HP Compaq Presario Manual

Getting Help

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limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
HP shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection
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Hewlett-Packard Company
Home Products Division
P.O. Box 4010
Cupertino, CA 95015-4010
Printed in the USA.
© Copyright Hewlett-Packard Company, 1998. All rights reserved.
Hewlett-Packard is a registered trademark of Hewlett-Packard Company in the United States of America and
other countries.
Intel Connect is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.
Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States of America and
other countries.
Other brand or product names are trademarks of their respective holders.

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.)

Chapter 1
•
Finding Information and Solving Problems 7
3When the Recovery Options screen appears,
choose Recover.
4In the Select a Recovery Option screen, do one of
the following:
•
Click the Format & Recover button to erase
your hard disk and reinstall the original
HP Pavilion PC software.
•
Click the Recover Only button to reinstall
the original software without erasing the
hard disk.
5Click Yes to proceed.
6When the recovery is complete, remove the
System Recovery CD.
7Click OK to restart the computer.
Note: The Advanced Options menu, which allows recovery of
specific files, is recommended for advanced users only.
Restoring Applications
To restore certain applications:
1Turn on your computer.
2When you are in Windows, close all application
programs and any open windows.
3Insert the Application Recovery CD in the
CD-ROM drive. The Application Recovery
program starts automatically; it takes about
20 seconds for the program to load.
4Make sure the Application tab is selected.
Note: The Device Drivers tab allows you to restore
drivers.
5Click the button for the application you wish to
install.
6Click OK to begin recovery of the application.
7Click Continue to install another application.

8Getting Help
8Repeat steps 5—7 until you have recovered all the
desired applications and drivers.
9When you are finished restoring applications,
remove the Application Recovery CD, and click
Restart to restart the computer.
Warning: Do not skip this last step! You must
restart the computer when you are finished recovering
applications.
Calling HP Support
If you need further support or your computer is
completely nonfunctional, call the HP Customer
Care Center. If you can, have your support ID
number ready. To find your support ID number, press
Alt+Ctrl+S or look for the sticker on the back or side
of your computer.
Refer to your HP Pavilion PC Support Path card for the
phone number to call.

Chapter 2
•
Troubleshooting 9
Chapter 2 covers the following topics:
•
Solving general computer problems
•
Solving problems with specific components
•
Solving Windows desktop problems
2Troubleshooting

10 Getting Help
General Problems
My computer won’t turn on at all.
• When you press the On button on the front of
your computer, the following events should
happen:
1The keyboard indicator lights should flash.
2The light next to the 3.5-inch disk drive
should flash.
3You should hear the hard disk spin or the
diskette drive make a noise.
4You should hear one beep; one beep
indicates that your computer is operating
properly.
• If the computer doesn’t go through the above
procedure, check the following:
• Make sure that the power cord and all cables
are securely plugged into the computer.
• Make sure that the power cord is plugged
into a grounded, three-prong outlet. Check
to see whether the outlet works by plugging
another item (such as a lamp) into the outlet.
• Make sure your display is plugged in,
connected to your computer, and turned on.
My computer (or part of it) doesn’t seem to be
working.
If the system is “frozen” (no response to mouse or
keyboard actions), you may have had too many
application windows open at one time. Avoid this
overload in the future by closing applications when
you don’t need them. (To close a window, click the X
in the top right corner of the window.) For now, reset
the computer as follows:

Chapter 2
•
Troubleshooting 11
1Press the On button to turn off the computer.
2Wait a few seconds, and turn the computer
back on.
Note: Using the On button to reset the system is not a
recommended practice and should be used only as a last
resort.
Also, a voltage spike, power outage, or brownout may
have occurred. Symptoms of voltage spikes include a
flickering video display, unexpected system startups,
and the system not responding to your commands. A
voltage spike can occasionally corrupt or destroy
files, so it is a good idea to consistently make backup
copies of your data files. Prevent voltage spikes by
installing a surge suppressor between the power
outlet and the system power cord.
If the problem persists, reload the software. (For
software that originally came with your system,
see “Restoring Your Software” on page 6.)
A “General Protection Fault” error occurred.
This error usually occurs when a program has
corrupted your random access memory (RAM)
resources. In some circumstances, you can close the
message box and continue working. However, the
environment may be unstable, causing additional
errors to occur. If this happens, you can recover as
follows:
1Click Close on the message box announcing the
error.
2Close the software program.
3Click Start on the taskbar.
4Click Shut Down.
5Select Restart and then click OK.

12 Getting Help
A “Non-System Disk” error occurred.
If you have a diskette in the drive, remove the
diskette, and then press any key to continue.
I need more space on my hard disk.
• Run a hard disk space check to find out exactly
how much space you have. See “Using System
Tools” on page 4.
• You can defragment your hard disk. That is, you
can rearrange your current files so that they are
packed in together and any little storage spaces
between them are removed to make empty space
on the hard disk. Results will vary. See “Using
System Tools” on page 4.
My computer is taking longer to start up than it
did before.
• Before turning off the computer, make sure there
isn’t a CD in the drive, so that the computer won’t
have to spend time checking it the next time you
turn on the system.
• You don’t have to wait for the virus scan each
time. Press the Spacebar to skip the scan. (Don’t
skip it all of the time; you should run a virus scan
occasionally.)
• Your disk may need to be defragmented. See
“Using System Tools” on page 4.

Chapter 2
•
Troubleshooting 13
I think my computer has a virus.
A virus check is run automatically when you start the
computer. However, you can run a more thorough
check by using your system tools. See “Using System
Tools” on page 4.
Note: New types of viruses are invented all the time. Be sure
to get regular updates of your virus scanning software from
the software manufacturer so that you will be able to check
for these new viruses.
I installed a new printer or other device, and it
won’t work.
Be sure that you installed the device drivers that
came with the new device.
Answering Machine
The computer’s answering machine never
answers the phone.
Make sure that the Intel Connect® software is
running. (The screen with the phone should be in an
open window.) If the software is running, make the
following adjustments from the Intel Connect main
window:
1Click Setup.
2Click Answering.
3Choose either Answer as a voice mail system or
Answer as an answering machine.

14 Getting Help
The computer’s answering machine grabs calls
before I can answer the phone.
• Increase the number of rings before Intel
Connect automatically answers:
1From the Intel Connect main window, click
Setup.
2Click Ringing.
3Enter a higher number in the Auto-answer
ring count box.
• Make sure that the DND (Do Not Disturb) button
is not lit on the Intel Connectmain window. If it is,
click the DND button to disable the Do Not
Disturb feature.
I can’t hear messages as they are left.
Check the following:
• Make sure that the Screen button is lit on the
Intel Connect main window.
• Make sure that the mute feature is not on.
Press the keyboard Mute button until Mute Off
briefly displays on your screen.
• Adjust the Volume knob on the keyboard or use
the Multimedia Sound Mixer to increase just the
answering machine sound level:
1Double-click the Volume icon on the
taskbar.
2Adjust the slide control. Make sure that the
Volume Controls are set at least halfway.

Chapter 2
•
Troubleshooting 15
I can’t hear phone messages when I play
them back.
Make the following adjustments:
•
Make sure that the mute feature is not on. Press
the keyboard Mute button until Mute Off appears
on the screen.
•
Turn up the Volume knob on the keyboard.
•
Adjust the Sound Mixer volume:
1Double-click the Volume icon on the
taskbar.
2Make sure that the Volume Controls are not
muted and are set at least halfway.
I can’t record an outgoing message.
Use the phone you connected to your computer,
rather than the microphone in the display, to record
the message. If you haven’t connected a phone to the
computer, see your Set Up Poster for instructions.
CD-ROM
The message “System Error: Unable to read
drive” appears when I try to run a CD program.
•
Make sure that the CD is placed into the drive
with the label side up.
•
Wait 5 to 10 seconds after closing the drawer to
give the computer time to recognize the CD.
•
Are you trying to play a DVD in a CD-ROM drive?
A DVD will only play in a DVD drive, not in a
CD-ROM drive. If you aren’t sure what type of
drive you have, check the front of the drive; on
DVD systems, “DVD” appears on the drive.
The CD-ROM or DVD is playing erratically.
Dirt or smudges can cause a disk to skip.
•
Try cleaning the disk with a soft cloth.
•
If the disk has a bad scratch, it will have to be
replaced.

16 Getting Help
Display
My display doesn’t work, even though the
computer appears to work.
• Make sure that the power cord is securely
plugged into the display.
• Make sure that the display is turned on – it has
its own power button.
• Make sure that your power cord is plugged into a
grounded three-prong outlet. Check to see
whether the outlet works by plugging another
item (such as a lamp) into the outlet. (If the light
on the front of the display is lit, it is getting
power. Try the next item on this list.)
• Check the cable connection between the display
and the computer. The cable connectors must be
pushed in all the way.
• Adjust the brightness and contrast controls on
the display. (The information may be there, but
you just can’t see it.)
Fax and Phone
I can’t dial out.
Check to make sure that a telephone cable connects
from the back of the computer to the wall. The cable
must be plugged into the Line socket on the
computer (see illustration on page 28). The other
socket is there to plug in a phone if you want to.
I can’t correct typing mistakes when dialing a
phone number in Intel Connect.
The Backspace key doesn’t do anything here. If you
misdial a number, you must hang up and start over.