1 Product Overview and Features
Product Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
New Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Models Available at Product Launch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Vectra Products Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Product Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Local Bus Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
PCI Bus Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
ISA Bus Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Checkpoint: Product Overview and Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2 PC Hardware Structure
Packaging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Replacing the System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Installing or Replacing Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Installing or Replacing a Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Installing or Replacing Main Memory Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Installing Video Memory and Other Video Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Installing or Replacing Disk Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Installing or Replacing Accessory Boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Replacing the Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Checkpoint: PC Hardware Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Contents
iv
3 Troubleshooting and Repair
Product Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Software and Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Field Replaceable Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Checkpoint: Troubleshooting and Repair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
A Checkpoint Answers
Checkpoint Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
B Final Test
Final Test. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
C Answers to the Final Test
Answers to Final Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
D HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC
and HP Vectra VT 6/xxx PC
Course Evaluation Form
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

1
1
Product Overview and Features
The HP Vectra XU 6/150 PC and HP Vectra VT 6/150 PC are the first
members of the HP Vectra PC family to use the Intel Pentium Pro (P6)
microprocessor. This chapter gives an overview of the HP Vectra XU 6/xxx
PC and HP Vectra VT 6/xxx PC. It describes their differences and
similarities, and compares them with an earlier member of the HP Vectra PC
family, the HP Vectra XU 5/133C PC.

2
1 Product Overview and Features
Product Overview
Product Overview
The following two diagrams show the front and rear views of the HP Vectra
XU 6/xxx PC (the HP Vectra VT 6/150 PC is similar, but has no SCSI or
LAN connectors).
Main memory
Logo
Flexible disk drive
Volume control
Headphone jack
Microphone jack
Internal speaker grill
CD-ROM drive
Up to six accessory boards
can be installed
Status panel
Hard disk drive
Power supply
Empty front access
Empty internal drive shelf
drive shelves
S
Serial ports B and A
Mouse connector
Keyboard connector
MIDI/joystick connector
Stereo-in (audio) jack
Stereo-out (audio) jack
Parallel port
Fast-20 SCSI-2 connector
Key lock
Power connector
Voltage selection
VESA connector
Display connector
100 Mb/s LAN
10 Mb/s LAN
Identification label
Power supply handl
e
Hand-hold recess
Processor fan
Power supply fan
(XU only)
(XU only)
switch

3
1 Product Overview and Features
Product Overview
New Features
Models Available at Product Launch
HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC HP Vectra VT 6/xxx PC
Processors Intel Pentium Pro (P6) microprocessor
Dual Intel Pentium Pro capability —
Main memory 128-bit data path between the processor and main memory
Error correcting code (ECC) —
Peripheral handling integrated on
the system board
Fast-20 SCSI-2 on PCI bus —
Fast EIDE PCI master (up to PIO mode 4, and DMA mode 2)
SoundBlaster 16 audio on ISA bus
Peripheral handling on boards in
the PCI accessory slots
Matrox MGA Millennium PCI video controller board
HP 10/100 VG Selectable PC LAN Adapter —
Mass storage drives 1 GB or 2 GB hard disk drive 1 GB hard disk drive
1.44 MB flexible disk drive
Quadruple speed CD-ROM
Package Minitower
7 accessory shelves (5 with front access: three 5.25” ✕1.6” shelves, two 3.5” ✕1” shelves)
6 accessory board slots (three PCI, two ISA, one combination PCI/ISA)
Platform Product
Number
System
RAM
HDD FDD CD-ROM LAN Operating System
(Supplied)
XU 6/150 D3528A 16 MB
ECC
none 1.44 MB
(D2035A)
Quadruple
speed SCSI
(D2992B)
HP 10/100 VG
Selectable PC
LAN Adapter
(J2585A)
none
D3529N 1 GB SCSI (D2920A) Microsoft Windows NT
3.51 WS
D3530N 2 GB SCSI (D2926A)
VT 6/150 D3520A 16 MB
non-ECC
none 1.44 MB
(D2035A)
Quadruple
speed IDE
(D2896-
63301)
none none
D3521N 1 GB IDE (D2919A) Microsoft Windows NT
3.51 WS
D3521S IBM OS/2 Warp Connect

4
1 Product Overview and Features
Product Overview
Vectra Products Comparison
The two new products can be compared with the HP Vectra XU 5/xxC PC:
Component HP Vectra XU 5/xxC PC HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC HP Vectra VT 6/xxx PC
Microprocessor 5/90: Pentium 90 MHz
5/120: Pentium 120 MHz
5/133: Pentium 133 MHz
6/150: Pentium Pro (P6) 150 MHz
Second processor
option
Zero insertion force (ZIF) companion socket on the system board None
Math co-processor On the microprocessor chip
Level-1 (L1) cache
memory
8 KB I-cache (for instruction-code) plus 8 KB D-cache (for data), both on the microprocessor chip
Level-2 (L2) cache
memory
256 KB or 512 KB
(on the system board)
256 KB (on the microprocessor chip)
Local bus 64-bit, 60 MHz or 66 MHz (see the “Configuration Switches” table in the next chapter)
Main memory 32-bit (70 ns) DRAM 72-bit (60 ns) ECC DRAM 64-bit (60 ns) non-ECC DRAM
Standard 16 MB
Maximum 256 MB
Upgrades 8 MB (2 x 4 MB modules)
16 MB (2 x 8 MB modules)
32 MB (2 x 16 MB modules)
64 MB (2 x 32 MB modules)
16 MB (2 x 8 MB D3556A modules)
32 MB (2 x 16 MB D3555A modules)
64 MB (2 x 32 MB D3554A modules)
(all of which are ECC)
16 MB (2 x 8 MB non-ECC D3553A
modules)
Sockets Eight DIMM sockets (organized as four pairs)
Error protection Parity code error detection Error correcting code (ECC) None
PCI bus 32-bit, running at half the speed of the Local bus
Video controller 64-bit Ultra VGA on a PCI accessory
board (Matrox MGA Impression Plus)
64-bit Ultra VGA on a PCI accessory board (Matrox MGA Millennium)
Video memory 2 MB
Video upgrade
socket
One socket on the video board
(use a 2 MB D3095B module)
One socket on the video controller board (use a 2 MB D3557A module,
or order a 6 MB MGA-MIL/MOD6 module from Matrox)
SCSI controller Fast SCSI-2 PCI master (integrated
AMD PCscsi)
Fast-20 SCSI-2 (integrated Adaptec
AIC-7880 Controller on the PCI bus)
None

5
1 Product Overview and Features
Product Overview
IDE controller Enhanced IDE Master, integrated on the system board (on the PCI bus)
Mass storage
shelves
One front access 3.5-inch shelf
One front access 5.25-inch shelf
One front access 5.25-inch/3.5-inch
One internal 3.5-inch shelf
Two internal 3.5-inch shelves
Two front access 3.5-inch shelves
Three front access 5.25-inch shelves
Hard disk drives 540 MB or 1 GB or 2 GB SCSI,
or 540 MB IDE, or none
1 GB SCSI (D2920A),
or 2 GB SCSI (D2926A),
or none
1 GB IDE (D2919A),
or none
Flexible disk drives 1.44 MB (D2035A)
CD-ROM drives Quadruple speed SCSI on some
models
Quadruple speed SCSI
(D2992B)
Quadruple speed IDE
(D2896-63301)
LAN interface AMD PCnet on system board HP 10/100 VG Selectable PC LAN
Adapter (J2585A) PCI board
None
ISA bus 16-bit, running at one fourth the speed of the PCI bus
Integrated
communications
ports
1 serial port (RS232C 16550 UART),
1 parallel port (bidirectional multi-
mode), keyboard, mouse
2 serial ports (RS232C 16550 UART),
1 parallel port (bidirectional multi-mode),
keyboard, mouse
Audio capability Not supplied SoundBlaster 16 integrated on system board (on ISA bus)
Audio connectors Not supplied Headphone jack, microphone jack, MIDI/joystick connector, stereo-in jack and
stereo-out jack on front and rear panels; wavetable connector on system board
Accessory board
slots
One 32-bit PCI, three 16-bit ISA, and
one combination PCI or ISA
Three 32-bit PCI, two 16-bit ISA, and one combination PCI or ISA
Flash ROM POST, Setup, BIOS, security
Security Keyboard lock, mechanical cover lock,
disk and port disabling, power-on
button and reset button disabling
Mechanical cover lock, disk and port disabling
Passwords Two-level (user and system administrator) passwords
Software MS-DOS, Windows, HP Dashboard,
software drivers, HPROMInit pre-
installed
Microsoft Windows NT 3.51 WS
supplied, or none
Microsoft Windows NT 3.51 WS
bundled, or IBM OS/2 Warp supplied,
or none
Power supply Full range 90–264 VAC, 120 W Manually switched 115/230 VAC, 280 W input, 200 W output
Package Full height desktop Minitower
Component HP Vectra XU 5/xxC PC HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC HP Vectra VT 6/xxx PC

6
1 Product Overview and Features
Product Features
Product Features
Local Bus Devices
• Intel Pentium Pro (P6) microprocessor
• optional second Pentium Pro processor (HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC only)
• main memory controller and its memory modules
• error correcting code (ECC).
Microprocessor The Pentium Pro is a super-pipelined, dynamic branch-prediction,
asynchronous super-scalar Intel microprocessor. Within the single integrated
circuit package Intel provide a Level-Two (L2) cache memory chip and the
microprocessor. The former contains 256 KB of synchronous cache memory;
the latter includes two Level-One (L1) cache memories (an 8 KB instruction-
code cache memory, and an 8 KB data cache memory).
Software written for previous HP Vectra PCs will run on the Pentium Pro.
However, only 32-bit programs execute faster. The Pentium Pro is not pin
compatible with the Pentium.
Dual Processor The HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC has a socket for installing a second Pentium Pro
processor. However, to do so is only an advantage when running an operating
system that supports multiprocessing (“MPS-ready”), such as SCO-Unix,
NextStep, Solaris, OS/2 SMP and Windows NT. Of these, the Windows NT
operating system makes best use of the Pentium Pro’s 32-bit architecture
(though other operating systems will also show some benefit if 32-bit
application programs are run).
1. 32-bit operation at the outermost levels, but only 16-bit working internally
2. With the 32S library
SCO
Unix Next Step Sunsoft
Solaris OS/2 Windows NT 3.5
(or greater)
Windows
95
Windows
3.x DOS
Multi-threaded Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
MPS-ready Yes Yes No No Yes No No No
32-bit operating system Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial1No No
32-bit applications available Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial2No

7
1 Product Overview and Features
Product Features
DRAM Main Memory
Modules
The HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC and HP Vectra VT 6/xxx PC are supplied with
16 MB of main memory. Upgrade DIMMs can be installed, a pair at a time, to
increase this to a maximum of 256 MB.
There are eight memory sockets, grouped into four banks (labeled A to D on
the system board). Each bank comprises two sockets. The banks can be
filled in any order, but always with pairs of DIMMs of the same capacity and
same type (ECC or non-ECC).
❒16 MB ECC (a pair of 8 MB ECC modules)
❒16 MB non-ECC (a pair of 8 MB non-ECC modules)
❒32 MB ECC (a pair of 16 MB ECC modules)
❒64 MB ECC (a pair of 32 MB ECC modules).
Error Correcting Code
(ECC)
Although each memory module stores 64 bits of data (8 bytes) at a time, each
ECC memory module is accessed by a 72-bit bus. The extra bits are used for
the error correcting code (ECC). This allows single-bit data errors not only
to be detected, but also to be corrected.
PCI Bus Devices
• video controller
• Fast-20 SCSI-2 interface
• IDE controllers
• supported drives
• LAN controller
• other accessory boards.
Video Controller Board The HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC and HP Vectra VT 6/xxx PC are supplied with
a Matrox MGA Millennium video controller on a board that fits in a PCI
accessory slot. The board is fitted with 2 MB of DRAM video memory, as
standard. This is upgradeable to 4 MB by installing a 2 MB video memory
module. Upgrading to 8 MB is also possible, using a 6 MB module (available
from Matrox).
Drivers are not integrated into any of the operating systems. HP provided
drivers must be installed.
The table on the next page summarizes the video resolutions which are
supported.

8
1 Product Overview and Features
Product Features
Fast-20 SCSI-2 Interface On the HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC, data transfer rates of up to 20 MB per
second are available, using the 8-bit SCSI bus. Up to seven SCSI devices can
be connected on a variety of internal and external connectors. SCSI
configured automatically (SCAM) support is provided for SCSI Plug and Play.
HP drivers are provided for the following operating systems:
❒OS/2 2.11 (required)
❒Windows NT (required)
❒Windows 3.11 (recommended)
❒Windows 95 (recommended)
❒OS/2 Warp Connect (recommended).
IDE Controller The integrated IDE controller supports Enhanced IDE and Standard IDE. It
offers data transfer rates of up to 16.7 MB per second. The controller
supports up to four IDE devices: two IDE devices can be connected to the
primary channel cable, and two to the secondary channel cable. It is possible
to connect both fast devices and slow devices on the same channel without
affecting the performance of the fast device.
Supported Drives The following hard disk drives are supported (the first two are only
applicable to the HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC):
❒3.5-inch, 1 GB Fast-20 SCSI-2 hard disk drive (D2920A)
❒3.5-inch, 2 GB Fast-20 SCSI-2 hard disk drive (D2926A)
❒3.5-inch, 1 GB IDE hard disk drive (D2919A).
1. Your display might not support the maximum refresh rates that are shown here. Refer to the User’s Guide supplied with the display for
details of the refresh rates which it supports.
Resolution 256 Colors
8 Bits Per Pixel
64 K Colors (Hi-Color)
16 Bits Per Pixel
16.7 M Colors (True-
Color) 24 Bits Per Pixel
16.7 M Colors (True-
Color) 32 Bits Per Pixel
Maximum
Refresh Rates1
640 ✕480 2 MB 120 Hz
800 ✕600 2 MB 120 Hz
1024 ✕768 2 MB 4 MB 120 Hz
1152 ✕882 2 MB 4 MB 120 Hz
1280 ✕1024 2 MB 4 MB 8 MB 90 Hz
1600 ✕1200 2 MB 4 MB 8 MB 72 Hz

9
1 Product Overview and Features
Product Features
The D2992B quadruple-speed (4✕) SCSI CD-ROM drive is provided on the
HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC. The D2896-63301 quadruple-speed (4✕) IDE CD-
ROM drive is provided on the HP Vectra VT 6/xxx PC.
There are two dedicated internal shelves for 3.5-inch (slim) hard disks.
More hard disks can be installed in the five front accessible shelves (two
slim top shelves, 1-inch high, for 3.5-inch devices, and three half-height
bottom shelves, 1.6-inch high, for 5.25-inch devices). For front access
drives, 5.25-inch disk drive mounting rails (D2880A) and 3.5-inch disk drive
mounting rails (D3566A) can be ordered.
LAN Controller Board On the HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC, the HP 10/100 VG Selectable PC LAN
Adapter (J2585A) board is installed in a PCI accessory slot. It supports both
the IEEE 802.12 standard (100 VG-AnyLAN, giving a data transfer rate of 100
Mbits per second over voice grade cable), and the IEEE 802.3 standard (10-
BaseT, giving a data transfer rate of 10 Mbits per second).
The XU/VT Drivers and Documentation CD-ROM includes the diagnostic
DOS utility called HPVGSet. The Network Administrator’s Guide, and the
HP 10/100VG Selectable PC LAN Adapters installation guide (5963-
2665) are also available, in the formats shown in the table on page 11.
Other Accessory Boards There are four slots on the PCI bus for accessory boards. One of these is
already occupied by the video controller board, and a second (on the
HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC) by the LAN interface board. The fourth slot is a
combination PCI/ISA bus slot.
ISA Bus Devices
• Ultra I/O controller
• audio controller
• flash ROM
• other accessory boards.
Ultra I/O Controller The Ultra I/O chip supports the following:
❒two serial communications ports (RS-232-C, 16550 UART buffered)
❒one parallel communications port (bidirectional, multi-mode)
❒flexible drive controller (FDC)
❒real time clock (RTC)
❒keyboard and mouse controller.

10
1 Product Overview and Features
Product Features
Audio Controller The HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC and HP Vectra VT 6/xxx PC have a Creative
Labs SoundBlaster 16 audio interface integrated on the system board. This
has the following specification:
❒80 dB SNR
❒8-bit and 16-bit stereo sampling from 5 kHz to 44.1 kHz
❒Yamaha FM OPL3 synthesizer (20 polyphonic voices)
❒connector for AWE-32 capable accessory board
❒three inputs (1 microphone, 1 stereo-in, 1 CD-ROM)
❒three outputs (1 internal speaker, 2 stereo-out capable of supporting low-
impedance headphones)
❒connector for MIDI / joystick interface (MPU-401 UART compatible).
The Windows 95, OS/2 Warp Connect and Windows NT 3.51 WS operating
systems each have integrated drivers. The Windows 3.x and OS/2 2.11
operating systems require the installation of HP provided drivers.
Flash ROM The 256 KB flashable EEPROM chip holds the System ROM firmware. This
software is described in Chapter 3.
Other Accessory Boards There are three slots on the ISA bus for other accessory boards. The third slot
is a combination PCI/ISA bus slot.

11
1 Product Overview and Features
Documentation
Documentation
The table below summarizes the availability of the documentation that is
appropriate to the HP Vectra XU/VT 6/xxx PC. Three dots, ‘...’, are used to
indicate ‘XU’ or ‘VT’, as appropriate.
Only selected publications are available in paper-based form. Most are
available as printable files from the HP regional support servers, or from the
Support Assistant CD-ROM.
1. Available on the XU/VT Drivers and Documentation CD-ROM
Title Regional Support Servers Support Assistant CD-ROM Paper-based
Line of HP Vectra 6/xxx PC: XU VT XU VT XU VT
HP Vectra ... 6/xxx User’s Guide yes yes yes yes
D3538A
D3539A
Optimizing Performance Guide yes no yes no no
HP Vectra XU/VT 6/xxx Technical
Reference Manual
yes yes no
HP Vectra PC Service Handbook
(9th Edition)
yes yes yes yes 5963-8033
HP Vectra Accessory Service
Handbook (5th Edition)
yes yes 5963-8034
Network Administrators Guide WinHelp,
HTML and
text formats
not applicable yes not applicable no not applicable
HP 10/100 VG Selectable PC
LAN Adapters
yes not applicable yes not applicable 5963-2665 not applicable
Matrox MGA Millennium no no1no

12
1 Product Overview and Features
Checkpoint: Product Overview and Features
Checkpoint: Product Overview and Features
Now that you have read this chapter, check your understanding. Draw a
circle around the letter that corresponds to each correct answer below.
1How can the capacity of the L2 cache memory be increased on the
HP Vectra VT 6/xxx PC?
aBy installing an extra DIMM in the L2 cache memory socket
bBy installing a pair of DIMMs in the L2 cache memory sockets
cBy installing a pair of DIMMs in main memory sockets
dBy installing a second Pentium Pro processor
eBy replacing the current Pentium Pro processor with an upgrade
fThere is no L2 cache memory on the HP Vectra VT 6/xxx PC.
2What type of Ethernet interface is fitted as standard on the HP Vectra XU
6/xxx PC?
aNone fitted as standard
bHP 10/100 VG Selectable PC LAN Adapter board on all models
cHP 10/100 VG Selectable PC LAN Adapter board on all models except
the first (D3528A)
dIntegrated HP 10/100 VG Selectable PC LAN Adapter on all models
eIntegrated HP 10/100 VG Selectable PC LAN Adapter on all models
except the first (D3528A).
3Which of the following combinations of extra accessories would you not
be able to install on an HP Vectra VT 6/xxx PC?
aTwo PCI accessory boards and two ISA accessory boards
bTwo PCI accessory boards and three ISA accessory boards
cThree PCI accessory boards and two ISA accessory boards
dThree PCI accessory boards and three ISA accessory board
eAll of the above are possible.
4Which of the following combinations of extra drives would you not be able
to install on an HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC?
aOne 3.5-inch HDDs, two 3.5-inch FDDs, and two 5.25-inch FDDs
bTwo 3.5-inch HDDs, one 3.5-inch FDD, and two 5.25-inch FDDs
cTwo 3.5-inch HDDs, two 3.5-inch FDDs, and one 5.25-inch FDD
dOne 3.5-inch HDD, two 3.5-inch FDDs, one 5.25-inch FDD, and one
CD-ROM drive
eAll of the above are possible.

13
2
PC Hardware Structure
After reading this chapter you will be familiar with the PC’s package and
hardware assembly. You will know where its principle parts are (for fault
finding, or upgrade and configuration, for example), and you will know
where and how to install accessories.

14
2 PC Hardware Structure
Packaging
Packaging
This chapter covers the following servicing and installation topics:
• replacing the system board
• installing and replacing accessories:
❒installing and replacing a processor
❒installing and replacing main memory modules
❒installing video memory and other video modules
❒installing and replacing disk drives
❒installing and replacing accessory boards
• replacing the power supply.
Minitower Package The HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC and HP Vectra VT 6/xxx PC are the second and
third members of the HP Vectra family to use a minitower package (the
HP Vectra VL 5/xx MT series 4 PC was the first). The locations of the main
internal parts and external connectors of the HP Vectra XU/VT 6/xxx PC
version of the minitower are shown in the diagrams on pages 2 and 4 of
Chapter 1. All of the internal connectors appear on the system board, as can
be seen on page 18, since there is no backplane in these PCs.
Status Panel The status panel of the HP Vectra XU 6/xxx PC and HP Vectra VT 6/xxx PC
have the following features:
❒a power on/off button with integrated on/error status light
❒a reset button
❒a hard disk activity light.
Removing the Cover 1For safety, remove all power leads, connections to networks, displays, and
other peripheral equipment.
2If necessary, unlock the cover at the back, using the key.
3Lift the two securing latches at the front of the computer.
4Hold the securing latches as shown in the next diagram. If necessary, push
with your thumbs against the CD-ROM bezel.
5Slide the cover forward until it is clear of the computer.

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6Remove the airflow guide.
7Slide the power supply outwards (all cables remain connected) to give
better access to the system board, and cabling.
Airflow guide
Self-retaining screws

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Replacing the Cover To put the cover back, reverse the steps which were followed when removing
the cover. However, there are a number of points where care is needed:
1Check that cables will not be snagged when the power supply and the
cover slide back into place.
2Replace the airflow guide above the processor socket, pivoting it on the
lower edge of the cooling fan housing.
3Check that the cover is unlocked and that the latches are outwards.
4When you place the cover in front of the computer, ensure that the two
lips at the bottom of the case slide on to the two rails at the base of the
computer.
5When you slide the cover back into position, make sure that it does not
jam against the plastic clips on the right bezel.
6Ensure that the CD-ROM drive aligns correctly with the holes in the front
panel. For the final couple of centimeters of travel, place the palm of your
hand over this panel to prevent it from being pushed out by the CD-ROM.
7Push the two latches at the front of the cover down, until they click into
position. Lock the cover at the back with the key, if required.