Dell Dimension 4100 User manual

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Dell™ Dimension™ 4100 Systems
SOLUTIONS GUIDE

Hints, Notices, and Cautions
HINT: A HINT indicates important information that helps you make better
use of your computer.
NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of
data and tells you how to avoid the problem.
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates a potentially hazardous situation
which, if not avoided, may result in minor or moderate injury.
Abbreviations and Acronyms
For a complete listing of abbreviations and acronyms, see the Glossary in
the Tell Me How help file (see “Accessing Help Files” on page 20 of this
guide for instructions on how to open the help file).
____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2000–2001 Dell Computer Corporation. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Computer
Corporation is strictly forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text:
Dell , the DELL logo, Dellnet , Inspiron , Dimension , Latitude ,
OptiPlex , Dell Precision , and DellWare are trademarks of Dell Computer Corporation; Intel and
Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation; Microsoft and Windows are registered
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities
claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Computer Corporation disclaims any
proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.
March 2001 P/N 051VM Rev. A03

Contents 3
Contents
Safety Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1Setting Up
Setting Up Dellnet™ (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Accessing the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Accessing Your E-Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Viewing Your Account Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Sending and Receiving E-Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Resetting E-Mail Address Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Connecting a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Parallel Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
USB Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Installing the Printer Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Turning Off the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) and
Windows Millennium Edition (Me) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Windows 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2Solving Problems
Finding Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Accessing Help Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Start-Up Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

4Contents
Video and Monitor Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
If the screen is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
If the screen is difficult to read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
If you cannot print to a parallel port printer . . . . . . . . . . 25
If you cannot print to a USB printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Modem Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Mouse Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
If you cannot save a file to a floppy disk . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
If you cannot play a music CD or install
a program from a CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
If you cannot play a DVD movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
If the CD-RW drive stops writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
If you have a hard drive problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Network Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Windows Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
General Program Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
A program crashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
A program stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Internet Connection Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
If you have a problem with your Dellnet account . . . . . . . . 33
E-Mail Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Resolving Other Technical Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Contents 5
Reinstalling Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Reinstalling Windows 98 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Reinstalling Windows Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Reinstalling Windows 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3Adding Parts
Removing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Looking Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Adding Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Removing Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Adding Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Adding a Second Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Adding Other Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
5.25-Inch Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.5-Inch Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Replacing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4Appendix
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Standard Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Viewing Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
System Setup Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Clearing Forgotten Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Replacing the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

6Contents
Contacting Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Contact Numbers and Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit . . . . . . . . . 94
Regulatory Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
FCC Notices (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Class A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Class B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Battery Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
NOM Information (Mexico Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Información para NOM (únicamente para México) . . . . . . . 100
Warranty and Return Policy Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Safety Instructions 7
Safety Instructions
Use the following safety guidelines to protect yourself and your computer.
For comfort and efficiency, observe the ergonomic guidelines provided in
the Tell Me How help file.
When Using Your Computer
CAUTION: Do not operate your computer with any cover(s)
(including the computer cover, filler brackets, front-panel inserts,
and so on) removed.
•To help avoid damaging your computer, be sure that the voltage
selection switch is set to match the AC power available at your
location:
– 115 V/60 Hz in most of North and South America and some Far
Eastern countries such as South Korea and Taiwan
– 100 V/50 Hz in eastern Japan and 100 V/60 Hz in western Japan
– 230 V/50 Hz in most of Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East
Also be sure that your monitor and attached devices are electrically
rated to operate with the AC power available in your location.
•To help avoid possible damage to the system board, wait 5 seconds
after turning off the computer before disconnecting or connecting a
non-USB device from the computer.
•To help prevent electric shock, plug the computer and device power
cables into properly grounded power sources. These cables are
equipped with 3-prong plugs to help ensure proper grounding. Do not
use adapter plugs or remove the grounding prong from a cable. If you
must use an extension cable, use a 3-wire cable with properly grounded
plugs.

8Safety Instructions
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•To help protect your computer from sudden, transient increases and
decreases in electrical power, use a surge suppressor, line conditioner,
or uninterruptible power supply.
•Be sure that nothing rests on your computer’s cables and that the
cables are not located where they can be stepped on or tripped over.
•Do not spill food or liquids on your computer. If the computer gets
wet, contact Dell (see page 82).
•Do not push any objects into the openings of your computer. Doing so
can cause fire or electric shock by shorting out interior components.
•Keep your computerawayfrom radiators andheat sources.Also, do not
block cooling vents. Avoid placing loose papers underneath your
computer; do not place your computer in a closed-in wall unit or on a
bed, sofa, or rug.
When Working Inside Your Computer
Before you remove the computer cover, perform the following steps in the
sequence indicated.
NOTICE: Do not attempt to service the computer yourself, except as
explained in this guide and elsewhere in Dell documentation. Always follow
installation and service instructions closely.
1Turn off your computer and all devices.
2Ground yourself by touching an unpainted metal surface at the back of
the computer before touching anything inside your computer.
While you work, periodically touch an unpainted metal surface on the
computer to dissipate any static electricity that might harm internal
components.
3Disconnect any devices connected to the computer, including the
monitor, from their electrical outlets to reduce the potential for
personal injury or shock. Also, disconnect any telephone or
telecommunication lines from the computer.
4Disconnect the power cable to your computer, and then press the
power button to ground the system board.

Safety Instructions 9
In addition, take note of these safety guidelines when appropriate:
•When you disconnect a cable, pull on its connector, not on the cable
itself. As you pull connectors apart, keep them evenly aligned to avoid
bending any pins. Also, before you connect a cable, make sure that
both connectors are correctly oriented and aligned.
•Handle components and cardswith care. Don’t touch the components
on a card. Hold a card by its edges or by its metal bracket.
CAUTION: There is a danger of a new battery exploding if it is
incorrectly installed. Replace the battery only with the same or
equivalent type recommended by the manufacturer. Discard used
batteries according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge
To prevent static damage, discharge static electricity from your body before
you touch anything inside your computer and periodically while you work
inside the computer. You can do so by touching an unpainted metal surface
on the back of the computer.
You can also take the following steps to prevent static damage:
•Do not remove items from their antistatic packing material until you
are ready to install them in your computer. Just before unwrapping the
antistatic packaging, be sure to discharge static electricity from your
body.
•When transporting a sensitive component, first place it in an antistatic
container or packaging.

10 Safety Instructions
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