Using the Configuration Setup utility - Servers and IntelliStation

Resolving The Problem

1. Turn on the server and watch the monitor screen.
2. Press F1 when the message Press F1 or Configuration Setup appears.
   
   Note: If you have set both levels of passwords (user and administrator), you must enter the administrator password to access the full Configuration/Setup menu.
   
   
3. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen.
   
   

From the Configuration/Setup Utility main menu, you can select settings that you want to change. The Configuration/Setup Utility main menu is similar to the following:

Notes:

1. You can press F1 to display Help information for a selected menu item.
2. The choices on some menus might differ slightly, depending on the BIOS version in the server.

System Summary
Select this choice to display configuration information. This includes the type and speed of the microprocessors and the amount of memory installed. Changes that you make to configuration settings appear on this summary screen. You cannot edit the fields. This choice appears on both the full and limited Configuration/Setup Utility menus.

System Information
Select this choice to display information about the server. Changes that you make on other menus might appear on this summary screen. You cannot edit any fields. The System Information choice appears only on the full Configuration/Setup Utility main menu.

• Product Data
  Select this choice to view system information, such as the machine type and model, the server serial number, and the revision level or issue date of the BIOS stored in the flash electronically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM).
• System Card Data
  Select this choice to view vital product data (VPD) for some server components.

Devices and I/O Ports
Select this choice to view or change the assignments for devices and input/output ports. This choice appears only on the full Configuration/Setup Utility main menu. This choice also allows you to enable or disable the integrated SCSI, and Ethernet controllers.

• The default setting is Enable for all the controllers. If you select Disable, the system will not configure the disabled device and the operating system will not see the device.
  (This is equivalent to unplugging the device.)
• If the on-board SCSI controller is disabled and no other storage device is installed, operating system startup cannot occur.

Select System Service Processor Settings to view the interrupt-request setting (IRQ) used by the Advanced System Management Processor (system service processor). You can then use the arrow keys to select a new IRQ setting for the Advanced System Management Processor from the list of available choices.

Date and Time
Select this choice to set the system date and time and to change the system time sent to the Advanced System Management Processor (service processor) when the server is started.
This choice appears only on the full Configuration/Setup Utility main menu. The system time is in a 24-hour format: hour:minute:second. You can set a time delta to be added or subtracted from the system time that is sent to the service processor (Advanced System Management Processor) each time the server is started. Use the number keys to enter the hours and minutes and + or - to add or subtract from the system time. If you want the system clock time to be the same as the Advanced System Management Processor clock time, leave the value set at its default of 0.

System Security
Select this choice to set passwords or a system owner's name. This choice appears only on the full Configuration/Setup Utility main menu. You can implement two levels of password protection:

• Power-on Password
  Select this choice to set or change a power-on password.
• Administrator Password
  Select this choice to set or change an administrator password.

WARNING: If an administrator password is set and then forgotten, it cannot be overridden or removed. You must replace the system board. The administrator password provides access to all choices on the Configuration/Setup Utility main menu. You can set, change, or delete both the administrator and power-on passwords, and allow a power-on password to be changed by the user.

Start Options
Select this choice to view or change the start options. This choice appears only on the full Configuration/Setup Utility main menu. Start options take effect when you start the server.
You can select keyboard operating characteristics, such as the keyboard speed. You also can specify whether the keyboard number lock starts on or off. You also can enable the server to run without a diskette drive, monitor, or keyboard.

The server uses a startup sequence to determine the device from which the operating system loads. For example, you can define a startup sequence that checks for a startable diskette in the diskette drive, then checks the hard disk drive in bay 1, and then checks a network adapter. If the Boot Fail Count choice is enabled, you must restart the system three times to restore the system BIOS default settings. If this choice is disabled, the system BIOS defaults can only be restored from the Configuration/Setup Utility main menu. You can enable a virus-detection test that checks for changes in the master boot record at startup.

Advanced Setup
Select this choice to change values for advanced hardware features, such as cache control, and PCI configuration. This choice appears only on the full Configuration/Setup Utility main menu. A warning message appears above the choices on this menu to alert you that the system might malfunction if these options are configured incorrectly. Follow the instructions on the screen carefully.

• Processor Serial Number Access
  Select this choice to identify if the microprocessor serial number in the microprocessor is readable.
• System Partition Visibility
  Select this choice to identify if the System Partition is visible. To make the System Partition visible, set this value to Visible. To make the System Partition invisible, set this value to Hidden.
• Core Chipset Control
  Select this choice to modify settings that control features of the core chip set on the system board.
  
  WARNING: Do not make changes here unless directed to do so by an IBM authorized service representative.
  
  
• Cache Control
  Select this choice to enable or disable the microprocessor cache. In addition, you can set the microprocessor cache mode to write-back (WB) or write-through (WT). Selecting write-back mode will provide the maximum system performance.
• PCI Slot/Device Information
  Select this choice to view and identify system resources used by PCI devices.
  PCI devices automatically communicate with the server configuration information.
  This usually results in automatic configuration of a PCI device.
  
  WARNING: You must use the menu selections to save custom settings for the PCI Slot/Device Information choice.
  The save, restore and load default settings choices on the main menu of the Configuration/Setup Utility do not save the PCI Slot/Device Information settings.
  
  
• PCI Device Control
  Allows you to enable or disable the PCI slots from this menu. The default setting is Enable for all the PCI slots. If you select Disable, the system will not configure the disabled device and the operating system will not see the device. (This is equivalent to unplugging the device.)
• Memory Settings
  Select this choice to manually disable or enable a bank of memory. If a memory error is detected during POST or memory configuration, the server will automatically disable the failing memory bank and continue operating with reduced memory capacity. If this occurs, you must manually enable the memory bank after the problem is corrected. Select Memory Settings from the Advanced Setup menu, use the arrow keys to highlight the bank that you want to enable; then, use the arrow keys to select Enable.

Error Logs
Select this choice to view or clear error logs.

• Select POST Error Log to view the three most recent error codes and messages that the system generated during POST. Select Clear error logs from the POST Error Log menu to clear the error log.
• Select System Event/Error Log to view the system event/error log. The system event/error log contains all the system error and warning messages that the system has generated.
  You can use the arrow keys to move between pages in the system event/error log. Select Clear error logs from the System Event/Error Log menu to clear the error or event log.

Save Settings
Select this choice to save the customized settings.

Restore Settings
Select this choice to delete the changes and restore the previous settings.

Load Default Settings
Select this choice to cancel the changes and restore the factory settings.

Exit Setup
If you have made any changes, the program will prompt you to save the changes or exit without saving the changes.