Gateway UC78 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
Bottom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Keyboard area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
LCD panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Chapter 3: Setting Up and Getting Started. 13
Working safely and comfortably . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Reducing eye strain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Setting up your computer desk and chair . . . . . 15
Sitting at your notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Avoiding discomfort and injury from repetitive
strain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Connecting the AC adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Protecting from power source problems . . . . . . 18
Connecting to a broadband modem or network . . 18
Connecting the optional dial-up modem . . . . . . . . . 19
Starting your notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Waking up your notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Turning off your notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Restarting (rebooting) your notebook . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Using the keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Key types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Contents

Contents
ii
System key combinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Using the EZ Pad touchpad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Using the optional multimedia panel . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Using the optional webcam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Adjusting the brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Adjusting the volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Turning your wireless radio on or off . . . . . . . . . . . 38
IEEE 802.11 wireless network radio . . . . . . . . . . 38
Bluetooth radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter 4: Using Drives and Accessories . . . 41
Using the DVD drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Identifying drive types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Using a DVD drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Using the memory card reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Memory card types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Inserting a memory card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Using a memory card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Removing a memory card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Adding and removing an Express Card . . . . . . . . . . 46
Installing a printer or other peripheral device . . . . 47
Connecting a USB device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Viewing the display on a projector, monitor, or televi-
sion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Adjusting the display properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Using the projector or monitor for a presentation
51
Chapter 5: Managing Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Monitoring the battery charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Recharging the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Changing batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Recalibrating the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Extending battery life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Maximizing battery performance . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Conserving battery power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Using alternate power sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Changing power modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

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Changing notebook power settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Changing the power plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Changing advanced settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Chapter 6: Traveling with Your Notebook . 65
Packing your notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Traveling by air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Dial-up modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Radio frequency wireless connections . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Additional tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Chapter 7: Maintaining Your Notebook . . . 71
Caring for your notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Cleaning your notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Cleaning the exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Cleaning the keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Cleaning the notebook screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Maintaining the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Storing batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Cleaning CDs or DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Recovering your system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Creating recovery discs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Recovering pre-installed software and drivers . . 79
Returning to a previous system condition . . . . . 80
Returning your system to its factory condition . 82
Chapter 8: Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Safety guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
First steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
CD drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Diskette drive (external) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Contents
iv
DVD drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Ethernet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Express Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
File management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Hard drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Media Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Memory card reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Modem (cable or DSL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Modem (dial-up) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Networks (wired) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Networks (wireless) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Status indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Touchpad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Telephone support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Before calling Gateway Customer Care . . . . . . 113
Appendix A: Legal Information. . . . . . . . . 115
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

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.

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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
• Bottom
• Keyboard area
• LCD panel

CHAPTER 2: Checking Out Your Notebook
6
Front
Component Icon Description
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 44. 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.
Memory card
reader

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Left
Component Icon Description
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 63.
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 18.
Ventilation slots 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.
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 48.
USB
port
HDMI out
jack
(optional)
Ethernet
jack Monitor
port
Ventilation slots
Headphone jac
k
Microphone
jack
Power
button

CHAPTER 2: Checking Out Your Notebook
8
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 48.
USB port Plug USB devices (such as a diskette drive,
flash drive, printer, scanner, camera,
keyboard, or mouse) into these ports.
Microphone
jack
Plug a microphone into this jack.
Headphone jack
with SPDIF
support
Plug amplified speakers or headphones
into this jack. The built-in speakers are
turned off when speakers or headphones
are plugged into this jack.
Component Icon Description

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Right
Component Icon Description
DVD drive Insert CDs or DVDs into this drive. For
more information, see “Using the DVD
drive” on page 42. 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 42.
Express Card
slot
Insert one Type 54 Express Card into this
slot. For more information, see “Adding
and removing an Express Card” on
page 46.
USB ports Plug a USB device (such as a diskette drive,
flash drive, printer, scanner, camera,
keyboard, or mouse) into this port.
Power
connector
Plug the AC adapter cable into this
connector.
Kensington™
lock slot
Secure your notebook to an object by
connecting a Kensington cable lock to this
slot.
DVD drive
USB ports
Kensington
lock slot
Express Card
slot Power
connector

CHAPTER 2: Checking Out Your Notebook
10
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 55.
Hard drive
bay
The hard drive is located in this bay.
Memory
bay
Memory modules are located in this bay.
Battery
lock
Slide to unlock the battery. For more
information, see “Changing batteries” on
page 55.
Battery
latch
Hard drive
bay
Battery
lock
Battery
Memory bay

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11
Keyboard area
Keyboard area for select models
Component Icon Description
Keyboard Provides all the features of a full-sized,
computer keyboard. For more information, see
“Using the keyboard” on page 24.
Multimedia
panel
(optional)
Use to control playback of CDs and DVDs. For
more information, see “Using the optional
multimedia panel” on page 31.
Touchpad Provides all the functionality of a mouse. For
more information, see “Using the EZ Pad
touchpad” on page 29.
Speakers Provide audio output when headphones or
amplified speakers are not plugged in.
Touchpad
Multimedia
panel
(optional)
Keyboard
Speakers

CHAPTER 2: Checking Out Your Notebook
12
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 32.
Important: The optional webcam is only
available when purchased with the optional
microphone.
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.
Webcam
status
indicator
(optional)
Turns on when the webcam is turned on.
Webcam (optional)
Microphone(optional)s
Webcam status
indicator (optional)

CHAPTER3
13
Setting Up and Getting
Started
• Working safely and comfortably
• Connecting the AC adapter
• Connecting to a broadband modem or
network
• Connecting the optional dial-up
modem
• Starting your notebook
• Turning off your notebook
• Restarting (rebooting) your notebook
• Using the keyboard
• Using the EZ Pad touchpad
• Using the optional multimedia panel
• Using the optional webcam
• Adjusting the brightness
• Adjusting the volume

CHAPTER 3: Setting Up and Getting Started
14
Working safely and
comfortably
Before using your notebook, follow these general
guidelines for setting up a safe and comfortable work
area and avoiding discomfort and strain:
•Keep hands and arms parallel to the floor.
•Adjust the screen so it is perpendicular to your
line of sight.
•Place your feet flat on the floor or on a footrest.
•Although notebooks are sometimes called
“laptops,” do not use your notebook while it
rests on your
unprotected lap. Notebook
operating temperatures can become quite high,
increasing the risk of burns to your legs. Instead,
use a laptop desk to protect your legs.
•Do not use the notebook on any soft, conforming
surface, such as your lap, a blanket, carpet, or a
sofa. Soft surfaces can block your notebook’s
ventilation openings, leading to overheating,
permanent damage to your notebook, and fire
danger. Instead, place your notebook on a rigid,
hard surface, and make sure that you keep the
ventilation openings on the sides clear.
Reducing eye strain
Sunlight or bright indoor lighting should not reflect on
the screen or shine directly into your eyes.
•Position the computer desk and screen so you can
avoid glare on your screen and light shining
directly into your eyes. Reduce glare by installing
shades or curtains on windows, and by installing
a glare screen filter.
•Use soft, indirect lighting in your work area. Do
not use your notebook in a dark room.
Warning
Do not use your notebook on a soft surface, such as
your lap, a blanket, carpet, or a sofa. You must keep your
notebook’s ventilation openings clear of obstructions, or your
notebook may overheat, increasing the risk of fire and
personal injury.