Dell Inspiron 9300 User manual

www.dell.com | support.dell.com
Dell™ Inspiron™ 9300
Owner’s Manual
Model PP14L

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.
© 2005 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.
Trademarksusedinthistext:Dell,theDELLlogo,Inspiron,DellPrecision,Dimension,OptiPlex,Latitude,PowerEdge,PowerVault,PowerApp,
PowerConnect,DellNet,and Dell OpenManage are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation;
Microsoft, Windows,MS-DOS, and Outlook are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation; 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 PP14L
January 2005 P/N G7903 Rev. A01

Contents 3
Contents
Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1 A Tour of Your Computer
Front View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Left Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Right Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Back View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Bottom View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2 Setting Up Your Computer
Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Setting Up Your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Setting Up a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Printer Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Connecting a USB Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Power Protection Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Surge Protectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Line Conditioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Uninterruptible Power Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3 Using a Battery
Battery Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Checking the Battery Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Dell QuickSet Battery Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Microsoft Windows Power Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Charge Gauge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Low-Battery Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

4Contents
Charging the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Removing a Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Installing a Battery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Storing a Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4 Using CDs, DVDs, and Other Multimedia
Using CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Copying CDs and DVDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
How to Copy a CD or DVD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Using Blank CD-Rs and CD-RWs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Helpful Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Using MediaDirect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Connecting Your Computer to a TV or Audio Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
S-Video and Standard Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
S-Video and S/PDIF Digital Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Composite Video and Standard Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Composite Video and S/PDIF Digital Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Changing Your Audio Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Enabling the Display Settings for a TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
5 Using the Keyboard and Touch Pad
Numeric Keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Key Combinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
System Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
CD or DVD Tray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Display Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Radios (Including Wireless Networking and Bluetooth®
Wireless Technology) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Speaker Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Microsoft®Windows®Logo Key Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Contents 5
Touch Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Customizing the Touch Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
6 Using PC Cards
PC Card Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
PC Card Blanks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Extended PC Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Installing a PC Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Removing a PC Card or Blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
7 Solving Problems
Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
When to Use the Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
DVD drive problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Hard drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
IEEE 1394 Device Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
External keyboard problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Unexpected characters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Lockups and Software Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
The computer does not start up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
The computer stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
A program stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
A program crashes repeatedly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
A program is designed for an earlier Windows operating system . . . . . 63
A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Other software problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Memory Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

6Contents
Network Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
PC Card Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
No sound from integrated speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
No sound from external speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
No sound from headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Touch Pad or Mouse Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Video and Display Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
If the display is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
If the display is difficult to read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
If only part of the display is readable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
What Is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Identifying Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Reinstalling Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Restoring Your Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Using Microsoft Windows XP System Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Using Dell PC Restore by Symantec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Resolving Software and Hardware Incompatibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
8 Setting Up a Home and Office Network
Connecting to a Network Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Network Setup Wizard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Connecting to a Wireless Local Area Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Determining Your Network Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Connecting to a Wireless Network in Microsoft®Windows®XP . . . . . 79

Contents 7
9 Adding and Replacing Parts
Before You Begin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Turning Off Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Before Working Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Returning a Hard Drive to Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Mini PCI Card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Hinge Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Coin-Cell Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Optical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Internal Card With Bluetooth®Wireless Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
10 Appendix
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Using the System Setup Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Viewing the System Setup Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
System Setup Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Commonly Used Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Dell Technical Support Policy (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Definition of "Dell-Installed" Software and Peripherals . . . . . . . . . 109
Definition of "Third-Party" Software and Peripherals. . . . . . . . . . . 110
Contacting Dell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

8Contents
FCC Notices (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Class A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Class B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
FCC Identification Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Macrovision Product Notice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Finding Information 9
Finding Information
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here
• Warranty information
• Terms and Conditions
• Safety instructions
• Regulatory information
• Ergonomics information
• End User License Agreement
Dell™ Product Information Guide
NOTE: This document is available as a PDF at
support.dell.com.
• 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
Dell Inspiron 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 .

10 Finding Information
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. The Express Service Code
is not available in all countries.
• 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.
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

Finding Information 11
• How to use Windows XP
• Documentation for my conputer
• 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

12 Finding Information
www.dell.com | support.dell.com

A Tour of Your Computer 13
A Tour of Your Computer
Front View
DISPLAY LATCHES —Keeps the display closed.
DISPLAY LATCH RELEASE —Slide this to release the display latches and open the display.
DISPLAY —For more information about your display, see the Dell Inspiron Help file. To access the help
file, see page 9.
display latch release
keyboard
display
touch pad
touch pad
buttons (2)
power button
speakers
keyboard status
lights (5)
device status
lights (3)
media control
buttons (7)
display latches (2)

14 A Tour of Your Computer
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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 when you turn off your computer, shut down your computer through the
Start menu instead of pressing the power button.
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.
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.
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.

A Tour of Your Computer 15
TOUCH PAD —Provides the functionality of a mouse.
MEDIA CONTROL BUTTONS —Control CD, DVD, and Media Player playback.
SPEAKERS —To adjust the volume of the integrated speakers, press the media control buttons or speaker-
volume keyboard shortcuts. For more information, see page 47.
TOUCH PAD BUTTONS —Touch pad buttons provide the same functionality as mouse buttons.
KEYBOARD —The keyboard includes a numeric keypad as well as the Microsoft Windows logo key. For
information on supported keyboard shortcuts, see "Key Combinations" on page 46.
Mutes the sound.
Turns the volume down.
Turns the volume up.
Play or pause. This button also launches Dell Media
Experience or Microsoft
®
Windows
®
Media Center
Edition. See "Using MediaDirect" on page 35.
Plays the previous track.
Plays the next track.
Stop.

16 A Tour of Your Computer
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KEYBOARD STATUS LIGHTS
The green lights located above the keyboard indicate the following:
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.
Turns on when wireless networking is enabled. To enable or
disable wireless networking, press <Fn><F2>.
Turns on when a card with Bluetooth®wireless technology
is enabled.
NOTE: The card with Bluetooth wireless technology is an
optional feature, so the light turns on only if you ordered
the card with your computer. For more information, see the
documentation that came with your card.
To turn off only the Bluetooth wireless technology
functionality, right-click the icon in the Windows
notification area (in the lower-right corner of your screen)
and click Disable Bluetooth Radio.
To quickly enable or disable all wireless devices, press
<Fn><F2>.
9
A

A Tour of Your Computer 17
Left Side View
OPTICAL DRIVE —You can install devices such as a DVD drive or other optical drive in the optical drive
bay. For more information, see page 97.
OPTICAL-DRIVE-TRAY EJECT BUTTON —Press this button to eject a CD or DVD from the optical drive.
This button only works when the computer is turned on.
USB CONNECTORS —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
AIR VENT —The computer uses fans 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 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.
optical drive
USB connectors (2) optical-drive-tray
eject button
air vent
security cable slot

18 A Tour of Your Computer
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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.
Right Side View
SECURE DIGITAL I/O SLOT —The Secure Digital I/O slot supports one Secure Digital memory card or
other SDI/O device. Use Secure Digital memory cards to save or back up data.
audio connectors
IEEE 1394 connector
PC Card slot
hard drive
Secure Digital I/O slot
air vent

A Tour of Your Computer 19
AIR VENT —The computer uses fans 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 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.
AUDIO CONNECTORS
IEEE 1394 CONNECTOR —Connects devices supporting IEEE 1394 high-speed transfer rates, such as
some digital video cameras.
HARD DRIVE —Stores software and data.
PC CARD SLOT —Supports one PC Card, such as a modem or network adapter. The computer ships with
a plastic blank installed in the slot. For more information, see the Dell Inspiron Help file. To access the help
file, see page 9.
Attach headphones or speakers to the connector.
Attach a microphone to the connector.

20 A Tour of Your Computer
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Back View
DIGITAL-VIDEO INTERFACE (DVI) CONNECTOR
VIDEO CONNECTOR
AIR VENT —The computer uses fans 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 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.
Connects an external DVI-compatible monitor. With an
adapter cable, you can also connect an external
VGA-compatible monitor to the DVI connector.
Connects an external VGA-compatible monitor. For more
information, see the Dell Inspiron Help file. To access the
help file, see page 9.
video connectornetwork connector (RJ-45)
AC adapter connector
USB connectors (4)
modem connector (RJ-11)
S-video TV-out connector
DVI-D connector
air vent air vent