Advent 3317 PC
| CPU | AMD Athlon XP 3000+ (2.167 GHz) |
| BIOS | Phoenix-Award BIOS. Press the Delete key to enter |
| Motherboard | MSI MS 6777 (nForce2) ver. 1.0 |
| Memory | 512 MB DDR RAM - PC2700 |
| Hard Drive | 120 GB UDMA |
| CD Drive | 16 x DVD-ROM 2x DVD-RW |
| Floppy Drive | Floppy disk drive fitted |
| Video Card | nVidia GeForce FX 5600 (256 MB) |
| Sound Card | nVidia nForce MCP audio (onboard) |
| Speakers | Advent stereo powered speakers |
| Modem | Generic Soft 56K modem |
| Network Card | nVidia nForce MCP LAN |
| Ports | 2x Line-out (1x front, 1x rear) 2x Microphone ((1x front, 1x rear) 2x IEEE 1394 FireWire (1x front, 1x rear) 4x USB (2x front, 2x rear) 1x Line-in 1x Serial 1x Parallel 1x LAN 1x Modem 1x Telephone 1x VGA 1x DVI 1x S-Video |
| Case | D1 |
| Keyboard | Advent multimedia keyboard |
| Mouse | Advent optical mouse |
Case Disassembly
To open your computer you must first remove the 2 thumbscrews on the right hand side at the back, the CPU vent can be removed by releasing the 4 plastic retaining clips. Next, slide the case backwards then lift away from the main unit.
The front bezel has 6 retaining clips, 3 located on each side of the case. Release these clips then pull the bezel away with the hand grip underneath. Note: the bezel is connected to a very short power cable. Exercise caution when removing.
Drivers
Your PC should have a backup copy of all the drivers, you can find it by browsing to the c:\applications\drivers folder. If this folder is missing then you can get the graphics drivers and motherboard manual from The Tech Guys website. For the rest of the drivers you'll need to check each component manufacturers website for the latest software.
Motherboard Information
- Form Factor: 24.4cm(L) x 24.4cm(W) ATX Form Factor
- CPU Support:
- Supports Socket A for AMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron processors @FSB 333 Mhz
- Supports 600MHz up to Athlon XP 2700+ processor or higher
- System Memory:
- Supports four memory banks using two 184-pin DDR DIMMs
- Supports up to 2GB PC3200/2700/2100/1600 DDR SDRAMs
- Supports both 64-bit and 128-bit DDR SDRAM
- Chipset: nVIDIA nForce2 IGP
- Supports DDR266/333 with internal graphic core, DDR266/333/400 with external add-on card
- Supports external AGP 8X/4X
Note - The full motherboard manual can be downloaded in PDF format from The Tech Guys website.
Adding RAM is the most cost effective way to boost your computer's performance.
In the Box
Disks Supplied
- Advent system restore CD ver. 3.0
- Microsoft Works 7.0
Items Supplied
- Advent base unit
- Advent multimedia USB or PS/2 keyboard
- Advent optical USB or PS/2 mouse
- UK mains power cable
- UK modem cable
- Advent stereo speakers and power supply
- TV-out cable
Documentation Supplied
- Advent setup topsheet
- Advent manual
- Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition "Start here" guide
Recovery Disc
Replacement recovery discs can be ordered from a company called "The Tech Guys". More information is available on their website - http://support.thetechguys.com//recoverymedia/.
To recover your Advent PC you will need your Advent System Recovery CD.
- Place the CD into the DVD drive and restart your computer.
- Press R on the keyboard when prompted.
- The recovery will load and display a menu of options:
- Non-destructive recovery: this option will restore Windows, supplied applications, and drivers. This option will not destroy your documents or programs. These will be backed up along with the registry. These are restored at the end of the recovery process.
- System Recovery - No format: this will reinstall Windows, supplied applications and drivers. It will move your files to a folder called "My old disk structure". Any applications (except those supplied) will need to be reinstalled.
- System Recovery - Quick format: this option will erase your hard drive including your personal files. Windows, supplied applications and drivers will be reinstalled.
- Select the Non-destructive recovery option and press Next.
- You will be informed about System Restore in Windows, click Yes.
- The recovery will begin. Once this is complete you should eject the CD and click Restart.
Due to the nature of the recovery process you should not use FDISK or any other partition management software to delete the partition on your Advent computer. Doing so will prevent the recovery from functioning correctly. If the recovery asks for a second CD you will need to obtain an Update CD from Advent.
Additional information.
Press the ALT and D keys at the recovery menu to access a command prompt. This will allow access to C: drive. The command prompt will default to E:\i386\system32 where you can run a variety of tools including CHKDSK.EXE.
Pressing CTRL + BACKSPACE at the ‘Press R to display system recovery options’ will display the manufacturers hidden menu. This menu contains a number of tools to delete or recreate the partitions on the hard disk drive.
Reinstalling applications
From version 2.x of the recovery system onwards you can install applications from the c:\applications folder. Drivers can be installed from the c:\applications\drivers folder and utilities from the c:\applications\tools folder. You will still need to install Microsoft Works from the supplied CD.