Dell Inspiron 530sa User manual

www.dell.com | support.dell.com
Dell™ Inspiron™ 530s Series
Owner’s Manual
Model DCSLF
book.book Page 1 Monday, October 6, 2008 11:38 AM

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 201.
____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2007-2008 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of these materials in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc.
is strictly forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, Yours Is Here, and Inspiron are trademarks of
Dell Inc.; Bluetooth is a registered trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and is used by Dell under
license; Microsoft, Windows, Internet Explorer, Windows Vista, and Windows Vista start button logo
are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or
other countries; Intel, Pentium, and Celeron are registered trademarks, SpeedStep and Core are
trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.
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 DCSLF
September 2008 P/N DU119 Rev. A04
book.book Page 2 Monday, October 6, 2008 11:38 AM

Contents 3
Contents
Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1 Setting Up and Using Your
Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Front View of the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Inspiron 530s/530sa/530sb/530sc/530sd . . . . . . 15
Back View of the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Inspiron 530s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Inspiron 530sa/530sc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Inspiron 530sb/530sd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Back Panel Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Inspiron 530s/530sa/530sc . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Inspiron 530sb/530sd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Installing Your Computer in an Enclosure. . . . . . . . 26
Setting Up a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Printer Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Connecting a USB Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Playing CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Adjusting the Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Configuring the Audio Connectors
for 5.1- Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Adjusting the Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
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4Contents
Copying CDs and DVDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
How to Copy a CD or DVD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Using Blank CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Helpful Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Using a Media Card Reader (Optional) . . . . . . . . . 37
Connecting Two Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Connecting Two Monitors
With VGA Connectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Connecting One Monitor With
a VGA Connector and One Monitor
With a DVI Connector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Connecting a TV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Changing the Display Settings . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Power Management Options in
Microsoft®Windows®XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Standby Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Hibernate Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Power Options Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Power Management Options in
Windows Vista®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Standby Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Hibernate Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Power Plan Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Enabling SpeedStep™ Technology . . . . . . . . . . . 47
About RAID Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
RAID Level 1 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Configuring Your Hard Drives for RAID . . . . . . . 49
Configuring for RAID Using the Intel®
Option ROM Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Configuring for RAID Using the Intel®
Matrix Storage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
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Contents 5
Transferring Information to a New Computer . . . . . . 54
Microsoft®Windows®XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Windows Vista®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Setting Up a Home and Office Network. . . . . . . . . 59
Connecting to a Network Adapter . . . . . . . . . 59
Setting Up a Network in the
Microsoft®Windows®XP
Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Setting Up a Network in the
Windows Vista®Operating System . . . . . . . . 60
Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Setting Up Your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . 61
2 Solving Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Troubleshooting Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Battery Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Drive Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
CD and DVD drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Hard drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems . . . . . . . . . 66
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Lockups and Software Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
The computer does not start up . . . . . . . . . . 70
The computer stops responding . . . . . . . . . . 70
A program stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
A program crashes repeatedly . . . . . . . . . . . 70
book.book Page 5 Monday, October 6, 2008 11:38 AM

6Contents
A program is designed for an earlier
Microsoft®Windows®operating system . . . . . 71
A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Other software problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Media Card Reader Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Memory Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Mouse Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Network Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
No sound from speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
No sound from headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Video and Monitor Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
If the screen is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
If the screen is difficult to read . . . . . . . . . . . 82
3 Troubleshooting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Power Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Beep Codes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
When to Use the Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . 88
Starting the Dell Diagnostics
From Your Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
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Contents 7
Starting the Dell Diagnostics From
the Drivers and Utilities Media . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Dell Diagnostics Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
What is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Identifying Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities . . . . . . . . . . 92
Troubleshooting Software and Hardware
Problems in the Microsoft Windows®XP and
Windows Vista®Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Restoring Your Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Using Microsoft® Windows® System
Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Using Dell PC Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Using the Operating System CD . . . . . . . . . . 100
4 Removing and Installing Parts . . . . . . . 103
Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Turning Off Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Before Working Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . 104
Removing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Removing the Support Bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Inside View of Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
System Board Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Inspiron 530s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Inspiron 530sa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Inspiron 530sb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
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8Contents
Inspiron 530sc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Inspiron 530sd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Power Supply DC Connector Pin
Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Memory Installation Guidelines: . . . . . . . . . 123
Installing Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Removing Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
PCI and PCI Express Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Bezel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Removing the Bezel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Replacing the Bezel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Recommended Drive Cable
Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Connecting Drive Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Drive Interface Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Connecting and Disconnecting
Drive Cables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Hard Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Floppy Drive (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Media Card Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
CD/DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Replacing the Battery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Replacing the Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . 159
book.book Page 8 Monday, October 6, 2008 11:38 AM

Contents 9
I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Removing the I/O Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Installing the I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Processor Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Removing the Processor Fan/Heat
Sink Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Installing the Processor Fan/Heat
Sink Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Removing the Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Installing the Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Chassis Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Removing the Chassis Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Replacing the Chassis Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Removing the System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Installing the System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Replacing the Support Bracket. . . . . . . . . . . 173
Replacing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . 174
A Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Inspiron 530s/530sa/530sc . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Inspiron 530sb/530sd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Inspiron 530s/530sa/530sb/530sc/530sd . . . . . . 183
System Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Entering System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
book.book Page 9 Monday, October 6, 2008 11:38 AM

10 Contents
System Setup Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Boot Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Clearing Forgotten Passwords. . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Inspiron 530s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Inspiron 530sa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Inspiron 530sb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Inspiron 530sc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Inspiron 530sd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Clearing CMOS Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Flashing the BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Cleaning Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Computer, Keyboard, and Monitor . . . . . . . . 196
Mouse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Floppy Drive (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
CDs and DVDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Dell Technical Support Policy (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . 197
Definition of "Dell-Installed"
Software and Peripherals. . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Definition of "Third-Party"
Software and Peripherals. . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
FCC Notice (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
FCC Class B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Contacting Dell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
book.book Page 10 Monday, October 6, 2008 11:38 AM

Finding Information 11
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
• Model Number See the back of your computer for the
model number.
NOTE: If there is no label present, the
model number is Inspiron 530s.
book.book Page 11 Monday, October 6, 2008 11:38 AM

12 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, and 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.
What Are You Looking For? Find it Here
book.book Page 12 Monday, October 6, 2008 11:38 AM

Finding Information 13
• 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, 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 Type
and Product Model and click
Go .
3 Scroll to System and Configuration
Utilities
→ Dell Desktop System
Software
and click Download Now .
• How to use your Windows
®
operating system
• How to work with programs and files
• How to personalize my desktop
Windows Help and Support Center
1 To access Windows Help and Support:
• In Windows XP, click
Start and click
Help and Support
.
• In Windows Vista
®
, click the
Windows Vista Start button
and
click
Help and Support .
2 Type a word or phrase that describes
your problem, and then 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
book.book Page 13 Monday, October 6, 2008 11:38 AM

14 Finding Information
book.book Page 14 Monday, October 6, 2008 11:38 AM

Setting Up and Using Your Computer 15
Setting Up and Using Your Computer
Front View of the Computer
Inspiron 530s/530sa/530sb/530sc/530sd
1
2
5
7
8
11
10
9
3
4
6
book.book Page 15 Monday, October 6, 2008 11:38 AM

16 Setting Up and Using Your Computer
1 Service Tag (located on
top of the chassis
towards the back)
Use the Service Tag to identify your computer
when you access the Dell Support website or call
technical support.
2 eject button for CD/DVD
drive
Press here to open/close the CD/DVD drive.
3 Flexbay open/close Press here to open or close the floppy/media card
reader panel
4 FlexBay drive Can contain an optional floppy drive or optional
Media Card Reader. For information on using the
Media Card Reader, see "Media Card Reader" on
page 150.
5 power button Press the power button to turn on the computer.
NOTICE: To avoid losing data, do not use the
power button to turn off the computer. Instead,
perform an operating system shutdown.
6 power light The light in the center of this button indicates
power state.
7 USB 2.0 connectors (2) Use the front USB connectors for devices that you
connect occasionally, such as joysticks or cameras,
or for bootable USB devices (see "System Setup
Options" on page 186 for more information on
booting to a USB device).
It is recommended that you use the back USB
connectors for devices that typically remain
connected, such as printers and keyboards.
8 microphone connector Use the microphone connector to attach a personal
computer microphone for voice or musical input
into a sound or telephony program.
On computers with a sound card, the microphone
connector is on the card.
9 drive activity light The drive activity light is on when the computer
reads data from or writes data to the hard drive.
The light might also be on when a device such as a
CD player is operating.
10 headphone connector Use the headphone connector to attach
headphones and most kinds of speakers.
11 CD/DVD drive panel This panel covers the CD/DVD drive.
book.book Page 16 Monday, October 6, 2008 11:38 AM

Setting Up and Using Your Computer 17
Back View of the Computer
Inspiron 530s
6
2
3
7
4
1
5
book.book Page 17 Monday, October 6, 2008 11:38 AM

18 Setting Up and Using Your Computer
1 security cable slot Security cable slot lets you attach a commercially
available antitheft device to the computer. For more
information, see the instructions included with the
device.
2 padlock rings Padlock rings are for attaching a commercially available
theft-deterrent device. The padlock rings allows you to
secure the computer cover to the chassis with a padlock
to prevent unauthorized access to the inside of the
computer. To use the padlock rings, insert a
commercially available padlock through the rings, and
then lock the padlock.
3 power connector Insert the power cable.
4 voltage selector switch For selecting voltage rating.
5 power supply light Indicates power availability for power supply.
NOTE: May or may not be available on your computer.
6 card slots Access connectors for any installed PCI and PCI
Express cards.
7 back panel connectors Plug USB, audio, and other devices into the
appropriate connector. See "Back Panel Connectors"
on page 23 for more information.
book.book Page 18 Monday, October 6, 2008 11:38 AM

Setting Up and Using Your Computer 19
Inspiron 530sa/530sc
6
2
4
7
5
1
3
book.book Page 19 Monday, October 6, 2008 11:38 AM

20 Setting Up and Using Your Computer
1 security cable slot Security cable slot lets you attach a commercially
available antitheft device to the computer. For more
information, see the instructions included with the
device.
2 padlock rings Padlock rings are for attaching a commercially available
theft-deterrent device. The padlock rings allows you to
secure the computer cover to the chassis with a padlock
to prevent unauthorized access to the inside of the
computer. To use the padlock rings, insert a
commercially available padlock through the rings, and
then lock the padlock.
3 power supply light Indicates power availability for power supply.
NOTE: May or may not be available on your computer.
4 power connector Insert the power cable.
5 voltage selector switch For selecting voltage rating.
6 card slots Access connectors for any installed PCI and PCI
Express cards.
7 back panel connectors Plug USB, audio, and other devices into the
appropriate connector. See "Back Panel Connectors"
on page 23 for more information.
book.book Page 20 Monday, October 6, 2008 11:38 AM