Dell Inspiron DCMA User manual

www.dell.com | support.dell.com
Dell™ Inspiron™ 531 Owner’s Manual
Model DCMA
book.book Page 1 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

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 189.
____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2008 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, YOURS IS HERE,Inspiron,Dell TravelLite, and
Strike Zone are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Bluetooth is a registered trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG,
Inc. and is used by Dell under license; Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista, and Windows Vista start
button logo are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United
Statesand/orothercountries;Intel andIntel SpeedStep areregisteredtrademarksofIntelCorporation;
AMD, AMD Athlon, AMD Sempron, and Cool ’n’ Quiet are trademarks of Advanced MicroDevices,
Inc;Nvidiaisaregisteredtrademarkof Nvidia Corporation in the United States and/or 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 DCMA
April 2008
book.book Page 2 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

Contents 3
Contents
1 Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2 Setting Up and Using Your Computer . . . 15
Front View of the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Back View of the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Back Panel Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Installing Your Computer in an Enclosure . . . . . . . 20
Setting Up a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Printer Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Connecting a USB Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Playing CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Adjusting the Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Adjusting the Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Copying CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
How to Copy a CD or DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Using Blank CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Helpful Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Using a Media Card Reader (Optional) . . . . . . . . . 30
Connecting Two Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Connecting Two Monitors With VGA
Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
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4Contents
Connecting One Monitor With a VGA Connector
and One Monitor With a DVI Connector . . . . . . 32
Connecting a TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Changing the Display Settings . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Power Management Options in
Microsoft®Windows®XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Standby Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Hibernate Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Power Options Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Power Schemes Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Advanced Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Hibernate Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Power Management Options in
Windows Vista®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Standby Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Hibernate Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Power Plan Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Enabling Cool ’n’ Quiet Technology . . . . . . . . . . . 40
About RAID Configurations (For Windows
Vista only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
RAID Level 1 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Configuring Your Hard Drives for RAID . . . . . . . 42
Using the Nvidia MediaShield ROM Utility . . . . . 43
Using Nvidia MediaShield . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Transferring Information to a New Computer . . . . . . 44
Setting Up a Home and Office Network . . . . . . . . . 47
Connecting to a Network Adapter . . . . . . . . . 47
Network Setup Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Setting Up Your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . 49
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Contents 5
3 Solving Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Troubleshooting Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Battery Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
CD and DVD drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Hard drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems . . . . . . . . 54
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Lockups and Software Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
The computer does not start up . . . . . . . . . . 58
The computer stops responding . . . . . . . . . . 59
A program stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
A program crashes repeatedly . . . . . . . . . . 59
A program is designed for an earlier
Microsoft®Windows®operating system . . . . . 60
A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Other software problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Media Card Reader Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Memory Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Mouse Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Network Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
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6Contents
Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
No sound from speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
No sound from headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Video and Monitor Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
If the screen is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
If the screen is difficult to read . . . . . . . . . . . 72
4 Troubleshooting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Power Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Beep Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
When to Use the Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . 80
Starting the Dell Diagnostics From
Your Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Starting the Dell Diagnostics From the
Drivers and Utilities Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Dell Diagnostics Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
What is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Identifying Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities . . . . . . . . . . 84
Resolving Software and Hardware
Incompatibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Restoring Your Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Using Microsoft Windows System Restore . . . . 88
Using Dell PC Restore and Dell Factory
Image Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Using the Operating System CD . . . . . . . . . . 94
book.book Page 6 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

Contents 7
5 Removing and Installing Parts . . . . . . . . 97
Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Turning Off Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Before Working Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . 98
Removing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Inside View of Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
System Board Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Power Supply DC Connector Pin Assignments . . . . . 104
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Memory Installation Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . 108
Installing Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Removing Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
PCI and PCI Express Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Bezel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Removing the Bezel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Replacing the Bezel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Recommended Drive Cable Connections . . . . . 121
Connecting Drive Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Drive Interface Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Connecting and Disconnecting Drive Cables . . . 122
Hard Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Installing a Second Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . 125
Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Media Card Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
CD or DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
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8Contents
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Replacing the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Replacing the Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Removing the Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Installing the Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Removing the I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Installing the I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Processor Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Removing the Processor Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Installing the Processor Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Chassis Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Removing the Chassis Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Replacing the Chassis Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Removing the System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Installing the System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Replacing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
book.book Page 8 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

Contents 9
A Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Entering System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
System Setup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Boot Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Clearing Forgotten Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Clearing CMOS Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Flashing the BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Cleaning Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Computer, Keyboard, and Monitor . . . . . . . . . 179
Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Dell Technical Support Policy (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . 180
Definition of "Dell-Installed" Software
and Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Definition of "Third-Party" Software
and Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
FCC Notice (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
FCC Class B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Obtaining Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Technical Support and Customer Service . . . . . 183
DellConnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Online Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
AutoTech Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Automated Order-Status Service . . . . . . . . . 185
book.book Page 9 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

10 Contents
Problems With Your Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Product Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit . . . . . 186
Before You Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Contacting Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
book.book Page 10 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

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
NOTE: See the setup diagram that came with
your system.
NOTE: The appearance of your setup diagram
may vary.
book.book Page 11 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

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.
NOTE: As an increased security measure, the
newly designed Microsoft Windows license
label incorporates a missing portion or "hole" to
discourage removal of the label.
What Are You Looking For? Find it Here
book.book Page 12 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

Finding Information 13
• 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,
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 Drivers
and
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 .
NOTE: The support.dell.com user interface may
vary depending on your selection.
What Are You Looking For? Find it Here
book.book Page 13 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

14 Finding Information
• 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 press <Enter>.
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 14 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

Setting Up and Using Your Computer 15
Setting Up and Using Your Computer
Front View of the Computer
1 Service Tag
(located on top of the
chassis towards the
rear)
Use the Service Tag to identify your computer when you
access the Dell Support website or call technical support.
2 CD or DVD drive Use the CD/DVD drive for playing a CD/DVD.
3 CD or DVD drive panel This panel covers the CD/DVD drive.
(Shown in open position)
4 CD or DVD eject button Press to eject a disk from the CD or DVD drive.
1
2
4
5
7
3
6
8
9
10
11
12
14
13
book.book Page 15 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

16 Setting Up and Using Your Computer
5 optional CD or DVD
drive bay
Can contain an optional CD/DVD drive.
6 optional CD or DVD
eject button
Press to eject a disk from the optional CD or DVD
drive.
7 FlexBay drive Can contain an optional floppy drive or optional Media
Card Reader. For information on using the Media Card
Reader, see the Sonic website at www.sonic.com for
additional information.
8 USB 2.0 connectors (4) 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 173
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.
9 IEEE 1394 connector
(optional)
Attach high-speed serial multimedia devices, such as
digital video cameras.
10 headphone connector Use the headphone connector to attach headphones
and most kinds of speakers.
11 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.
12 front panel door grip Slide up the front panel door grip to cover the FlexBay
drive, four Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectors, one
headphone connector, and one microphone connector.
13 power button,
power light
Press the power button to turn on the computer.
The light in the center of this button indicates
power state. See "Controls and Lights" on page 170 for
more information.
NOTICE: To avoid losing data, do not use the power
button to turn off the computer. Instead, perform an
operating system shutdown.
14 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.
book.book Page 16 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

Setting Up and Using Your Computer 17
Back View of the Computer
1 power connector Insert the power cable.
2 power supply LED Indicates power availability for power supply.
3 back panel
connectors
Plug USB, audio, and other devices into the appropriate
connector. See "Back Panel Connectors" on page 18 for
more information.
4 card slots Access connectors for any installed PCI and PCI Express cards.
5 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.
6 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.
1
2
3
5
4
6
book.book Page 17 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

18 Setting Up and Using Your Computer
Back Panel Connectors
1 network activity
light
Flashes a yellow light when the computer is transmitting or
receiving network data. A high volume of network traffic
may make this light appear to be in a steady "on" state.
2 network adapter
connector
To attach your computer to a network or broadband device,
connect one end of a network cable to either a network port
or your network or broadband device. Connect the other
end of the network cable to the network adapter connector
on the back panel of your computer. A click indicates that
the network cable has been securely attached.
NOTE: Do not plug a telephone cable into the network
connector.
On computers with a network connector card, use the
connector on the card.
It is recommended that you use Category 5 wiring and
connectors for your network. If you must use Category 3
wiring, force the network speed to 10 Mbps to ensure
reliable operation.
3 link integrity light
• Green — A good connection exists between the network
and the computer.
• Off — The computer is not detecting a physical
connection to the network.
12
8
7
34
5
6
10
11 9
book.book Page 18 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

Setting Up and Using Your Computer 19
4 center/subwoofer
connector
Use the orange connector to attach a speaker to a Low
Frequency Effects (LFE) audio channel. LFE audio channel
is found in digital surround sound audio schemes that
carries only low frequency information of 80 Hz and below.
The LFE channel drives a subwoofer to provide extremely
low bass extension. Systems not using subwoofers can shunt
the LFE information to the main speakers in the surround
sound set-up.
5 line-in connector Use the blue line-in connector to attach a record/playback
device such as a cassette player, CD player, or VCR.
On computers with a sound card, use the connector on the
card.
6 front L/R line-out
connector
Use the green line-out connector (available on computers
with integrated sound) to attach headphones and most
speakers with integrated amplifiers.
On computers with a sound card, use the connector on the
card.
7 microphone Use the pink 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.
8 side L/R surround
connector
Use the gray connector to provide enhanced surround audio
for computers with 7.1 speakers.
On computers with a sound card, the microphone
connector is on the card.
9 rear L/R surround
connector
Use the black surround connector to attach multichannel-
capable speakers.
10 USB 2.0
connectors (4)
Use the back USB connectors for devices that typically
remain connected, such as printers and keyboards.
It is recommended that you use the front USB connectors
for devices that you connect occasionally, such as joysticks
or cameras.
11 VGA video
connector
Connect the monitor’s VGA cable to the VGA connector on
the computer.
On computers with a video card, use the connector on
the card.
book.book Page 19 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

20 Setting Up and Using Your Computer
Installing Your Computer in an Enclosure
Installing your computer in an enclosure can restrict the airflow and impact
your computer’s performance, possibly causing it to overheat. Follow the
guidelines below when installing your computer in an enclosure:
NOTICE: The operating temperature specifications indicated in this manual
reflects the maximum ambient operating temperature. The room ambient
temperature needs to be a consideration when installing your computer in an
enclosure. For example, if the ambient room temperature is at 25°C (77°F),
depending on your computer’s specifications, you only have 5° to 10°C (9° to 18°F)
temperature margin before you reach your computer’s maximum operating
temperature. For details about your computer’s specifications, see "Specifications"
on page 167.
• Leave a 10.2 cm (4 inches) minimum clearance on all vented sides of the
computer to permit the airflow required for proper ventilation.
• If your enclosure has doors, they need to be of a type that allows at least
30 percent airflow through the enclosure (front and back).
• If your computer is installed in a corner on a desk or under a desk, leave at
least 5.1 cm (2 inches) clearance from the back of the computer to the wall
to permit the airflow required for proper ventilation.
book.book Page 20 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM