HP Compaq Presario Manual

Getting Help

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Contents iii
Chapter 1 Finding Information and
Solving Problems ..............................................1
Where to Go for Help...........................................................................................2
Getting Help from the HP Support Center............................................... 3
Using System Tools ..............................................................................................4
Getting Help from the Internet.......................................................................5
Restoring Your Software.....................................................................................6
Calling HP Support...............................................................................................8
Chapter 2 Troubleshooting.........................9
General Problems................................................................................................10
Answering Machine..............................................................................................13
CD-ROM.................................................................................................................... 15
Display.......................................................................................................................16
Fax and Phone.......................................................................................................16
Keyboard..................................................................................................................18
Mouse.........................................................................................................................19
Sound........................................................................................................................20
Speakerphone........................................................................................................ 21
Windows Desktop................................................................................................ 22
Contents

iv Getting Help
Chapter 3 Upgrading and Servicing
Your Computer ............................................... 27
Connecting External Components ............................................................28
Removing the Computer Covers and Other Components ...........35
Replacing the Battery.........................................................................................41
Adding Memory...................................................................................................42
Installing Add-in Cards................................................................................... 46
Adding Drives........................................................................................................52
Replacing Computer Covers and Other Components....................54
Using the BIOS Setup Program....................................................................58
Index ...................................................................61

Chapter 1
•
Finding Information and Solving Problems 1
Chapter 1 covers the following topics:
•
Where to go for help
•
Getting help from the HP Support Center
•
Using system tools
•
Getting help from the Internet
•
Restoring your software
•
Calling HP support
1Finding Information and Solving Problems

2Getting Help
Where to Go for Help
Hewlett-Packard offers a number of support solutions
for HP Pavilion PC owners, and this guide describes
each of these options.
• Personal Guide If you are having trouble with
Microsoft® Windows®, try running the tutorials in
Personal Guide. See “Learning About the
Windows Desktop” in the Getting Started guide.
You can also use the Windows Help system by
choosing the Help option on the Start menu.
• HP Support Center The HP Support Center
offers help with your hardware and software,
contains support contact numbers, and includes
a collection of system tools. See “Getting Help
from the HP Support Center” on page 3.
• HP At Home The HP At Home Web site includes
an online System Guide. See “Getting Help from
the Internet” on page 5.
• HP Pavilion Recovery The Recovery CDs allow
you to restore the software that originally came
with your computer. See “Restoring Your
Software” on page 6.
• Troubleshooting Chapter 2 of this guide
provides a list of problems, along with possible
solutions. Just look up the area or component
you are having trouble with, and try the solutions
listed. See page 9.
• HP Customer Care Center If you are still
having problems, call the HP Customer Care
Center. See “Calling HP Support” on page 8.

Chapter 1
•
Finding Information and Solving Problems 3
Getting Help from the HP
Support Center
If you are having trouble learning a new software
program or solving a problem, the HP Support
Center is the place to go. Your support contacts,
online documentation, tutorials, and system
maintenance tools have been grouped in this one
convenient location.
To go to the HP Support Center, choose
HP Support Center on the Start menu or
double-click the icon on the desktop.
Descriptions of HP Support Center options are listed
on the following page.

4Getting Help
HP Support Center Options
Software Help Each software package shipped with your
computer is listed here, along with its
manual (if there is one), online Help, and a
support phone number.
Hardware Help Information on hardware components (such
as your keyboard) is located here.
HP Pavilion
Library
Online manuals are found here. Software
manuals (also found under Software Help)
are found here as well.
Tutorials Learn skills such as creating software
shortcuts and changing the color of your
screen background by taking the short
lessons found here.
Common
Questions
Common questions that HP Customer Care
Center personnel are frequently asked are
listed and answered here. Subjects range
from modems to the Internet to MS-DOS
and more. Check here if you have a question
about your computer.
System
Maintenance
Here you will find system tools to clean up
your hard disk and remove viruses.
Technical
Support
Find information about your technical
support options here.
Using System Tools
All of your system maintenance tools are organized
in one convenient location – the HP Support Center.
You can run special utilities provided by HP, as well
as the Microsoft system tools.
To access system tools from the HP Support Center:
1Double-click the HP Support Center
icon on the desktop.
2Click System Maintenance. The HP-provided
tools are described in the following table. You
will also find links to the Microsoft system tools
(such as ScanDisk and Disk Defragmenter).

Chapter 1
•
Finding Information and Solving Problems 5
HP Utilities in the HP Support Center
Virus Protection If your system is infected with a virus, it can
display any number of symptoms. When in
doubt, run this utility, especially if you
download software from the Internet or use
shareware.
HP Pavilion
Recovery CDs
Before you got your computer, HP did a
backup of your entire system. The backup
CDs are included with your system in case
you need to restore any software that was
originally on your computer.
Getting Help from the Internet
Hewlett-Packard has a Web site on the Internet
dedicated to HP Pavilion PC owners. The HP At Home
Web site includes the following:
•
An online System Guide with technical support
information
•
Software updates
•
Answers to frequently asked questions
To go to this Web site using the Easy Internet Access
browser:
1Double-click the Easy Internet Access
icon on your desktop, or press the
Internet button on your keyboard.
2In the Browser Selector dialog box, click Easy
Internet Access browser.
3Click Start.
4Click the HP At Home button to go to the HP At
Home Web site.
If you are using another browser, you can go to the
Web site by entering the following address:
http://www.hp-at-home.com

6Getting Help
Restoring Your Software
If your software accidentally gets erased or
corrupted, you can reinstall the software. You may
need to reinstall all the software on your hard disk
or just certain applications. These two recovery
methods are:
• System Recovery – Performs a full recovery
with or without completely reformatting your
hard disk. It reinstalls all application programs
included with your HP Pavilion PC.
• Application Recovery – Allows you to select
the applications or drivers to be recovered. This
method preserves all data files that you have
created on your hard disk.
An HP Pavilion Recovery CD is provided for each
method. The CDs contain a copy of the software
originally installed on your system and can be used
only on the HP Pavilion PC model that they
came with.
Running the System Recovery Program
Warning: Formatting the hard disk removes all
information on the hard disk. If you reformat, you lose all
installed software and files created since you bought your
computer. You must reinstall software not originally on the
computer.
To run the HP Pavilion System Recovery program:
1With the computer turned on, insert the System
Recovery CD in the CD-ROM drive.
2Restart your computer. (Click the Start button on
the taskbar, choose Shut Down and then
Restart.)