HP Vectra VL400 Instruction Manual

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If you don’t know what to do, click

one of the items below:

What To Do First ➤

Diagnose Your Hardware ➤

Frequently Asked Questions ➤

If you can identify the problem area,

click one of the items below:

Problems Starting the PC ➤

Problems Using the PC ➤

Problems with Software ➤

Problems with Audio (Sound) ➤

Problems with Hardware ➤

The PC Detects and Error during Startup ➤

If you still can’t fix the problem, contact your support provider. But first, go to:

Collecting Information Before Contacting Support ➤

This information can be useful when fixing a problem:

Recovering Hard Disk Contents ➤

Clearing the BIOS (CMOS) Settings ➤

Updating the BIOS ➤

Recovering from a BIOS Update Failure or BIOS Corruption ➤

System Board Connectors ➤

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Have you set up your PC

correctly? !Ensure you have connected your PC correctly.

Is there really a problem or

don’t you know how to do

something?

!For help on using the Windows operating system, click the Start

button at the bottom of the screen then click Help.

!For help on using an application or software utility, consult its

paper documentation or the online help (usually accessed by

pressing the F1 key in the software).

Restart your PC and see if the problem recurs

Is the problem hardware or

software related? !

Run HP e-DiagTools to see whether you have a software or

hardware problem.

You can create a hardware profile of your PC (Support Ticket) that

can be faxed or mailed to support. See Diagnose Your Hardware

for information on using e-DiagTools.

Is the problem is related to

an application? !Refer to the application’s online and/or printed documentation. You

can also check the software manufacturer’s support Web site.

Check for Viruses !Your problem might be caused by a virus. Use your anti-virus

software to check for viruses. It is recommended that you run a

thorough check on your entire system.

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What To Do First 2of2

Get the Latest Updates !Connect to HP’s Support web site for your PC. Here you can get

the latest BIOS, driver and software updates for your PC.

If you have not done so already, you can also use HP

e-DiagTools to download and install the latest BIOS from the web

(refer to HP e-DiagTools).

If your problem cannot be

resolved !Record the details of the problem so that you can describe it

accurately. See Collecting Information Before Contacting Support.

Contact your HP dealer, or contact your authorized support

provider outside of peak times (mid-morning and early evening).

This should ensure your problem is dealt with as quickly as

possible.

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Frequently Asked Questions 1of11

Solving general problems:

How can I reinstall my PC’s operating

system? !Use the CDs provided with your PC.

Why is my PC running

slowly/producing strange messages? !If you are connected to a network, the slowness of your PC may be

caused by the network.

Your PC may be infected by a virus. Use an antivirus utility to

erase any viruses.

Or, update your PC’s BIOS. You can download the latest BIOS

and instructions from HP’s support web site.

I’ve been experiencing problems with my

PC ever since I installed some new

software. What can I do?

!Uninstall the software to see whether this solves the problem. If

the problem continues, contact the software manufacturer for help

or information on known compatibility problems.

Can I use USB hardware devices with the

operating system preloaded on my PC? !Yes. USB is supported by both Windows 98 and Windows 2000.

How can I find out what hardware and

BIOS version are used in my PC? !Restart the PC and press ESC during the Power-On-Self-Test

(POST). The BIOS version will be displayed at the top of the

screen.

Where can I get information about the

latest HP drivers? !From HP’s support web site.

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Frequently Asked Questions 2of11

When I boot my PC under Windows 98, a

message indicates there is a registry

error and that Windows will fix the

registry. What should I do?

!This bug is documented at:

http://support.intel.com/support/chipsets/storagedrivers/ultraATA

To fix this problem, install the latest IDE driver on HP’swebsite

(version 6.01.007 or later). Ensure that you install the chipset

driver before the IDE driver.Models purchased after November 1st

2000 are supplied with the correct driver.

My PC runs scandisk when I boot under

Windows 98 SE even if the previous

shutdown appeared to finish normally.

Why?

!Sometimes your PC may appear to shutdown successfully when it

it has not. In these cases the operating system thinks that

Windows has been shutdown incorrectly and runs scandisk.

A patch for this problem can be found at:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q273/0/17.ASP

Why doesn’tmyPCstartwhenusinga

console switch? !This only applies to switches that internally connect both power

lines of the PS/2 mouse and keyboard.To solve the problem, use

one mouse for each PC connected to the console switch.

Why does my PC emit a long series of

beeps during the boot process when my

screen remains blank?

!The beeps are created by the HP e-DiagTools Pre-boot

Diagnostics utility. For an explanation of the beep codes, refer to

page 56.

When I started my pc the first time, the

mouse scrolling wheel did not work. Is

there a problem?

!This only affects some Windows 95 users. If the machine is

rebooted, the scrolling wheel will function correctly and the

problem will not show up again.

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Frequently Asked Questions 3of11

How can I use the LEDs on the front

panel to troubleshoot my PC? !The LEDs on the front panel indicate the various states your PC is

in.

The On/Off LED indicates the power modes status of your PC. The

three states are: green (PC is on), blinking green (PC is

suspended) and off (PC is off).

The Lock LED indicates whether your PC is locked or not. The two

states are: orange (PC is locked) and off (PC is not locked).

I have an event log which says that the

RPC hung. What can I do? !This is because Windows NT SP6a uses 99% of the CPU. This

bug has been acknowledged in the Microsoft knowledge base(Ref

Q266208 available on: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/

articles/Q266/2/08.ASP?LN=EN-US&SD=SO&FR=0)

The problem does not occur with SP5, this is why the hp VL400

comes pre-installed with SP5.

Why are the beep codes from the

e-DiagTools pre-boot diagnostics feature

reporting a null serial number and PCID

on my VL400?

!If the PC is unplugged and then plugged in again, both the serial

number and PCID are lost (reset to zero). If, subsequently, a pre-

boot failure occurs before the BIOS has been able to boot the PC

(and refresh the serial number and PCID in the micro-controller),

you will see a null serial number and PCID in the Virtual Call

Assistant.

The suggested workaround to this issue is to communicate the

serial number and model information over the telephone.

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Frequently Asked Questions 4of11

Problems with power management:

My PC hangs when coming back from

suspend under Windows 98. What

should I do?

!Occasionally, under Windows 98 SE, the PC does not wake from

standby mode. To solve the problem, open the power

management window by clicking

Start > Settings > Control Panel > Power Management

In the System Standby field, enter a value that is smaller than the

value in the Turn Off Monitor field.

My parallel port did not work after waking

up from standby mode S1 under

Windows 98

!This is a known bug of Windows 98 ACPI. See

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q242/9/

39.ASP?LNG=ENG&SA=AL

Hitting a key on my keyboard does not

always wake up the PC. Why? !Your PC may be in a “deep sleep”mode. Normally, you can wake

the PC by pressing any key or the On/Off button. However, the

operating system can disable the keyboard.

To enable the keyboard, right-click My Computer and select

Properties > Hardware > Device Manager.

Right-click on Keyboard, select Properties and check the

“Allow this device to bring the computer out of standby”checkbox.

I have a SCSI hard disk but my PC has a

problem with power mangement under

Window 98. How can I solve this

problem?

!Disable “Suspend to RAM”in your PC’s BIOS settings.

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Frequently Asked Questions 5of11

Problems with audio (sound):

I cannot hear music when I play an audio

CD under Windows 95 SR2.1. What

should I do?

!To solve this problem, select:

Control Panel > System Properties > Device Manager >

CDROM > Properties > Settings

And uncheck the DMA checkbox.

Why do I get a blue screen under NT4

when installing the sound drivers or

upgrading my machine from NT4 to

Windows 2000?

!This problem can be solved in several ways:

•Ifapreviousversionofthedriverwasalreadyinstalledit mustbe

uninstalled beforethenewdriverisinstalled. Try to use thelatest

installer: PS4026 or more recent.

•If the PnP OS field is set to Yes, change it to No

Why do I get a blue screen under NT4

when playing multimedia files? !Download the the driver 4.02.4028 (or later) from:

www.support.vectra.hp.com/vectrasupport/level4/901vfa109en/

901vfa109en.html

Solving Problems 9 of 74

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Frequently Asked Questions 6of11

Problem with recovery CD-ROMs:

Why does my Image Creation and

Recovery CD not create the utility

partition correctly?

!This feature cannot work independently. First, create the HP utility

Partition. Then, create your main partition and install your

preferred operating system. Your HP Utility Partition should now

be ready for use.

Note: This problem only affects HP Image Creation and Recovery

CDs with the part numbers 5970-0170-xx and 5970-0190-xx.

When using the Image Creation and

Recovery CD-ROM, the PC stops. Why? !When the BIOS setup field "State after power failure" is set to "Off"

the PC stops and does not reboot correctly. To solve the problem,

manually power on the PC and continue the recovery process.

Why is my PC not booting from the

CD-ROM? !It is likely that some BIOS-level settings (boot device order,

security settings etc.) do not have correct values. Restart your PC

and enter the Setup program by pressing the appropriate function

key (F2 on most HP PC models, or F1 on others). Change the

incorrect settings, then try booting from the CD-ROM again.

It is also possible that the CD-ROM drive is not connected

properly.

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Frequently Asked Questions 7of11

Problems with LANs:

I get an error message in Windows 98

when changing the name of the

workgroup. What can I do?

!After changing the Workgroup Name in the Network Properties

window your computer will prompt you to reboot. After rebooting,

reboot a second time to fix the problem.

When my PC wakes up from suspend

mode, the LAN does not work. Why? !This problem affects users with Windows 95 who have Advanced

Power Management enabled and a HP/Intel Pro 100+

Management Adapter LAN card.

There are two possible ways to fix this problem.

•Disable Advanced Power Management.

To do this, go to Settings > Control Panel > Power

and disable the Allow Windows to manage power use on this

computer option

•Disable the LAN card’s BootROM

To do this, use the BROW utility which is available on the HP

Web site.

How can I use the LEDs on my LAN to

check if my network is active? !LED

10/100 LNK

ACT

Description

Green: Link

integrity 10

Yellow: Link

integrity 100

Yellow: Port traffic

for either speed

Flashing

Reversed polarity

Network traffic

present

Steady

Good 10BA E-T

connection

between NIC and

hub

Heavy network

traffic

Off

No connection

between NIC and

hub

No traffic

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