Dell Dimension 4700 Series User manual

www.dell.com | support.dell.com
Dell™ Dimension™ 4700 Series
*On computers with a floppy drive.
CD or DVD drive
activity light
CD or DVD eject button
floppy drive light*
floppy drive eject button*
hard-drive activity light
power button
power light
USB 2.0 connectors (2)
Service Tag
headphones
PCI card (2), PCI Express x1 card (1),
PCI Express x16 card (1) slots
keyboard connector
USB 2.0 connectors (6)
microphone connector
line-out connector
serial connector
voltage selection switch
power connector
center/LFE connector
integrated VGA video connector mouse connector
line-in connector
parallel connector
network adapter connector
diagnostic lights (4)
VGA video connector*
cover latch
surround connector
optional sound card connector*
TV-OUT connector*
DVI video connector*
*Not present on
all computers.

Notes, Notices, and Cautions
NOTE: A NOTE 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 potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.
Abbreviations and Acronyms
For a complete list of abbreviations and acronyms, see the Dell Dimension Help file. To access the help file, see
page 9.
If you purchased a Dell™ n Series computer, any references in this document to Microsoft
®
Windows
®
operating systems are not applicable.
____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2004 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, Inspiron, Dell Precision, Dimension, OptiPlex, Latitude, PowerEdge, PowerVault,
PowerApp, DellNet, PowerConnect, and Axim are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation;
Microsoft, Windows, and Outlook 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 Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.
Model DMC
July 2004 P/N Y6949 Rev. A00

Contents 3
Contents
Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1 Setting Up and Using Your Computer
Setting Up a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Printer Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Connecting a USB Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Connecting a Parallel Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Connecting Two Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Connecting Two Monitors With VGA Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Connecting One Monitor With a VGA connector and One
Monitor With a DVI Connector:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Connecting a Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Changing the Display Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Setting Up a Home and Office Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Connecting to a Network Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Network Setup Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Setting Up Your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Copying CDs and DVDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
How to Copy a CD or DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Using Blank CD-Rs and CD-RWs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Helpful Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Hyper-Threading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2 Solving Problems
Troubleshooting Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Battery Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

4Contents
Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
CD and DVD drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Hard drive problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
IEEE 1394 Device Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Lockups and Software Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
The computer does not start up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
The computer stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
A program stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
A program crashes repeatedly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
A program is designed for an earlier Windows operating system. . . . . 27
A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Other software problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Memory Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Mouse Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Network Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Printer Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
No sound from speakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
No sound from headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Video and Monitor Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
If the screen is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
If the screen is difficult to read. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3 Advanced Troubleshooting
Diagnostic Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Dell Diagnostics Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Contents 5
Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
What Is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Identifying Drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Reinstalling Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Restoring Your Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Using Microsoft Windows XP System Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Using Dell PC Restore by Symantec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Resolving Software and Hardware Incompatibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
4 Removing and Installing Parts
Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Turning Off Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Before Working Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Front and Back View of the Computer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Front View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Back View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Removing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Inside View of Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
System Board Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
DDR Memory Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Addressing Memory With 4-GB Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Installing Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Removing Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
PCI Cards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
PCI Express Cards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Removing the Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Removing the Front-Panel Insert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Reattaching the Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

6Contents
Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
General Installation Guidelines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Connecting Drive Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Hard Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Removing a Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Installing a Hard Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Adding a Second Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Removing a Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Installing a Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
CD/DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Removing a CD/DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Installing a CD/DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Adding a Second CD or DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Replacing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
A Appendix
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Entering System Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
System Setup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Boot Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Clearing Forgotten Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Clearing CMOS Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Dell Technical Support Policy (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Definition of "Dell-Installed" Software and Peripherals . . . . . . . . 103
Definition of "Third-Party" Software and Peripherals . . . . . . . . . 103

Contents 7
FCC Notices (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Class A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Class B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
FCC Identification Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Contacting Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

8Contents

Finding Information 9
Finding Information
What Are You Looking For? Find it Here
• How to access tutorials and other how to information
• How to get a copy of my invoice
• How to extend my warranty
• How to access Dell Support on my Microsoft
®
Windows
®
desktop (U.S. only)
• Additional documentation, tools, troubleshooting
information, and links to online support resources
Dell Solution Center
On your Windows desktop
• Warranty information
• Safety instructions
• Regulatory information
• Ergonomics information
• End User License Agreement
Dell™ Product Information Guide
• How to set up my computer Setup Diagram
• Tips on using Microsoft
®
Windows
®
• How to play CDs and DVDs
• How to use standby mode and hibernate mode
• How to change my display resolution
• How to clean my computer
The Dell Dimension Help file
1 Click the Start button and click Help and Support .
2 Click User and system guides and click User’s guides .
3 Click Dell Dimension Help .

10 Finding Information
www.dell.com | support.dell.com
• Service Tag and Express Service Code
• Microsoft Windows License Label
Service Tag and Microsoft Windows License
These labels are located on your computer.
• Use the Service Tag to
identify your computer
when you use
support.dell.com or
contact technical
support.
• Enter the Express Service Code to direct your call when
contacting technical support. The Express Service Code
is not available in all countries.
• Latest drivers for my computer
• Answers to technical service and support questions
• Online discussions with other users and technical
support
• Documentation for my computer
Dell Support Website — support.dell.com
NOTE: Select your region to view the appropriate support
site.
The Dell Support website provides several online tools,
including:
• Solutions — Troubleshooting hints and tips, articles
from technicians, and online courses
• Community — Online discussion with other Dell
customers
• Upgrades — Upgrade information for components, such
as memory, the hard drive, and the operating system
• Customer Care — Contact information, order status,
warranty, and repair information
• Downloads — Drivers, patches, and software updates
• Reference — Computer documentation, product
specifications, and white papers
• How to use Windows XP
• Documentation for my computer
• Documentation for devices (such as a modem)
Windows Help and Support Center
1 Click the Start button and click Help and Support .
2 Type a word or phrase that describes your problem and
click the arrow icon.
3 Click the topic that describes your problem.
4 Follow the instructions on the screen.
What Are You Looking For? Find it Here