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Dell PowerEdge 4600

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Virtual Hands-On

Dell PowerEdge 4600

System Setup

The PowerEdge 4600 features a one-page system setup, very similar to the system setup seen in the PowerEdge 1400 and PowerEdge 1550. Many of the features of the BIOS are carried over from these previous releases.

System Setup Keystrokes

Keystroke

Function


	F2		Enters System Setup

	ALT + E		With the keyboard lights lit, clears the ESCD information stored in the NVRAM.

	ALT + F		Resets all fields in the system setup to their factory default settings

	ALT + D		With an individual field highlighted, resets the field to its factory default

	Down arrow or <TAB>		Moves to the next field

	Up arrow, or <Shift + TAB>		Moves to the previous field

	<+>, <->, or <SPACE>		Cycles through the settings in a field. In many fields, you can also type the appropriate value

	ESC		Exits the System Setup program and reboots the system if any changes were made

Using the System Setup Program

Below is a list of the keys that can be used to view or change information on the System Setup screens and to exit the program.

Keys

Action


	Down arrow or <TAB>		Moves to the next field.

	Up arrow or <Shift><TAB>		Moves to the previous field.

	Left and right arrows or <SPACE>		Cycles through the settings in a field. In many fields, you can also type the appropriate value.

	<ESC>		Exits the System Setup program and reboots the system if any changes were made.

System Setup Main Screen

The main System Setup screen displays the current setup and configuration information and optional settings for the system. Information on the System Setup screen is organized in five boxed areas:

Title box — The shaded box at the top of the screen lists the system name, page number, and the revision number of the BIOS.

Configuration options — The remainder of the screen lists the options that define the installed hardware in the computer.

Fields beside the options contain settings or values; those that appear bright on the screen can be changed. Settings or values that cannot be changed (because they are determined by the system) appear less bright.

Some options have multiple fields, which may show settings or values as bright or less bright depending upon what settings or values were entered in other fields.

Main Screen

System Setup Options

The following options or information fields appear on the main System Setup screen:

System Time — Resets the time on the system's internal clock.
System Date — Resets the date on the system's internal calendar.
Diskette Drive A: — Allows you to specify the type of diskette drive for your system.
System Memory — Displays the amount of system memory. This option has no user-selectable settings.
Video Memory — Displays the amount of video memory. This option has no user-selectable settings.
OS Install Mode — Determines the maximum amount of memory available to the operating system. On sets the maximum memory available to the operating system to 256 MB. Off (default) makes all of the system memory available to the operating system. Some operating systems will not install with more than 2 GB of system memory. Turn this option On during operating system installation and Off after installation.
CPU Information — Displays information related to the microprocessor bus and microprocessors. This screen has no user-selectable settings.
Boot Sequence — Displays the Boot Sequence screen, discussed later in this section.
Hard-Disk Drive Sequence — Displays the Hard-Disk Drive Sequence screen, discussed later in this section.
Integrated Devices — Displays the Integrated Devices screen, discussed later in this section.
PCI IRQ Assignment — Displays a screen that allows you to change the IRQ allocated to each of the integrated devices on the PCI bus, as well as any installed expansion cards that require an IRQ.
PCI Hot-Plug Slot Information — Displays information about the hot-plug PCI-X slots such as the operating frequency, whether or not they are occupied, and whether they are in PCI or PCI-X mode. This screen has no user-selectable settings.
Console Redirection — Displays a screen that allows you to configure console redirection. The sub-menu allows you to turn the feature on or off, select the remote terminal type, and enable or disable redirection after booting.
Embedded Server Management — Displays the Embedded Server Management screen, discussed later in this section.
System Security — Displays a screen that allows you to configure the system password and setup password features.
Keyboard Numlock — Determines whether your system starts up with the Num Lock mode activated on 101- or 102-key keyboards (does not apply to 84-key keyboards).
Report Keyboard Error — Enables or disables reporting of keyboard errors during the POST. This option is useful when applied to self-starting servers or host systems that have no permanently attached keyboard. In these situations, selecting Do Not Report suppresses all error messages relating to the keyboard or keyboard controller during POST. This setting does not affect the operation of the keyboard itself if a keyboard is attached to the system.
Asset Tag — Displays the customer programmable asset tag number for the system if an asset tag number has been assigned.

Boot Sequence Screen

The Boot Sequence screen options determine the order in which the system looks for the files that it needs to load during system startup. Available options include the diskette drive, CD drive, network, and hard drive. To change the order in which devices are searched, use the <+> and <–> keys.

Hard-Disk Drive Sequence Screen

The Hard-Disk Drive Sequence screen options determine the order in which the system searches the hard drives for the files that it needs to load during system startup. The choices depend on the particular hard drives installed in your system. To change the order in which devices are searched, use the <+> and <–> keys.

Integrated Devices Screen

The following devices on the system board are configured through this screen:

Embedded RAID Controller — If the system has RAID, Channel A and Channel B operate independently. Channel A and Channel B can be set to RAID or SCSI. If the system is SCSI only, the Embedded RAID Controller field changes to Primary SCSI Controller. Channel A and Channel B turn the respective SCSI controller on or off. Selecting On (the default setting) enables the integrated PCI SCSI controller and scans the associated ROM. For the system to start from a drive attached to the integrated SCSI controller, the drive must be enabled. Selecting Off causes the BIOS to mask the presence of a device.
Secondary SCSI Controller — Enables or disables the secondary SCSI controller.
IDE CD-ROM Controller — Enables or disables the system's IDE CD-ROM interface.
Diskette Controller — Enables or disables the system's diskette drive controller. When Auto (default) is selected, the system turns off the controller when necessary to accommodate a controller card installed in an expansion slot.
USB Controller — Enables or disables the system's USB ports. Disabling the USB ports makes system resources available for other devices.
BIOS USB Support -— Enables BIOS support for a USB keyboard or mouse.
Embedded 10/100 NIC— Enables or disables the system's two integrated NICs. Options are Enabled without PXE, Enabled with PXE, and Disabled. PXE support allows the system to boot from the network. Changes take effect after system reboot.
MAC Address — Displays the MAC address for the 10/100 NIC that is used by the corresponding integrated NIC. This field has no user-selectable settings.
Embedded 10/100/1000 NIC— Enables or disables the system's two integrated NICs. Options are Enabled without PXE, Enabled with PXE, and Disabled. PXE support allows the system to boot from the network. Changes take effect after system reboot.
MAC Address — Displays the address of the MAC address for the 10/100/1000 NIC that is used by the corresponding integrated NIC. This field has no user-selectable settings.
Mouse Controller — Enables or disables the system's mouse controller. Disabling the mouse controller allows an expansion card to use IRQ12.
Serial Port 1, Serial Port 2 — Configures the system's integrated serial ports. The options can be set to Auto (the default) to automatically configure a port, to a particular designation, or to Off to disable the port.

If the serial port is set to Auto and an expansion card is added to the system with a port configured to the same designation, the system automatically re-maps the integrated port to the next available port designation that shares the same IRQ setting.

Parallel Port — Configures the system's integrated parallel port.
Parallel Port Mode — Controls whether the system's integrated parallel port acts as an AT-compatible (unidirectional) or PS/2-compatible (bi-directional) port. To determine the correct mode to use, see the documentation that came with the peripheral device connected to the serial port.
Speaker — Toggles the integrated speaker On (the default) or Off. A change to this option takes effect immediately (rebooting the system is not required).

Embedded Server Management Screen

The following settings may be changed through the Embedded Server Management screen:

Fan Speed — Sets the fan speed to Full Speed or Normal Speed.
Front Panel LCD Options — Controls the type of information displayed on the front-panel LCD. Options are None, Default, or User-Defined String.
User String — Allows the user to enter a five-character string in Line 1 and a 16-character string in Line 2.

System Security Screen

The following security features may be set through the System Security screen:

System Password — Displays the current status of your system's password security feature and allows you to assign and verify a new system password.

Setup Password — Allows you to restrict access to the System Setup program in the same way that you restrict access to your system with the system password feature.

Password Status — When Setup Password is set to Enabled, this feature allows you to prevent the system password from being changed or disabled at system start-up.

To lock the system password, you must first assign a setup password in the Setup Password option and then change the Password Status option to Locked. In this state, the system password cannot be changed through the System Password option and cannot be disabled at system start-up by pressing <Ctrl><Enter>.

To unlock the system password, you must enter the setup password in the Setup Password option and then change the Password Status option to Unlocked. In this state, the system password can be disabled at system start-up by pressing <Ctrl><Enter> and then changed through the System Password option.

Power Button — When this option is set to Enabled, you can use the power button to turn the system off or shut down the system if you are running Microsoft® Windows® 2000 or another operating system that is compliant with the ACPI specification. When this option is set to Disabled, the power button cannot be used to turn off the system (or perform other system events).

NOTE: The system can still be turned on using the power button, even if the Power Button option is set to Disabled.

NMI Button — This button may be used for troubleshooting software and device drivers when running certain operating systems. If a malfunction occurs when NMI Button set to Enabled, an NMI interrupt alerts the system. Enable this button only when directed to do so by the operating system's documentation.

Exit Screen

After you press <Esc> to exit the System Setup program, the Exit screen displays the following choices:

Save Changes and Exit
Discard Changes and Exit
Return to Setup