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Hard-Disk Drives: Dell™ OptiPlex™ GX110 System User's
Guide
The small-form-factor and low-profile chassis support a single
enhanced integrated drive electronics (EIDE) hard-disk drive in the hard-disk drive bay.
In the mini tower chassis, you can install up to two EIDE drives (one of which must be 1
inch high or less) in the hard-disk drive bracket below the drive cage. The first EIDE
drive is installed in the 1-inch (lower) drive bay labeled "HD1"; a second drive
is installed in the 1.6-inch bay labeled "HD2."
All EIDE devices require that you configure the cable select setting, which assigns
master and slave status to devices according to their position on the interface cable. You
usually configure a drive for cable select by setting a jumper or switch, depending on the
drive. Refer to the drive documentation in your upgrade kit for information on configuring
devices for the cable select setting. When you connect two EIDE devices to a single EIDE
interface cable and configure them for the cable select setting, the device attached to
the last connector on the interface cable is the master or boot device (drive 0) and the
device attached to the middle connector on the interface cable is the slave device (drive
1).
With the two EIDE interface connectors on the system board, your system supports up to
four EIDE devices in the mini tower chassis; the small-form-factor and low-profile chassis
support up to two EIDE devices. EIDE hard-disk drives should be connected to the EIDE
interface connector labeled "IDE1." (Always connect EIDE tape drives and CD-ROM
drives to the EIDE interface connector labeled "IDE2.")
To install an EIDE hard-disk drive in a small-form-factor chassis,
perform the following steps:
 |
CAUTION: To avoid the possibility of electric
shock, turn off the computer and any peripherals, disconnect them from electrical outlets,
and then wait at least 5 seconds before you remove the computer cover. Also, before you
install a drive, see the other precautions in "Safety
First — For You and Your Computer." |
- If you are replacing a hard-disk drive that contains data you want to keep, be sure to
make a backup of your files before you continue this procedure.
- Prepare the drive for installation.
NOTICE:
Ground yourself by touching an unpainted metal surface on the back of the computer.
NOTICE: When you unpack the drive, do not set it on a hard
surface, which may damage the drive. Instead, set the drive on a surface, such as a foam
pad, that will sufficiently cushion it.
Check the documentation for the drive to verify that it is
configured for your computer system.
- Remove the computer cover as instructed in "Removing
and Replacing the Computer Cover."
- Remove the drive shelf from the chassis.
- Disconnect the power and interface cables from the diskette drive and CD-ROM drive (if
any).
- Press inward on the two drive shelf release tabs, and pull the shelf forward and out of
the chassis (see Figure 1).
Figure 1.
Removing the Drive Shelf From the Small-Form-Factor Chassis
 |
| 1 |
Drive shelf |
| 2 |
Release tabs (2) |
|
- Remove the drive bracket from the chassis.
- If a drive is already installed in the bracket, disconnect the power
and interface cables from the back of the drive.
- Squeeze the tabs on each side of the drive bracket, and slide it
forward about one inch (see Figure 2).
Figure 2.
Removing the Hard-Disk Drive Bracket From the Small-Form-Factor Chassis
 |
| 1 |
Drive bracket |
| 2 |
Release tabs (2) |
|
- Lift the drive bracket away from the chassis.
- If a drive is already installed in the bracket, remove the four
screws securing the drive to the bottom of the bracket (see Figure 3).
Figure 3.
Removing a Hard-Disk Drive From the Hard-Disk Drive Bracket
 |
| 1 |
Drive |
| 2 |
Drive bracket |
| 3 |
Screws (4) |
|
- Secure the new drive to the drive bracket with four screws (see Figure 3).
- Reinstall the hard-disk drive bracket in the chassis.
- Place the bracket so that the release tabs extend about one inch past the front of the
chassis, and align the tabs on the bottom of the bracket with the hooks on the chassis
floor.
- Then slide the bracket toward the back of the chassis until the tabs snap under the
hooks (see Figure 4). The bracket release tabs should also snap into the front of the
chassis.
Figure
4. Reinstalling the Hard-Disk Drive Bracket in the Small-Form-Factor Chassis
 |
| 1 |
Tabs on bottom of drive bracket |
| 2 |
Hooks on chassis floor |
| 3 |
Drive bracket |
| 4 |
Release tabs (2) |
|
- Connect a power cable to the power input connector on the back of the drive, and connect
an EIDE cable to the interface connector on the back of the drive (see Figure 5).
Check all
connectors to be certain that they are properly cabled and firmly seated.
NOTICE: You must match the colored strip on the EIDE cable
with pin 1 on the drive's interface connector to avoid possible damage to your system.
Figure 5.
Attaching Hard-Disk Drive Cables in the Small-Form-Factor Chassis
 |
| 1 |
IDE1 connector |
| 2 |
EIDE cable |
| 3 |
Power cable |
|
- If it is not already connected, connect the blue end of the EIDE cable to the IDE1
connector on the system board.
NOTICE: You must match the colored strip on the
EIDE cable with pin 1 on the IDE1 connector to avoid possible damage to your system.
To locate the IDE1 connector on the system board, see Figure 9 in "Inside Your
Computer."
- Replace the computer cover. Then reconnect
your computer and peripherals to their electrical outlets, and turn them on.
- Insert a bootable diskette into drive A.
- Turn on the computer system.
- Enter System Setup, and update Primary Drive 0.
After you update the System Setup settings, reboot the system.
- Partition and logically format your drive before proceeding to the next step.
See the documentation for your operating system for instructions.
- Test the hard-disk drive by running the Dell Diagnostics.
- If the drive you just installed is the primary drive, install your
operating system on the hard-disk drive.
For instructions,
refer to the documentation that came with your operating system.
To install an EIDE hard-disk drive in a low-profile chassis, perform
the following steps:
|
CAUTION: To avoid the possibility of electric
shock, turn off the computer and any peripherals, disconnect them from electrical outlets,
and then wait at least 5 seconds before you remove the computer cover. Also, before you
install a drive, see the other precautions in "Safety
First — For You and Your Computer." |
- If you are replacing a hard-disk drive that contains data you want to
keep, be sure to make a backup of your files before you begin this procedure.
- Prepare the drive for installation.
NOTICE:
Ground yourself by touching an unpainted metal surface on the back of the computer.
NOTICE: When you unpack the drive, do not set it on a hard
surface, which may damage the drive. Instead, set the drive on a surface, such as a foam
pad, that will sufficiently cushion it.
Check the documentation for the drive to verify that it is
configured for your computer system.
- Remove the computer cover.
- Remove the drive bracket from the chassis.
- If a hard-disk drive is already installed in the drive bracket, disconnect the DC power
cable and EIDE cable from the drive.
- Remove the screw securing the hard-disk drive bracket to the drive cage in the chassis.
- Grasp the bracket, and rotate it outward from the chassis until the sliding tab clears
the slide rail on the drive cage (see Figure 6). Lift the bracket up slightly to free its
hinge tabs from the chassis slots.
Figure 6.
Removing the Hard-Disk Drive Bracket
 |
| 1 |
Captive screw |
| 2 |
Tabs on back of drive bracket (2) |
| 3 |
Slots in chassis floor divider (3) |
|
- Slide the drive into the chosen bay of the bracket, orienting the
drive so that the connectors on the back of the drive will face the back of the chassis
when you reinstall the bracket (see Figure 7).
- Align the four screw holes of the drive and bracket. Insert and
tighten the screws that came with your upgrade kit.
- If you are installing a drive in the 1.6-inch bay, use the four screw holes in the side
of the bracket (see Figure 7).
- If you are installing a drive in the 1-inch bay, use the four screw holes in the bottom
of the bracket.
Figure
7. Inserting a 1.6-Inch Hard-Disk Drive in the Bracket
 |
| 1 |
Hard-disk drive |
| 2 |
Bracket |
| 3 |
Screws (4) |
|
- Reinstall the hard-disk drive bracket in the chassis.
- Insert the bracket's hinge tabs into the chassis slots so that the tabs hook over the
slots.
- Then rotate the bracket toward the drive cage, and fit the bracket's sliding tab on the
drive-cage slide rail.
- Slide the bracket into place, and reinstall the screw you removed in step 4.
- Connect a power cable to the power input connector on the back of the
drive (see Figure 8).
Check all connectors to be certain that they are properly cabled and firmly
seated.
- Connect one of the device connectors on the EIDE cable to the 40-pin
interface connector on the back of the hard-disk drive.
NOTICE:
You must match the colored strip on the EIDE cable with pin 1 on the drive's interface
connector to avoid possible damage to your system.
Figure 8.
Attaching Hard-Disk Drive Cables in the Low-Profile Chassis
 |
| 1 |
Power cable |
| 2 |
EIDE cable |
| 3 |
IDE1 connector |
|
- If it is not already connected, connect the other end of the EIDE
cable to the IDE1 connector on the system board.
NOTICE:
You must match the colored strip on the EIDE cable with pin 1 on the IDE1 connector to
avoid possible damage to your system.
To locate the IDE1 connector on the system board, see Figure 9 in "Inside Your
Computer."
- Replace the computer cover. Then reconnect your computer and
peripherals to their electrical outlets, and turn them on.
- If the drive you just installed is the primary drive, insert a
bootable diskette into drive A.
- Turn on the computer system.
- Enter System Setup,
and update the appropriate Primary
Drive option (0 or 1).
- After you update the System Setup settings, reboot the system.
- Partition and logically format your drive before you proceed to the
next step.
See the documentation for your operating system for instructions.
- Test the hard-disk drive by running the Dell
Diagnostics.
- If the drive you just installed is the primary drive, install your
operating system on the hard-disk drive.
For instructions,
refer to the documentation that came with your operating system.
To install an EIDE hard-disk drive in a midsize chassis, perform the
following steps.
|
CAUTION: To avoid the possibility of electric
shock, turn off the computer and any peripherals, disconnect them from electrical outlets,
and then wait at least 5 seconds before you remove the computer cover. Also, before you
install a drive, see the other precautions in "Safety
First — For You and Your Computer." |
- If you are replacing a hard-disk drive that contains data you want to
keep, be sure to make a backup of your files before you begin this procedure.
- Prepare the drive for installation.
NOTICE: Ground yourself by touching an unpainted metal
surface on the back of the computer.
NOTICE: When you unpack the drive, do not set it on a hard surface, which may
damage the drive. Instead, set the drive on a surface, such as a foam pad, that will
sufficiently cushion it.
Check the documentation for the drive to verify that it is
configured for your computer system.
- Remove the computer cover.
- Remove the drive bracket from the chassis.
If a hard-disk drive is already installed on the drive
bracket, disconnect the DC power cable and EIDE cable from the drive.
Remove the screw securing the hard-disk drive bracket to
the front wall of the chassis. Grasp the front part of the bracket that serves as a
handle, and rotate the bracket up toward the back of the computer until it disengages from
the floor of the chassis (see Figure 9).
Figure 9. Removing the
Hard-Disk Drive Bracket
 |
| 1 |
"Handle" on bracket |
| 2 |
Screw securing drive to chassis |
|
- Slide the drive into the chosen bay of the bracket,
orienting it so that the connectors on the back of the drive face the back of the
chassis—and the power input connector is closest to the floor of the
chassis—when the bracket is reinstalled (see Figure 10).
Figure 10. Inserting
the Hard-Disk Drive in the Bracket
 |
| 1 |
Drive bracket |
| 2 |
Tabs (2) |
| 3 |
1.6-inch drive |
| 4 |
Screws (4) |
|
- Align the four screw holes of the drive and bracket. Insert
and tighten the screws that came with your upgrade kit (see Figure 10).
If you are replacing a drive in the 1.6-inch slot, use the
four screw holes in the side of the bracket. If you are replacing a drive in the 1-inch
slot, use the four screw holes in the bottom of the bracket.
- Reinstall the hard-disk drive bracket in the chassis.
Hold the bracket by its handle, so that it stays at the
proper tilt. Let it brush the side of the drive cage as you lower it into the chassis
until the two tabs at the bottom back of the bracket (see Figure 10) fit flush against the front
of the rail that extends across the chassis floor and the horizontal lip at the back fits
over the rail (see Figure 11).
Rotate the bracket down into position, and reinstall the
screw you removed in step 4.
NOTICE: You must match
the colored strip on the EIDE cable with pin 1 on the IDE1 connector to avoid possible
damage to your system.
- Connect one of the device connectors on the EIDE cable to
the 40-pin interface connector on the back of the hard-disk drive (see Figure 11). The cable is keyed so that the
colored edge of the EIDE cable lines up with the pin-1 end of the interface connector. See
"Connecting Drives" for more
information about drive cable connections.
Figure 11. Attaching
Hard-Disk Drives Cables in the Midsize Chassis
 |
| 1 |
Interface connector |
| 2 |
Power input connector on drive |
| 3 |
Lip |
| 4 |
Rail |
| 5 |
IDE1 connector |
| 6 |
IDE2 connector |
| 7 |
DC power cable |
| 8 |
EIDE cable |
|
NOTICE: You must match
the colored strip on the EIDE cable with pin 1 on the IDE1 connector to avoid possible
damage to your system. Pin 1 is indicated by a silk-screened "1" printed on the
system board.
- If it is not already connected, connect the other end of the
EIDE cable to the appropriate EIDE interface connector on the system board.
To locate the IDE1 connector on the system board, see Figure 9 in "Inside Your
Computer."
- Connect a DC power cable into the power input connector on
the back of the drive (see Figure 11).
Check all connectors to be certain that they are properly
cabled and firmly seated.
- Replace the computer
cover. Then reconnect your computer and peripherals to their electrical outlets, and
turn on the peripherals.
- If the drive you just installed is the primary drive, insert a bootable diskette into drive A, and turn on the computer
system.
- Enter System Setup and update the Drive
0 option under Primary
Drive n.
After you update the
drive setting, reboot the system.
- Partition and logically format your drive before proceeding to the
next step.
See the documentation for your operating system for
instructions.
- Test the hard-disk drive by running the Hard-Disk
Drive(s) Test Group in the Dell Diagnostics.
- Install your operating system on your hard-disk drive.
Refer to the documentation that came with your operating
system.
To install an EIDE hard-disk drive in a mini tower chassis, perform
the following steps:
|
CAUTION: To avoid the possibility of electric
shock, turn off the computer and any peripherals, disconnect them from electrical outlets,
and then wait at least 5 seconds before you remove the computer cover. Also, before you
install a drive, see the other precautions in "Safety
First — For You and Your Computer." |
- If you are replacing a hard-disk drive that contains data you want to
keep, be sure to make a backup of your files before you continue this procedure.
- Prepare the drive for installation.
NOTICE: To avoid
possibly damaging the drive by electromagnetic static (EMS), ground yourself by touching
an unpainted metal surface on the back of the computer.
NOTICE: When you unpack the drive, do not set it on a hard
surface, which may damage the drive. Instead, set the drive on a surface, such as a foam
pad, that will sufficiently cushion it.
Check the documentation for the drive to verify that it is
configured for your computer system.
- Remove the computer cover.
- Remove the drive bracket from the chassis.
- If a hard-disk drive is already installed in the drive bracket, disconnect the DC power
cable and EIDE cable from the drive.
- Remove the screw securing the hard-disk drive bracket to the drive cage in the chassis.
- Grasp the bracket, and rotate it outward from the chassis until the sliding tab clears
the slide rail on the drive cage (see Figure 12). Lift the bracket up slightly to free its
hinge tabs from the chassis slots.
Figure 12.
Removing the Hard-Disk Drive Bracket
 |
| 1 |
Drive-cage slide rail |
| 2 |
Chassis slots |
| 3 |
Hinge tabs |
| 4 |
Sliding tab |
|
- Slide the drive into the chosen bay of the bracket, orienting the
drive so that the connectors on the back of the drive will face the back of the chassis
when you reinstall the bracket (see Figure
13).
- Align the four screw holes of the drive and bracket. Insert and
tighten the screws that came with your upgrade kit.
- If you are installing a drive in the 1.6-inch bay, use
the four screw holes in the side of the bracket (see Figure 13).
- If you are installing a drive in the 1-inch bay, use
the four screw holes in the bottom of the bracket.
Figure 13. Inserting a
1.6-Inch Hard-Disk Drive in the Bracket
 |
| 1 |
Screws (4) |
| 2 |
Sliding tab |
| 3 |
Drive bracket |
| 4 |
1.6-inch drive |
|
- Reinstall the hard-disk drive bracket in the chassis (see Figure 14).
- Insert the bracket's hinge tabs into the chassis slots so that the tabs hook over the
slots.
- Then rotate the bracket toward the drive cage, and fit the bracket's sliding tab on the
drive-cage slide rail.
- Slide the bracket into place, and reinstall the screw you removed in step 4.
Figure
14. Inserting the Drive Bracket in the Chassis
 |
| 1 |
Drive-cage slide rail |
| 2 |
Chassis slots |
| 3 |
Hinge tabs |
| 4 |
Sliding tabs |
|
- Connect a power cable to the power input connector on the back of the
drive (see Figure 15).
Check all connectors
to be certain that they are properly cabled and firmly seated.
- Connect one of the device connectors on the EIDE cable to the 40-pin
interface connector on the back of the hard-disk drive.
NOTICE: You must match
the colored strip on the EIDE cable with pin 1 on the drive's interface connector to avoid
possible damage to your system.
 |
NOTE: On systems with hard-disk drives
larger than 2 GB, create a primary partition of 2 GB and divide the remaining capacity
into partitions of 2 GB or less. For example, a system with a 2.5-GB hard-disk drive would
have a primary partition of 2 GB (drive C) and a second partition of 500 MB (drive D).
Hard-disk drives must be partitioned this way because MS-DOS-based operating systems
(including Windows NT, when using a file allocation table [FAT] 16 file system) do not
support drive partitions larger than 2 GB. |
Figure 15.
Attaching Hard-Disk Drive Cable in the Mini Tower Chassis
 |
| 1 |
Interface connector |
| 2 |
Interface cable |
| 3 |
Power cable |
| 4 |
Power input connector on drive |
| 5 |
Interface connector on drive |
|
- If it is not already connected, connect the other end of the EIDE
cable to the IDE1 connector on the system board.
NOTICE: You
must match the colored strip on the EIDE cable with pin 1 on the IDE1 connector to avoid
possible damage to your system.
To locate the IDE1 connector, see Figure 9 in
"Inside Your Computer."
- Replace the computer cover.
Then reconnect your computer and peripherals to their electrical outlets, and turn them
on.
- If the drive you just installed is the primary drive, insert a
bootable diskette (such as the Dell Diagnostics Diskette) into drive A.
- Turn on the computer system.
- Enter System Setup, and update the
appropriate Primary Drive option (0 or 1).
- After you update the System Setup settings, reboot the system.
- Partition and logically format your drive before you proceed to the
next step.
See the documentation for your operating system for instructions.
- Test the hard-disk drive by running the Dell Diagnostics.
- If the drive you just installed is the primary drive, install your
operating system on the hard-disk drive.
For instructions,
refer to the documentation that came with your operating system.
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