1-2 Dell Dimension XPS D
xxx
Systems Reference and Troubleshooting Guide
Memory that can be increased up to 384 megabytes (MB) by installing 16-, 32-,
64-, or 128-MB synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) dual in-
line memory modules (DIMMs) in the three DIMM sock ets on the system board.
Full Plug and Play version 1.0A capability in the system basic input/output system
(BIOS) allows you to install both PCI and ISA Plug and Play expansion cards with-
out performing manual configuration tasks. The system BIOS is stored in flash
memory, so it can be updated to support future Plug and Play enhancements.
NOTE: The Microsoft
®
Windows NT
®
operating system does not provide ISA
Plug and Play support. Therefore, some ISA Plug and Play cards may not work
with Windows NT unless you configure them manually.
The system board includes the following built-in features:
Three full-length 32-bit PCI expansion slots for connecting high-speed PCI periph-
erals to the PCI bus—greatly increasing the ir input/output (I/O) speeds over the
speeds attainable using the ISA bus.
One full-length 16-bit ISA expansion slot.
One shared full-length PCI/ISA expansion slot containing both a PCI and an ISA
expansion-card connector, only one of which can be used at any given time.
One full-length AGP expansion slot.
An on-board diskette drive interface that supports a single diskette drive without
the need for a controller card.
Two enhanced integrated drive electronics (EIDE) interfaces on the PCI bus sup-
port up to two EIDE devices each. Supported devices include EIDE hard-disk
drives, CD-ROM drives, and tape drives.
NOTE: Inconsistencies in the manufacturing of CD-ROM media may cause some
higher-speed CD-ROM drives to vibrate more than others. Such vibration and
associated noise does not indicate a defect in the drive or the CD.
One serial port connector and one bidirectional parallel port connector for attach-
ing external devices.
Parallel Port Mode in the system setup program sets the parallel port for output-
only (AT), bidirectional (Personal System/2 [PS/2]), Extended Capabilities Port
(ECP), or Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) mode. ECP mode, while similar to EPP
mode, can enhance the performance of the Microsoft Windows® 95 operating
system because it uses direct memory access (DMA) to transfer data. Also, ECP
uses a first-in first-out (FIFO) buffer for sending or receiving data.
NOTES: The default setting in the system setup program is Bi-Directional.
Options that use ECP mode may come with special drivers that must be installed
to use this mode.