Acer ASPIRE 5560 User Manual

Aspire 5540/5560 Series

Service Guide

Service guide files and updates are available

on the ACER/CSD web; for more information,

please refer to http://csd.acer.com.tw

PRINTED IN TAIWAN

Revision History

Please refer to the table below for the updates made on Aspire 5540/5560 service guide.

Date Chapter Updates

2006/02/17 Chapter 3 and Chapter 6 Add CCD module (camera) information to Chapter 3 and

2006/4/1 Chapter 1 Add Radeon X1600 VGA chipset on page 1.

2006/4/6 Chapter 3 Revise CCD module (digital camera) disassembling steps

Chapter 6 for Aspire 5560 series.

to Chapter 3 for Aspire 5560 series.

Copyright

Copyright © 2006 by Acer Incorporated. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language or computer language, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Acer Incorporated.

Disclaimer

The information in this guide is subject to change without notice.

Acer Incorporated makes no representations or warranties, either expressed or implied, with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaims any warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Any Acer Incorporated software described in this manual is sold or licensed "as is". Should the programs prove defective following their purchase, the buyer (and not Acer Incorporated, its distributor, or its dealer) assumes the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair, and any incidental or consequential damages resulting from any defect in the software.

Acer is a registered trademark of Acer Corporation. Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. Pentium and Pentium II/III are trademarks of Intel Corporation. Other brand and product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

III

Conventions

The following conventions are used in this manual:

SCREEN MESSAGES Denotes actual messages that appear

on screen.

NOTE Gives bits and pieces of additional

information related to the current topic.

WARNING Alerts you to any damage that might

result from doing or not doing specific actions.

CAUTION Gives precautionary measures to

avoid possible hardware or software problems.

IMPORTANT Reminds you to do specific actions

relevant to the accomplishment of procedures.

Preface

Before using this information and the product it supports, please read the following general information.

1. This Service Guide provides you with all technical information relating to the BASIC CONFIGURATION decided for Acer's "global" product offering. To better fit local market requirements and enhance product competitiveness, your regional office MAY have decided to extend the functionality of a machine (e.g. add-on card, modem, or extra memory capability). These LOCALIZED FEATURES will NOT be covered in this generic service guide. In such cases, please contact your regional offices or the responsible personnel/channel to provide you with further technical details.

2. Please note WHEN ORDERING FRU PARTS, that you should check the most up-to-date information available on your regional web or channel. If, for whatever reason, a part number change is made, it will not be noted in the printed Service Guide. For ACER-AUTHORIZED SERVICE PROVIDERS, your Acer office may have a DIFFERENT part number code to those given in the FRU list of this printed Service Guide. You MUST use the list provided by your regional Acer office to order FRU parts for repair and service of customer machines.

System Specifications

Features

Below is a brief summary of the computer’s many feature:

Platform and memroy

T Intel

T Two DIMM slots support 256/512MB to 2GB (1G memory has not qualified yet) system memory

Display and graphics

T 14.1” WXGA color TFT LCD, 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, supporting simultaneous multi-window

T 16.7 million colors

T Intel

T DualView

T Simultaneous LCD and CRT display, with LCD panel resolution at 70 Hz refresh rate

T Up to 2048 x 1536 resolution on ono-interlaced CRT display

T MPEG-2/DVD hardware-assisted capability

T S-Video/TV-out (NTSC/PAL) support (for Aspire 5560)

Centrino® Duo mobile technology, featuring:

t Intel

CoreTM Duo processor T2300/T2400/T2500/T2600 (2 MB L2 cache, 1.66/1.83/2/2.16 GHz, 667 MHz

FSB) or higher

t Intel

945GM/945PM Express chipset

PRO/Wireless 3945ABG network connection (dual-band tri-mode 802.11a/b/g) Wi-Fi

CERTIFIED

945GM/945PM+ICH7M

solution, supporting Acer SignalUpTM wireless technology

viewing on dual display via Acer GridVista

945GM integrated 3D graphics, featuring Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 and up to

128 MB of VRAM, supporting Microsoft

945PM with ATI MOBILITYTM RADEON X1300/X1400/X1600 with up to 512 MB of

HyperMemory

supporting ATI POWERPLAY

(128 MB of dedicated GDDR2 VRAM; up to 384 of shared system memory),

5.0, Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 and PCI Express® (ATI MOBILITYTM

RADEON X1300 for Aspire 5540/X1400/X1600 for Aspire 5560)

support

DirectX® 9.0 and dual independent display

Chapter 1

Storage subsystem

T 60/80/100/120 GB PATA/SATA hard disk drive

T Optical drive options:

tDVD-Super Multi double-layer

tDVD-Dual double layer drive

tDVD/CD-RW combo drive

T 5-in1 card reader, supporting Secure Digital (SD), MultiMediaCard (MMC), Memory Stick

Memory Stick PRO

(MS-PRO) and xD-Picture CardTM (xD) (for Aspire 5560)

(MS)

Input devices

T 88/89-key Acer FineTouch

T Touchpad with 4-way scroll button

Chapter 1 1

keyboard with 5-degree curve

T Four easy-launch buttons

T Two front-access switches: WLAN LED and Bluetooth

Audio

T Intel

T Sound Blaster Pro

T S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) support for digital speakers

T Audio system with two built-in speakers

T Built-in microphone

Communication

T Modem: 56K ITU V.92 modem with PTT approval; wake-on ring ready

T LAN: 10/100/1000 Mbps Fast Ethernet; wake-on-LAN ready (Gigabit for Aspire 5560)

T WLAN: Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG network connection (dual-band tri-mode 802.11a/b/g) Wi-Fi

CERTIFIED

T WPAN: Bluetooth

I/O Ports

T ExpressCard

T PC Card slot (one Type II)

T 5-in-1 card reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO/xD) (for Aspire 5560)

T Three USB 2.0 ports

T IEEE 1394 port (for Aspire 5560)

T Fast infrared (FIR) port (for Aspire 5560)

T External display (VGA) port

T S-Video/TV-out (NTSC/PAL) port (for Aspire 5560)

T Headphones/speaker/line-out jack with S/PDIF support

T Microphone-in jack

T Line-in jack

T Ethernet (RJ-45) port

T Modem (RJ-11) port

T DC-in jack for AC adaptor

High-Definition audio support

and MS-Sound compatible

solution, supporting Acer SignalUpTM wireless technology

2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)

/34 slot (for Aspire 5560)

LED-switches (for selected models)

Environment

T Temperature:

toperating: 5 C to 35 C

tNon-operating: -20 C to 65 C

T Humidity (non-condensing):

toperating: 20%~80%

tNon-operating: 20%~80%

2 Chapter 1

°°

System Block Diagram

Block Diagram

(Discrete)

CLK GEN.

IDT CV125PA (ICS 954206)

DDR2

533 MHz

DDR2

533 MHz

Line In

MIC In

INT.MIC

Line Out (SPDIF)

INT.SPKR

RJ11

New card

11,12

Codec

ALC883

OP AMP

G1421B

MODEM

MDC Card

PWR SW TPS2231

Block Diagram

Mobile CPU

AZALIA

Yonah 478

1.83G/2G/2.16G

HOST BUS

Calistoga

Ver.:A3 :71.945PM.A0U / QK58

DMI I/F

ICH7M

Ver. : B0, 71.ICH7M.A0U / QK65 KI.80101.017

SATA

HDD

PATA

CDROM

400/533/667MHz

100MHz

USB

3 PORT

533/667MHz

PCI Express

4, 5

6,7,8,9,10

15,16,17,18

MINI USB Blue-tooth

PCI Express x16

M56 Ver.: B24 M52 Ver.: A12 M54 Ver.: A12

PCI BUS

PCIEx1

SPI I/F

LPC BUS

G792

ATI M54P / M52P

45,46,47,48,49

VRAM x4

128/256M

PCI 7412

CARDBUS

1394

CardReader

LAN

10/100 BCM4401-E

BIOS

SST25LF080A

SIO

NS87381

FIR

SYSTEM DC/DC

Project code: 91.4A901.001 PCB P/N : 55.4A901.XXX REVISION : 05217-1 (Hannstar, ACCL)

PCB STACKUP

TOP

TVO

14"WSXGA+ LCD

CRT

PCMCIA SLOT

Support TypeII

MS/MS Pro/xD/ MMC/SD/SDIO

6 in 1

RJ45

Giga LAN

BCM5789/5787M

LPC

DEBUG

CONN.

GND

VCC

GND

BOTTOM

BCM5787MKFBG-A1 BCM5789KFBG-C1 BCM4401EKFBG-B0

SW1 Setting

Low Active 1 - 5 ON

PSW_CLR#

2 - 6 ON

KBC_MATRIX1

3 - 7 ON

KBC_MATRIX2 4 - 8 ON

Title

BLOCK DIAGRAM

Size Document Number Rev

Size Document Number Rev A3

Date: Sheet

LVDS

RGB CRT

50,51

PCMCIA I/F

PWR SW

TSP2220A

1394

CONN

24,25

Mini-PCI

802.11A/B/G

TXFM

Touch Pad

Renesas

Mini Card*1

802.11A/B/G

KBC

RE144B

INT. KB

33 33

TPS51120

INPUTS

DCBATOUT

SYSTEM DC/DC

TPS51124

INPUTS OUTPUTS

DCBATOUT

APL5332KAC

3D3V_S0 2D5V_S0

APL5912-U

1D8V_S3 1D5V_S0

MAXIM CHARGER

DCBATOUT

CPU DC/DC

INPUTS

DCBATOUT

ATI M54 DC/DC

INPUTS

DCBATOUT

APL5331KAC

1D8V_S0 1D2V_S0

21F, 88, Sec.1, Hsin Tai Wu Rd., Hsichih,

21F, 88, Sec.1, Hsin Tai Wu Rd., Hsichih, Taipei Hsien 221, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Taipei Hsien 221, Taiwan, R.O.C.

AG1 -1M

TPS51100

MAX8725

ISL6262

OUTPUTS

VCC_CORE_S0

FAN5234

OUTPUTS

VGA_CORE_S0

153Wednesday, January 11, 2006

OUTPUTS

5V_S5

3D3V_S5

1D05V_S0

1D8V_S3

DDR_VREF_S01D8V_S3

OUTPUTSINPUTS

CHG_PWR

18V 4.0A

UP+5V

5V 100mA

0~1.3V 44A

38,39

Chapter 1 3

Board Layout

Top View

1 SW1 Switch 7 BLUE1 Bluetooth Cable Connector

2 LEDB1 LED Board Cable Connector 8 U39 LAN Connector: RTL8100CL

3 KB1 Keyboard Connector 9 RTC1 RTC Battery Connector

4 TPAD1 Touchpad Cable Connector 10 U40 Keyboard Controller: ENE CB-

1410QF

5 LCD1 LCD Cable Connector 11 SPKR1 Speaker Set Cable Connector

6 LAUNCH1 Launch Board Cable Connector

4 Chapter 1

Bottom View

NOTE: This is engineering sample. The image above may not be exactly the same as the real main board you

get.

1 USB2 USB port 13 ODD1 ODD Connector

2 USB3 USB port 14 WIN1 Wireless LAN Card Slotr

3 USB4 USB port 15 DM1 DIMM Slot1

4 LAN1 RJ11+RJ45 (Modem Port+ Ethernet

Port)

5MDCW1Modem Cable Connector 17 U44 Keyboard Controller (RE144B)

6 CRT1 External Display Port 18 U49 BIOS ROM

7 MDC Modem Board Connector 19 U32 Audio Codec (Realtek ACL883)

8 U41 CPU Socket 20 LIN1 Line-in Jack

9 U38 North Bridge () 21 MIC2 Headphones/Speakers/Line-Out Jack

10 FAN1 System Fan Cable Connector 22 LOUT1 Line-in Jack

11 BAT1 Battery Connector 23 PC1 PC Card Slot

12 South Bridge (ICH7M) 24 HDD1 HDD Connector

16 DM3 DIMM Slot2

Chapter 1 5

Jumper Settings

PIN Description

Pin1-Pin5 On Clear Password

Pin2-Pin6 On NC

Pin3-Pin7 On KBC_MATRIX1

Pin4-Pin8 On KBC_MATRIX2

6 Chapter 1

Your Acer Notebook tour

Just for Starters...

After knowing your computer features, let us show you around your new Aspire computer.

# Icon Item Description

1 Display screen Also called LCD (liquid-crystal display),

displays computer output.

2 Status indicators Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) that light up

to show the status of the computer’s functions and components.

3 Keyboard For entering data into your computer.

4 Touchpad Touch-sensitive pointing device which

functions like a computer mouse.

5 Click buttons (left,

center and right)

6 Palmrest Comfortable support area for our hands

7 Microphone Internal microphone for sound recording.

8 Power button Turns the computer on and off.

9 Easy-launch Buttons Buttons for launching frequently used

10 Built-in camera 1.3 megapixel web camera for video

The left and right buttons function like the left and right mouse buttons; the center button serves as a 4-way scroll button.

when you use the computer.

programs.

communication (for Aspire 5560)

Chapter 1 7

Closed Front View

"Easy-launch buttons" on page 25

Note:

"Easy-launch buttons" on page 18

# Icon Item Description

Bluetooth communication button/ indicator

Press to enable/disable Bluetooth function. Lights to indicate the status of Bluetoothcommunications (for selected models).

2 Wireless

communication button/ indicator

3 Infrared port Interfaces with infrared devices (e.g.,

4 Speakers Left and right speakers deliver stereo audio

5 5-in-1 card reader Accepts MultiMediaCard (MMC), Secure

6 Line-in jack Accepts audio line-in devices (e.g., audio

7 Microphone-in jack Accepts input from external microphones.

8 Headphones/

speakers/line-out jack with S/PDIF support

Press to enable/disable Wireless function. Lights to indicate the status of wireless LAN communications (for selected models).

infrared printer and IR-aware computer) (for Aspire 5560 only).

output.

Digital (SD), xD-Picture Card, Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro (for Aspire 5560 only).

Note: Only one card can operate at any given time.

CD player, stereo walkman).

Connects to audio line-out devices (e.g., speakers, headphones).

9 Battery indicator Indicates the computer’s battery status.

10 Power indicator Indicates the computer’s power status

11 Latch Locks and release the lid.

8 Chapter 1

Left View

# Icon Item Description

1 Kensington lock slot Connects to a Kensington-compatible

computer security lock.

2 Optical drive Internal optical drive; accepts CDs or

3 Optical disk access

indicator

4 Optical drive eject

button

5 Emergency eject hole Ejects the optical drive tray when the

6 PC Card slot eject

button

7 Express Card/34 slot Accepts and ExpressCard/34 module (for

8 PC Card slot Accepts on Type II PC Card.

DVDs. (Some models have slot-in ODD module. The picture displays tray-in ODD module ).

Lights up when the optical drive is active.

Ejects the optical disk from the drive.

computer is turned off.

Ejects the PC Card from the slot.

Aspire 5560)

Note: ExpressCards are third generation of PC cards, hot-swapable and smaller than previous PC Cards. Designed for both desktop and mobile use, ExpressCards use either USB 2.0 or a single lane PCI Express technology that provides 500 Mbytes/sec total throughput. Formerly code named "NEWCARD," ExpressCards are 5 mm thick like Type II PC Cards, but do not use the same 86x54 mm footprint. ExpressCards come in 75x54 mm and 75x34 mm sizes. Express Card/34 slot means this notebook accepts 75x34mm ExpressCards.

Chapter 1 9

Right View

# Icon Item Description

1 Three USB 2.0 ports Connect to USB 2.0 devices (e.g., USB

mouse, USB camera).

2 S-video/TV-out

3 Ventilation slots Enable the computer to stay cool, even

4 Modem (RJ-11) port Connects to a phone line.

5 Ethernet (RJ-45) Connects to an Ethernet 10/100/1000-

6 4-pin IEEE 1394 port Connects to IEEE 1394 devices (for Aspire

Rear Panel

(NTSC/PAL) port

Connects to a television or display device with S-video input (for Aspire 5560).

after prolong use.

based network (1000 Mbps for Aspire

5560).

Note: A 4-pin socket is used for laptop. The 6-pin socket is commonly found on desktop. As to 9-pin connector, it is for the faster FireWire 800.

# Icon Item Description

1 DC-in jack Connects to an AC adapter.

10 Chapter 1

# Icon Item Description

Bottom Panel

External display (VGA) port

Battery Powers the computer

Connects to a display device(e.g., external monitor, LCD projector).

# Item Description

1 Battery lock Locks the battery in position.

2 Cooling fan Helps keep the computer cool.

Note: Do not cover or obstruct the opening of the fan.

3 Hard disk bay Houses the computer’s hard disk (secured

4 Memory compartment Houses the computer’s main memory.

5 Battery release latch Release the battery for removal.

6 Battery bay Houses the computer’s battery pack.

with screws)

Indicators

The computer has four easy-to-read status indicators on the upper-right above the keyboard, and four on the front panel.

Chapter 1 11

The power, battery and wireless communication status indicators are visible even when the LCD display is closed.

Icon Function Description

Cap lock Lights when Cap Lock is activated

Num lock Lights when Num Lock is activated.

HDD Indicates when the hard disc or optical

drive is active.

Bluetooth Indicates the status of Bluetooth

Wireless LAN Indicates the status of wireless LAN

Battery Lights up when the battery is being

Power Lights up when the computer is on.

communication.

charged.

12 Chapter 1

NOTE: 1. Charging: The light shows amber when the battery is charging. 2. Fully charged: The light shows

"Acer

"Launch Manager" on page 44

green when in AC mode.

Easy-Launch Buttons

Located above the keyboard are four buttons. These buttons are called easy-launch buttons. They are: mail

Web browser, Empowering Key “ “and one user-programmable button.

Press “ “ to run the Acer Empowering Technology. The mail and Web browser buttons are pre-set to email and Internet programs, but can be reset by users. To set the Web browser, mail and programmable buttons, run the Acer Launch Manager.

Launch key Default application

P User-programmable

Web browser Internet browser (user-programmable)

Mail Email application (user-programmable)

Touchpad Basics

The following teaches you how to use the touchpad:

Chapter 1 13

Acer Empowering Technology (user-programmable)

T Move your finger across the touchpad (2) to move the cursor.

T Press the left (1) and right (4) buttons located beneath the touchpad to perform selection and

execution functions. These two buttons are similar to the left and right buttons on a mouse. Tapping on the touchpad is the same as clicking the left button.

T Use the 4-way scroll (3) button to scroll up or down and move left or right a page. This button

mimics your cursor pressing on the right scroll bar of Windows applications.

Function Left Button (1)

Execute Click twice

quickly

Select Click once Tap once

Drag Click and hold,

then use finger to drag the cursor on the touchpad

Access context menu

Scroll Click and hold to move

Right Button

(4)

Click once

Main touchpad

(2)

Tap twice (at the same speed as doubleclicking the mouse button)

Tap twice (at the same speed as doubleclicking a mouse button) then hold finger to the touchpad on the second tap to drag the cursor.

Center button (3)

up/down/left/right.

NOTE: Keep your fingers dry and clean when using the touchpad. Also keep the touchpad dry and clean. The

touchpad is sensitive to finger movements. Hence, the lighter the touch, the better the response. Tapping too hard will not increase the touchpad’s responsiveness.

14 Chapter 1

Using the Keyboard

The keyboard has full-sized keys and an embedded keypad, separate cursor keys, two Windows keys and twelve function keys.

Lock Keys and embedded numeric keypad

The keyboard has three lock keys which you can toggle on and off.

Lock Key Description

Caps Lock When Caps Lock is on, all alphabetic characters typed

are in uppercase.

Num lock

Scroll lock

When Num Lock is on, the embedded keypad is in numeric mode. The keys function as a calculator (complete with the arithmetic operators +, -, *, and /). Use this mode when you need to do a lot of numeric data entry. A better solution would be to connect an external keypad.

When Scroll Lock is on, the screen moves one line up or down when you press the up or down arrow keys respectively. Scroll Lock does not work with some applications.

The embedded numeric keypad functions like a desktop numeric keypad. It is indicated by small characters located on the upper right corner of the keycaps. To simplify the keyboard legend, cursor-control key symbols are not printed on the keys.

Desired Access Num Lock On Num Lock Off

Number keys on embedded keypad

Cursor-control keys on embedded keypad

Main keyboard keys Hold <Fn> while typing

Type numbers in a normal manner.

Hold <Shift> while using cursor-control keys.

letters on embedded keypad.

Hold <Fn> while using cursor-control keys.

Type the letters in a normal manner.

Windows Keys

The keyboard has two keys that perform Windows-specific functions.

Chapter 1 15

Key Icon Description

Windows key Pressed alone, this key has the same effect as

clicking on the Windows Start button; it launches the Start menu. It can also be used with other keys to provide a variety of function:

+ <Tab> Activates next taskbar button.

+ <E> Opens the My Computer window

+ <F1> Opens Help and Support.

+ <F> Opens the Find: All Files dialog box.

+ <R> Opens the Run dialog box.

+ M Minimizes all windows.

<Shift>+ + <M> Undoes the minimize all windows action.

This key has the same effect as clicking the right

Applicati

on key

mouse button; it opens the application’s context menu.

Hot Keys

The computer employs hotkeys or key combinations to access most of the computer’s controls like sreen brightness, volume output and the BIOS utility.

To activate hot keys, press and hold the <Fn> key before pressing the other key in the hotkey combination.

Hot Key Icon Function Description

Fn-F1 Hot key help Displays help on hot keys.

Fn-F2 Acer eSetting Launches the Acer eSettings in Acer eManager.

Fn-F3 Acer

ePowerManagement

Launches the Acer ePowerManagement in Acer eManager.

16 Chapter 1

Hot Key Icon Function Description

Fn-F4 Sleep Puts the computer in Sleep mode.

Fn-F5 Display toggle Switches display output between the display screen,

external monitor (if connected) and both.

Fn-F6 Screen blank Turns the display screen backlight off to save power.

Press any key to return.

Fn-F7 Touchpad toggle Turns the internal touchpad on and off.

Fn-F8 Speaker toggle Turns the speakers on and off.

Fn-w Volume up Increases the speaker volume.

Fn-y Volume down Decreases the speaker volume.

Fn-x Brightness up Increases the screen brightness.

Fn-z Brightness down Decreases the screen brightness

Special Key

You can locate the Euro symbol and US dollar sign at the upper-center and/or bottom-right of your keyboard. To t y pe :

The Euro symbol

1. Open a text editor or word processor.

Chapter 1 17

2. Either directly press the <> symbol at the bottom-right of the keyboard, or hold <Alt Gr> and then press the<5> symbol at the upper-center of the keyboard.

The US dollar sign

1. Open a text editor or word processor.

2. Either directly press the <> key at the bottom-right of the keyboard, or hold <Shift> and then press the <4> key at the upper-center of the keyboard.

NOTE: This function varies by the operating system version.

NOTE: Some fonts and software do not support the Euro symbol. Please refer to www.microsoft.com/

typography/faq/faq12.htm for more information.

18 Chapter 1

Acer Empowering Technology

Acer’s innovative Empowering Technology makes it easy for you to access frequently used functions and manage your new Acer notebook. It features the following handy utilities:

T Acer eDataSecurity Management protects data with passwords and advanced encryption algorithms. T Acer eLock Management limits access to external storage media. T Acer ePerformance Management improves system performance by optimizing disk space, memory and

registry settings.

T Acer eRecovery Management backs up/recovers data flexibly, reliably and completely. T Acer eSettings Management accesses system information and adjusts settings easily. T Acer eNet Management hooks up to location-based networks intelligently. T Acer ePower Management extends battery power via versatile usage profiles. T Acer ePresentation Management connects to a projector and adjusts display settings conveniently.

For more information, press the < > key to launch the Empowering Technology menu, then click on the appropriate utility and select the Help function.

Acer eDataSecurity Management

Acer eDataSecurity Management is handy file encryption utility that protexts your files from being accessed by unauthorized persons. It is conveniently integrated with Windows explorer as a shell extension for quick and

Chapter 1 19

easy data encryption/decryption and also supports on-the-fly file encryption for MSN Messager and Microsoft Outlook.

There are two passwords that can be used to encrypt/decrypt a file; the supervisor passowrd and the filespecific password. The supervisor passwork is a “master” password that cna decrypt any file on your system; the file-specific password will be used to encrypt files by default, or you cna choose to enter your own filespecific password when encrypting a file.

NOTE: The password used encrypt a file is the unique key that the system needs to decrypt it. If you lose the

password, the supervisor password is the only other key capable of decrypting the file. If you lose both passwords, there will be no way to decrypt your encryped file! Be sure to safeguard all related

passwords!

20 Chapter 1

Acer eLock Management

Acer eLock Management is a security utility that allows you to lock up your removable data, optical and floppy drives to ensure that data can’t be stolen while your notebook is unattended.

T Removable data devices - includes USB disk drives, USB pen drives, USB flash drives, USB MP3 drives,

USB memory card readers, IEEE 1394 disk drives and any other removable disk drives that can be mounted as a file system when plugged into the system.

T Optical drive deivces - includes any kind of CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drives. T Floppy disk drives - 3.5-inch disks only.

To activate Acer eLock Management, a password must be set first. Once set, you may apply lock to any of the three kinds of devices. Lock(s) will immediately be set without any reboot necessary, and will remain locked after rebooting, until unlocked.

If you do not set a password, Acer eLock Management will reset back to the initial status with all locks removed.

NOTE: If you lose your password, there is no method to reset it except by reformatting your notebook or taking

your notebook to anAcer Customer Serivce Center. Be sure to remember or write down your password.

Chapter 1 21

Acer ePerformance Management

Acer ePerformance Management is a system optimization tool that boosts the performance of your Acer notebook. It provides you with the following options to enhance overall system performance:

T Memory optimization - releases unused memory and check usage. T Disk optimization - removes unneeded items and files. T Speed optimization - improves the usability and performance of your Windows XP system.

22 Chapter 1

Acer eRecovery Management

Acer eRecovery Management is a powerful utility that does away with the need for recovery disks provided by the manufacturer. The Acer eRecovery Management utility occupies space in a hidden partition on your system’s HDD. User-created backups are stored on D:\ drive. Acer eRecovery Management provides you with:

T Password protection. T Recovery of applications and drivers. T Image/data backup:

T Back up to HDD (set recovery point).

T Back up to CD/DVD.

T Image/data recovery tools:

T Recover from a hidden partition (factory defaults).

T Recover from the HDD (most recent user-defined recovery point).

T Recover from CD/DVD.

Chapter 1 23

NOTE: If your computer did not come with a Recovery CD or System CD, please use Acer eRecovery

Management’s “System backup to optical disk” feature to burn a backup image to CD or DVD. To ensure the best results when recovering your system using a CD or Acer eRecovery Management, detach all peripherals (except the external Acer ODD, if your computer has one), including your Acer ezDock.

Acer eSettings Management

Acer eSettings Management allows you to inspect hardware specifications and to monitor the system health status. Furthermore, Acer eSettings Management enables you to optimize your Windows operating system, so your computer runs faster, smoother and better.

Acer eSettings Management also:

T Provides a simple graphical user interface for navigating through the program effortlessly. T Displays general system status and advanced monitoring for power users. T Logs when a hardware component has been removed or replaced. T Permits you to migrate personal settings. T Keeps a history log of all alerts that were previously issued.

24 Chapter 1

+ 82 hidden pages