Dell D630 - LATITUDE ATG NOTEBOOK User manual

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Dell™ Latitude™ D630
User’s Guide
Model PP24L

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.
____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2007 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, Inspiron, Dell Precision, Dimension, OptiPlex, Latitude, PowerEdge, PowerVault,
PowerApp, ExpressCharge, TravelLite, Strike Zone, Wi-Fi Catcher, Dell MediaDirect, XPS, and Dell OpenManage are trademarks of Dell
Inc.; Core and Intel are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation; Microsoft, Outlook, and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation; Bluetooth is a registered trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and is used by Dell under license; TouchStrip is a trademark
of UPEK, Inc.; EMC is a registered trademark of EMC Corporation; ENERGY STAR is a registered trademark of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. As an ENERGY STAR partner, Dell Inc. has determined that this product meets the ENERGY STAR guidelines for energy
efficiency.
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 PP24L
February 2007 P/N P134851 Rev. A00

Contents 3
Contents
1 Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2 About Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Front View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Left Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Right Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Back View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Bottom View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3 Transferring Information to a New Computer . . . . . . . . . . 27
Microsoft® Windows® XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Running the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard With the Operating System Media
27
Running the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard Without the Operating System Media
28
Microsoft Windows Vista™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Easy Transfer Cable for Windows Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4 Using a Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Battery Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Checking the Battery Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Dell™ QuickSet Battery Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Microsoft®Windows®Power Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Charge Gauge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Low-Battery Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Conserving Battery Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Power Management Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Standby and Sleep Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

4Contents
Hibernate Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Configuring Power Management Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Accessing Power Options Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Charging the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Replacing the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Storing a Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Battery Errors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5 Using the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Numeric Keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Key Combinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
System Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Display Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Microsoft® Windows® Logo Key Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Touch Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Customizing the Touch Pad and Track Stick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Changing the Track Stick Cap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6 Using the Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Adjusting Brightness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Using the Ambient Light Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Switching the Video Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Setting Display Resolution and Refresh Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Dual Independent Display Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Swapping Primary and Secondary Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Contents 5
7 Setting Up and Using Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Connecting a Network or Broadband Modem Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Setting Up a Network in the Microsoft®Windows®XP Operating System . . 47
Setting Up a Network in the Microsoft Windows Vista™ Operating System . 48
Wireless Local Area Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
What You Need to Establish a WLAN Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Checking Your Wireless Network Card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Setting Up a New WLAN Using a Wireless Router and a Broadband Modem 49
Connecting to a WLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Mobile Broadband (or Wireless Wide Area Network) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
What You Need to Establish a Mobile Broadband Network Connection . 52
Checking Your Dell Mobile Broadband Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Connecting to a Mobile Broadband Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Enabling/Disabling the Dell™ Mobile Broadband Card . . . . . . . . . . 53
Managing Your Network Settings Through the Dell QuickSet Location Profiler 53
Dell Wi-Fi Catcher™ Network Locator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Microsoft®Windows®Firewall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
8 Using Multimedia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Playing Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Copying Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
How to Copy Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Using Blank Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Helpful Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Adjusting the Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Adjusting the Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Microsoft® Windows® XP Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Microsoft Windows Vista™ Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
9UsingCards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Card Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
PC Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

6Contents
Smart Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Card Blanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Extended Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Installing a PC Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
PC Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Removing a Card or Blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
10 Securing Your Computer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Security Cable Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Smart Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
About Smart Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Installing a Smart Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
About Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Using a Primary (or System) Password. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Using an Administrator Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Using a Hard Drive Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Trusted Platform Module (TPM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Enabling the TPM Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Security Management Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Activating the Security Management Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Using the Security Management Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Computer Tracking Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
If Your Computer Is Lost or Stolen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Cleaning Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Computer, Keyboard, and Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Touch Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Mouse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
CDs and DVDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Contents 7
11 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Dell™ Technical Update Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
When to Use the Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Starting the Dell Diagnostics From Your Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Starting the Dell Diagnostics from the Drivers and Utilities Media . . . . 76
Dell Diagnostics Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Dell Support Utility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Accessing the Dell Support Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Clicking the Dell Support Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Double-Clicking the Dell Support Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Media drive problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
If you cannot eject the CD, CD-RW, DVD, or DVD+RW drive tray . . . . . 80
If you hear an unfamiliar scraping or grinding sound . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Hard drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
IEEE 1394 Device Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
External Keyboard problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Unexpected characters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Lockups and Software Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
The computer does not start up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
The computer stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
A program stops responding or crashes repeatedly . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
A program is designed for an earlier Microsoft®Windows®operating system 87
A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Other software problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Memory Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Network Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Mobile Broadband (Wireless Wide Area Network) . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

8Contents
PC Card Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Ensuring Sufficient Power for Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Docking Power Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
No sound from integrated speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
No sound from external speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
No sound from headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Touch Pad or Mouse Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Video and Display Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
If the display is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
If the display is difficult to read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
If only part of the display is readable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
12 System Setup Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Viewing the System Setup Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
System Setup Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Commonly Used Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Changing the Boot Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Changing Printer Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Changing COM Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
13 Reinstalling Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
What Is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Identifying Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Using the Hardware Troubleshooter Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Microsoft Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Contents 9
Microsoft Windows Vista. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Restoring Your Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Using Microsoft® Windows® System Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Using the Operating System Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
14 Adding and Replacing Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Before You Begin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Turning Off Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Before Working Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Hinge Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Internal Card With Bluetooth®Wireless Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Coin-Cell Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Mobile Broadband Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Media Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Removing Media Bay Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
FCM (Flash Cache Module) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
15 Dell™ QuickSet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
16 Traveling With Your Computer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Identifying Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Packing the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Travel Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

10 Contents
Traveling by Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
17 Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Obtaining Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Technical Support and Customer Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
DellConnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Online Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
AutoTech Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Automated Order-Status Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Problems With Your Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Product Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Before You Call. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Contacting Dell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
18 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
19 Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
FCC Notice (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
FCC Class B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Macrovision Product Notice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

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
• A diagnostic program for my computer
• Drivers for my computer
• My device documentation
• Notebook System Software (NSS)
Drivers and Utilities Media
NOTE: The Drivers and Utilities media may be optional and
may not ship with your computer.
Documentation and drivers are already installed on your
computer. You can use the media to reinstall drivers (see
"Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities" on page 102) or to run
the Dell Diagnostics (see "Dell Diagnostics" on page 75).
Readme files may be
included on your 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.
• How to set up my computer
• Basic troubleshooting information
• How to run the Dell Diagnostics
• How to open my computer
Quick Reference Guide
NOTE: This document may be optional and may not ship with
your computer.
NOTE: This document is available as a PDF at
support.dell.com.

12 Finding Information
• Warranty information
• Terms and Conditions (U.S. only)
• Safety instructions
• Regulatory information
• Ergonomics information
• End User License Agreement
Dell™ Product Information Guide
• 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.
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

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
• 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 for your computer, you should also
reinstall the NSS utility. NSS provides critical updates
for your operating system and support for processors,
optical drives, USB devices, and so on. NSS 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.
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 region or business
segment, and enter your Service Tag.
2 Select Drivers & Downloads and click Go .
3 Click your operating system and search for the keyword
Notebook System Software .
NOTE: The support.dell.com user interface may vary
depending on your selections.
• 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 in the taskbar.
• How to use Windows XP
• How to work with programs and files
• How to personalize my desktop
Windows Help and Support Center
1 Click Start → 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

14 Finding Information
• 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.
For more information on Dell QuickSet, see "Dell™
QuickSet" on page 131.
• How to reinstall my operating system Operating System Media
NOTE: The Operating System media may be optional and may
not ship with your computer.
The operating system is already installed on your computer.
To reinstall your operating system, use the Operating
System media (see "Reinstalling Windows" on page 107).
After you reinstall your
operating system, use the
optional Drivers and
Utilities media
(ResourceCD)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 media varies based on the operating
system you ordered.
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

About Your Computer 15
About Your Computer
Front View
1display latch 2display 3power button
4device status lights 5keyboard 6touch pad
7fingerprint reader (optional) 8touch pad buttons/track stick
buttons
9track stick
10 keyboard status lights 11 volume control buttons 12 ambient light sensor
13 mute button
1
5
2
10
6
11 4
12
3
8
13
9
7

16 About Your Computer
DEVICE STATUS LIGHTS
If the computer is connected to an electrical outlet, the light operates as follows:
– Solid green: The battery is charging.
– Flashing green: The battery is almost fully charged.
– Off: The battery is adequately charged (or external power is not available to charge the battery).
If the computer is running on a battery, the light operates as follows:
Turns on when you turn on the computer and blinks when the computer is
in a power management mode.
Turns on when the computer reads or writes data.
NOTICE: To avoid loss of data, never turn off the computer while the
light is flashing.
Turns on steadily or blinks to indicate battery charge status.
Turns on when wireless devices are enabled.
Turns on when Bluetooth® wireless technology is enabled. To enable or
disable Bluetooth wireless technology, move the wireless switch to the "on"
position. See "wireless switch" on page 19 for more information.
NOTE: Bluetooth wireless technology is an optional feature on your
computer, so the icon turns on only if you ordered Bluetooth wireless
technology with your computer. For more information, see the documentation
that came with your Bluetooth wireless technology.

About Your Computer 17
– Off: The battery is adequately charged (or the computer is turned off).
– Flashing orange: The battery charge is low.
– Solid orange: The battery charge is critically low.
DISPLAY —For more information about your display, see "Using the Display" on page 43.
DISPLAY LATCH —Keeps the display closed.
DISPLAY LATCH BUTTON —Press this button to release the display latch and open the display.
KEYBOARD —The keyboard includes a numeric keypad as well as the Microsoft®Windows®logo key. For
information on supported keyboard shortcuts, see "Using the Keyboard" on page 39.
KEYBOARD STATUS LIGHTS
The green lights located above the keyboard indicate the following:
POWER BUTTON —Press the power button to turn on the computer or to enter or exit a power management mode.
NOTICE: To avoid losing data, shut down your computer instead of pressing the power button.
FINGERPRINT READER (OPTIONAL)—Helps to keep your Dell™ computer secure. When you slide your finger over
the reader, it uses your unique fingerprint to authenticate your user identity. For information on how to activate and
use the security management software that controls the fingerprint reader, see "Security Management Software" on
page 70.
Turns on when the numeric keypad is enabled.
Turns on when the uppercase letter function is enabled.
Turns on when the scroll lock function is enabled.
9
A

18 About Your Computer
AMBIENT LIGHT SENSOR —Detects available environmental light and automatically increases or decreases the
display backlighting to compensate for low-light and high-light environments. Press the <Fn> and left-arrow keys to
enable or disable the sensor ("Using the Ambient Light Sensor" on page 43).
Left Side View
AIR VENTS —The computer uses an internal fan to create airflow through the vents, which prevents the computer
from overheating.
CAUTION: Do not block, push objects into, or allow dust to accumulate in the air vents. Do not store your Dell
computer in a low-airflow environment, such as a closed briefcase, while it is running. Restricting the airflow
can damage the computer or cause a fire.
NOTE: The computer turns on the fan when the computer gets hot. Fan noise is normal and does not indicate a
problem with the fan or the computer.
SECURITY CABLE SLOT —Lets you attach a commercially available antitheft device to the computer (see "Security
Cable Lock" on page 65).
1security cable slot 2air vents 3audio connectors (2)
4smart card slot (with blank) 51394 connector 6wireless switch
7Wi-Fi Catcher™light 8PC Card slot 9hard drive
1 2 3 65 7 84 9

About Your Computer 19
AUDIO CONNECTORS
SMART CARD SLOT (WITH BLANK)—Supports one smart card. Smart cards provide a variety of functions,
including security features and data storage. The blank prevents foreign matter from entering the interior of the
computer when a smart card is not installed in the smart card slot. For more information and instructions on
removing the blank, see "Smart Cards" on page 61.
WIRELESS SWITCH —When enabled through Dell QuickSet, this switch can scan for a wireless LAN (WLAN) in
your vicinity. You can also use it to rapidly turn off or on any wireless devices such as WLAN cards and internal cards
with Bluetooth wireless technology (see "Dell Wi-Fi Catcher™ Network Locator" on page 54).
Attach headphones or speakers to the connector.
Attach a microphone to the connector.
1 2 3 4

20 About Your Computer
WI-FICATCHER™LIGHT —The light operates as follows:
– Flashing green: Searching for networks
– Solid green: Strong network found
– Solid yellow: Weak network found
– Flashing yellow: Error
– Off: No signal found
PC CARD SLOT —Supports one PC Card, such as a modem or network adapter. The computer ships with a blank
installed in the slot to prevent foreign matter from entering the computer interior when a card is not installed (see
"Card Types" on page 61).
HARD DRIVE —Stores software and data.
Right Side View
MEDIA BAY —Supports a floppy or an optical drive, second battery, second hard drive, or a Dell TravelLite™
module (see "Using Multimedia" on page 55).
DEVICE LATCH RELEASE —Press the latch release to eject any device installed in the media bay.
1"off" position Disables wireless devices
2"on" position Enables wireless devices
3"momentary" position Scans for WLAN networks (see
"Dell Wi-Fi Catcher™ Network
Locator" on page 54)
4Wi-Fi Catcher light
1optical drive in media bay 2media-bay device latch release 3USB connectors (2)
12 3