Gateway MC7804 User manual

NOTEBOOK
REFERENCEGUIDE

i
Chapter 1: About This Reference . . . . . . . . . . 1
About this guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Accessing your online User Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Gateway contact information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Contacting Gateway Customer Care . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Gateway model and serial number . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Microsoft Certificate of Authenticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
For more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2: Checking Out Your Notebook . . . 5
Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Bottom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Keyboard area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
LCD panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Chapter 3: Setting Up and Getting Started. 15
Working safely and comfortably . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Reducing eye strain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Setting up your computer desk and chair . . . . . 17
Sitting at your notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Avoiding discomfort and injury from repetitive
strain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Connecting the AC adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Protecting from power source problems . . . . . . 20
Connecting to a broadband modem or network . . 20
Connecting the optional dial-up modem . . . . . . . . . 21
Starting your notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Waking up your notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Turning off your notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Restarting (rebooting) your notebook . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Using the status indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Contents

Contents
ii
Using the keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Key types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
System key combinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Using the EZ Pad touchpad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Using the optional multimedia panel . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Using the optional webcam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Adjusting the brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Adjusting the volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Turning your wireless radio on or off . . . . . . . . . . . 44
IEEE 802.11 wireless network radio . . . . . . . . . . 44
Bluetooth radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Chapter 4: Using Drives and Accessories . . . 47
Using the DVD drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Identifying drive types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Using a DVD drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Using the memory card reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Memory card types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Inserting a memory card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Using a memory card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Removing a memory card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Adding and removing an Express Card . . . . . . . . . . 53
Installing a printer or other peripheral device . . . . 54
Connecting a USB device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Viewing the display on a projector, monitor, or televi-
sion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Adjusting the display properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Using the projector or monitor for a presentation
58
Chapter 5: Managing Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Monitoring the battery charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Recharging the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Changing batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Recalibrating the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Extending battery life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Maximizing battery performance . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Conserving battery power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

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Using alternate power sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Changing power modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Changing notebook power settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Changing the power plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Changing advanced settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Chapter 6: Traveling with Your Notebook . 73
Packing your notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Traveling by air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Dial-up modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Radio frequency wireless connections . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Additional tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Chapter 7: Maintaining Your Notebook . . . 79
Caring for your notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Cleaning your notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Cleaning the exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Cleaning the keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Cleaning the notebook screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Maintaining the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Storing batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Cleaning CDs or DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Recovering your system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Creating recovery discs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Recovering pre-installed software and drivers . . 87
Returning to a previous system condition . . . . . 88
Returning your system to its factory condition . 90
Chapter 8: Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Safety guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
First steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
CD drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Contents
iv
Diskette drive (external) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
DVD drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Ethernet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Express Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
File management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Hard drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Media Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Memory card reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Modem (cable or DSL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Modem (dial-up) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Networks (wired) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Networks (wireless) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Status indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Touchpad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Telephone support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Before calling Gateway Customer Care . . . . . . 121
Appendix A: Legal Information. . . . . . . . . 123
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

CHAPTER1
1
About This Reference
• About this guide
• Accessing your online User Guide
• Gateway contact information
• Microsoft Certificate of Authenticity
• For more information

CHAPTER 1: About This Reference
2
About this guide
This guide includes information and maintenance
instructions that are specific to your model of Gateway
notebook. For all other notebook information, see
your online
User Guide .
Accessing your online User
Guide
In addition to this guide, your online User Guide has
been included on your hard drive. Your
User Guide is
an in-depth, easy-to-read manual that includes
information on the following topics:
•Help and technical support
•Using and customizing Windows and other
software
•Using the Internet
•Protecting your files
•Playing and recording media
•Networking
To access your online
User Guide :
•Click (Start), All Programs, then click Gateway
Documentation.
Gateway contact
information
Contacting Gateway Customer Care
Your Setup Guide contains information about
contacting Gateway Customer Care.

www.gateway.com
3
Gateway model and serial number
A label on the bottom of your notebook contains
information that identifies your notebook model and
its features. Gateway Customer Care will need this
information if you call for assistance.
Microsoft Certificate of
Authenticity
The Microsoft Certificate of Authenticity label found
on the bottom of your notebook includes the product
key code for your operating system.
For more information
For more information about your notebook, visit
Gateway’s
Support page at www.gateway.com or the
Web address shown on your notebook’s label. The
Support page also has links to additional Gateway
documentation and detailed specifications.
Important
The label shown in this section is for informational purposes
only. Label information varies by model, features ordered, and
location.

CHAPTER 1: About This Reference
4

CHAPTER2
5
Checking Out Your
Notebook
• Front
• Left
• Right
• Back
• Bottom
• Keyboard area
• LCD panel

CHAPTER 2: Checking Out Your Notebook
6
Front
Component Icon Description
Power indicator •LED on - Notebook is on.
•LED blinking - Notebook is in Sleep or
Hybrid Sleep mode.
•LED off - Notebook is off.
Battery charge
indicator
•LED orange - Battery is fully charged.
•LED blinking orange - Battery is
charging.
•LED blinking red - Battery charge is very
low.
•LED solid red - Battery is
malfunctioning.
Important: This LED only lights up when
your notebook is connected to AC power
or the battery charge is very low.
Headphone jack Plug amplified speakers or headphones
into this jack. The built-in speakers are
turned off when speakers or headphones
are plugged into this jack.
•Headphone 1 with SPDIF support
•Headphone 2
Microphone
jack
Plug a microphone into this jack.
Speakers Provide audio output when headphones
or amplified speakers are not plugged in.
Headphone jack 1
Microphone jack
Battery charge indicator
Power
indicator Speaker
Headphone jack 2

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Left
Component Icon Description
Ethernet jack Plug an Ethernet network cable into this
jack. Plug the other end of the cable into
a cable modem, DSL modem, or an
Ethernet network jack. For more
information, see “Connecting to a
broadband modem or network” on
page 20.
Memory card
reader
Insert a memory card from a digital
camera, MP3 player, PDA, or cellular
telephone into the memory card reader.
For more information, see “Using the
memory card reader” on page 51. The
memory card reader supports Memory
Stick®, Memory Stick Pro®, Mini Secure
Digital®, MultiMediaCard™,
RS-MultiMediaCard™, Secure Digital™,
and xD-Picture Card™cards.
Important: RS-Multimedia Card and Mini
Secure Digital cards require the use of an
adapter that is available with the media.
HDMI out jack
(optional)
HDMI Plug an HDMI device, such as a high
definition television, into this optional
jack. For more information, see “Viewing
the display on a projector, monitor, or
television” on page 55.
USB ports Plug USB devices (such as a diskette drive,
flash drive, printer, scanner, camera,
keyboard, or mouse) into these ports.
Express Card
slot
Insert one Type 54 Express Card into this
slot. For more information, see “Adding
and removing an Express Card” on
page 53.
USB ports Express Card
slot
Memory card
reader
HDMI out
jack
(optional)
Ethernet
jack
Power
connector
Kensington
lock slot Monitor
port Modem
jack
(optional)

CHAPTER 2: Checking Out Your Notebook
8
Modem jack
(optional)
Plug a dial-up modem cable into this
optional jack. For more information, see
“Connecting the optional dial-up
modem” on page 21.
Kensington™
lock slot
Secure your notebook to an object by
connecting a Kensington cable lock to this
slot.
Monitor port Plug an analog VGA monitor or projector
into this port. For more information, see
“Viewing the display on a projector,
monitor, or television” on page 55.
Power
connector
Plug the AC adapter cable into this
connector.
Component Icon Description

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9
Right
Component Icon Description
DVD drive Insert CDs or DVDs into this drive. For
more information, see “Using the DVD
drive” on page 48. To determine the type
of drive in your notebook, examine the
drive tray’s plastic cover and compare the
logo to those listed in “Identifying drive
types” on page 48.
USB port Plug a USB device (such as a diskette drive,
flash drive, printer, scanner, camera,
keyboard, or mouse) into this port.
DVD drive USB ports

CHAPTER 2: Checking Out Your Notebook
10
Back
Component Icon Description
Ventilation fan Helps cool internal components.
Warning: Do not work with the notebook
resting on your lap. If the air vents are
blocked, the notebook may become hot
enough to harm your skin.
Caution: Do not block or insert objects
into these slots. If these slots are blocked,
your notebook may overheat resulting in
unexpected shutdown or permanent
damage to the notebook.
Caution: Provide adequate space around
your notebook so air vents are not
obstructed. Do not use the notebook on
a bed, sofa, rug, or other similar surface.
Ventilation fan

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Bottom
Component Icon Description
Battery Provides power when the notebook is not
plugged into AC power.
Battery
latch
Slide to release the battery. For more
information, see “Changing batteries” on
page 63.
Battery
lock
Slide to unlock the battery. For more
information, see “Changing batteries” on
page 63.
Hard drive
bay
The hard drive is located in this bay.
Battery
latch
Hard drive bay
Battery
lock
Battery
Memory bay
Ventilation
slots and
cooling fan

CHAPTER 2: Checking Out Your Notebook
12
Keyboard area
Keyboard area for select models
Memory
bay
Memory modules are located in this bay.
Ventilation
fan
Helps cool internal components.
Warning: Do not work with the notebook
resting on your lap. If the air vents are blocked,
the notebook may become hot enough to harm
your skin.
Caution: Do not block or insert objects into
these slots. If these slots are blocked, your
notebook may overheat resulting in
unexpected shutdown or permanent damage
to the notebook.
Caution: Provide adequate space around your
notebook so air vents are not obstructed. Do
not use the notebook on a bed, sofa, rug, or
other similar surface.
Component Icon Description
Status indicators
Power
button
Multimedia
touch
controls
(optional)
Touchpad
Multimedia
panel
(optional)
Keyboard
Status
indicators
Microphones

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Component Icon Description
Keyboard Provides all the features of a full-sized,
computer keyboard. For more information, see
“Using the keyboard” on page 28.
Power
button
Press to turn the power on or off. You can also
configure the power button for Sleep/Resume
mode. For more information on configuring the
power button mode, see “Changing advanced
settings” on page 71.
Illuminated
multimedia
touch
controls
(optional)
Use to control playback of CDs and DVDs. The
panel includes a capacitive volume control. For
more information, see “Using the optional
multimedia panel” on page 36.
Touchpad Provides all the functionality of a mouse. For
more information, see “Using the EZ Pad
touchpad” on page 33.
Status
indicators
Inform you when a drive is in use or when a
button has been pressed that affects how the
keyboard is used. For more information, see
“Using the status indicators” on page 26.
Microphone
(optional)
Use to talk through when making Voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls.Important: The
optional microphone is only available when
purchased with the optional webcam.

CHAPTER 2: Checking Out Your Notebook
14
LCD panel
Component Icon Description
Webcam
(optional)
Use to let others see who they are
communicating with when making VoIP calls.
For more information, see “Using the optional
webcam” on page 38.
Important: The optional webcam is only
available when purchased with the optional
microphone.
Ambient
Light Sensor
Detects the amount of lights available & adjusts
display brightness accordingly to save power.
Important
The Ambient Light Sensor feature can be
disabled in the BIOS
To disable the Ambient Light Feature using
BIOS:
1 Connect the AC adapter, then turn on your
notebook.
2 As soon as your notebook starts and you see
a startup screen, press F2. The BIOS Setup
utility opens.
3 Open the Advanced menu.
4 Highlight Ambient Light Sensor, then select
Disabled by pressing the spacebar.
5 Open the Exit menu, highlight Exit Saving
Changes, then press ENTER.
6 Select Yes, then press ENTER.
The Ambient Light Sensor can be both disabled
and enabled through this process.
Webcam (optional)
Ambient Light Sensor (optional)