Dell Inspiron 1420 User manual

www.dell.com | support.dell.com
Dell™ Inspiron™ 1420
Owner’s Manual
Model PP26L

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, Celeron, and Core are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation.;
Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks and Windows Vista is a trademark of Microsoft
Corporation in the United States and/or other countries; Bluetooth is a registered trademark owned by
Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and is used by Dell 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 PP26L
June 2007 P/N WM391 Rev. A01

Contents 3
Contents
Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1 About Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Determining Your Computer’s Configuration . . . . . . 21
Front View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Left Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Right Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Back View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Bottom View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2 Setting Up Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Setting Up Your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . 34
Transferring Information to a New Computer . . . . . 35
Windows Easy Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Setting Up a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Printer Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Connecting a USB Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

4Contents
Power Protection Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Surge Protectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Line Conditioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Uninterruptible Power Supplies . . . . . . . . . . 38
3 Using the Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Adjusting Brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Switching the Video Image From Your Computer
Display To a Projector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Setting Display Resolution and Refresh Rate . . . . . . 40
4 Using the Keyboard and Touch Pad . . . . 41
Numeric Keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Key Combinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
System Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Display Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Microsoft®Windows®Logo Key Functions . . . . 42
Dell™ QuickSet Key Combinations . . . . . . . . . 43
Adjusting Keyboard Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Touch Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Customizing the Touch Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Contents 5
5 Using a Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Battery Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Checking the Battery Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Dell QuickSet Battery Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Microsoft®Windows®Battery Meter . . . . . . . 47
Charge Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Low-Battery Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Conserving Battery Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Configuring Power Management Settings . . . . . 48
Using the Sleep Power State . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Charging the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Replacing the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Storing a Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
6 Using the Optional Camera . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Accessing the Camera’s Help File . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Manually Adjusting the Camera Settings . . . . . . . . 52
Creating a Picture or a Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
7 Using Multimedia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Playing Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Playing Media Using Dell Express Card
Remote Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

6Contents
Copying CD and DVD Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
How to Copy a CD or DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Using Blank CD and DVD Media . . . . . . . . . . 57
Helpful Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Adjusting the Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Adjusting the Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Using Dell MediaDirect™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Connecting Your Computer to a TV or
Audio Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
S-Video and Standard Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
S-Video and S/PDIF Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . 64
Composite Video and Standard Audio . . . . . . . 66
Composite Video and S/PDIF Digital Audio . . . . 68
Component Video and Standard Audio . . . . . . 70
Component Video and S/PDIF Digital Audio . . . . 72
Enabling the Display Settings for a TV . . . . . . . 74
8 Using Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
ExpressCards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
ExpressCard Blanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Installing an ExpressCard . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Removing an ExpressCard or Blank . . . . . . . . 77
Memory Card Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Memory Card Blanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Installing a Memory Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Removing a Memory Card or Blank . . . . . . . . 80

Contents 7
9 Setting Up and Using Networks . . . . . . . 81
Connecting a Network or Broadband
Modem Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Setting Up a Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Wireless Local Area Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
What You Need to Establish a WLAN
Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Checking Your Wireless Network Card . . . . . . 82
Setting Up a New WLAN Using a Wireless
Router and a Broadband Modem . . . . . . . . . 83
Connecting to a WLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Mobile Broadband (or Wireless Wide Area
Network) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
What You Need to Establish a Mobile
Broadband Network Connection . . . . . . . . . 86
Checking Your Dell Mobile Broadband Card . . . . 87
Connecting to a Mobile Broadband Network . . . 88
Enabling/Disabling the Dell Mobile
Broadband Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Dell Wi-Fi Catcher™ Network Locator . . . . . . . . . 89
10 Securing Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Security Cable Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
If Your Computer Is Lost or Stolen . . . . . . . . . . . 92

8Contents
11 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Dell Technical Update Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Dell Support Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Optical drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Hard drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems . . . . . . . . . 100
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
ExpressCard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
IEEE 1394 Device Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
External Keyboard problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Unexpected characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Lockups and Software Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
The computer does not start . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
The computer stops responding . . . . . . . . . . 109
A program stops responding or crashes
repeatedly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
A program is designed for an earlier
Microsoft®Windows®operating system . . . . . 110
A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Dell MediaDirect problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Other software problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Memory Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Contents 9
Network Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Mobile Broadband (Wireless Wide Area
Network [WWAN]) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
No sound from integrated speakers . . . . . . . . 117
No sound from external speakers . . . . . . . . . 117
No sound from headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Remote Control Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Touch Pad or Mouse Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Video and Display Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
If the display is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
If the display is difficult to read . . . . . . . . . . 120
If only part of the display is readable . . . . . . . 120
Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
What Is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Identifying Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities . . . . . . . . . . 122
Troubleshooting Software and Hardware
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Restoring Your Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Using Microsoft Windows System Restore . . . . 124
Using the Operating System Media . . . . . . . . 125

10 Contents
12 Adding and Replacing Parts . . . . . . . . . 129
Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Turning Off Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Before Working Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . 130
Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Removing the Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Replacing the Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Returning a Hard Drive to Dell . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Optical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Removing the Optical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Replacing the Optical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Hinge Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Removing the Hinge Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Replacing the Hinge Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Removing the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Replacing the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Removing the Memory Module . . . . . . . . . . 139
Replacing the Memory Module . . . . . . . . . . 141
Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Subscriber Identity Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Wireless Mini Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Removing a WLAN Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Replacing a WLAN Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Internal Card with Bluetooth®Wireless
Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Contents 11
Removing a Mobile Broadband or
WWAN Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Replacing a WWAN Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Flash Cache Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Removing the FCM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Replacing the FCM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Coin-Cell Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Removing the Coin-Cell Battery . . . . . . . . . . 154
Replacing the Coin-Cell Battery . . . . . . . . . . 155
13 Dell™ QuickSet Features . . . . . . . . . . . 157
14 Traveling With Your Computer . . . . . . . 159
Identifying Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Packing the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Travel Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Traveling by Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
15 Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Obtaining Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Technical Support and Customer Service . . . . . 162
DellConnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Online Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
AutoTech Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Automated Order-Status Service . . . . . . . . . 163
Problems With Your Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

12 Contents
Product Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit . . . . . 164
Before You Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Contacting Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
16 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
17 Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Using the System Setup Program . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Viewing the System Setup Screen . . . . . . . . . 178
System Setup Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Commonly Used Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Cleaning Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Computer, Keyboard, and Display . . . . . . . . . 180
Touch Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Dell Technical Support Policy (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . 182
Definition of "Dell-Installed" Software and
Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Definition of "Third-Party" Software and
Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
FCC Notice (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
FCC Class B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Macrovision Product Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Contents 13
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

14 Contents

Finding Information 15
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 122) or run the
Dell Diagnostics (see "Dell Diagnostics"
on page 93).
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.
• Warranty information
• Terms and Conditions (U.S. only)
• Safety instructions
• Regulatory information
• Ergonomics information
• End User License Agreement
Dell™ Product Information Guide

16 Finding Information
• How to set up my computer Setup Diagram
• Service Tag and Express Service Code
• Microsoft
®
Windows
®
Product Key
Service Tag and Microsoft Windows
Product Key
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 "security
portal," which looks like a missing portion of
the label, to discourage removal of the label.
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

Finding Information 17
• 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

18 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 97 .
• 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
hotkeys, and other items controlled by
Dell QuickSet
Dell QuickSet Help
To view Dell QuickSet Help , right-click
the Dell QuickSet icon in the Windows
notification area.
For more information on Dell QuickSet,
see "Dell™ QuickSet Features" on
page 157.
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

Finding Information 19
• 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 124.
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

20 Finding Information