Dell SmartStep 100N User manual

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Dell™ SmartPC™ 100N
Owner’s Manual

Hints, Notices, and Cautions
HINT: A HINT 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 Tell Me How help
file. To access the help file, see page 26.
____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2002 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, the DELL logo, DellNet, TrueMobile, DellPlus, Inspiron, Dell
Precision, Dimension, OptiPlex, Latitude, and SmartPC are trademarks of Dell Computer
Corporation; Intel is a registered trademark and Celeron is a trademark of Intel Corporation;
Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation; EMC is the registered
trademark of EMC Corporation.
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 Computer Corporation disclaims any proprietary interest
in trademarks and trade names other than its own.
March 2002 P/N 8P550 Rev. A00

Contents 3
Contents
Safety and Use Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Caution: Safety Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
When Using Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Ergonomic Computing Habits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
When Removing or Installing Memory Modules . . . . . . . . . 13
Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Battery Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1Setting Up
Connecting a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Parallel Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
USB Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Installing the Printer Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Transferring Information to a New Computer
(Windows®XP Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Setting Up a Home and Office Network
(Windows XP Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Turning Off the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Power Protection Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Surge Protectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Line Conditioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Uninterruptible Power Supply Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2Solving Problems
Finding Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

4Contents
Accessing Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Video and Display Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
If the display is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
If the display is difficult to read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
If only part of the display is readable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
If you have a problem with integrated speakers . . . . . . . . . 31
Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Modem and Internet Connection Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
PC Card Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Touch Pad or Mouse Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
External Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Unexpected Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
If you cannot play a CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
If you cannot eject the CD drive tray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
If you hear an unfamiliar scraping or grinding sound . . . . . . 37
If you have problems with a hard drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
General Program Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
A program crashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
A program stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Error messages appear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
E-Mail Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
If Your Computer Gets Wet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Contents 5
If You Drop or Damage Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Resolving Other Technical Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Reinstalling the Modem Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Using the Windows XP Device Driver Rollback . . . . . . . . . 43
Resolving Software and Hardware Incompatibilities . . . . . . . 44
Using System Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Creating a Restore Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Restoring the Computer to an Earlier Operating State . . . . . . 46
Undoing the Last System Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Reinstalling Windows®XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Enabling Hibernate Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3Replacing Parts
Adding Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Replacing the Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Returning a Hard Drive to Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Removing a Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Installing a Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Replacing a Daughter Card Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4Appendix
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Standard Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Viewing the System Setup Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
System Setup Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

6Contents
Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit . . . . . . . . . . 69
Contacting Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Regulatory Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
CE Notice (European Union) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
CE Mark Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Safety and Use Instructions 7
Safety and Use Instructions
Caution: Safety Instructions
The following information defines the meaning of additional symbols used
only in "Safety and Use Instructions."
Caution: General (Safety Instructions, continued)
Risk of explosion Aircraft
Risk of fire Use of this feature may be prohibited
on aircraft
Risk of electric shock
• Do not attempt to service the computer yourself unless
you are an authorized service technician. Always follow
installation instructions closely.
• If you use an extension power cable with your AC
adapter, ensure that the total ampere rating of the
products plugged in to the extension power cable does
not exceed the ampere rating of the extension cable.
• Do not push objects into air vents or openings of your
computer. Doing so can cause fire or electric shock by
shorting out interior components.
• Place the AC adapter in a ventilated area, such as a desk
top or on the floor, when you use it to run the computer
or to charge the battery. Do not cover the AC adapter
with papers or other items that will reduce cooling; also,
do not use the AC adapter inside a carrying case.

8Safety and Use Instructions
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• The AC adapter may become hot during normal
operation of your computer. Use care when handling
the adapter during or immediately after operation.
• Do not allow your portable computer to operate with
the base resting directly on exposed skin for extended
periods of time. The surface temperature of the base
will rise during normal operation (particularly when AC
power is present). Allowing sustained contact with
exposed skin can cause discomfort or, eventually, a
burn.
• Do not use your computer in a wet environment, for
example, near a bath tub, sink, or swimming pool or in a
wet basement.
• If your computer includes an integrated or optional (PC
Card) modem, disconnect the modem cable if an
electrical storm is approaching to avoid the remote risk
of electric shock from lightning via the telephone line.
• To help avoid the potential hazard of electric shock, do
not connect or disconnect any cables or perform
maintenance or reconfiguration of this product during
an electrical storm. Do not use your computer during
an electrical storm unless all cables have been
disconnected and the computer is operating on battery
power.
• If your computer includes a modem, the cable used
with the modem should be manufactured with a
minimum wire size of 26 American wire gauge (AWG)
and an FCC-compliant RJ-11 modular plug.
• PC Cards may become very warm during normal
operation. Use care when removing PC Cards after their
continuous operation.
• Before you clean your computer, remove power. Clean
your computer with a soft cloth dampened with water.
Do not use liquid or aerosol cleaners, which may
contain flammable substances.

Safety and Use Instructions 9
Caution: Power (Safety Instructions, continued)
• Use only the Dell-provided AC adapter approved for
use with this computer. Use of another AC adapter may
cause a fire or explosion.
• Before you connect the computer to an electrical outlet,
check the AC adapter voltage rating to ensure that the
required voltage and frequency match the available
power source.
• To remove power from the computer, turn it off,
remove the battery pack, and disconnect the AC
adapter from the electrical outlet.
• To help prevent electric shock, plug the AC adapter and
peripheral power cables into properly grounded power
sources. These power cables may be equipped with
three-prong plugs to provide an earth grounding
connection. Do not use adapter plugs or remove the
grounding prong from the power cable plug. If you use a
power extension cable, use the appropriate type, two-
prong or three-prong, to mate with the AC adapter
power cable.
• Be sure that nothing rests on your AC adapter’s power
cable and that the cable is not located where it can be
tripped over or stepped on.
• If you are using a multiple-outlet power strip, use
caution when plugging the AC adapter’s power cable
into the power strip. Some power strips may allow you
to insert the plug incorrectly. Incorrect insertion of the
power plug could result in permanent damage to your
computer, as well as risk of electric shock and/or fire.
Ensure that the ground prong of the power plug is
inserted into the mating ground contact of the power
strip.

10 Safety and Use Instructions
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Caution: Battery (Safety Instructions, continued)
• Use only Dell battery modules that are approved for use
with this computer. Use of other types may increase the
risk of fire or explosion.
• Do not carry a battery pack in your pocket, purse, or
other container where metal objects (such as car keys or
paper clips) could short-circuit the battery terminals.
The resulting excessive current flow can cause
extremely high temperatures and may result in damage
to the battery pack or cause fire or burns.
• The battery poses a burn hazard if you handle it
improperly. Do not disassemble it. Handle a damaged
or leaking battery pack with extreme care. If the battery
is damaged, electrolyte may leak from the cells and may
cause personal injury.
• Keep the battery away from children.
• Do not store or leave your computer or battery pack
near a heat source such as a radiator, fireplace, stove,
electric heater, or other heat-generating appliance or
otherwise expose it to temperatures in excess of 60ºC
(140ºF). When heated to excessive temperatures,
battery cells could explode or vent, posing a risk of fire.
• Do not dispose of your computer’s battery in a fire or
with normal household waste. Battery cells may
explode. Discard a used battery according to the
manufacturer’s instructions or contact your local waste
disposal agency for disposal instructions. Dispose of a
spent or damaged battery promptly.