Dell Dimension E520 User manual

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Dell™ Dimension™ E520
Owner’s Manual
Model DCSM
FlexBay for optional
floppy drive or Media
Card Reader
hard-drive activity light
microphone connector
headphone connector
CD or DVD activity light
CD or DVD eject button
diagnostic lights
USB 2.0 connectors (2)
cover latch
release
Service Tag
power button/
power activity light
power connector
USB 2.0 connectors (6)
optional VGA video connector
(integrated)
network
adapter
sound connectors (integrated) (6)
card slots for PCI Express x16 (1),
PCI (2), PCI Express x1 (1)
PCI Express graphics card

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.
If you purchased a Dell™ n Series computer, any references in this document to Microsoft
®
Windows
®
operating systems are not applicable.
Abbreviations and Acronyms
For a complete list of abbreviations and acronyms, see the "Glossary" on page 147.
____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2006 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, Dell TravelLite, Strike Zone, and PowerConnect are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Bluetooth is a registered trademark owned
by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and is used by Dell under license; Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation; Microsoft, Windows,
andOutlookareregisteredtrademarksofMicrosoftCorporation;ENERGYSTARisaregisteredtrademarkoftheU.S.Environmental Protection
Agency.
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 DCSM
August 2006 P/N NH730 Rev. A01

Contents 3
Contents
Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1 Setting Up and Using Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Setting Up a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Printer Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Connecting a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Setting Up Your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Playing CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Adjusting the Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Adjusting the Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Copying CDs and DVDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
How to Copy a CD or DVD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Using Blank CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Helpful Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Using a Media Card Reader (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Connecting Two Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Connecting Two Monitors With VGA Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Connecting One Monitor With a VGA Connector and One
Monitor With a DVI Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Connecting a TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Changing the Display Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Setting Up a Home and Office Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Connecting to a Network Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Network Setup Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Standby Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Hibernate Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Power Options Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Hyper-Threading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

4Contents
About RAID Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Verifying That RAID Is Working. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
RAID Level 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Troubleshooting RAID. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Recovering From a Multiple Hard Drive Failure Using the Intel®
RAID Option ROM Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Recovering From a Single Hard Drive Failure Using the Intel
Matrix Storage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Setting Your Computer to RAID-Enabled Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Dell™ DataSafe (Optional). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2 Solving Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Troubleshooting Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Battery Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
CD and DVD drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Hard drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Lockups and Software Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
The computer does not start up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
The computer stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
A program stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
A program crashes repeatedly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
A program is designed for an earlier Microsoft®Windows®
operating system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Other software problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Media Card Reader Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Memory Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Mouse Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Network Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Contents 5
Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
No sound from speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
No sound from headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Video and Monitor Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
If the screen is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
If the screen is difficult to read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3 Troubleshooting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Diagnostic Lights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Dell Diagnostics Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
What Is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Identifying Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Reinstalling Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Resolving Software and Hardware Incompatibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Restoring Your Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Using Microsoft Windows XP System Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Using Dell PC Restore by Symantec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Using the Operating System CD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4 Removing and Installing Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Before You Begin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Turning Off Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Before Working Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Front View of the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Back View of the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Back Panel Connectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

6Contents
Removing the Computer Cover. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Inside View of Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
System Board Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
DDR2 Memory Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Addressing Memory With 4-GB Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Installing Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Removing Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
PCI Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
PCI Express Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Drive Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Removing the Drive Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Removing the Drive-Panel Insert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Replacing the Drive-Panel Insert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Replacing the Drive Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Connecting Drive Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Drive Interface Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Connecting and Disconnecting Drive Cables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Removing a Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Installing a Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Adding a Second Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Removing a Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Installing a Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Media Card Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Removing a Media Card Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Installing a Media Card Reader. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
CD/DVD Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Removing a CD/DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Installing a CD/DVD Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Contents 7
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Replacing the Battery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Replacing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
5 Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Entering System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
System Setup Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Boot Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Clearing Forgotten Passwords. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Clearing CMOS Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Cleaning Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Computer, Keyboard, and Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Mouse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
CDs and DVDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Dell Technical Support Policy (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Definition of "Dell-Installed" Software and Peripherals . . . . . . . . . 123
Definition of "Third-Party" Software and Peripherals. . . . . . . . . . . 123
FCC Notice (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
FCC Class B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Contacting Dell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

8Contents

Finding Information 9
Finding Information
NOTE: Some features or media may be optional and may not ship with your computer. Some features or media
may not be available in certain countries.
NOTE: Additional information may ship with your computer.
What Are You Looking For? Find it Here
• Warranty information
• Terms and Conditions (U.S. only)
• Safety instructions
• Regulatory information
• Ergonomics information
• End User License Agreement
Dell™ Product Information Guide
• How to set up my computer Setup Diagram

10 Finding Information
• 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 support.
•Enter the Express
Service Code to direct
your call when
contacting support.
• Solutions — Troubleshooting hints and tips, articles
from technicians, and online courses, frequently asked
questions
• 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, service call and
order status, warranty, and repair information
• Service and support — Service call status and support
history, service contract, online discussions with
technical support
• Reference — Computer documentation, details on my
computer configuration, product specifications, and
white papers
• Downloads — Certified drivers, patches, and software
updates
Dell Support Website — support.dell.com
NOTE: Select your region to view the appropriate support
site.
NOTE: Corporate, government, and education customers
can also use the customized Dell Premier Support website
at premier.support.dell.com.
• Desktop System Software (DSS)— If you reinstall the
operating system for your computer, you should also
reinstall the DSS utility. DSS provides critical updates
for your operating system and support for Dell™
3.5-inch USB floppy drives, Intel
®
processors, optical
drives, and USB devices. DSS is necessary for correct
operation of your Dell computer. The software
automatically detects your computer and operating
system and installs the updates appropriate for your
configuration.
To download Desktop System Software:
1 Go to support.dell.com and click Downloads .
2 Enter your Service Tag or product model.
3 In the Download Category drop-down menu, click All .
4 Select the operating system and operating system
language for your computer, and click
Submit.
5 Under Select a Device , scroll to System and
Configuration Utilities
, and click Dell Desktop System
Software
.
What Are You Looking For? Find it Here