Dell Inspirion User manual

www.dell.com | support.dell.com
Dell™ Inspiron™ 510m
Owner’s Manual
Model PP10L
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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.
Abbreviations and Acronyms
For a complete list of abbreviations and acronyms, see the Dell Inspiron Help file. To access the help
file, see page 9.
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.
© 2004–2005 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, Latitude,Inspiron, Dimension, OptiPlex, Dell Precision, Dell TravelLite,
PowerApp, PowerEdge, PowerConnect, PowerVault, and TrueMobile are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Intel and Pentium are
registered trademarks and Centrino is a trademark of Intel Corporation; Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks
Microsoft Corporation; Bluetooth is a registered trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and is used by Dell Inc. under license.
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 PP10L
April 2005 P/N D7898 Rev. A02
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Contents 3
Contents
Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1 A Tour of Your Computer
Front View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Left View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Right View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Back View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Bottom View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2 Setting Up Your Computer
Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Setting Up Your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Modem and Internet Connection Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
E-Mail Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Setting Up a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Printer Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Connecting a Parallel Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Connecting a USB Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Power Protection Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Surge Protectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Line Conditioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Uninterruptible Power Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Turning Off Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
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4Contents
3 Using a Battery
Battery Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Checking the Battery Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Dell™ QuickSet Battery Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Microsoft®Windows®Power Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Charge Gauge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Low-Battery Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Charging the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Removing a Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Installing a Battery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Removing and Installing a Reserve Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Storing a Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4 Using the Module Bay
About the Module Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Removing and Installing Devices While the Computer Is Turned Off. . . . . . 41
Removing and Installing Devices While the Computer Is Running. . . . . . . 42
5 Using the Keyboard and Touch Pad
Numeric Keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
System Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
CD or DVD Tray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Display Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Radios (Including Wireless Networking and Bluetooth®
Wireless Technology). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Speaker Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Microsoft®Windows®Logo Key Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
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Contents 5
Touch Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Customizing the Touch Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Touch Pad or Mouse Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
External Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Unexpected Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
6 Using CDs, DVDs, and other Multimedia
Using CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
If you cannot save a file to a floppy disk drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
If you cannot play a CD, CD-RW, or DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
If you cannot eject the CD, CD-RW, or DVD drive tray . . . . . . . . . . . 51
If you hear an unfamiliar scraping or grinding sound . . . . . . . . . . . 52
If the CD-RW drive stops writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
If you have problems with a hard drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
If you have a problem with integrated speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
If you have a problem with external speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Copying CDs and DVDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
How to Copy a CD or DVD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Using Blank CD-Rs and CD-RWs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Helpful Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Connecting a Television to the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
S-Video Connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Composite Video Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Enabling the Display Settings for a Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
7 Setting Up a Home and Office Network
Connecting to a Network Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Network Setup Wizard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Network Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
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6Contents
Connecting to a Wireless Local Area Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Determining Your Network Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Connecting to a Wireless Network in Microsoft®Windows®XP . . . . . 65
8 Solving Problems
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Video and Display Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
If the display is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
If the display is difficult to read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
If only part of the display is readable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Modem and Internet Connection Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
If you cannot save a file to a floppy disk drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
If you have problems with a hard drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
PC Card Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
General Program Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
A program crashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
A program stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Error messages appear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Resolving Other Technical Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
If Your Dell™ Computer Gets Wet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
If You Drop or Damage Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
What Is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Identifying Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Resolving Software and Hardware Incompatibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Restoring Your Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Using Microsoft Windows XP System Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Using Dell PC Restore by Symantec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
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Contents 7
Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
When to Use the Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
9 Adding and Replacing Parts
Before You Begin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Shutting Down Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Adding Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Adding a Mini PCI Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Replacing the Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Returning a Hard Drive to Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Internal Card With Bluetooth®Wireless Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
10 Appendix
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Viewing the System Setup Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
System Setup Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Commonly Used Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Changing the Boot Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Changing Printer Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Changing COM Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Enabling the Infrared Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
FCC Notices (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
NOM Information (Mexico Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Contacting Dell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
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8Contents
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9
Finding Information
NOTE: Some features may not be available for your computer or 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
• Tips on using Microsoft
®
Windows
®
• How to play CDs and DVDs
• How to use standby mode and hibernate mode
• How to change my display resolution
• How to clean my computer
Help File
1 Click the Start button and click Help and Support .
2 Click User and system guides and click User’s guides .
3 Click Dell Inspiron Help .
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10
www.dell.com | support.dell.com
• Service Tag and Express Service Code
• Microsoft Windows License Label
Service Tag and Microsoft Windows License
These labels are located on
the bottom of your computer.
• Use the Service Tag to
identify your
computer when you
use
support.dell.com
or contact technical
support.
• Enter the Express Service Code to direct your call when
contacting technical support.
• How to use Windows XP
• Documentation for my computer
• Documentation for devices (such as a modem)
Windows Help and Support Center
1 Click the Start button and click 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
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11
• Solutions — Troubleshooting hints and tips, articles
from technicians, 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
• 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 Dell™
3.5-inch USB floppy drives, Intel
®
Pentium
®
M
processors, optical drives, and USB devices. 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.
To download Notebook System Software:
1 Go to support.dell.com and click Downloads .
2 Enter your Service Tag or product model.
3 In the Download Category drop-down menu, click All .
4 Select the operating system and operating system
language for your computer, and click
Submit.
5 Under Select a Device , scroll to System and
Configuration Utilities
, and click Dell Notebook
System Software
.
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.The website may not be
available in all regions.
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here
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12
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A Tour of Your Computer 13
A Tour of Your Computer
Front View
DISPLAY —For more information about your display, see the Dell Inspiron Help file. To access the help file,
see page 9.
POWER BUTTON —Press the power button to turn on the computer or exit a power management mode.
NOTICE: To avoid losing data, turn off your computer by performing a Microsoft®Windows®operating
system shutdown rather than by pressing the power button.
display
display latch
power button
speakers
keyboard
keyboard status light
touch pad
device status light
touch pad button
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14 A Tour of Your Computer
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If the computer stops responding, press and hold the power button until the computer turns off completely
(which may take several seconds).
DEVICE STATUS LIGHTS
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 Bluetooth®wireless technology is enabled.
NOTE: Bluetooth wireless technology is an optional feature, so the light
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.
To turn off only the Bluetooth wireless technology functionality, right-click
the icon in the notification area and select Disable Bluetooth Radio.
To quickly enable or disable all wireless devices, press <Fn><F2>.
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A Tour of Your Computer 15
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.
If the computer is running on a battery, the light operates as follows:
– 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.
KEYBOARD —The keyboard includes a numeric keypad as well as the Windows logo key. For information
on supported keyboard shortcuts, see page 43.
DISPLAY LATCH —Keeps the display closed.
SPEAKERS —To adjust the volume of the integrated speakers, press the volume control buttons, mute
button, or volume-control keyboard shortcuts. For more information, see page 43.
TOUCH PAD BUTTONS —Provide the functionality of a mouse. For more information, see page 43.
TOUCH PAD —Provides the functionality of a mouse. For more information, see page 43.
KEYBOARD STATUS LIGHTS
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16 A Tour of Your Computer
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The green lights located above the keyboard indicate the following:
Left View
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.
CAUTION: Do not store your 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.
PC CARD SLOT —Supports one PC Card, such as a modem or network adapter. For more information,
see the Dell Inspiron Help file. To access the help file, see page 9.
INFRARED SENSOR —Lets you transfer files from your computer to another infrared-compatible device
without using cable connections.
IEEE 1394 CONNECTOR —Use to attach devices supporting IEEE 1394 high-speed transfer rates, such as
some digital video cameras.
When you receive your computer, the sensor is disabled. You can use the system setup program to enable
the sensor. For information on transferring data, see the Help and Support Center or the documentation
that came with your infrared-compatible device.
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
IEEE 1394 connector
PC Card slot
infrared sensor audio connectors (2)
security cable slot
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A Tour of Your Computer 17
AUDIO CONNECTORS
SECURITY CABLE SLOT —Lets you attach a commercially available antitheft device to the computer. For
more information, see the instructions included with the device.
NOTICE: Before you buy an antitheft device, ensure that it will work with the security cable slot.
Attach a microphone to the connector.
Attach headphones or speakers to the connector.
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18 A Tour of Your Computer
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Right View
SECURITY CABLE SLOT —Lets you attach a commercially available antitheft device to the computer. For
more information, see the instructions included with the device.
NOTICE: Before you buy an antitheft device, ensure that it will work with the security cable slot.
MODULE BAY —You can install devices such as an optical drive or a Dell TravelLite™ module in the
module bay. For more information, see page 41.
DEVICE LATCH RELEASE —Releases the module bay device. See page 41 for instructions.
security cable slot module bay device latch release
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A Tour of Your Computer 19
Back View
CAUTION: Do not store your 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.
USB connectors (2)
S-video TV-out connector
modem connector (RJ-11)
network connector
(RJ-45)
parallel connector
video
connector
serial connector
AC adapter connector
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20 A Tour of Your Computer
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USB CONNECTORS
S-VIDEO TV-OUT CONNECTOR
MODEM CONNECTOR (RJ-11)
Connect USB devices, such as a mouse, keyboard, or printer.
You can also connect the optional floppy drive directly to a
USB connector using the optional floppy-drive cable.
Connects your computer to a TV. For more information, see
page 56.
Connect the telephone line to the modem connector.
For information on using the modem, see the online modem
documentation supplied with your computer. See page 10.
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