Dell Precision 420 User Manual

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can be connected and disconnected while the system is running. USB functionality requires an operating system that supports USB, such as
Windows 98. Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack (SP) 5 and earlier do not support USB; however, your Dell Precision WorkStation 420 system
supports a USB keyboard through its BIOS.

A modular computer chassis with a minimum number of screws for easy disassembly and improved serviceability.

A high-speed, high-resolution AGP or PCI video card. (Documentation from the video card manufacturer is included with the system.) AGP
greatly improves graphics performance by providing a dedicated bus for a faster interface between the video subsystem and system
memory. AGP also allows conventional memory to be used for video-related tasks.

An optional LS-120 SuperDisk drive capable of storing up to 120-MB per diskette. The SuperDisk can be installed in place of the standard
diskette drive or in one of the externally accessible 5.25-inch bays. LS-120 SuperDisk drives are installed on the secondary EIDE channel.

The system board includes the following integrated features:

Five 32-bit PCI expansion slots; one PCI slot has an extension for a RAID upgrade.

One AGP Pro50 (4X) expansion slot (desktop chassis) or one AGP Pro (4X) expansion slot (mini tower chassis).

A diskette drive interface, which supports a 3.5-inch diskette drive.

Ultra Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA)/66 support, which allows fixed hard-disk drives to transfer data at speeds of up to 66 MB per
second (MB/sec). The two ATA/66 channels support up to four EIDE devices. The primary and secondary channels utilize the PCI bus to
provide faster data throughput. The primary channel supports up to two extremely high-capacity EIDE drives, while the secondary channel
supports up to two devices such as EIDE CD-ROM drives and EIDE tape drives.

SCSI support using two integrated SCSI channels:

The primary channel provides Ultra 160/m low-voltage differential (LVD) (160-MB/sec) support for high-performance SCSI hard-disk
drives and an optional RAID subsystem that requires an optional RAID card. This channel also supports Ultra2 and Ultra SCSI devices.
The maximum total length of the SCSI cable for the primary SCSI channel is 12 meters (m).

The secondary channel provides support for external Ultra/Wide (40-MB/sec) SCSI devices, such as scanners, and for internal Narrow
SCSI devices, such as CD-ROM drives, tape drives, and optical drives. The maximum total length of the external cable on the
secondary channel is .5 m with eight devices or 1 m with four devices.

Two high-performance serial ports and one bidirectional parallel port for connecting external devices.

A Personal System/2 (PS/2)-style keyboard port and a PS/2-compatible mouse port.

An integrated 10/100-megabit-per-second (Mbps) 3Com

® PCI Ethernet (3C905C-TX compatible)

network interface controller

(NIC) with

Remote Wake Up support.

Four dual-color

diagnostic light-emitting diodes (LEDs)

(visible on the back panel) to indicate problems or operational states.

The following software is included with your Dell™ computer system.

For systems with Microsoft Windows 98 or Windows NT only, utilities that safeguard the system and enhance the operation of its hardware
features; for example, the AutoShutdown service lets you perform an orderly shutdown with a single touch of the power button.

Graphics drivers for the Microsoft Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, and Windows 2000 operating systems.

To change the resolution, check the documentation that came with your monitor to determine the resolutions and refresh rates
supported by the monitor. Then check the documentation that came with your AGP or PCI video card for instructions on changing the
resolution.

Optional RAID drivers for the Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 operating systems (requires the 1302 RAID card).

The

System Setup program

for quickly viewing and changing the system configuration information.

Enhanced security features (a setup password, a system password, a system password lock option, a write-protect option for diskette
drives, and automatic display of the system's service tag number) available through the System Setup program. In addition, a customer-
definable asset tag number can be assigned via a software support utility and viewed on the System Setup screens. An integrated chassis
intrusion detector is also available.

NOTE: An AGP Pro110 (4X) graphics adapter expansion card may require the AGP expansion slot and one or two adjacent
PCI slots.

NOTE: Backup copies of most drivers for your system are included on the Dell Precision ResourceCD. If you need to reinstall any of
these drivers, see the documentation that accompanies the CD.

NOTE: Some video cards support either the Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 operating system. Refer to the documentation that came
with your video card for more information.