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XEN OWNER'S HANDBOOK

Getting started with your computer

Chapter 2

General advice

The computer is designed to be used in a normal office
environment. Here are a few hints for choosing a suitable
site:

Place the system unit flat on a sturdy, level surface.
Unlike some other computers, the system unit is not
designed to be stood on its side.

Site the system away from moisture, direct sunlight,
and extremes of heat and cold. Avoid situations in
which the surrounding temperature or humidity may
change rapidly. See Appendix B, “Technical
Information”, for recommended temperature and
humidity ranges.

When positioning the system unit, monitor and
keyboard, take into account any local or national
regulations relating to ergonomic requirements. For
example, you should ensure that little or no ambient
light is reflected off the monitor screen as glare, and
that the keyboard is placed in a comfortable position
for typing.

Give the system plenty of room so that air can
circulate on all sides. Air is drawn into the system unit
through the vent on the left-hand side. Ensure that
this vent is never obstructed.

Do not allow any cables, particularly power cords, to
trail across the floor where they can be snagged by
people walking past.

The computer uses the system unit AC power cord
as its “disconnect device”. Ensure that the system
unit is positioned close to the AC power outlet, and
that the plug is easily accessible.

To prevent fire and electric shock, do not expose any
part of the system unit to rain or moisture.

Summary of Contents for Apricot XEN pentium

Page 1: ...apricot OWNER S HANDBOOK MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC XEN Pentium ...

Page 2: ...Chapter OWNER S HANDBOOK ...

Page 3: ... a commitment on the part of Apricot Computers Limited Any software described in this manual is furnished under a license agreement The software may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of this agreement It is against the law to copy any disk supplied for any purpose other than the purchaser s personal use All rights reserved no use or disclosure without written consent Copyright Ap...

Page 4: ...irreparablydamaged Turnoffthecomputerandunplugallpowercordsbeforemoving the system unit cleaning the computer or removing the system unit top cover The CD ROM drive contains a laser system which is harmful to the eyes and is classified as a CLASS 1 LASER PRODUCT accordingtoIEC825RadiationSafetyofLaserProducts Equipment Classification Requirements User s Guide Do not attempt to disassemble the CD R...

Page 5: ...ure that you use a power cord and plug which complies with the safety standards of that country Plug Standard Countries 250V E L N BS1363A United Kingdom Austria Belgium Finland E N L 250V SHUCO France Germany Holland Italy Norway Sweden 250V N L E SRAF 1962 Denmark DB16 87 E N L 125V NEMA 5 15P USA Canada 250V ASE 1011 Switzerland 250V AS 3112 1981 Australia The power cord fittings must bear the ...

Page 6: ...should be employed when adding the replacement plug The wires in the mains lead are coloured in accordance with the following code Green and Yellow Earth Blue Neutral Brown Live As the colours of the wires in the mains lead of this appliance may not correspond with the coloured markings identifying the terminals in your plug proceed as follows The wire which is coloured green and yellow must be co...

Page 7: ...has been tested and found to comply with the RF emission limits for an FCC Class B computing device which is intended to provide reasonable protection against such interference in a residential installation However there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation If this equipment does cause interference with radio or television reception which can be determined ...

Page 8: ...Chapter CONTENTS ...

Page 9: ...9 3 Operating your computer Using the front panel controls 3 2 Using the 3 5 diskette drive 3 3 Using the 5 25 floppy disk drive 3 4 Using a CD ROM drive 3 6 Using the FTD tape drive 3 11 Using the SCSI QIC tape drive 3 13 Using the SCSI DDS DC tape drive 3 16 Using your computer abroad 3 21 4 SETUP Introduction 4 1 Invoking SETUP 4 1 The opening screen 4 2 Using SETUP 4 4 SETUP runs automatically...

Page 10: ...es 5 15 3 5 hard disk drive 5 21 6 Caring for your computer Cleaning your computer 6 2 Transporting your computer 6 6 7 Troubleshooting Problems when starting 7 2 Checklist 7 4 A Appendix Inside your computer Anti static precautions A 2 Removing the top cover A 3 Configuring expansion cards A 4 Motherboard jumper settings A 14 B Appendix Technical Information Specifications B 2 Physical characteri...

Page 11: ...Chapter INTRODUCING YOUR COMPUTER Chapter 1 ...

Page 12: ...1 INTRODUCING YOUR COMPUTER The Apricot XEN Pentium range is ideally suited for use as a general purpose personal computer networked business workstation or workgroup server Read the separate Power Connection Guide before using your computer for the first time ...

Page 13: ...DE hard disk drive interface Fast graphic boot option with SETUP configuration utility in read only memory ROM Full power management Two full length one half length 16 bit Industry Standard Architecture ISA expansion card slots and one full length PCI slot ISA IDE drive interface for use with an ATA PI CD ROM drive Extended keyboard with microphone mount two button mouse parallel and dual serial p...

Page 14: ...ith accompanying installation diskettes and additional documentation Some of these options may have been factory configured or installed by your supplier Keep the cartons boxes and packaging materials you will need them again if you have to transport the computer elsewhere Make a note of the manufacturer s data recorded on the various components product codes serial numbers etc You may need this i...

Page 15: ...1 4 XENOWNER SHANDBOOK Introducing your computer Chapter 1 2 1 3 4 5 ...

Page 16: ... lights when a diskette floppy disk or floppy tape drive is accessed depending on the operating system lights when a hard disk drive or SCSI tape drive is accessed depending on the operating system 3 door shown closed hinges down to reveal the removable media drive bay 4 3 5 diskette drive fitted as standard 5 top cover caselock the caselock secures the system unit top cover keep the keys for this...

Page 17: ...1 6 XENOWNER SHANDBOOK Introducing your computer Chapter 1 1 1 1 2 1 0 1 3 9 1 0 2 4 5 6 7 8 1 3 ...

Page 18: ...serial port 1 50 baud to 19 200 baud typically used for connecting an external modem or a serial printer signal cable 7 serial port 2 50 baud to 19 200 baud typically used for connecting an external modem or a serial printer signal cable 8 parallel port typically used for a printer signal cable Supports ECP and EPP 9 monitor port connect the monitor signal cable to this port 10 casing screws loose...

Page 19: ... by either an ISA or PCI card 3 SIMM sockets every system is fitted with at least 8 Mbytes of memory which can be upgraded to 128 Mbytes by the use of single in line memory modules 5 processor socket replace the existing processor with a suitable OverDrive processor here to upgrade the processing power of your computer 4 5 25 removable media drive bay may be occupied by a removable media drive 6 3...

Page 20: ...Chapter Chapter 2 GETTING STARTED WITH YOUR COMPUTER ...

Page 21: ...ect power and configure your computer If you are familiar with the operation of personal computers this chapter will probably tell you all you need to know in order to start working with your computer Chapter 3 Operating your computer has more information about the use of the various disk and tape drives which may be fitted in the system Read the separate Power Connection Guide before using the co...

Page 22: ... into account any local or national regulations relating to ergonomic requirements For example you should ensure that little or no ambient light is reflected off the monitor screen as glare and that the keyboard is placed in a comfortable position for typing Give the system plenty of room so that air can circulate on all sides Air is drawn into the system unit through the vent on the left hand sid...

Page 23: ...equired there If necessary the AC voltage setting of the system can be adjusted by the voltage selection switch on the rear of the system unit see the section on Using the computer abroad in Chapter 3 Operating your computer Note that the monitor s voltage setting will probably also need adjusting consult the User s Guide that accompanies the monitor or ask your supplier for help The Safety and Re...

Page 24: ... cable into the rear of the system be careful not to plug it into the mouse port by mistake 4 Connect the system unit and peripheral power cords to nearby grounded AC power outlets 5 If your AC power outlets have switches set them to their On positions Your computer is now ready to use The rest of this chapter tells you how to turn your computer on and off and how to configure it using the built i...

Page 25: ...t By default it will first look for a system diskette then for a bootable hard disk partition Turning the power off When you have finished using the system and want to turn it off be sure that any information you want to keep is stored on a diskette or on a hard disk Any information held in the computer s system memory will be lost when you turn off the computer Always turn off any attached periph...

Page 26: ... computer on it will boot load its operating system from the master drive which will appear as MS DOS drive C The slave drive is not partitioned or formatted You must partition the slave drive with the MS DOS Fdisk program and format the partitions with the Format command Until you do this you will be unable to use the slave drive See your MS DOS manual for instructions on using Fdisk and Format C...

Page 27: ... of MS DOS Windows and the Windows display driver your hard disk will contain images of the DOS and Windows installation diskettes and any drivers diskettes for your computer A Windows utility is provided to allow you to create copies of these diskettes This utility is run whenever you start Windows You will need a copy of the display driver diskettes should you wish to install a display driver fo...

Page 28: ...he system s capabilities The configuration data is kept in a special part of the computer s memory known as configuration memory or CMOS memory This memory is sustained by a small battery so its contents are preserved while the computer is turned off Your computer arrives preconfigured but may need to be reconfigured after you add or remove add on options such as memory modules or expansion cards ...

Page 29: ...later Windows help files may be identified by their HLP file extensions although this is not an infallible guide as some other help formats use the HLP extension Windows help files are often accompanied by ICO icon files of the same name If your computer has a hard disk on which the Microsoft Windows application environment has been pre installed copies of some Windows help files may already be av...

Page 30: ... icon file if it has one from the diskette to a hard disk or network drive 2 Choose New from the File menu in Program Manager Select the Program Item option in the New Program Object dialog box then choose OK The Program Item Properties dialog box appears 3 In the Description text box type the title of the diskette from which the help file was copied 4 In the Command Line text box type the path an...

Page 31: ...lpfile txt more Version numbers All the help files provided have a version number so you can tell whether you re looking at the most up to date version You can discover the version number of a Windows help file by viewing it with Help and choosing About Help from the Help menu ...

Page 32: ...Chapter Chapter 3 OPERATING YOUR COMPUTER ...

Page 33: ...pter 3 3 OPERATING YOUR COMPUTER This chapter contains all you need to know for the day to day operation of your computer Note that the monitor has its own User s Guide Read the separate Power Connection Guide before using the computer for the first time ...

Page 34: ...ton is used to turn the computer on and off The green indicator in the button lights when the system is powered This button also controls the power supply through the AC power outlet to the monitor There are two activity indicators on the front panel Inactive Active Meaning when active The computer is using a 3 5 diskette drive a 5 25 floppy disk drive or an FTD floppy tape drive The computer is u...

Page 35: ...sk surface The drive automatically moves the shutter aside to read the diskette Never touch the exposed surface under the shutter Keep diskettes well away from dust moisture magnetic objects and equipment that generates magnetic fields Also avoid extremes of temperature and exposure to direct sunlight Otherwise data recorded on the diskette may become corrupted Inserting a diskette Insert the disk...

Page 36: ...neath it as shown below With the tab in this position you can read or print files from the diskette but you cannot create rename or delete any files PROTECTED UNPROTECTED Using the 5 25 floppy disk drive Your computer may be configured with a 5 25 floppy disk drive This drive can read and write double sided disks with a formatted capacity of either 1 2 Mbytes if marked HD or high density or 360 Kb...

Page 37: ...engage the drive mechanism Removing a floppy disk Before attempting to remove a disk ensure that the drive is not currently in use the drive s LED must be unlit Turn the locking lever one quarter turn counter clockwise to disengage the drive mechanism The diskette is ejected halfway out of the drive Write protecting a floppy disk A floppy disk can be write protected by covering the small notch in ...

Page 38: ...evel control Alternatively on systems fitted with a sound card sound can be played through the computer s internal stereo speakers or the audio output socket Do not attempt to move the computer while a CD is in the drive especially if the CD is being played at the time The laser beam inside the CD ROM drive is harmful to the eyes Do not attempt to disassemble the CD ROM drive If a fault occurs cal...

Page 39: ...jected fully either push the EJECT button again or gently push the front of the platter it will be drawn into the drive If the platter only ejected halfway push the platter in until it engages with the drive mechanism Wait for the CD to spin up to speed before attempting to read from it Removing a compact disc Before attempting to remove a CD ensure that the drive is not currently in use the drive...

Page 40: ...y eject hole and push see below COMPACT Keep CDs well away from dust and moisture and avoid touching the surface of the CD Also avoid extremes of temperature and exposure to direct sunlight CD caddy drives A few CD ROM drives need a CD caddy in order to play CDs To identify one of these drives compare your drive to the illustration below DISC CADDY SLOT EMERGENCY EJECT HOLE BUSY INDICATOR EJECT BU...

Page 41: ...tter that guards the disc s surface the drive automatically moves the shutter aside to read the disc One disc caddy is provided free with the drive more can be obtained from your supplier Use only approved disc caddies Do not confuse a CD s storage case with a proper disc caddy if you attempt to insert a disc storage case you will damage the drive 1 Ensure that the computer is turned on and that t...

Page 42: ...r use If the activity indicator remains on this may indicate that the disc is not properly positioned within the caddy In this case press the EJECT button to remove the caddy and try again If the problem persists consult your supplier or an authorized maintainer Note too that the software controlling the CD ROM drive may be able to prevent the insertion of a disc Removing a compact disc 1 Ensure t...

Page 43: ...c is inside a caddy do not open the shutter manually and touch the disc Also avoid extremes of temperature and exposure to direct sunlight Using the FTD tape drive Your computer may be configured with a 120 Mbyte FTD floppy tape drive The FTD is so called because it uses the on board diskette floppy disk interface and so does not require an additional drive controller card like most other tape dri...

Page 44: ...ive slot until you feel a slight resistance WRITE PROTECT TAB METAL PLATE ACTIVITY INDICATOR 3 Carefully push the cartridge in a bit further until it engages with the drive mechanism Removing a cartridge 1 Do not attempt to remove a cartridge while it is being accessed by the computer the drive s activity indicator must be unlit 2 Grasp the cartridge between thumb and forefinger and pull it carefu...

Page 45: ...cartridges The software required to control the QIC tape drive depends on your operating environment ask your supplier for details Currently 150 Mbyte and 525 Mbyte QIC tape drives are suplied However these capacities depend on the type of cartridge and the recording format used The 525 Mbyte drive can use either DC6320 600 ft 320 Mbyte or DC6525 1000 ft 525 Mbyte cartridges and can read and write...

Page 46: ...ing in increased error rates and reduced head life Standardize on one length only preferably 600 ft to get the best performance from your drive The tape drive can be damaged by incorrect insertion or removal of cartridges so always observe the following procedures Inserting a cartridge 1 Check that the green indicator on the tape drive is not lit This indicates that the drive is ready to accept a ...

Page 47: ...idge 1 Do not attempt to remove the cartridge while it is being accessed by the computer that is while the green indicator is lit 2 Push the control lever to the left to release the mechanism 3 Push the control lever further to the left you will feel a slight resistance as you do so until the cartridge springs a short way out of the drive ...

Page 48: ...s position data can be read from the tape but not written to it Keep your tape cartridges well away from magnetic objects and equipment that generates magnetic fields Avoid extremes of temperature and exposure to direct sunlight otherwise the data recorded on the tape may become corrupted Using the SCSI DDS DC tape drive Your computer may be configured with a SCSI DDS DC Digital Data Storage with ...

Page 49: ...ompresses it or passes it through unaltered as appropriate Use only cassettes bearing the DDS symbol you cannot play audio DAT cassettes with this drive The DDS DC drive writing uncompressed data has a nominal capacity of 1 3 Gbytes on a 60 metre cassette or 2 0 Gbytes on a 90 metre cassette with a sustained transfer rate of 366 Kbytes second At a data compression ratio of 4 1 the drive has a nomi...

Page 50: ...gh humidity Media warning A media warning when the Cassette in Place green LED flashes slowly indicates that the tape may be becoming unreliable although at this point no data has been lost First clean the tape head cylinder with a cleaning cassette then try the data cassette again If the warning persists copy the data onto a new cassette and discard the old one A media warning can also indicate t...

Page 51: ...peration Automatic drive operation To prolong the life of the tape and the drive mechanism the drive relaxes during periods of inactivity no read or write operations After 30 seconds the capstan and pinch roller are released and tape tension is removed After 90 seconds the tape is pulled away from the head cylinder and the cylinder stops rotating Inserting a cassette Insert the cassette into the s...

Page 52: ...onment the EJECT button may be disabled while the drive is in use If the tape is write enabled a copy of the tape log held in the drive s memory is written back to tape The drive rewinds to the beginning of the tape unthreads it and ejects the cassette Several seconds may pass between the button being pressed and the cassette being ejected so be careful not to turn off the computer before the oper...

Page 53: ...ome corrupted Using your computer abroad Your computer arrives ready to work with the commercial AC power supply available in the country in which it is first sold If you plan to use your computer in another country you should first check the following facts about your destination 1 The voltage and frequency of the commercial AC power supply 2 The type of plug required for the AC power outlets The...

Page 54: ...re returned to their original voltage settings when you return home The AC power cord and plug supplied with the computer comply with the safety standards applicable in the country in which it is first sold If you plan to use your computer in another country you must get a power cord that complies with the safety standards of the destination country For further details see the Safety and Regulator...

Page 55: ...Chapter Chapter 4 SETUP ...

Page 56: ...oard maintains the configuration memory when the computer is switched off Invoking SETUP Each time the computer is switched on or rebooted it runs through a self test procedure During this period the SETUP utility can be invoked by pressing the F1 key An icon in the form of a box a little over one inch square appears in the top right corner of the screen during the period that SETUP can be invoked...

Page 57: ...Items such as processor type and speed memory and disk drives are covered Devices and I O Ports Allows you to change settings for serial and parallel ports IDE interfaces and video Date and Time Change the settings of the date and time maintained on the motherboard Security Setup This menu allows you to view or change access settings for hard and diskette drives and to set or modify user and admin...

Page 58: ... the settings you have changed since starting SETUP If you choose Exit Setup described below before choosing Save Settings orRestoreSettings youareprompted to save before ending the session Restore Settings Restores all configuration values to those that were in effect when you invoked SETUP Load Default Settings Resets all configuration values to the defaults provided in the BIOS Exit Setup Ends ...

Page 59: ...han can fit on a single screen ESC You can exit SETUP or individual menus by pressing the ESC key If you are in the Main Menu pressing ESC acts like choosing Exit Setup If you are in a submenu pressing ESC closes that submenu and returns to the previous menu UP and DOWN ARROW You can scroll through a list of configurable items using the UP and DOWN ARROW keys ENTER You select a menu or command by ...

Page 60: ... time the computer was booted SETUP will be invoked automatically If SETUP runs automatically error code screens may appear before the Main Menu The meaning of these error codes is given in a table at the end of this publication When SETUP runs automatically arrowheads appear alongside Main Menu items affected by the changes detected System Summary When you choose System Summary a window appears w...

Page 61: ...sk Interface This item selects whether the ISA IDE interface is enabled In this application the ISA IDE interface is intended primarily for ATA PI compliant CD ROM drives and the interface can safely be disabled unless such a drive is connected to the ISA IDE interface ISA AT Disk Interface Address This item selects whether the ISA IDE interface is addressed at the primary or secondary set of addr...

Page 62: ...Port Extended Mode field Parallel Port Extended Mode When the Parallel Port Mode field is set to Extended this field allows you to select which of three enhanced modes the parallel port operates in The three options are Bidirectional simple two directional data transfer EPP Enhanced Parallel Port compatible operation ECP operation as an Extended Capabilities Port If you wish to use either ECP or E...

Page 63: ... Video Memory items are displayed for information only and are not editable Video Display This option lets you choose between a number of monitor types or to select Custom The options alter the timings of video signals at the video connector to suit a variety of different types of monitor it is important to ensure that you have made the correct selection The choices are Selection Monitors supporte...

Page 64: ...is option allows you to manually configure the refresh rates for each of the supported video resolutions Refresh Rates The Refresh Rate options are only configurable when Video Display Type is set to Custom If your monitor does not match one of the combinations of refresh rates provided by the other three Video Display Type selections you can configure the refresh rate for each resolution independ...

Page 65: ...GHT ARROW keys to move to the right or left respectively Time is in 24 hour format Hour Minute Second System Date To set or change the values in this field type a number or use the and keys to increase or decrease the current number To move between fields i e to change the value for the day but not the month use the LEFT and RIGHT ARROW keys to move to the right or left respectively The date is in...

Page 66: ...er password is enabled the password must be entered every time the system is powered on or rebooted Enter User Password If you wish to enter or change the user password type the password in this field letters and numbers only Enter User Password Again Re type the password entered above Set or Change User Password Select this when you have entered and confirmed by re entering the new password This ...

Page 67: ... If you choose the Administrator Password option a menu appears This menu allows you to set or delete an Administrator password and to choose whether a user can change the user password When an administrator password is enabled the password must be entered every time SETUP is invoked If SETUP is invoked and the User password entered the only options available are System Summary and optionally the ...

Page 68: ...pting you to press ENTER to confirm the deletion Press the ESC key to return to the Main Menu and stop the deletion User password changeable by user This option can be set to Yes or No When it is set to No and an Administrator password is set only the Administrator can change the User Password If this option is set to Yes the User Password can be changed by anyone who knows the current password St...

Page 69: ... absence of a keyboard and halt the boot process If this option is set to Enabled POST by passes the keyboard test and the system will start without a keyboard Startup Devices These four menu items allow you to control the sequence in which the system looks for a bootable drive The default sequence is diskette drive 0 then hard disk drive 0 Use these four options if you wish to alter this sequence...

Page 70: ... normally be used If you use old speed sensitive software you may find that it requires the cache to be Disabled Cache Size This line duplicates one of the items in the System Summary display It reports the amount of cache fitted to the motherboard and is not editable ROM Shadowing ROM shadowing is a process where the contents of Read Only Memory ROM are copied into faster Random Access Memory RAM...

Page 71: ... This line allows you to enable or disable ROM shadowing for the 32k segments between C0000h and C7FFFh This option only affects video BIOS on ISA adapter cards This option defaults to Enabled and should only be Disabled if you encounter a problem with the operation of an ISA video card Hard disk control This menu contains two options IDE translation mode and read ahead IDE Translation Mode This o...

Page 72: ... Legacy Resources menu to register the resources that the adapter card uses The system cannot detect the resources used by ISA cards Unless you use this menu to declare resources used by ISA cards the system cannot auto configure PCI cards to avoid clashes and Plug and Play PnP cannot correctly configure your system If you find the terminology in the descriptions that follow confusing refer to App...

Page 73: ...ides the memory map between A0000h and E0000h into 16k segments and between 100000h and FFFFFFh into 1M segments Note The E0000h to FFFFFh area is always allocated by the system I O Port Resources The I O map is split into blocks of four ports DMA Resources Each DMA channel can be independently allocated Interrupt Resources Each interrupt can be independently allocated Power management The Power M...

Page 74: ...utomatically resume normal operation on the next hard disk access Monitor Power Management Enabling this option will turn on the Display Power Management System DPMS compliant Monitor Power Management feature Refer to the Windows help files supplied with your system for details of DPMS Warning If you are using a monitor which is not DPMS compliant enabling this feature may damage your monitor Secu...

Page 75: ...blem 189 Excessive password attempts 201 Base memory error 201 Extended memory error 229 External cache failure 303 Keyboard controller failure 301 Keyboard failure 301 Keyboard clock line failure 301 Keyboard data line failure 301 Keyboard stuck key failure 604 Diskette drive 0 failure 604 Diskette drive 1 failure 605 Diskette unlocked problem 662 diskette drive config 762 coprocessor configurati...

Page 76: ...Chapter Chapter 5 EXPANDING THE SYSTEM ...

Page 77: ... supplier or service organisation install it for you Before you start installing the upgrade you should be thoroughly familiar with all the relevant instructions Warning Never carry out any work on the equipment with power applied Always switch off at the mains and remove the power lead from the equipment before starting work Appendix A Inside your computer provides a guide to recommended anti sta...

Page 78: ...LY 3 5 DRIVE BAY EXPANSION CARD CONNECTORS BLANKING PLATES PROCESSOR SOCKET SIMM SOCKETS Expansion cards Expansion cards sometimes known as expansion boards options or adapters are small self contained circuit boards which extend the capabilities of your computer Here are just two examples A graphics card can provide more specialized video functions than those offered by the on board video sub sys...

Page 79: ...elatively cheap way of upgrading your system Moreover they are usually quite easy to install requiring no more than a cross head screwdriver and a steady hand Installation Installation of an expansion card in your computer is a simple process requiring the removal of only the system unit cover and a blanking plate The following instructions and illustrations describe how to install a card in a sim...

Page 80: ... guides These ensure that the front edge of any full length ISA card is secured 4 The blanking plates described above are each secured by a screw Using the following guidelines decide in which of the available slots you wish to install the card then remove the appropriate blanking plate In general it is easiest to start with the lowest slot and work towards the top but there a few exceptions a If ...

Page 81: ... at the rear of this manual Use this information in conjunction with the documentation supplied with your card to configure the card so that it will not clash with any of the features on the motherboard or any other expansion cards already installed 6 Position the expansion card alongside the slot in which you wish to install it Align the rear of the card with the slot in the rear of the system un...

Page 82: ...e 8MX32 SIMMs and are arranged in two pairs Note Standard 70nS SIMMs will always work in systems with a 60MHz base clock frequency Pentium 60 and 90 systems Systems with a 66MHz base clock frequency Pentium 66 and 100 systems may require 60nS SIMMs for optimum performance If you are uncertain check with your supplier Each pair of sockets forms a single 64 bit wide memory bank If a bank is populate...

Page 83: ...you must 1 Power the system down 2 Take suitable anti static precautions and remove the system unit cover If you are unfamiliar with the recommended anti static precautions and or the process of removing the system unit cover refer to the appendices at the rear of this manual The SIMM connectors are located beneath the 5 25 drive bay In order to install a memory upgrade you must remove the 5 25 dr...

Page 84: ... of the socket gently away from the SIMM using your forefingers 2 Place your thumbs on the top edge of the SIMM and move it gently towards the vertical 3 When the SIMM has rotated through 20 taking care to avoid touching any of the components on the SIMM grip the top corners of the SIMM between thumb and first finger and carefully pull the SIMM out of the socket 4 Repeat steps 1 to 3 for the secon...

Page 85: ...ive force If the SIMM will not rotate easily remove it and start again 5 If the SIMM is properly located the SIMM should remain in position held by the securing clips and with a small plastic lug through the holes on either side of the SIMM 6 Repeat steps 1 to 5 for the second SIMM Once you have completed installation you can replace the 5 25 drive bay and reassemble the system 1 Replace the 5 25 ...

Page 86: ...0 and 100 systems are fitted with an Intel Socket 5 Zero Insertion Force ZIF socket This socket is ready to accept any 3 3V Pentium variant with a Socket 5 compatible pinout and an external clock speed which matches the original processor Removing the processor Before installing the upgrade processor you must first remove the existing processor The processor is at the front left of the motherboard...

Page 87: ...the socket clamps the processor securely in the socket when it is parallel to the motherboard 4 Carefully rotate the lever from the secure position until it is perpendicular to the motherboard FREE LOCKED The first and last 15 of movement may require considerable effort Apply just enough pressure to overcome the resistance offered by the lever ...

Page 88: ...ne corner of the socket has a key hole and correspondingly the processor has a extra pin The corner of the processor which has the extra pin is identified by having a small flat across the corner 2 Carefully position the upgrade processor above the socket with the keyed corner of the processor over the keyed corner of the socket and the securing lever in the perpendicular position PROCESSOR IN CEN...

Page 89: ...he lever may require a considerable amount of force in order to lock the processor in place Take care to exert no more force than is necessary 5 You may now reassemble the system unit Intel OverDrive processors When installing an Intel OverDrive processor you must ensure there is sufficient air space around it If you don t leave enough air space the processor may overheat So ensure that no obstruc...

Page 90: ...uitable anti static precautions and remove the system unit cover If you are unfamiliar with the recommended anti static precautions and or the process of removing the system unit cover refer to the appendices at the rear of this manual The video RAM sockets connectors are located in the left rear corner of the system unit beneath the adapter card slots In order to install a video RAM upgrade you m...

Page 91: ...ully align the video RAM chips over the sockets Make sure that they are in the correct orientation The chips have pin 1 clearly marked pin 1 is also marked on the motherboard at the left end of the sockets 8 Carefully replace the cards reconnect any cables and reassemble the system ...

Page 92: ...instructions apply to all drives and describe the physical installation of a drive Instructions specific to each drive type are given after the generic instructions Generic 1 Power the system down 2 Take suitable anti static precautions and remove the system unit cover If you are unfamiliar with the recommended anti static precautions and or the process of removing the system unit cover refer to t...

Page 93: ...rtical several times 7 Remove the drive from its packaging With the drive there should be four screws and a signal cable Some drives may be supplied with additional items 8 If necessary configure the drive Drives purchased from an authorized supplier will be correctly configured for installation in your computer For information on how these drives are configured see the drive specific information ...

Page 94: ...Line up the holes in the underside of the drive with those in the base of the drive bay COMP ACT SECURING SCREW HOLES 13 Insert the four drive securing screws and tighten them until they are finger tight COMP ACT SECURING SCREWS 14 Gently tighten the four screws ...

Page 95: ... and the system unit brace 17 Replace the two screws that secure the drive bay 18 Connect the spare power cable in the loom behind the drive to the drive power connector 5 25 DRIVE POWER CABLE 19 The drive has now been installed and connected to a power cable You must now connect it to a signal cable Instructions on connecting each of the types of drive to a signal cable is given under the appropr...

Page 96: ...or Failure to do so may damage the drive or the system board ATA PI CD ROM Cabling The ATA PI CD ROM drive is supplied with two signal cables The wide data cable must be connected between the rear of the CD ROM drive and ISA IDE connector PL12 on the motherboard The narrow audio cable must be connected between the drive and a suitable connector on an expansion card with audio functionality Warning...

Page 97: ...ster and the other as Slave DOS drivers for the CD ROM drive are described in help files on a diskette supplied with the drive SCSI drives Cabling Authorized upgrade kits are supplied with a suitable signal cable The cable should be connected between the SCSI card and the rear of the drive The following illustration shows a typical routing of the cable SCSI CABLE ...

Page 98: ...ve the 3 5 drive bay 1 Power the system down 2 If there is a diskette in the 3 5 floppy drive remove it 3 Take suitable anti static precautions and remove the system unit cover If you are unfamiliar with the recommended anti static precautions and or the process of removing the system unit cover refer to the appendices at the rear of this manual In order to remove the 3 5 drive bay you must first ...

Page 99: ... SCREWS 10 Remove the two securing screws shown in the illustration above 11 Slide the 3 5 drive bay backwards and lift it out of the system unit Drive configuration The 3 5 drive bay supports two 1 high hard disk drives In order for the drive or drives to operate they must be correctly configured The PCI IDE interface supports a maximum of two drives These drives are known as Master and Slave A s...

Page 100: ...he drive turn the drive bay upside down and rest it on a flat surface with the front of the floppy drive towards you 2 Slide the hard disk drive you are installing into the bay from the front with the drive circuit board up and its connectors away from you Warning If there is a drive in the bay already be careful to ensure that the new drive does not touch it Warning It is possible to damage hard ...

Page 101: ... the position closer to the floppy drive 4 Carefully tighten the screws 5 Turn the bay over Reassembling the system 1 Replace the 3 5 drive bay in the system unit Make sure that the cutouts in the bay align with the lugs in the base of the system unit 2 Carefully slide the 3 5 drive bay forwards The bay is in position when the floppy drive operating button protrudes through the front bezel and the...

Page 102: ... OWNER S HANDBOOK Expanding the system Chapter 5 8 Replace the two screws which secure the 5 25 drive bay 9 If there is a drive in the bay reconnect its power and signal cables 10 Replace the system unit cover ...

Page 103: ...Chapter Chapter 6 CARING FOR YOUR COMPUTER ...

Page 104: ...UR COMPUTER This chapter provides information on how to care for your computer Your computer requires little physical maintenance other than occasional cleaning But you must take care when transporting it to avoid damage to its delicate components particularly the hard disks ...

Page 105: ...ly wipe the air vents on the rear and sides of the system unit Dust and fluff can block the vents and limit the airflow Occasionally clean the diskette drive using a proprietary head cleaner The monitor Occasionally wipe the monitor with a soft slightly damp lint free cloth It is best to use anti static glass cleaner on the monitor screen but do not spray glass cleaner directly onto the screen it ...

Page 106: ... mechanism of the mouse To clean the mouse 1 Unplug the mouse turn it upside down and locate the plastic cover that holds the ball in place Depending on the model the plastic cover can be removed either by rotating it anti clockwise or by sliding it forward slightly 2 Remove the cover and set it aside 3 Cupping one hand over the underside turn the mouse back the right way up The ball will drop int...

Page 107: ...dust and metallic particles If you notice read or write errors or many bad blocks when using the drive be sure to clean the head and capstan thoroughly before concluding that the drive or your tapes are defective The read write head and the capstan are accessible through the flip up drive door as shown below Although it is possible to use special kits to clean the drive it is recommended that you ...

Page 108: ... the swab is not too discoloured you may use the same swab to clean the capstan But if you clean the capstan first you must not use the same swab to clean the read write head The SCSI QIC tape drive You should clean the SCSI QIC tape drive after every 8 hours use using the special cleaning kit available from your supplier Full instructions for cleaning are provided with this kit It is also advisab...

Page 109: ...er cords before moving the computer Use common sense when handling your computer hard disks in particular can be damaged if the computer is dropped or handled roughly As a precaution back up copy the contents of your hard disks to tape or diskettes before moving the computer Don t try to move the computer while it is plugged into the AC power supply or with any other cables including network cable...

Page 110: ...Chapter Chapter 7 TROUBLESHOOTING ...

Page 111: ...omputer If in doubt turn off the computer and unplug all power cords before consulting your supplier or an authorized maintainer This chapter is concerned only with problems caused by the computer itself remember that problems can also arise from other sources such as your network cabling operating system or application software ...

Page 112: ...may also be prompted to Press the F1 key to continue Your first action should be to turn the computer off wait at least 30 seconds then turn it on again to see if the error condition is transient or persistent Persistent POST error messages may indicate a fault in your system If you press F1 the computer attempts to boot despite the error indication for example if a memory chip fails POST the comp...

Page 113: ...y and Format command The rest of this section lists some of the error messages that can be displayed when the computer fails to boot Non system disk or disk error Press the F1 key to continue The diskette drive contains a non system diskette Replace it with a system diskette and press F1 Diskette read failure Press the F1 key to continue The diskette is either not formatted or defective Replace it...

Page 114: ...m persists consult your supplier or an approved maintainer Checklist If you encounter a problem with your computer the following list suggests a number of checks to make before you ring your dealer or support organisation The checks listed cover the causes of common problems Connections Check that all power and signal cables are securely connected to the correct socket on the computer The keyboard...

Page 115: ...the card is configured correctly and does not clash with another card or a motherboard feature and that software which drives or uses the card is correctly configured Floppy drives If you have problems accessing a floppy disk or diskette check that the disk is inserted correctly the disk has been correctly formatted that the disk is not write protected and that the file attributes allow you to per...

Page 116: ...Chapter Appendix A INSIDE YOUR COMPUTER ...

Page 117: ...ning access to the inside of your computer s system unit Note that instructions for installing upgrade options are provided in Chapter 5 Upgrading your computer Turn off the computer and unplug all power cords before removing the top cover Also included here is information on configuring expansion cards and on motherboard jumper settings ...

Page 118: ...e while the top cover is off This is because the electronic components of the motherboard are exposed Expansion cards SIMMs and OverDrive processors are other examples of electrostatic sensitive devices ESDs All work that involves removing the computer s top cover must be done in an area completely free of static electricity In order to ensure this it is recommended that you use a Special Handling...

Page 119: ...ood and drink away from your work area and the open computer Removing the top cover 1 Turn off both the system unit and the monitor 2 If your AC power outlets have switches set them to their Off positions 3 Unplug all power cords from rear of the system unit 4 If the system unit has a caselock on the right hand side turn the caselock key to the unlocked position 5 Loosen the two casing screws 6 Sl...

Page 120: ...on options If this is the case then the card should be configured before you install it A few cards are configured using a software utility supplied with the card this can only be done after the card is installed PCI cards are automatically configured by a utility in the BIOS A PCI configuration screen is provided in SETUP This screen is provided for completeness and it is unlikely that you will n...

Page 121: ...is executed in response to the interrupt assigned to that peripheral When an interrupt occurs the processor stops executing its current task executes the interrupt service routine then returns to its original task The processor is literally interrupted A hardware interrupt may be referred to as an IRQ This is because the motherboard signals used to generate the interrupts are labelled IRQx where x...

Page 122: ...r software to enable the parallel port s use of IRQ7 This is rare but could cause problems with a card using IRQ7 If you are not using the parallel port it can be disabled using SETUP freeing IRQ7 to be used by an expansion card IRQ15 Secondary IDE This interrupt can be used if a interface secondary IDE interface is disabled or not fitted IRQ3 Serial port 2 Each of the serial ports can be IRQ4 Ser...

Page 123: ... all available for use by expansion cards Expansion card memory Some expansion cards are fitted with ROM Typically expansion card ROM contains extensions to the motherboard BIOS providing additional functionality Expansion card ROM sometimes known as slot ROM must be addressed somewhere in the processor s memory map An area of the memory map of an ISA compatible PC is allocated for expansion card ...

Page 124: ...he decimal system is said to be base 10 The hex numbering system uses a base of 16 Hex numbering works in exactly the same way as the decimal system except you must add 1 to a column that contains 15 before you add 1 to the column to the left As we have no single character to represent the numbers 10 to 15 we substitute the first six letters of the alphabet so that A represents 10 B represents 11 ...

Page 125: ...36x10 655360 If you have Microsoft Windows 3 1 on your computer you may find it helpful to use the Windows Calculator In Scientific View the calculator allows you to enter decimal numbers and convert them to hex and vice versa Another commonly used notation is to describe numbers as xK or xM Where 1K 1024 and 1M 1048576 1048576 1024x1024 In this notation 655360 that is A0000h is 640K Memory maps A...

Page 126: ...1048576 see Numbers and computers locations each containing one byte of data When installing expansion cards it is the first bottom Mbyte of address space that is of most interest The following diagram shows how the bottom 1M of address space is used in your computer Diagrams like these are called memory maps and are a convenient way of representing processor address space BIOS RESERVED EXPANSION ...

Page 127: ...0000h to BFFFFh In your computer the motherboard video BIOS is addressed between 768k and 800k 1 C0000h to C7FFFh The region from 800k to 896k 1 C8000h to DFFFFh is available for expansion card ROM other than video BIOS The region from 896k to 960k 1 E0000h to EFFFFh is reserved While address space from 960k to 1M 1 F0000h to FFFFFh is used by the motherboard BIOS When installing expansion cards t...

Page 128: ...For information on UMB space refer to your DOS documentation and the help files supplied with your computer I O ports I O ports are used by the processor to control the operation of peripherals Some expansion cards are controlled via an I O port or group of ports Which port or ports the card uses can normally be selected on the card The following table lists the I O ports used by the motherboard A...

Page 129: ...F Interrupt controller 2 0C0 0DF DMA controller 2 0F0 0F1 Math coprocessor 0F8 0FF Math coprocessor 1F0 1F8 Hard disk drive controller 178 17A Power saving port 278 27F Parallel port 2 2F8 2FF Serial port 2 35F 36F Power saving port 37F Reserved 378 37F Parallel port 1 3F0 3F7 Diskette drive controller 3F8 3FF Serial port 1 928 92F Motherboard control ports Note I O ports are always given in hex n...

Page 130: ...connecting the centre pin and either of the two end pins The function of each jumper is described in the following paragraphs text printed on the motherboard alongside each jumper identifies the positions described below Jumper J2 CMOS clear This jumper is used to clear the motherboard configuration memory During normal operation the jumper clip should be in the position marked NOR on the motherbo...

Page 131: ... EN Once you have upgraded the BIOS power the system down and return the jumper to the WP position Jumper J4 BIOS recover This jumper is provided to allow recovery from a failed attempt to upgrade the BIOS During normal operation the jumper clip should be in the position marked NOR on the motherboard If an attempt to reprogram the flash ROM chip with an updated BIOS fails and the system will not b...

Page 132: ...tomatically disabled If you install a video expansion card and have a problem with the system powered down move the jumper clip to the position marked DIS Jumper J11 PCI IDE enable This jumper is provided to allow a hardware disable of the PCI IDE controller During normal operation the jumper clip should be in the position marked EN on the motherboard For the majority of systems there will be no n...

Page 133: ...in the position marked SEC On systems not fitted with a PCI IDE controller or where the PCI IDE controller is disabled the jumper clip must be in the position marked PRI Jumpers J13 and J14 Cache module type These two jumpers are only fitted on motherboards which support a cache module Normally both jumpers should be in the position marked ASYNC to suit an asynchronous cache module If you install ...

Page 134: ...Chapter Appendix B TECHNICAL INFORMATION ...

Page 135: ...OWNER SHANDBOOK B 1 Technical Information Appendix B B TECHNICAL INFORMATION This appendix provides some technical information about your computer More detailed information is available from your supplier ...

Page 136: ...r Video RAM 1 Mb or 2 Mb Resolutions EVGA 1280 x 1024 EVGA 1024 x 768 SVGA 800 x 600 VGA 640 x 480 I O ports Serial dual 9 way male D type RS 232 Parallel 25 way female D type Keyboard 102 key AT compatible Mouse PS 2 compatible two button Diskette Capacity 1 44 Mb drive Access time 94 ms average Hard disk Interface IDE drive bay Form factor 3 5 Capacity One 1 6 drive or Two 1 drives Removable For...

Page 137: ...tained 300 Kbyte s Mode 1 342 2 Kbyte s Mode 2 Burst 4 0 Mbyte s Access time Full stroke 450ms typical Average random 250ms typical Audio output Line 0 75 V at 47 kOhm Headphone 0 55 V at 32 Ohm Power Voltage 5 V dc 5 requirement 12 V dc 10 Ripple 5 V 100 mVp p 12 V 200 mVp p Current max 5 V 800 mA at tray open close 12 V 1 8 A at tray open close Reliability MTBF 100 000 power on hours Laser Type ...

Page 138: ... 4 1 max1 Transfer Sustained 366 Kbyte s 1 1 base rate 732 Kbyte s 2 1 typical 1464 Kbyte s 4 1 max1 1 Nominal maximum only can be exceeded for highly compressible data Unrecoverable Less than 1 in 1015 data bits errors Recording ANSI ECMA Digital Data Storage with Data Compression format DDS DC Power Voltage 12 V dc 10 specification 5 V dc 7 Ripple 12 V 100 mVp p 5 V 100 mVp p Current max 1 40 A ...

Page 139: ...nous SCSI bus 4 0 Mbyte s synchronous Access time Full stroke 520 ms typical Average 295 ms typical Power Ripple 5 V 0 05 Vp p Specification 12 V 0 1 Vp p Current max 5 V 1 6 A at Spin up 12 V 1 8 A at Spin up CDU55S Transfer rate Sustained 360 Kbyte s Mode 1 410 6 Kbyte s Mode 2 Burst across 2 5 Mbyte s asynchronous SCSI bus 4 0 Mbyte s synchronous Access time Full stroke 450 ms typical Average 2...

Page 140: ...but during storage and transportation the system is more tolerant of environmental factors Range Temperature Relative humidity with no condensation Storage Transport 0 to 55 C 20 to 80 Operational 10 to 35 C 20 to 80 Electrical characteristics Voltage range The PSU voltage range is initially set to that appropriate for the country in which the computer is first sold Setting AC Voltage Frequency 11...

Page 141: ...r country you must ensure that you use a power cord which complies with the safety standards of that country Current ratings AC power inlet 4 5 A at 100 120 V 3 0 A at 220 240 V AC power outlet 1 5 A at 100 120 V 1 0 A at 220 240 V Connect only manufacturer approved monitors to the AC power outlet Expansion slots Total available power for all three ISA expansion slots 8 0 A at 5 V 0 3 A at 5V 1 0 ...

Page 142: ...characteristics Serial ports 9 way male D type COM1 COM2 5 1 6 9 10101 Pin I O Function 1 I Data carrier detect 2 I Receive data 3 O Transmit data 4 O Data terminal ready 5 NA Signal ground 6 I Data set ready 7 O Request to send 8 I Clear to send 9 I Ring indicate ...

Page 143: ...STROBE 2 I O Data bit 0 3 I O Data bit 1 4 I O Data bit 2 5 I O Data bit 3 6 I O Data bit 4 7 I O Data bit 5 8 I O Data bit 6 9 I O Data bit 7 10 I ACK 11 I BUSY 12 I PE 13 I SLCT 14 O AUTO FEED 15 I ERROR 16 O INIT 17 O SLCT IN 18 NA Ground 19 NA Ground 20 NA Ground 21 NA Ground 22 NA Ground 23 NA Ground 24 NA Ground 25 NA Ground ...

Page 144: ...o pin 5 NA Digital G Self test Self test 6 NA Red Rtn Key pin Red Rtn 7 NA Green Rtn Mono Rtn Green Rtn 8 NA Blue Rtn No pin Blue Rtn 9 NA Plug No pin No pin 10 NA Digital G Digital G Digital G 11 NA Reserved No pin Digital G 12 NA Reserved Digital G No pin 13 O Hsync Hsync Hsync 14 O Vsync Vsync Vsync 15 NA Reserved No pin No pin Red Rtn Green Rtn Blue Rtn Analog grounds Digital G Digital ground ...

Page 145: ...connectors The voltages and signals are the same for both connectors 6 4 2 1 3 5 5 3 1 2 4 6 Pin I O Function 1 I O Data 2 NA Reserved 3 NA Ground 4 NA 5 Vdc 5 I O Clock 6 NA Reserved Although the keyboard and mouse ports are physically and electrically compatible neither the keyboard nor the mouse will operate if plugged into the other s socket ...

Page 146: ... may be used to connect the feature connector to an expansion card In case you have difficulty obtaining a cable the pinout of the motherboard connector is given in the following table Pin Function Pin Function 1 Ground 2 P0 3 Ground 4 P1 5 Ground 6 P2 7 EVIDEO 8 P3 9 ESYNC 10 P4 11 EDCLK 12 P5 13 No connect 14 P6 15 Ground 16 P7 17 Ground 18 DCLK 19 Ground 20 BLNK 21 Ground 22 HSYNC 23 Ground 24 ...

Page 147: ...apricot MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC APRICOT COMPUTERS LIMITED 3500 PARKSIDE BIRMINGHAM BUSINESS PARK BIRMINGHAM B37 7YS Part No 15390631 Revision No 01 ...

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