NEC POWERMATE VP User manual

First Printing — March 1995
Copyright 1995 Copyright 1995
NEC Technologies, Inc. NEC Corporation
1414 Massachusetts Avenue 7-1 Shiba 5-Chome, Minato-Ku
Boxborough, MA 01719 Tokyo 108-01, Japan
All Rights Reserved All Rights Reserved
PROPRIETARY NOTICE AND LIABILITY DISCLAIMER
The information disclosed in this document, including all designs and related
materials, is the valuable property of NEC Corporation (NEC) and/or its licensors.
NEC and/or its licensors, as appropriate, reserve all patent, copyright and other
proprietary rights to this document, including all design, manufacturing,
reproduction, use, and sales rights thereto, except to the extent said rights are
expressly granted to others.
The NEC product(s) discussed in this document are warranted in accordance with
the terms of the Warranty Statement accompanying each product. However, actual
performance of each such product is dependent upon factors such as system
configuration, customer data, and operator control. Since implementation by
customers of each product may vary, the suitability of specific product
configurations and applications must be determined by the customer and is not
warranted by NEC.
To allow for design and specification improvements, the information in this docu-
ment is subject to change at any time, without notice. Reproduction of this docu-
ment or portions thereof without prior written approval of NEC is prohibited.
MultiSync and PowerMate are U.S. registered trademarks of NEC Technologies, Inc.
FastFacts is a U.S. trademark of NEC Technologies, Inc.
All other product, brand, or trade names used in this publication are the trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.

Contents iii
Contents
Using this Guide
Text Conventions....................................................... viii
Related Documents.................................................... ix
1 1-1
Using Your Computer 1-1
SYSTEM FEATURES............................................... 1-1
Front Panel............................................................ 1-2
Power Button................................................... 1-4
Lamps .............................................................. 1-4
Suspend Button................................................ 1-5
Diskette Drive.................................................. 1-5
Diskette Loading................................................... 1-7
Hard Disk......................................................... 1-9
CD-ROM Reader............................................. 1-9
CD Loading .......................................................... 1-11
Audio Support ................................................. 1-13
Rear Panel............................................................. 1-13
15-Pin VGA Monitor Port............................... 1-15
Printer Port ...................................................... 1-15
Serial Ports ...................................................... 1-15
Keyboard Port.................................................. 1-16
Mouse Port ...................................................... 1-16
Expansion Slot Covers .................................... 1-16
Sound Board Jacks .......................................... 1-17
Network Connectors........................................ 1-20
Power Supply........................................................ 1-22
Cooling Fans.................................................... 1-24
Voltage Selector Switch.................................. 1-24
System Power Socket ...................................... 1-25
Keyboard............................................................... 1-25
Function Keys.................................................. 1-26

iv Contents
Status Lamps....................................................1-26
Numeric Keypad/Cursor Control Keys............1-26
Standard Cursor Control Keys.........................1-27
Typewriter Keys ..............................................1-27
Mouse....................................................................1-27
Speakers ................................................................1-28
Microphone...........................................................1-28
SYSTEM OPERATION.............................................1-28
Startup/Shutdown..................................................1-28
Powering On ....................................................1-30
Powering Off....................................................1-32
System Reset.........................................................1-33
INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES ...........................1-35
Processor Subsystem.............................................1-36
System Memory ....................................................1-37
System BIOS.........................................................1-37
Flash ROM............................................................1-37
Power Management...............................................1-38
Using Standby Mode........................................1-39
Using Suspend Mode.......................................1-40
Plug and Play.........................................................1-40
System I/O Controller...........................................1-42
PCI Local Bus.......................................................1-43
PCI Auto Configuration........................................1-43
Video Features ......................................................1-43
DESKTOP MANAGEMENT INTERFACE.............1-44
DMI Components..................................................1-45
Manageable Products............................................1-46
CI Module .............................................................1-46
DMI Browser ........................................................1-46
Usage.....................................................................1-48
Troubleshooting....................................................1-48
2 2-1
Setting System Parameters 2-1
THE SETUP UTILITY ..............................................2-2

Contents v
HOW TO START SETUP......................................... 2-3
HOW TO USE SETUP.............................................. 2-4
The Menu Bar....................................................... 2-5
The Legend Bar .................................................... 2-6
Selecting a Menu Item..................................... 2-7
Displaying a Submenu..................................... 2-7
The Field Help Window....................................... 2-7
The General Help Window................................... 2-7
Main Menu Options.............................................. 2-8
IDE Adapters ........................................................ 2-9
Memory Shadow................................................... 2-11
Boot Sequence...................................................... 2-12
NumLock.............................................................. 2-14
THE ADVANCED MENU........................................ 2-14
Integrated Peripherals Menu................................. 2-15
Parity..................................................................... 2-16
Large Disk Access Mode...................................... 2-17
THE SECURITY MENU........................................... 2-17
THE POWER MENU................................................ 2-20
THE EXIT MENU..................................................... 2-21
Save Changes & Exit............................................ 2-22
Discard Changes & Exit ....................................... 2-22
Get Default Values ............................................... 2-22
Load Previous Values........................................... 2-23
Save Changes........................................................ 2-23
3 3-1
Using NEC Utilities and Drivers 3-1
MOUSE DRIVER...................................................... 3-1
Changing Mouse Parameters................................ 3-2
Command Line Options........................................ 3-2
VIDEO DRIVERS..................................................... 3-5
BIOS UPDATE UTILITY......................................... 3-7
Using the Flash Utility.......................................... 3-7
NEC Bulletin Board Service................................. 3-8

vi Contents
4 4-1
Maintaining Your Computer 4-1
SYSTEM CARE.........................................................4-1
Protective Measures..............................................4-1
Routine Care .........................................................4-3
Backup...................................................................4-3
MOUSE CARE ..........................................................4-4
CD CARE...................................................................4-6
MOVING GUIDELINES...........................................4-7
5 5-1
Removing the System Unit Cover 5-1
DESKTOP SYSTEM UNIT COVER........................5-1
Removing the Desktop Cover...............................5-1
Replacing the Desktop Cover................................5-4
MINITOWER SYSTEM UNIT COVER...................5-6
Removing the Minitower Cover............................5-6
Removing the Minitower Bottom Access Cover ..5-9
Replacing the Minitower Cover............................5-10
Replacing the Bottom Access Cover.....................5-12
6 6-1
Adding Options 6-1
OPTIONAL HARDWARE........................................6-1
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS ........................................6-3
EXPANSION BOARDS ............................................6-4
Desktop Slot Expansion Locations.......................6-5
Desktop Board Installation....................................6-7
Desktop Board Removal .......................................6-9
6 6-11
Adding Options 6-11
Desktop Inside Expansion Slot .............................6-12

Contents vii
Installing an Inside Slot Board........................ 6-12
Removing an Inside Slot Board....................... 6-15
Minitower Slot Locations..................................... 6-17
Minitower Board Installation................................ 6-18
Minitower Board Removal................................... 6-20
6 6-19
Adding Options 6-19
SIMM UPGRADE KITS ........................................... 6-21
Precautions............................................................ 6-22
Checking the Memory in Your System ................ 6-23
SIMM Installation................................................. 6-26
VIDEO UPGRADE ................................................... 6-30
PROCESSOR UPGRADE......................................... 6-33
DATA STORAGE DEVICES ................................... 6-37
Storage Device Support........................................ 6-37
6 6-37
Adding Options 6-37
Desktop Device Slots............................................ 6-38
Minitower Device Slots........................................ 6-39
Device Preparation ............................................... 6-40
Cables ................................................................... 6-40
System Power Cables ...................................... 6-42
Diskette Drive Signal Cable............................ 6-42
PCI/IDE Cable................................................. 6-43
Desktop Storage Device Installation .................... 6-44
Installing a Desktop Storage Device ............... 6-44
Cabling a Desktop Storage Device.................. 6-49
6 6-51
Adding Options 6-51
Minitower Storage Device Installation................. 6-53
Installing an Accessible Minitower Storage Device6-53

viii Contents
Cabling a Minitower Storage Device...............6-58
Installing an Internal Minitower Storage Device6-60
EXTERNAL PERIPHERALS....................................6-62
VGA MONITOR........................................................6-62
PARALLEL PRINTER..............................................6-64
RS-232C DEVICE......................................................6-66
MULTIMEDIA COMPONENTS ..............................6-68
Connecting the Speakers.......................................6-69
Connecting the Microphone..................................6-71
7 7-1
Setting System Board Jumpers 7-1
JUMPER LOCATIONS.............................................7-2
JUMPER SETTINGS.................................................7-3
Changing Jumper Settings.....................................7-6
CMOS Jumper.......................................................7-7
8 8-1
Solving Problems 8-1
PROBLEM CHECKLIST..........................................8-1
PRODUCT INFORMATION.....................................8-5
IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE..................................8-7
Getting Help from Your Company........................8-7
Getting Help from Your Dealer ............................8-8
Getting Help from NEC........................................8-8
A A-1
Setting Up a Healthy Work Environment A-1
MAKING YOUR COMPUTER WORK FOR YOU.A-1
ARRANGE YOUR EQUIPMENT ............................A-3
ADJUST YOUR CHAIR ...........................................A-4
ADJUST YOUR KEYBOARD AND MOUSE.........A-6
ADJUST YOUR MONITOR.....................................A-8
VARY YOUR WORKDAY.......................................A-10

Contents ix
PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS AND PSYCHOSOCIAL
FACTORS.................................................................. A-12
CHECKING YOUR COMFORT: HOW DO YOU
MEASURE UP?......................................................... A-13
Checking Your Chair............................................ A-13
Checking Your Keyboard..................................... A-13
Checking Your Mouse.......................................... A-13
Checking Your Monitor........................................ A-13
Checking You....................................................... A-14
B B-1
Specifications B-1
C C-1
CD-ROM Reader Configuration C-1
D D-1
Sound/Fax/Modem Board Configuration D-1
SOUND/FAX/MODEM BOARD CONFIGURATIOND-3
SOUND/FAX/MODEM BOARD CONNECTOR
JUMPER.................................................................... D-5
FAX/MODEM COM JUMPERS ............................. D-6
FAX/MODEM IRQ JUMPERS................................ D-7
Glossary
Index
List of Tables Setup Key Functions................................................. 2-6
Main Menu Parameters............................................. 2-8
IDE Hard Disk Parameters........................................ 2-11
Memory Shadow Parameters.................................... 2-12
Boot Parameters........................................................ 2-13

xContents
Keyboard Parameters ................................................2-14
Integrated Peripherals Parameters.............................2-16
Large Disk Parameters ..............................................2-17
System Security Options...........................................2-18
Power Management Parameters................................2-20
1-MB Video Resolutions...........................................3-5
2-MB Video Resolutions...........................................3-6
Single-Sided SIMM Upgrade Path............................6-25
Double-Sided SIMM Upgrade Path ..........................6-26
Troubleshooting ........................................................8-2

Contents xi