Acer Extensa 355 Specification sheet

2
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This chapter gives an in-depth “tour” of the notebook’s many
features.
2.1 Features
The notebook was designed with the user in mind. Here are
just a few of the notebook’s many features:
Performance
 High-end Pentium microprocessor
 64-bit main memory
 Large LCD display and PCI local bus video with
graphics acceleration
 3.5-inch floppy drive
 High-capacity, Enhanced-IDE hard disk
 Nickel Metal-Hydride battery pack
 Power management system with standby and
hibernation power saving modes
Multimedia
 16-bit high quality audio
 Built-in speaker
 Line in, mic-in and line out ports

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Human-centric Design and Ergonomics
 Lightweight and slim
 Full-sized keyboard
 Wide and curved palm rest
 Centrally-located touchpad pointing device
Expansion
 PC Card slots (formerly called PCMCIA), two type II or
one type III
 Upgradeable memory and hard disk

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2.2 Display
The large DualScan STN color graphics display offers
excellent viewing, display quality and desktop performance
graphics. With built-in PCI bus VGA display system to
support both the internal LCD display and the external
optional VGA monitor with 1MB RAM video memory.
The notebook’s large display and multimedia capabilities are
great for giving presentations. If you prefer, you can also
connect an external monitor when giving presentations. This
notebook supports simultaneous LCD and CRT display.
Simultaneous display allows you to control the presentation
from your notebook and at the same time face your
audience. You can even connect an LCD projection panel for
large-audience presentations.
The power management system incorporates an “automatic
LCD dim” feature that automatically decides the best
settings for your display and at the same time conserve
power. See section 3.2 for more information on power
management.
Opening and Closing the Display
To open the display, gently pull the display lid latch using
your fingers and lift up the lid. Then tilt it to a comfortable
viewing position.
The notebook employs a microswitch that turns off the
display to conserve power when you close the lid, and turns
it back on when you open the lid.

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To close the lid, fold it down gently until the display lid latch
clicks into place.
To avoid damaging the display, do not slam it when closing. Do
not place any object on top of the notebook when the display is
closed.
Microswitch

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2.3 Interior Features
2.3.1 Control Buttons
Icon Function Description
Power Switch Toggle system power on and off.
No-reboot
Setup Gains access to BIOS setup utility’s advanced power management settings and system
information reference screens. See section 6.1.5.
Standby/
Hibernation Enters hibernation mode if the hibernation
function (Sleep Manager) is installed, valid and
enabled; otherwise, the notebook enters standby
mode.
Power Switch
No-reboot Setup button
Power Indicator
Status indicators
Standby/Hibernation button
Battery Charging Indicator

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2.3.2 Status Indicators
Icon Function Description
Battery charging
indicator It lights up when the battery is charging.
Power indicator This lights up when power is applied to
the notebook, and flashes when the
notebook is in a battery-low condition.
Standby mode
indicator This flashes when the system is in standby mode (Standby/Hibernation
mode).
Hard disk drive
activity indicator This lights up when the system accesses the hard disk drive.
Num Lock indicator This lights up when the Num Lock
function is activated.
Caps Lock
indicator This lights up when the Caps Lock function is activated.
Scroll Lock
indicator This lights up when the Scroll Lock function is activated.
To find out more about batteries, see Chapter 3.

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2.4 Keyboard
The keyboard has full-sized keys that include a separate
cursor keys, two Windows 95 keys and twelve function keys.
2.4.1 Special Keys
The keyboard has three lock keys which you can toggle on
and off.
Lock Key Description
Caps Lock When Caps Lock is on, all alphabetic characters typed are
in uppercase.
Fn-NumLk When Num Lock is on, the embedded keypad is in
numeric mode. The keys function as a calculator
(complete with arithmetic operators +, -, *, and /).
Use this mode when you need to do a lot of numeric data
entry. A better solution would be to connect an external
keypad.
Fn-ScrLk When Scroll Lock is on, the screen moves one line up or
down when you press ↑or ↓respectively. Scroll lock does
not work with some applications.
2.4.2 Embedded Keypad

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The embedded keypad functions like a desktop numeric
keypad. It is indicated by small characters located on the
upper right corner of the keycaps. To simplify the keyboard
legend, the cursor-control key symbols are not printed on the
keys.
Desired Access Num Lock On Num Lock Off
Number keys on
embedded keypad Type numbers in a normal manner. Hold Fn and Shift
while using the
number keys.
Cursor-control
keys on embedded
keypad
Hold Shift while using
cursor-control keys. Hold Fn while using cursor-control keys.
Main keyboard
keys Hold Fn while typing letters
on embedded keypad. Type the letters in a
normal manner.
If an external keyboard or keypad is connected to the
notebook, the numlock function only works on the external
keyboard or keypad.
2.4.3 Windows 95 Keys
The keyboard has two keys that perform Windows 95-
specific functions.
Key Description
Windows logo key Start button. Combinations with this key performs
special functions. Below are a few examples:
❑Windows + Tab Activate next Taskbar button
❑Windows + E Explore My Computer
❑Windows + F Find Document
❑Windows + M Minimize All
❑Shift + Windows + M Undo Minimize All
❑Windows + R Display Run dialog box
Application key Opens the application’s context menu (same as
right-click).

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2.4.4 Hot Keys
The notebook employs hot keys or key combinations to
access most of the notebook’s controls like screen contrast
and brightness, volume output and the BIOS setup utility.
Hot Key Function Description
Fn-Esc Hotkey Escape Exits the hotkey control.
Fn-F1 Hotkey Help Displays the hotkey list and help.
Fn-F2 Brightness
Control
Contrast Control
Toggles between brightness control and
contrast control.
Press the scale hotkeys (Fn-→, Fn-←) to
increase and decrease the brightness or
contrast level.
Fn-F3 Display Toggle Switches display from LCD to CRT to
both LCD and CRT.
Fn-F4 Battery Gauge Displays the battery gauge.
Fn-F5 Volume Control Press the scale hotkeys (Fn-→, Fn-←) to
increase and decrease the output level.
Fn-→Scale Increase Increases the setting of the current icon.
Fn-←Scale Decrease Decreases the setting of the current
icon.

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Activating and Using Hot Keys
When activating hot keys, press and hold the first key Fn
before pressing the other keys in the hot key combination.
Some hot keys pop-up an onscreen icon. For hot keys with
pop-up icons, press the scale hot keys (Fn-→and Fn-←) to
increase and decrease the setting of the current icon.
Exiting Pop-up Icons and Screens
Press hot key escape (Fn-Esc) to exit a pop-up icon resulting
from a hot key. Press Esc to exit a screen resulting from a
hot key.
2.4.5 Keyboard Ergonomics
Located below the keyboard, the wide and curved palm rest
gives you a place to rest your hands while you type.

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2.5 Touchpad
The built-in touchpad is an PS/2-compatible pointing device
that senses movement on its surface. This means the cursor
responds as you move your finger on the surface of the
touchpad. The central location on the palm rest provides
ample comfort and support.
The touchpad works with most mouse drivers, but the
bundled touchpad driver supports special functions that
work uniquely with the touchpad.
Touchpad Basics
The following items teach you how to use the touchpad:
 Move your finger across the touchpad to move the
cursor.
 Press the left and right buttons located on the edge of
the touchpad to do selection and execution functions.
These two buttons are similar to the left and right
buttons on a mouse. Tapping on the touchpad
produces similar results.

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Function Left Button Right Button Tap
Execution Click twice
quickly Tap twice (at the same speed
as double-clicking the mouse
button)
Selection Click once Tap once
Drag Click and
hold to drag
the cursor
Tap twice (at the same speed
as double-clicking the mouse
button) and hold finger to the
touchpad on the second tap
to drag the cursor
Access
Context
Menu
Click once When Corner Taps is
enabled, tap on the upper
right corner of the touchpad.
Keep your fingers dry and clean when using the touchpad.
Also keep the touchpad dry and clean.
The touchpad is sensitive to finger movements. Hence, the
lighter the touch, the better the response. Tapping too hard
will not increase the touchpad’s responsiveness.

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2.6 Storage
High-capacity storage comes in the form of a 2.5-inch
Enhanced-IDE hard disk. The notebook also has an internal
3.5-inch, 1.44MB floppy drive.
You can also connect an optional external CD-ROM drive.
See section 4.7.3 for more information.

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2.7 Ports
Ports allow you to connect peripheral devices to your
notebook computer as you would with a desktop PC. The
ports are found on the rear panel; PC card slots are found on
the left panel of the notebook.
See Chapter 4 on how to connect external devices to the
notebook.
2.7.1 Rear Ports
#Icon Port Connects to...
1DC-in Port AC adapter and power outlet
2PS/2 Port PS/2-compatible device
(e.g., PS/2 keyboard,
keypad, mouse)
3Security Notch Kensington-compatible key-based
computer security lock.
4External CRT port Monitor
(up to 1024x768, 256-colors )
5Serial Port
(UART16650-
compatible)
Serial device
(e.g., serial mouse)
6Parallel Port
(EPP/ECP-
compliant)
Parallel device
(e.g., parallel printer)
1
2
3
7
8
9
4
5
6

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# Icon Port Connects to...
7Line-in Port Line-in device (e.g., audio CD
player, stereo walkman)
8Microphone-in Port External 3.5mm minijack
condenser microphone
9Line-out Port Line-out device
(e.g., speakers, headphones)
2.7.2 PC Card Slots
There are two type II or one type III PC Card slots found on
the left panel of the notebook. These slots accept credit-
card-sized cards that enhance the usability and
expandability of the notebook.
PC cards are add-on cards for portable computers, giving
you expansion possibilities long afforded by desktop PCs.
Popular type II cards include flash memory, SRAM, fax/data
modem, LAN and SCSI cards. Common type III cards are
1.8-inch ATA drives and cellular modems.
Refer to your card’s user’s manual for details on how to install
and use the card and its functions.
Inserting a Card
Insert the card into the desired slot
and make the proper connections
(e.g., network cable), if necessary. See
your card manual for details.
For type III, insert card into the lower
slot.

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If the notebook detects a PC I/O card (e.g., modem card)
installed in the PC card slots, the notebook can only enter
standby mode, and not hibernation mode.
Ejecting a Card
Exit the application using the card, then follow these steps:
Press the slot eject button to eject
the card.

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2.8 Audio
Standard notebook configuration includes 16-bit stereo
audio which is compatible with Sound Blaster and Sound
Blaster Pro. A single speaker found on the right side of the
palm rest direct sound towards you which allows for
excellent sound output.
Besides the built-in speaker, there are audio ports on the
rear panel of the notebook. See section 4.5 for more
information.
Built-in Speaker

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2.9 Securing your Notebook
Security features include hardware and software locks — a
security notch and a two-level password scheme.
2.9.1 Security Notch
A security notch located on the rear panel of the notebook
lets you connect a Kensington-compatible key-based
computer security lock.
Circle or wrap a computer
security lock cable around an
immovable object such as a table
or locked drawer handle. Insert
the lock into the notch and turn
the key to secure the lock.
2.9.2 Passwords
A two-level password scheme protects your notebook from
unauthorized access. When set, no one can access the
notebook without entering the correct password. For
information on how to set passwords, see section 6.1.4.