Dell Inspirion 3500 User manual

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____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 1998 Dell Computer Corporation. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Computer Corporation is strictly forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text:
Dell and the DELL logo are registered trademarks, Inspiron is a trademark, and DellWare is a registered
service mark of Dell Computer Corporation;
MS-DOS , Microsoft , and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation;
VESA is a registered trademark of Video Electronics Standards Association; PRODIGY is a registered trademark of Prodigy Services Co.
Other trademarks and trade names may be usedin this document to refer to either the entities claimingthe marks and names or their
products. Dell Computer Corporation disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.
October 1998 P/N 8233D
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v
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This guide is intended for anyone who is setting up or starting to use a Dell®
Inspiron™3500 portable computer. Both first-time and experienced computer users
should complete Chapter 1 to properly configure a computer for operation. The
remaining chapters describe procedures for accessing the Internet and using soft-
ware and hardware.
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VWHSV RQ WKH *HWWLQJ 6WDUWHG VKHHW )DLOXUH WR SURSHUO\ FRQQHFW \RXU FRP
SXWHU PD\ UHVXOW LQ FRPSXWHU PDOIXQFWLRQV RU GDPDJH
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The
Dell Inspiron 3500 Reference and Troubleshooting Guide
provides detailed safety
information.
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Abbreviations, acronyms, and computer terms are identified or defined as they are
used in this guide. For a complete listing, refer to the Glossary in the
Users Guide
.
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NOTE: A NOTE conveys important information that helps you make better use of your
computer.
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If you need help while using this guide, refer to Chapter 6, “Frequently Asked Ques-
tions.” For detailed troubleshooting procedures, refer to the
Reference and
Troubleshooting Guide
.
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vi
The
Getting Started
sheet provides
step-by-step instructionsfor connecting
your computer. Start with this
document.
The
Setup Guide
explains how to
prepare your computer for opera-
tion. It also describes how to access
the Internet and use software and
hardware.
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The
Reference and Troubleshooting
Guide
provides maintenance informa-
tion, and troubleshooting procedures
for solving common problems.
The
Dell System User’s Guide
contains
information you need to use and maintain
your portable computer.
To open the guide,
double-click the Dell
System User’s
Guide icon on your desktop.
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vii
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&KDSWHU 3UHSDULQJ<RXU&RPSXWHUIRU8VHWKH)LUVW7LPH 
Setting Up Windows 98 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Adding a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Using the Welcome to Windows 98 Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
&KDSWHU &RQQHFWLQJWRWKH,QWHUQHW  
Accessing the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Setting Up Your Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Setting Up an Internet Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Setting Up an Internet Account From the Online Services Folder . . . . . . 2-2
Obtaining an ISP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Setting Up an Internet Account From the Internet Connection Wizard . . 2-3
Setting Up Your Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
&KDSWHU &XVWRPL]LQJWKH:LQGRZV'HVNWRS  
Major Features of the Windows Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Working Within Program Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Control Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Setting Up Display Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Changing the Wallpaper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Changing the Screen Saver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Creating a Shortcut on the Desktop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Arranging and Positioning Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Using Windows Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
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viii
&KDSWHU 8VLQJDQG,QVWDOOLQJ6RIWZDUH  
Accessing Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Basic File Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
My Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Windows Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Finding Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Copying Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Moving Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Renaming Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Deleting Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
Retrieving a Deleted File From the Recycle Bin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
Emptying the Recycle Bin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
Shutting Down Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Windows 98 Update Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Installing and Configuring Additional Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7
Removing Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7
Device Drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8
Backing Up Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8
Creating a Windows 98 Start-Up Diskette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8
Using Windows 98 Power Management Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9
Obtaining Technical Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9
&KDSWHU 8VLQJ&RPSXWHU+DUGZDUH  
Video Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Changing the Display Resolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Adjusting Brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
External Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Connecting an External Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Using an External Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Changing the Refresh Rate on External Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Installing a Battery in the Battery Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Embedded Numeric Keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Key Combinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Touch Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Options Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Using Plug and Play Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
CD-ROM and DVD-ROM Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
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ix
Port Replicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Connecting the Replicator to the Computer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Detaching the Computer From the Replicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Adding a Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
System Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
&KDSWHU )UHTXHQWO\$VNHG4XHVWLRQV  
General Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Software Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Hardware Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
,QGH[
)LJXUHV Figure 3-1. Windows Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Figure 3-2. Start Button Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Figure 3-3. Windows Title Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Figure 3-4. Taskbar and Program Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Figure 3-5. Control Panel Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Figure 3-6. Background Tab of the Display Properties Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Figure 3-7. Screen Saver Tab of the Display Properties Window . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Figure 3-8. Contents Tab of Windows Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Figure 4-1. My Computer Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Figure 4-2. Windows Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Figure 4-3. Find: All Files Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Figure 4-4. Shut Down Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Figure 5-1. Display Properties Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Figure 5-2. Connecting an External Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Figure 5-3. Changing the Refresh Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Figure 5-4. Installing a Battery in the Battery Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Figure 5-5. Attaching an External Keyboard/Keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Figure 5-6. Embedded Numeric Keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Figure 5-7. Touch Pad and Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Figure 5-8. Removing a Device From the Options Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Figure 5-9. Inserting a Disc into the Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Figure 5-10. Audio Jacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Figure 5-11. Detaching the Computer From the Replicator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Figure 6-1. Battery Charge Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
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x
7DEOHV Table 3-1. Major Features of the Windows Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Table 3-2. Start Menu Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Table 3-3. Background Tab Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Table 3-4. Screen Saver Tab Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Table 5-1. Key Combinations and Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
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