Dell 1526 - Inspiron - Laptop User manual

www.dell.com | support.dell.com
Dell™ Inspiron™ 1525/1526
Owner’s Manual
Model PP29L

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.
___________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2007 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, Wi-Fi Catcher, and Dell MediaDirect
are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Intel and Core are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation.; AMD, AMD
Turion, Athlon, Sempron, ATI Radeon and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro
Devices, Inc.; Microsoft, Windows, and Windows Vista are either trademarks or registered trademarks
of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries; Bluetooth is a registered
trademarkownedbyBluetoothSIG,Inc.andisusedbyDellunderlicense.Blu-rayDiscisatrademark
of the Blu-ray Disc Association.
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 PP29L
October 2007 P/N NN491 Rev. A01

Contents 3
Contents
Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1 About Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Front View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Left Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Right Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Back View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Bottom View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2 Setting Up Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Setting Up Your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . 32
Transferring Information to a New Computer . . . . . 33
Windows Easy Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Setting Up a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Printer Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Connecting a USB Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Power Protection Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Surge Protectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Line Conditioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Uninterruptible Power Supplies . . . . . . . . . . 36

4Contents
3 Using the Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Adjusting Brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Switching the Video Image From Your
Computer Display To a Projector . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Setting Display Resolution and Refresh Rate . . . . . . 38
4 Using the Keyboard and Touchpad . . . . . 39
Numeric Keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Key Combinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
System Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Display Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Microsoft®Windows®Logo Key Functions . . . . 41
Dell™ QuickSet Key Combinations . . . . . . . . . 41
Adjusting Keyboard Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Touch Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Customizing the Touch Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
5 Using a Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Battery Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Checking the Battery Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Dell QuickSet Battery Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Microsoft®Windows®Battery Meter . . . . . . . 47
Low-Battery Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Contents 5
Conserving Battery Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Configuring Power Management Settings . . . . . 48
Using the Sleep Power State . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Charging the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Replacing the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Storing a Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
6 Using Multimedia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Playing Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Playing Media Using
Dell Travel Remote (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Copying CD, DVD, and
Blu-ray Disc™ (BD) Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
How to Copy a CD, DVD or BD . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Using Blank CD, DVD, and BD Media . . . . . . . 55
Helpful Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Adjusting the Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Adjusting the Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Using Dell MediaDirect™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Connecting Your Computer to a TV or
Audio Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
S-Video and Standard Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
S-Video and S/PDIF Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . 62
Composite Video and Standard Audio . . . . . . . 64
Composite Video and S/PDIF Digital Audio . . . . 66
Component Video and Standard Audio . . . . . . 68

6Contents
Component Video and S/PDIF Digital Audio . . . . 71
HDMI (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Enabling the Display Settings for a TV . . . . . . . 74
7 Using the Optional Camera . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Accessing the Camera’s Help File . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Manually Adjusting the Camera Settings . . . . . . . . 76
Creating a Picture or a Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
8 Using Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
ExpressCards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
ExpressCard Blanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Installing an ExpressCard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Removing an ExpressCard or Blank . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Memory Card Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Memory Card Blanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Installing a Memory Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Removing a Memory Card or Blank . . . . . . . . . . . 81
9 Setting Up and Using Networks . . . . . . . 83
Connecting a Network or
Broadband Modem Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Setting Up a Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Contents 7
Wireless Local Area Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
What You Need to Establish a
WLAN Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Checking Your Wireless Network Card . . . . . . 84
Setting Up a New WLAN Using a
Wireless Router and a Broadband Modem . . . . 85
Connecting to a WLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Mobile Broadband
(or Wireless Wide Area Network) . . . . . . . . . . . 88
What You Need to Establish a
Mobile Broadband Network Connection . . . . . 88
Checking Your Dell Mobile Broadband Card . . . . 89
Connecting to a Mobile Broadband Network . . . 90
Enabling/Disabling the
Dell Mobile Broadband Card . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Dell Wi-Fi Catcher™ Network Locator . . . . . . . . . 91
10 Securing Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Security Cable Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
If Your Computer Is Lost or Stolen . . . . . . . . . . . 94
11 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Dell Technical Update Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Dell Support Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Dell Support 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
DellConnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

8Contents
Network Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
PC TuneUp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
PC CheckUp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Optical drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Hard drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems . . . . . . . . . 104
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
ExpressCard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
IEEE 1394 Device Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
External Keyboard problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Unexpected characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Lockups and Software Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
The computer does not start . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
The computer stops responding . . . . . . . . . . 113
A program stops responding or
crashes repeatedly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
A program is designed for an earlier
Microsoft®Windows®operating system . . . . . 114
A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Dell MediaDirect problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Other software problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Memory Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Network Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Mobile Broadband
(Wireless Wide Area Network [WWAN]) . . . . . 117
Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Contents 9
Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
No sound from integrated speakers . . . . . . . . 120
No sound from external speakers . . . . . . . . . 121
No sound from headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Touch Pad or Mouse Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Video and Display Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
If the display is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
If the display is difficult to read . . . . . . . . . . 123
If only part of the display is readable . . . . . . . 124
Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
What Is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Identifying Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities . . . . . . . . . . 125
Troubleshooting Software and
Hardware Problems in the Windows Vista®
Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Restoring Your Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Using Windows Vista System Restore . . . . . . . 128
12 Adding and Replacing Parts . . . . . . . . . 133
Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Turning Off Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Before Working Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . 134

10 Contents
Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Removing the Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Replacing the Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Returning a Hard Drive to Dell . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Optical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Removing the Optical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Replacing the Optical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Hinge Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Removing the Hinge Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Replacing the Hinge Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Removing the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Replacing the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Removing Memory Module . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Replacing Memory Module . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Subscriber Identity Module (Optional) . . . . . . . . . 146
Wireless Mini-Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Removing Mini-Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Replacing Mini-Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Flash Cache Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Removing the FCM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Replacing the FCM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Broadcom®Media PC Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Internal Card With Bluetooth®
Wireless Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Removing the Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Replacing the Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Contents 11
13 Traveling With Your Computer . . . . . . . 153
Identifying Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Packing the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Travel Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Traveling by Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
14 Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Obtaining Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Technical Support and Customer Service . . . . . 156
DellConnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Online Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
AutoTech Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Automated Order-Status Service . . . . . . . . . 157
Problems With Your Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Product Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit . . . . . 158
Before You Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Contacting Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
15 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

12 Contents
A Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Using the System Setup Program . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Viewing the System Setup Screen . . . . . . . . . 172
System Setup Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Commonly Used Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Cleaning Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Computer, Keyboard, and Display . . . . . . . . . 174
Touch Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Dell Technical Support Policy (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . 176
Definition of "Dell-Installed" Software
and Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Definition of "Third-Party" Software
and Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
FCC Notice (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
FCC Class B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Macrovision Product Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Finding Information 13
Finding Information
NOTE: Some features may be optional and may not ship with your computer. Some
features may not be available in certain countries.
NOTE: Additional information may ship with your computer.
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here
• A diagnostic program for my computer
• Drivers for my computer
• Device documentation
• Notebook System Software (NSS)
Drivers and Utilities Media
Documentation and drivers are already
installed on your computer. You can use
the Drivers and Utilities media to
reinstall drivers (see "Reinstalling Drivers
and Utilities" on page 125) or run the
Dell Diagnostics (see "Dell Diagnostics"
on page 95).
Readme files may be included on your
Drivers and Utilities media to provide
last-minute updates about technical
changes to your computer or advanced
technical-reference material for
technicians or experienced users.
NOTE: Drivers and documentation updates
can be found at support.dell.com.

14 Finding Information
• 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
• 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

Finding Information 15
• Solutions — Troubleshooting hints and
tips, articles from technicians, online
courses, and frequently asked questions
• Community — Online discussion with
other Dell customers
• Upgrades — Upgrade information for
components, such as the memory, hard
drive, and operating system
• Customer Care — Contact information,
service call and order status, and
warranty and repair information
• Service and support — Service call
status, support history, service contract,
and online discussions with support
• Dell Technical Update Service —
Proactive e-mail notification of software
and hardware updates for your computer
• Reference — Computer
documentation, details on my
computer configuration, product
specifications, and white papers
• Downloads — Certified drivers,
patches, and software updates
• Notebook System Software (NSS) — If
you reinstall the operating system on
your computer, you should also reinstall
the NSS utility. NSS automatically
detects your computer and operating
system, and installs the updates
appropriate for your configuration,
providing critical updates for your
operating system and support for Dell
3.5-inch USB floppy drives, Intel
®
processors, optical drives, and USB
devices. NSS is necessary for correct
operation of your Dell computer.
Dell Support Website — support.dell.com
NOTE: Select your region or business
segment to view the appropriate support site.
To download Notebook System Software:
1 Go to support.dell.com , select your
country/region, and then click
Drivers & Downloads .
2 Enter your Service Tag or product
model, and then click
Go .
3 Select your operating system and
language, and then click
Find Downloads ,
or under
Downloads Search , search for
the keyword
Notebook System Software .
NOTE: The support.dell.com user interface
may vary depending on your selections.
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

16 Finding Information
• Software upgrades and troubleshooting
hints — Frequently asked questions,
hot topics, and general health of your
computing environment
Dell Support Utility
The Dell Support Utility is an automated
upgrade and notification system installed
on your computer. This support provides
real-time health scans of your computing
environment, software updates, and
relevant self-support information. Access
the Dell Support Utility from the
icon on the taskbar. For more information,
see "Dell Support Utility
" on page 99 .
• How to use Windows Vista
®
• How to work with programs and files
• How to personalize my desktop
Windows Help and Support
1 Click the Windows Vista Start button
, and then click
Help and Support .
2 In Search Help , type a word or phrase that
describes your problem, and then press
<Enter> or click the magnifying glass.
3 Click the topic that describes your
problem.
4 Follow the instructions on the screen.
• Information on network activity, the
Power Management Wizard, hotkeys,
and other items controlled by Dell
QuickSet
Dell QuickSet Help
To view Dell QuickSet Help , right-click
the QuickSet icon in the Microsoft®
Windows®taskbar, and select Help. The
taskbar is located in the lower-right
corner of your screen.
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

Finding Information 17
• How to reinstall my operating system Operating System Media
The operating system is already installed
on your computer. To reinstall your
operating system, use one of the
following methods:
• Microsoft Windows System Restore —
Microsoft Windows System Restore
returns your computer to an earlier
operating state without affecting data
files.
• Operating System Installation Media —
If you received operating system media
with your computer, you can use it to
restore your operating system.
For more information, see "Restoring
Your Operating System" on page 128.
After you reinstall your operating system,
use the Drivers and Utilities media to
reinstall drivers for the devices that came
with your computer.
Your operating system product key label
is located on your computer.
NOTE: The color of your operating system
installation media varies according to the
operating system you ordered.
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

18 Finding Information

About Your Computer 19
About Your Computer
Front View
3
4
15
5
14 7
6
17
2
1
13 11 10 8
16
9
12

20 About Your Computer
CAMERA INDICATOR —Indicates that the camera is on. Based on configuration
selections you made when ordering your computer, your computer may not include a
camera.
CAMERA —Built-in camera for video capture, conferencing, and chat. Based on
configuration selections you made when ordering your computer, your computer may
not include a camera.
DISPLAY —For more information about your display, see "Using the Display" on page 39.
POWER BUTTON —Press the power button to turn on the computer or exit a power
management mode (see "Configuring Power Management Settings" on page 50).
NOTICE: To avoid losing data, turn off your computer by performing a Microsoft®
Windows® operating system shutdown rather than by pressing the power button.
If the computer stops responding, press and hold the power button until the
computer turns off completely (may take several seconds).
MEDIA CONTROL BUTTONS —Control CD, DVD, and Media Player playback.
1 camera indicator (optional) 2 camera (optional)
3 display 4 power button
5 media control buttons (7) 6 keyboard
7 touch pad 8 8-in-1 media card reader
9 analog microphone 10 microphone connector
11 headphone connectors (2) 12 consumer IR
13 touch pad buttons (2) 14 device status lights
15 Dell MediaDirect™ button 16 keyboard status lights
17 digital array microphones (optional)
Mute the sound Play the previous track
Turn the volume down Play the next track
Turn the volume up Stop
Play or pause