Gateway Solo 9150 User manual

i
Contents
Chapter 1: Getting Started ....................................................................3
Keyboard and LCD ..................................................................................4
System status indicators ...........................................................................6
Left side.....................................................................................................7
Back ..........................................................................................................8
Bottom ................................................................................................... 10
Right side............................................................................................... 12
Chapter 2: Using Your System ......................................................... 13
Connecting AC power........................................................................... 14
Starting up.............................................................................................. 15
LCD panel.............................................................................................. 15
Using the keyboard................................................................................ 16
Function key combinations............................................................ 17
Special keys.................................................................................... 19
Numeric keypad ............................................................................. 19
Using the pointing device...................................................................... 20
Connecting the modem .................................................................. 28
Swapping Option Bay modules............................................................ 29
Using audio............................................................................................ 32
Adjusting the volume..................................................................... 32
Making an audio recording............................................................ 33
Using disc media ................................................................................... 34
Playing an audio CD ...................................................................... 35
Removing or replacing the hard disk drive .......................................... 37
Using PC Cards ..................................................................................... 39
About CardBus cards ..................................................................... 40
Using Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports.............................................. 40
Using Fast Infrared (IR) ports............................................................... 40
Using Composite Video Out................................................................. 41
Using ATI Player............................................................................ 42
Chapter 3: Managing Power Consumption ................................. 45
Maintaining battery power.................................................................... 46
Battery learning software............................................................... 46
Battery status .................................................................................. 48

ii Using Your Gateway Solo
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9150 Notebook
Swapping batteries.................................................................................49
Maximizing battery life .........................................................................51
Managing power ....................................................................................52
Windows 98 ....................................................................................52
Windows 95 and Windows NT .....................................................55
Using the Power menu...........................................................................56
Status menu.....................................................................................58
Chapter 4: Getting Online ...................................................................59
Using the Internet...................................................................................60
Using e-mail....................................................................................61
Sending e-mail ................................................................................62
Checking your e-mail .....................................................................63
Exploring the World Wide Web ....................................................65
Using Microsoft Fax..............................................................................67
Setting up Microsoft Fax................................................................67
Sending and receiving faxes...........................................................69
Appendix A: Solo Notebook Accessories .....................................71
Accessories.............................................................................................72
Appendix B: Contacting Gateway ....................................................73
Contacting Gateway...............................................................................74
Index ...........................................................................................................75

Chapter 1:
Getting Started
Keyboard and LCD ................................................. 4
System status indicators .......................................... 6
Left side.................................................................... 7
Back.......................................................................... 8
Bottom.................................................................... 10
Right side ............................................................... 12

4 Using Your Gateway Solo
TM
9150 Notebook
Keyboard and LCD
A
B
C
D
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Chapter 1: Getting Started 5
Component Description
A. XGA TFT Color Liquid
Crystal Display (LCD) Backlit anti-glare screen.
B. Power button Turns power ON or OFF. Can also be config-
ured to Standby/Resume mode.
C. Keyboard Provides full functionality of a desktop com-
puter keyboard. Many of these keys have
assigned alternate functions, including short-
cut keys for Windows 98 and Windows 95,
Status Display menus, and numeric keypad.
D. Speakers Provide high quality sound reproduction for
software and audio CDs.
E. DVD/120MB SuperDisk
-or-
CD/diskette
Reads DVDs, CDs, standard diskettes, and
120MB diskettes.
-or-
Reads CDs and standard diskettes
F. EZ-Pad™ TouchPad or
EZ-Point™ stickpoint Controls the cursor movement on the screen. (EZ-Point™ stickpoint - U.S. keyboards only.)
G.Harddriveaccess cover Opens to reveal the hard disk drive.
H.Power LED Indicates the power status mode:
• Steady green light indicates power is on and
computer is in operation.
• Flashing green light indicates that the com-
puter is in standby mode.
• No light indicates that the computer is off.
I. Battery LED Indicates the battery status mode:
• Green light indicates that the battery is fully
charged.
• Yellow light indicates that the battery is
charging.
• Red light indicates a battery malfunction.
• No LED indicates that the system is running
on the battery because the AC adapter is
either not connected or is not providing
power to the computer.
J. System status indica-
tors Indicate system status modes.

6 Using Your Gateway Solo
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9150 Notebook
System status indicators
Indicator Icon Description
A. Hard drive
access light Indicates that the hard drive is in use.
B. DVD/120 MB
SuperDisk or
CD/diskette
drive
Indicates that the DVD/120 MB SuperDisk or
CD/diskette drive is in use.
C. Caps lock Indicates that the caps lock in on. When the
Caps lock light is on, you type in all capital
letters.
D. Pad lock Indicates that the pad lock is on. When the
Pad lock light is on, you can access the sec-
ondary numeric keypad.
E. Scroll lock Indicates that the scroll lock is on. With some
programs, you can scroll through large vol-
umes of text when scroll lock is turned on.
ABCDE

Chapter 1: Getting Started 7
Left side
Component Icon Description
A. Volume wheel Adjusts built-in speaker, external speaker, and
headphone volume. Volume levels are also con-
trolled by multimedia software.
B. Modem jack Plug a phone line into this jack to connect the
notebook’s on-board modem to an analog
phone system.
C. PC Card slots Accepts one Type III PC Card or two Type I
or Type II PC Cards.
D. Eject buttons Ejects the PC Cards from the PC Card slots.
A
BCD

8 Using Your Gateway Solo
TM
9150 Notebook
Back
Port Icon Description
A. Joystick/MIDI
port Connect a game joystick or an electronic MIDI musical instrument to this port. The port
provides both MIDI In and Out capabilities.
B. Fast IR (Infra-
red) port Sends infrared signals between the notebook and a remote device, such as another com-
puter, printer, or peripheral. You can place
infrared devices up to 3 feet (1 meter) apart.
C. Composite
Video Out You can view your notebook screen on a TV by connecting the notebook to the TV or
VCR using a standard video cable.
D. Composite
Video In You can display NTSC or PAL format video on your notebook’s screen from a VCR or
video camera using a standard video cable.
E. Mic Connect to an external microphone. (Using
this connection will disable the built-in micro-
phone.)
F. Line In Audio line level input from another computer,
stereo equipment, or a VCR.
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Chapter 1: Getting Started 9
G.Line Out Audio line level output to another computer,
stereo equipment, or a VCR. Line Out is not
capable of driving unamplified speakers or
headphones.
H.Speaker out/
Headphone jack Connect to external speakers or head- phones. Supports small unamplified speak-
ers. (1/8-inch/3.5-mm jack.)
I. Dolby Digital
Out Connect to an (optional) surround-sound decoder. This connection will only provide
DVD audio.
J. PS/2 port Connect to an external mouse or keyboard.
K. Serial port Connect to an optional serial device.
L. VGA Connect to a VGA monitor cable.
M.Docking station
port Connect an optional docking station to this port.
N.Parallel port
(LPT1) Connect a parallel device (such as a printer) to this port.
Port Icon Description

10 Using Your Gateway Solo
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9150 Notebook
Bottom
A
C
D
E
F
G
B
H
A

Chapter 1: Getting Started 11
Component Description
A. Flip foot Flips out to tilt the notebook.
B. Reset switch Restarts the notebook, if necessary. Insert a
paper clip to press switch.
C. System identification
label Provides product model number, serial num- ber, display type, and processor speed.
D. Combination module Slide module into bay for use of a DVD/
120MB SuperDisk or CD/diskette combina-
tion module.
E. Combination module
release latch Slide the latch to release the combination drive module from the bay.
F. Battery release latch Slide the latch to release the battery pack
from the battery pack bay.
G.Battery pack bay Slide battery pack into bay for battery power
and battery charging.
H.Back ports cover (open
position) Flips open to reveal ports.

12 Using Your Gateway Solo
TM
9150 Notebook
Right side
Component Icon Description
A. USB ports Plug optional USB serial devices into these
ports.
B. Power connector Connect to an AC power adapter.
C. Kensington lock
slot Attach a Kensington lock into this slot. A Kensington lock is an optional cable lock for
portable computers.
ABC

Chapter 2:
Using Your
System
Connecting AC power........................................... 14
Starting up.............................................................. 15
LCD panel.............................................................. 15
Using the keyboard................................................ 16
Using the pointing device...................................... 20
Using an external mouse or keyboard................... 27
Swapping Option Bay modules ............................ 29
Using audio............................................................ 32
Using disc media ................................................... 34
Removing or replacing the hard disk drive........... 37
Using PC Cards ..................................................... 39
Using Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports .............. 40
Using Fast Infrared (IR) ports............................... 40
Using Composite Video Out................................. 41

14 Using Your Gateway Solo™ 9150 Notebook
Connecting AC power
Your notebook is powered by one of the longest-lasting batteries available
and was shipped to you charged and ready to use. You may want to use the
AC adapter while you are checking out some of the features.
1. Connect the power cord to the AC adapter.
2. Plug the AC adapter into your notebook’s power connector.
3. Plug the power cord into an electrical outlet.
Connecting the AC adapter
Warning!
To avoid serious injury,
replace the power cord if it
becomes damaged. The
replacement cord must be
of the same type and
voltage rating as the
original cord.
Warning!
Do not attempt to
disassemble the AC
adapter. The AC adapter
has no user-replaceable or
user-serviceable parts
inside and has dangerous
voltages that can cause
serious personal injury or
death. Contact Gateway
about returning defective
AC adapters.

Chapter 2: Using Your System 15
Starting up
Slide the latch on the front face of your notebook to the right to release the
cover and open up your notebook. To turn on your notebook, press the
power button, located in the upper left corner of the notebook and close to
the left LCD hinge.
The power button on your notebook is preset to On/Off mode. However,
you can set it to function either in On/Off or Standby/Resume mode using
the power menu.
LCD panel
Your notebook features a color LCD XGA TFT 14.1-inch or 15.0-inch
panel that provides sharp, crisp resolution and up to 16 million colors.
This notebook is shipped with the “Auto dim with battery” feature
enabled. Auto dim cuts LCD power 50% when your notebook is
operating on battery power. To disable this feature, refer to the chapter
“Using Your BIOS Setup Program” in the Maintaining and
Troubleshooting Guide that shipped with your notebook.
Tilt your notebook’s entire cover forward or backward to adjust the viewing
angle. Press the FNkey together with the up arrow and down arrow keys to
control display brightness.
Power
button
Note:
For instructions on
accessing the power menu,
see “Using the Power
menu” on page 56.

16 Using Your Gateway Solo™ 9150 Notebook
Using the keyboard
A. Numeric keypad
B. Function keys
C. Shortcut keys
AB
C

Chapter 2: Using Your System 17
Your notebook features a full-size keyboard that has the same functionality
as a desktop computer keyboard. Many of the keys have been assigned
alternate functions, including shortcut keys for Windows, function keys for
particular system operations, and padlock keys that enable a numeric
keypad.
Function key combinations
Press the FNkey together with one of the following keys to get these “on-
the-fly” functions:
Key
Combination Description
Displays the power status in the upper left corner of the
Windows desktop. Press the key combination again to
make the power status disappear.
Toggles between the LCD display, external monitor, both
displays at the same time, or TV display (NTSC or PAL
format).
Windows 98™: Notebook goes into Standby mode.
Pressing the power button brings the notebook out of
Standby mode.
Windows 95™and Windows NT™: Notebook goes into
Suspend mode. Pressing the power button brings the
notebook out of Suspend mode.
Makes changes to the video source (VIDEOSRC) set-
tings by toggling the following settings:
DVD - if using the DVD drive.
TV IN - if using the Composite Video In port.
PCMCIA - if using a zoomed video card in PCMCIA slot.
DISABLED - if 30 seconds pass, display disappears.
+
Important!
In Windows 98™,
Microsoft® has replaced
the term “Suspend” with
“Standby.”
Standby is used when
referring to Windows 98™
and Suspend is used when
referring to Windows 95™
or Windows NT™.

18 Using Your Gateway Solo™ 9150 Notebook
Enables the Pad Lock function so you can use the
numeric keypad. The Pad Lock icon stays lit while this
function is enabled. Press the key combination again to
disable the numeric keypad.
In some applications, this lets you scroll through large
volumes of text.
The Scroll Lock icon stays lit as long as this function is
enabled.
In some programs, this key combination pauses the dis-
play when text is scrolling quickly. Press any key to con-
tinue the text flow.
In some programs this key combination breaks text
scrolling on a DOS screen.
Increases LCD brightness and displays the brightness
meter for the Popup Status Display. Use the FN+F2 key
combination to make the display disappear.
Decreases LCD brightness and displays the brightness
meter for the Popup Status Display. Use the FN+F2 key
combination to close the brightness meter.
Key
Combination Description
+

Chapter 2: Using Your System 19
Special keys
The following keys help you use shortcuts when working with some
software:
Numeric keypad
Press FN+F9 (PAD LOCK) keys to activate the numeric keypad. The section
of keyboard below functions as a numeric keypad. Press FN+F9 to return
the keyboard to standard mode.
Key Description
Displays the Windows Start menu.
Provides quick access to shortcut menus and help
assistants in Windows.

20 Using Your Gateway Solo™ 9150 Notebook
Using the pointing device
Your notebook came with either the EZ Pad™TouchPad or the EZ Point™
stickpoint pointing device. Like a mouse, these pointing devices control the
cursor movements on the display.
Also, you can use an external mouse. Connect the mouse device to the PS/2
port, the USB port, or the serial port. Review this section to find out more
about these pointing device options.
Using the EZ Pad TouchPad
The EZ Pad TouchPad provides you with fast and easy navigation in large
documents, spreadsheets, e-mails, and when using the Internet. You can
scroll, zoom, autoscroll, and pan with the convenience of the touchpad.
Scrolling capabilities are available in some Windows applications,
including Microsoft Office.
A. EZ Pad (TouchPad)
B. EZ Pad buttons (mouse buttons)
AB