Dell XPS PP06XA User manual

www.dell.com | support.dell.com
Dell™ XPS™ M1730 Owner’s Manual
Model PP06XA
book.book Page 1 Monday, April 14, 2008 4:23 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.
____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2007-2008 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, XPS, Wi-Fi Catcher, and Dell
MediaDirect are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Intel, 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. Logitech, the Logitech logo, and the
LogitechproductsreferredtohereinareeitherthetrademarksortheregisteredtrademarksofLogitech.
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 PP06XA
April 2008 P/N TM373 Rev. A04
book.book Page 2 Monday, April 14, 2008 4:23 PM

Contents 3
Contents
Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1 About Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Front View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Left Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Right Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Back View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Bottom View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2 Setting Up Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Setting Up Your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . 33
Transferring Information to a New Computer . . . . . 34
Setting Up a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Printer Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Connecting a USB Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Power Protection Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Surge Protectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Line Conditioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Uninterruptible Power Supplies . . . . . . . . . . 38
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4Contents
3 Using the Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Adjusting Brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Using a Projector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Making Images and Text Look Bigger or Sharper . . . 40
Microsoft®Windows®XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Windows Vista™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Setting Display Resolution and Refresh Rate . . . . . . 41
Microsoft Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Windows Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4 Using the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Numeric Keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Keyboard Illumination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Key Combinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Keyboard Illumination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
System Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Microsoft®Windows®Logo Key Functions . . . . 44
Touch Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
5 Using a Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Battery Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Checking the Battery Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Dell™ QuickSet Battery Meter . . . . . . . . . . . 48
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Contents 5
Microsoft®Windows®Battery Meter . . . . . . . 48
Charge Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Low-Battery Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Conserving Battery Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Power Management Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Standby and Sleep Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Hibernate Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Configuring Power Management Settings . . . . . . . 52
Accessing Power Options Properties . . . . . . . 52
Charging the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Removing the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Storing a Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
6 Using the Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Accessing the Camera’s Help File . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Manually Adjusting the Camera Settings . . . . . . . . 56
Creating a Picture or a Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
7 Using GamePanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
GamePanel Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
8 Using Multimedia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Playing Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
book.book Page 5 Monday, April 14, 2008 4:23 PM

6Contents
Playing Media Using Dell Express Card Remote Control (Optional)
61
Copying CD, DVD, and Blu-ray Disc™ (BD) Media . . . 62
How to Copy a CD, DVD or BD . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Using Blank CD, DVD, and BD Media . . . . . . . 63
Helpful Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Adjusting the Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Adjusting the Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Using Dell MediaDirect™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Connecting Your Computer to a TV or Audio Device . . 68
S-Video and Standard Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
S-Video and S/PDIF Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . 72
Composite Video and Standard Audio . . . . . . . 74
Composite Video and S/PDIF Digital Audio . . . . 76
Component Video and Standard Audio . . . . . . 78
Component Video and S/PDIF Digital Audio . . . . 80
DVI to HDMI and Standard Audio . . . . . . . . . 82
Enabling the Display Settings for a TV . . . . . . . 83
9 Using Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
ExpressCards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
ExpressCard Blanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Installing an ExpressCard . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Removing an ExpressCard or Blank . . . . . . . . 87
Memory Card Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Memory Card Blanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Installing a Memory Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Removing a Memory Card or Blank . . . . . . . . 90
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Contents 7
10 Setting Up and Using Networks . . . . . . . 91
Connecting a Network or Broadband Modem Cable . . 91
Setting Up a Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Windows Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Wireless Local Area Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
What You Need to Establish a WLAN Connection . 93
Checking Your Wireless Network Card . . . . . . 93
Setting Up a New WLAN Using a Wireless Router and a
Broadband Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Connecting to a WLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Mobile Broadband (or Wireless Wide Area Network) . 98
What You Need to Establish a Mobile Broadband Network
Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Checking Your Dell Mobile Broadband Card . . . . 99
Connecting to a Mobile Broadband Network . . . 100
Enabling/Disabling the Dell Mobile Broadband Card 100
Dell Wi-Fi Catcher™ Network Locator . . . . . . . . . 101
11 Securing Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Security Cable Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
12 Cleaning Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Computer, Keyboard, and Display . . . . . . . . . 105
CDs, DVDs and BDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
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8Contents
13 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Dell Technical Update Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Dell Support Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Optical drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Hard drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
E-Mail and Internet Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
ExpressCard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
IEEE 1394 Device Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
External Keyboard problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Unexpected characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Lockups and Software Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
The computer does not start . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
The computer stops responding . . . . . . . . . . 123
A program stops responding or crashes repeatedly 123
A program is designed for an earlier Microsoft®Windows®
operating system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Dell MediaDirect problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Other software problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Memory Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Network Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Mobile Broadband (Wireless Wide Area Network [WWAN]) 127
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Contents 9
Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
No sound from integrated speakers . . . . . . . . 131
No sound from external speakers . . . . . . . . . 131
No sound from headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Touch Pad or Mouse Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Video and Display Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
If the display is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
If the display is difficult to read . . . . . . . . . . 134
If only part of the display is readable . . . . . . . 135
Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
What Is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Identifying Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities . . . . . . . . . . 136
Troubleshooting Software and Hardware Problems in the Microsoft®
Windows®XP and Microsoft Windows Vista™ Operating Systems
139
Restoring Your Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Using Microsoft Windows System Restore . . . . 141
Starting System Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Using Dell™ PC Restore and Dell Factory Image Restore 143
Using the Operating System Media . . . . . . . . 146
14 Adding and Replacing Parts . . . . . . . . . 149
Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
book.book Page 9 Monday, April 14, 2008 4:23 PM

10 Contents
Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Turning Off Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Before Working Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . 150
Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Removing the Hard Drive Cage . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Replacing a Hard Drive in the Hard Drive Cage . . 154
Replacing the Hard Drive Cage . . . . . . . . . . 155
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Subscriber Identity Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Internal Card With Bluetooth™ Wireless Technology . 160
Optical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
15 Traveling With Your Computer . . . . . . . . 163
Identifying Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Packing the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Travel Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Traveling by Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
16 Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Obtaining Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Technical Support and Customer Service . . . . . 166
DellConnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Online Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
AutoTech Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Automated Order-Status Service . . . . . . . . . 167
Problems With Your Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
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Contents 11
Product Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit . . . . . 168
Before You Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Contacting Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
17 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
A Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Viewing the System Setup Screens . . . . . . . . . . . 180
System Setup Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Commonly Used Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Changing the Boot Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . 180
FCC Notice (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
FCC Class B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Macrovision Product Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Glossary 185
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
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12 Contents
book.book Page 12 Monday, April 14, 2008 4:23 PM

Finding Information 13
Finding Information
NOTE: Some features or media may be optional and may not ship with your
computer. Some features or media 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
• My device documentation
• Notebook System Software (NSS)
Drivers and Utilities Media
Documentation and drivers are already
installed on your computer. You can use
the media to reinstall drivers (see
"Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities" on
page 136), to run the Dell Diagnostics
(see "Dell Diagnostics" on page 107), or to
access your documentation.
Readme files may be included on your
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.
book.book Page 13 Monday, April 14, 2008 4:23 PM

14 Finding Information
• 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
NOTE: The appearance of your setup
diagram may vary.
• Service Tag and Express Service Code Service Tag and Microsoft
®
Windows
®
License
This label is located in the battery bay of
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.
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here
book.book Page 14 Monday, April 14, 2008 4:23 PM

Finding Information 15
• Microsoft Windows License Label The label is located on the memory
module cover at the bottom of the system.
NOTE: If your operating system is
Windows XP, this label might look different.
NOTE: As an increased security
measure,the newly designed Microsoft
Windows license label incorporates a
missing portion or "hole" to discourage
removal of the label.
• Solutions — Troubleshooting hints and
tips, articles from technicians, and 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
• 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
Dell Support Website — support.dell.com
NOTE: Select your region or business
segment to view the appropriate support site.
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here
book.book Page 15 Monday, April 14, 2008 4:23 PM

16 Finding Information
• 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 processors, optical drives,
USB devices, and so on. 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
Drivers & Downloads.
2 Enter your Service Tag or Product Type
and Product Model, and click
Go .
3 Scroll to System and Configuration
Utilities
→ Dell Notebook System
Software
and click Download Now .
4 Select Drivers & Downloads and click Go .
NOTE: The support.dell.com user interface
may vary depending on your selections.
• 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 in the taskbar. For more information,
see "Dell Support Utility
" on page 111 .
• How to use Windows XP or
Windows Vista™
• How to work with programs and files
• How to personalize my desktop
Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Vista
Help and Support Center
1 Click Start → 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
book.book Page 16 Monday, April 14, 2008 4:23 PM

Finding Information 17
• Information on network activity, the
Power Management Wizard, hotkeys,
and other items controlled by
Dell QuickSet.
• How to change the LED colors for the
zones, play various LED effects (like
strobe lights, breathing lights, rotating
lights), enable or disable visualization
plugins for select music players
Dell QuickSet Help
To view Dell QuickSet Help , right-click the
QuickSet icon in the Microsoft®
Windows®taskbar, and select Help.
The taskbar is located in the lower-right
corner of your screen.
• How to reinstall my operating system Operating System Media
The operating system is already installed
on your computer. To reinstall your
operating system, use the Operating
System media. See "Restoring Your
Operating System" on page 140 in your
Owner’s Manual.
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 DVD varies based
on the operating system you ordered.
What Are You Looking For? Find It Here
book.book Page 17 Monday, April 14, 2008 4:23 PM

18 Finding Information
book.book Page 18 Monday, April 14, 2008 4:23 PM

About Your Computer 19
About Your Computer
Front View
1
13
2
4
8710
5
9
3
11
14
12
6
15
book.book Page 19 Monday, April 14, 2008 4:23 PM

20 About Your Computer
CAMERA —Built-in camera for video capture, conferencing, and chat.
DISPLAY —For more information about your display, see "Using the Display" on
page 39.
POWER BUTTON —Press the power button to turn on the computer or exit a power
management mode (see "Power Management Modes" on page 50).
NOTICE: To avoid losing data, turn off your computer by performing a
Microsoft®Windows® operating system shutdown rather than by pressing the
power button.
If the computer stops responding, press and hold the power button until the computer
turns off completely (which may take several seconds).
GAMEPANEL —A small secondary LCD for displaying text and graphical information.
1 camera 2 display
3 power button 4 GamePanel
5 device status lights 6 right speaker
7 infrared sensor 8 media control buttons
9 touch pad 10 left speaker
11 Dell™ MediaDirect™ button 12 keyboard status lights
13 digital array microphones (2) 14 display latch
15 camera indicator
book.book Page 20 Monday, April 14, 2008 4:23 PM