Dell INSPIRON 531s Series User manual

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Dell™ Inspiron™ 531s Owner’s Manual
Model DCSLA
book.book Page 1 Wednesday, April 16, 2008 3:33 PM

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.
Abbreviations and Acronyms
For a complete list of abbreviations and acronyms, see the "Glossary" on page 189.
__________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2008 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, YOURS IS HERE, Inspiron, Dell TravelLite, and
Strike Zone, are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Bluetooth is a registered trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG,
Inc. and is used by Dell under license; Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista, and Windows Vista start
button are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States
and/orothercountries;IntelandIntel SpeedStep areregisteredtrademarksof Intel Corporation; AMD,
AMD Athlon, AMD Sempron, and Cool ’n’ Quiet are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc;
Nvidia is a registered trademark of Nvidia Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
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 DCSLA
April 2008 Rev. A00
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Contents 3
Contents
Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1 Setting Up and Using Your Computer . . . 15
Front View of the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Back View of the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Back Panel Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Installing Your Computer in an Enclosure . . . . . . . 21
Setting Up a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Printer Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Connecting a USB Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Playing CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Adjusting the Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Adjusting the Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Copying CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
How to Copy a CD or DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Using Blank CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Helpful Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Using a Media Card Reader (Optional) . . . . . . . . . 31
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4Contents
Connecting Two Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Connecting Two Monitors With VGA
Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Connecting One Monitor With a VGA Connector
and One Monitor With a DVI Connector . . . . . . 34
Connecting a TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Changing the Display Settings . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Power Management Options in
Microsoft®Windows®XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Power Options Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Power Schemes Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Advanced Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Hibernate Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Power Management Options in
Windows Vista®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Standby Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Hibernate Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Power Plan Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Enabling Cool ’n’ Quiet Technology . . . . . . . . . . . 42
About RAID Configurations
(For Windows Vista®only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
RAID Level 1 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Configuring Your Hard Drives for RAID . . . . . . . 44
Using the Nvidia MediaShield ROM Utility . . . . . 45
Using Nvidia MediaShield . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Transferring Information to a New Computer . . . . . . 47
Windows Vista®:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
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Contents 5
Setting Up a Home and Office Network . . . . . . . . 49
Connecting to a Network Adapter . . . . . . . . . 49
Network Setup Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Setting Up Your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . 51
2 Solving Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Troubleshooting Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Battery Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
CD and DVD drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Hard drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems . . . . . . . . 58
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Lockups and Software Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
The computer does not start up . . . . . . . . . . 62
The computer stops responding . . . . . . . . . . 63
A program stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
A program crashes repeatedly . . . . . . . . . . 63
A program is designed for an earlier
Microsoft®Windows®operating system . . . . . 64
A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Other software problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Media Card Reader Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Memory Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
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6Contents
Mouse Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Network Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
No sound from speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
No sound from headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Video and Monitor Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
If the screen is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
If the screen is difficult to read . . . . . . . . . . . 77
3 Troubleshooting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Power Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Beep Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
When to Use the Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . 84
Starting the Dell Diagnostics From
Your Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Starting the Dell Diagnostics From the
Drivers and Utilities Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Dell Diagnostics Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
What Is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Identifying Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities . . . . . . . . . . 88
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Contents 7
Resolving Software and Hardware
Incompatibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Restoring Your Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Using Microsoft Windows System Restore . . . . 93
Using Dell PC Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Using the Operating System CD . . . . . . . . . . 98
4 Removing and Installing Parts . . . . . . . 101
Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Turning Off Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Before Working Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . 102
Removing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Removing the Support Bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Inside View of Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
System Board Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Power Supply DC Connector Pin Assignments . . . . . 109
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Memory Installation Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . 112
Installing Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Removing Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
PCI and PCI Express Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Bezel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Removing the Bezel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Replacing the Bezel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
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8Contents
Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Recommended Drive Cable Connections . . . . . 125
Connecting Drive Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Drive Interface Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Connecting and Disconnecting Drive Cables . . . 126
Hard Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Installing a Second Hard Drive (Optional) . . . . . 129
Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Media Card Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
CD or DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Replacing the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Replacing the Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Removing the Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Installing the Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Removing the I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Installing the I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Processor Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Removing the Processor Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Installing the Processor Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Chassis Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Removing the Chassis Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Replacing the Chassis Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Removing the System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Installing the System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
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Contents 9
Replacing the Support Bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Replacing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Entering System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
System Setup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Boot Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Changing Boot Sequence for the
Current Boot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Clearing Forgotten Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Clearing CMOS Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Flashing the BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Cleaning Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Computer, Keyboard, and Monitor . . . . . . . . . 179
Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Dell Technical Support Policy (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . 180
Definition of "Dell-Installed" Software
and Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Definition of "Third-Party" Software
and Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
FCC Notice (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
FCC Class B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
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10 Contents
Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Obtaining Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Technical Support and Customer Service . . . . . 183
DellConnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Online Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
AutoTech Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Automated Order-Status Service . . . . . . . . . 185
Problems With Your Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Product Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit . . . . . 186
Before You Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Contacting Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
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