Acer Aspire 6200 series User's Guide

Int roducing

the not nearly as exciting

ink on paper version of…

Guide

…the printed companion

to the way more fun and

handy on-screen experience of

M y Aspire Guide

Hey!

Wait

a m in u t e!

Did you know your Acer Aspire comes with incredible multimedia soft ware that was desigend to show you all the cool stuff your computer can do? This book can be a handy desktop reference, but you’ll receive much more indepth information and inst ruction by firing up M y Aspire Guide soft ware. (It ’s located on your W indows 98 desktop and in the Tools ‘N Stuff folder in Ace.) We’re prett y sure you’ll have more fun with the soft ware, too.

(P.S. - If you’re reading this because you’re having trouble w ith your com puter, check the Troubleshooting section in My A spire Guide softw are or the “Need Help?”section in this book .)

Acer and the Acer logo are registered t rademarks and Aspire is a t rademark of Acer Inc. and Acer America Corporation.

M icrosoft W indows and the W indows Logo are registered t rademarks of M icrosoft Corporation. Intel and Pentium are registered t rademarks of Intel

Corp. All other brands/ product names are t rademarks or registered t rademarks of their respective companies.

First printing January 1999

Ta ble of

Con t en t s

Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Before You St art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Safet y Inst ructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Proper Setup and Placement Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

An Introduction to Your Aspire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. 5
The System: Aspire M icrotower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. 5
Setting Up Your Aspire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. 6
Turning Your Aspire On and Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. 6
The M ouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. 9
The Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	10
The M onitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	12
The Speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	12
Drives on Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	13
Using Your Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	15
Formatting a Floppy Diskette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	16
Using Your CD-ROM / DVD-ROM Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	17
Your Dat a/ Fax M odem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	18
Accessing the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	18
Connecting an Optional Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	19
Printer Driver Inst allation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	19
Connecting an Optional Serial Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	20
Connecting an Optional Joystick or M IDI Device . . . . . . . . . .	21

Get ting the M ost from Your Acer Audio System . . . . . . . . 22 Playing an Audio CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Adjusting the Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 The Elect ronic M ixing Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Adding Options to Your Aspire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Connecting USB Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Opening/ Closing Your Aspire M icrotower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Need Help?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	27
M y Aspire Guide–Soft ware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	27
Troubleshooting–General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	34
Troubleshooting–Error M essages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	37
Additional Acer Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	39
Disclaimer of Warranties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	40
St andard End User License Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	40
System Warrant y Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	43
Limited Product Warrant y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	44
FCC St atement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	46
Acer Year 2000 Compliance St atement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	47
CD-ROM Safet y Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	47
Caution on Lithium Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	48

Welcome and thank you for

purchasing an Aspire computer. You are now the owner of a multimedia computer system! Already inst alled on your system and ready to go are soft ware programs designed to enable you to:

Create personal document s

Access the Internet and send and receive e-mail

Use your computer as a fax machine

Play audio CDs while you’re working

and tons more!

W hether you’ve owned a computer before or not , your Aspire was designed to improve the way you work and to serve your needs now and into the future.

Welcome

Before You St art . . .

M ake sure you read this section carefully for proper placement and important Safety Instructions on the use and care of your new computer. Please save these instructions for future reference.

Safet y Instructions

• Follow all warnings and inst ructions marked on the product .

• Unplug this product from the wall outlet before cleaning. Do not use liquid cleaners or aerosol cleaners. Use a cloth mildly dampened with water for cleaning.

• Do not use this product in or near water.

•Do not place this product on an unst able cart , st and, or t able. The product may fall, causing serious damage to the product .

•Slot s and openings in the cabinet and the back or bottom are provided for ventilation; to ensure reliable operation of the product and to protect it from overheating, these openings must not be blocked or covered. The openings should never be blocked by placing the product on a bed, sofa, rug, or other similar surface. This product should never be placed near or over a radiator or heat register, or in a built-in inst allation unless proper ventilation is provided.

•This product should be operated from the t ype of power indicated on the marking label. If you are not sure of the t ype of

power available, consult your dealer or local power company.

• This product is equipped with a 3-wire grounding-t ype plug, a plug having a third (grounding) pin. This plug will only fit into a grounding-t ype power outlet . This is a safet y feature. If you are unable to insert the plug into the outlet , cont act your elec- t rician to replace your obsolete outlet . Do not defeat the purpose of the grounding-t ype plug.

•Do not allow anything to rest on the power cord. Do not locate this product where persons will walk on the cord.

•If an extension cord is used with this product , make sure that the tot al ampere rating of the equipment plugged into the extension cord does not exceed the extension cord ampere rating. Also, make sure that the tot al rating of all product s

plugged into the wall outlet does not exceed 15 amperes.

• Never push object s of any kind into this product through cabinet slot s as they may touch dangerous volt age point s or short out part s that could result in a fire or elect ric shock.

•Never spill liquid of any kind on the product .

•Do not attempt to service this product yourself; opening or removing covers may expose you to dangerous volt age point s or other risks. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel.

Service by persons other than Acer authorized service providers may void your warrant y.

•Unplug this product from the wall outlet and refer servicing to qualified service personnel under the following conditions:

a • W hen the power cord or plug is damaged or frayed.

b • If liquid has been spilled into the product .

c • If the product has been exposed to rain or water.

d • If the product does not operate normally when the operating inst ructions are followed. Adjust only those cont rols that are covered by the operating inst ructions since improper adjust ment of other cont rols may result in damage and will often require extensive work by a qualified technician to restore the product to normal condition.

e • If the product has been dropped or the cabinet has been damaged.

f • If the product exhibit s a distinct change in performance, indicating a need for service.

•Replace battery with the same t ype as the product ’s battery we recommend. Use of another battery may present a risk of fire or explosion. Refer battery replacement to qualified service personnel.

•Warning! Battery may explode if not handled properly. Do not recharge, disassemble or dispose of in fire. Keep away from children and dispose of used battery promptly.

•Use only the proper t ype of power supply cord set (provided in your keyboard/ manual accessories box) for this unit . It should be a det achable t ype: UL listed/ CSA certified, t ype SVT/ SJT, rated 6A 125V minimum, VDE approved or it s equiva-

lent . M aximum length is 15 feet (4.6 meters).

•Always unplug the computer and monitor before opening the housing or adjusting connections or cables.

•Use power st rips with surge protection to protect your computer in the event of a power surge, due to severe weather such as a thunderstorm.

2	Before You St art ...

Proper Setup and Placement Tips

It ’s import ant that your computer be set up correctly and according to your own comfort and ergonomic needs. The following tips should make your workst ation a comfort able and healthy place:

M onitor Level. Position your computer so that it is at arm’s length away and the top third of the monitor viewing area is at eye level. This helps prevent eye and neck st rain. To further reduce eye st rain, close your eyes and refocus on something other than your computer screen at least t wice an hour. M ost monitors come st andard with a det achable tilt-and-swivel base and adjust able, rear-mounted foot , which allow you to position the monitor exactly where you want it .

Your Seat . If you plan to use your Acer computer for extended periods (for example, in a home office environment), select a highly adjustable office chair with a five-pronged base. The seat and chair back should be adjustable, while you’re sitting in the chair, for height and tilt , and forward/backward positioning, and the lumbar area of the back should be supported by the chair adjustment s or a cushion. Arm rest s should conform to your elbow height and shoulder width and should be used for support . For maximum comfort , vary positions frequently throughout the day. Use good posture when seated, keep your head centered over your shoulders and, just like your mother always told you, don’t slump over your work.

Anti-Glare Coating. Some monitor screens are constructed with a special anti-glare coating, which minimizes reflections that cause eye strain and discomfort . To further reduce eye strain, close your eyes and refocus on something other than your computer screen at least twice an hour .

Task Lighting. W hen room lighting is dimmed, there may be insufficient light on document s or reference materials for comfort able reading. A well-lit room or a few directional,

adjust able t ask light s will allow you to see your monitor screen and other materials clearly, and with the least amount of st rain.

Hand and Wrist . Keep your wrist s st raight and your forearms parallel to the floor while you are t yping. If you use a wrist rest , use it only briefly for resting. Do not rest your hands on the

t able or on the wrist rest while you are t yping. During long periods of t yping, frequent breaks are recommended.

An In t r odu ct ion t o You r

Asp ir e

The System: Aspire M icrotower

CD-ROM /

DVD-ROM Drive

CD-ROM /

DVD-ROM

Eject Button

Expansion Bay

Door

Power/ Quickst art Button

Power Indicator Light

Activit y Indicator

Light

Set ting Up Your Aspire

Refer to the Aspire Easy Setup Poster included in your system box for det ails on how to set up your computer.

Turning Your Aspire On and Off

You have t wo options for turning your Aspire on and off. Your Aspire was designed for you with convenience in mind. The Quickst art option allows your computer to inst antly turn on and off, without waiting for a long st art-up time. If you like the t raditional approach better, you can use it instead.

Turning on your Aspire

Note: M ake sure that the AC master power switch located on the back of your system is in the ON position. Leave it ON at all times unless the system is being serviced.

1 • Press and release the monitor power button if it is not on or blinking already.

2 • Press and release the computer power button (Quickst art or t raditional st art).

The monitor will begin displaying images after 5-10 seconds. The power but - ton light s on the computer and monitor will be on.

Note: If you previously used Quickst art OFFwhen you were done using your Aspire, your computer will return exactly where it was in just a couple of seconds. If you previously shut down W indows 98, your computer will t ake 2-3 minutes to st art .

Turning off your Aspire

Option 1: Quickstart OFF • Your Aspire will continue to run in the Quickst art OFF condition. It will appear that it is OFF. W hen you press the power button to switch your Aspire to the fully ON condition, it will do it in only a few seconds.

Option 2: Traditional OFF • If you want your Aspire to completely power OFF (if you need to unplug it):

1 • Click on the W indows St art button on the t askbar.

2 • Click on Shut Down.

3 • Click on Shut Down the Computer and click Yes. Your computer will guide you through saving any open files and then will shut down W indows 98. Your computer will then turn off all computer power automatically. You will have to manually turn off your monitor after you see the computer power go off.

Refer to M y Aspire Guide soft ware for more in-depth options and recommendations for Quickst art and t raditional on/ off modes.

The M ouse

The mouse uses a cursor called a pointer. Pointers come in many different shapes but are most commonly shaped like an arrow.

Your mouse has t wo buttons: a left button and a right button. Quickly pressing and releasing one of these buttons is called clicking. Sometimes you will need to double-click–or click the same button t wice quickly.

In this manual, click means to position your mouse point on an icon and to single click the left button. W hen a right click is required, this is st ated clearly. Double-click also refers to the left button.

The ratchet wheel in bet ween the t wo buttons is added to provide easier scrolling capabilit y. By simply moving the wheel with your index finger, you can quicky move through multiple pages, line, or windows. The wheel may also function as a third button allowing you to quickly click or double-click an icon or a selected item

Note: If you are left-handed, please refer to your W indows 98 manual for inst ructions on how to set up your mouse for left-handed use.

Right button

Ratchet wheel

Left button

Caring for your M ouse

Pointer movement on the screen is cont rolled by the movement of a small ball on the bottom of the mouse.

Using a mouse pad under your mouse will help to keep the internal part s of the mouse clean. A dirt y mouse result s in jerky pointer movement and difficult y getting the pointer where you want it on screen.

To clean your mouse:

1 • Turn the mouse upside down.

2 • Remove the ring holding the ball in place by turning it counterclockwise.

3• Using a lint-free cloth or a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, clean all moving part s.

4 • Insert the ball back into the mouse, making sure to turn the ring clockwise.

The Keyboard

The way keys are used varies from program to program. Here are some of the most common uses:

Esc key • exit s the current action, screen, or program.

Tab key • moves the cursor over a set number of spaces in word processing soft ware. In other t ypes of programs, it moves the cursor from one field (an area on the screen where dat a can be entered) to the next .

Enter key • st art s a new paragraph in word processing. In other programs, it accept s dat a entered or shows that an action is complete.

Shift key • pressing this key while t yping a letter or symbol key will give you the capit al letter or symbol on the top of the key.

Caps Lock key • locks the capit al letters in place. Pressing it again will t ake the Caps Lock off. (A Caps Lock indicator light will turn on when the Caps Lock is on.)

Function keys • numbered F1 through F12, each will perform a specific and well-defined function, should an application use them.

Cursor Arrow keys • move the cursor in the directions that the arrows point .

Insert key • when activated, insert s dat a vs. t yping over/ replacing it .

Delete key • will delete dat a that is highlighted or to the right of the cursor.

Home key • t akes you to the beginning of a line.

		Esc
		Tab
	Caps	Function
	Lock	Function
	Lock

Insert

Shift

Delete

Enter

Cursor Arrows

End key • t akes you to the end of a line.

Page Up / Page Down keys • move you up or down a screen at a time.

Backspace key • is similar to the delete key above, but it will delete one character at a time to the left of the cursor.

Alt and Ctrl keys • have varying functions on their own or when used with other keys, depending on the soft ware being used.

Num Lock key and numeric key pad • when the Num

Lock/ Num Pad key is on, the keys on the numeric key pad can be used for entering numbers. W hen it ’s off, these keys become arrow keys, page up and page down keys–as indicated on the bottom half of the key.

Sleep • put s your computer into sleep mode.

Volume Control / M ute • cont rols the speaker volume. Press to mute.

Web Connection • st art s up the Internet browser.

• brings up the W indows 98 START menu.

• displays drop-down menus from icons (same as right click) and currently active applications.

	Backspace
		Home
Ct rl
		Page Up
Alt		Sleep
Alt		Volume
Alt		Cont rol/
		Cont rol/
		M ute
Ct rl	End
	Page Down	Web
		Connection
		Num Lock/
		Num Pad

+ 20 hidden pages