PowerEdge Utility Partition & Utilities

Resource Configuration Utility (continued)

When to Run the RCU

The RCU should be run any time any expansion cards are moved, removed, or installed. The utility should also be used any time configuration settings on integrated devices are changed using the System Setup Program (BIOS).

Note: If the system detects a card configuration problem during operation, a warning message will appear advising the use of the RCU to correct the problem.

Making Selections in the RCU

The RCU has a menu based interface for navigating through the configuration process. Options are selected through keyboard commands.

To make a menu selection, press the up- or down-arrow key to highlight the desired option, and then press <Enter>. In the Help menu or Advanced menu, you can also select an option by pressing the key that corresponds to the highlighted letter in the selection list.

To scroll up or down a screen, press the <Page Up> or <Page Down> key, respectively.

Methods of Running the RCU

The RCU may be run directly from the CD, directly from the Utility Partition Menu, or from a diskette created using the CD or the Utility Partition menu. Dell recommends running the RCU from a diskette. There are several important benefits to running the RCU from the floppy, including:

• The RCU is not compatible with all operating system environments. Booting to the RCU floppy avoids possible OS compatibility issues.

• No programs should be running or resident in memory while the RCU is run. Rebooting to the floppy assures this.

• Using the floppy allows the RCU to save the systems configuration information to diskette so it may be stored safely for future use.

PCI expansion cards do not require a configuration file. The PCI configuration utility in read-only memory (ROM) automatically uses the information maintained by the RCU to assign resources for PCI expansion cards.

Using Online Instructions

The RCU has online instructions for each of its procedures. <F1> may be pressed at any time to bring up a help screen that offers more details about the current task.