Dell OptiPlex Gxi - Manual (Page 39)

Using the System Setup Program 2-9
NOTE: When two COM ports share an IRQ setting, you
can use either port as necessary, but you may not be able
to use them both at the same time.
For more information about built-in ports, port designa-
tions, IRQs, and the remapping of ports, see “Connecting
External Devices” in your online System User’s Guide.
Parallel Port
PARALLEL PORT configures the system’s built-in parallel
port. This category can be set to 378H (the default), to
alternate addresses 278H or 3BCH
, or to
OFF to disable the
port.
NOTE: Do not set PARALLEL PORT to 278H if you have
an Extended Capabilities Port (ECP) device connected to
the port.
Parallel Mode
PARALLEL MODE controls whether the system’s built-in
parallel port acts as an AT-compatible (unidirectional) or
PS/2-compatible (bidirectional) port.
Your system also supports ECP mode, which can be used
by the Windows 95 operating system. Windows 95 uses
ECP protocol automatically if it detects an ECP-capable
device.
Set this category according to the type of peripheral
device connected to the parallel port. To determine the
correct mode to use, see the documentation that came
with the device.
Hard Disk
HARD DISK enables or disables the system’s built-in EIDE
hard-disk drive interface.
With AUTO (the default option) selected, the system turns
off the built-in EIDE interface when necessary to accom-
modate a controller card installed in an expansion slot.
As part of the boot routine, the system first checks for a
primary hard-disk drive controller card installed in an
expansion slot. If no card is found, the built-in EIDE
interface is enabled, using IRQ14 and IRQ15.
If a primary controller is detected on the expansion bus,
the built-in EIDE interface is disabled.
Selecting OFF disables the built-in EIDE interface.
Diskette
DISKETTE controls the operation of the system’s built-in
diskette/tape drive controller.
With AUTO (the default option) selected, the system turns off
the built-in diskette/tape drive controller when necessary to
accommodate a controller card installed in an expansion slot.
With WRITE-PROTECT selected, nothing can be written to dis-
kette drives and tape drives using the system’s built-in diskette/
tape drive controller. (The system can still read from the
drives.) When this option is selected, the
AUTO option is also in
effect (the system turns off the built-in diskette/tape drive con-
troller as necessary).
Selecting OFF turns off the built-in diskette/tape drive control-
ler; this option is used primarily for troubleshooting purposes.
USB
USB determines whether the Universal Serial Bus (USB)
connectors on the system board are turned ON or OFF (the
default). You must reboot your system before a change
takes effect.
Speaker
SPEAKER determines whether the onboard speaker is ON
(the default) or OFF . A change to this category takes
effect immediately (rebooting the system is not required).
ECC
ECC determines whether the system’s error correction
code (ECC) capability is turned ON (the default) or OFF .
Your system supports ECC only if all the installed
DIMMs are ECC DIMMs. If any of the installed DIMMs
are not ECC DIMMs, this category does not appear.
System Data Categories
The following categories, which are not selectable, dis-
play information about the system:
•
MICROPROCESSOR displays the type of micro-
processor installed in the computer.
•
EXTERNAL CACHE displays the size of the onboard
cache ( 256 or 512 KB ).
•
VIDEO MEMORY displays the amount of video mem-
ory detected in your system.