Acer Aspire 9800 Service Manual

Aspire 9800 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 9800 service guide.

Date Chapter Updates

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:

Operating system

T Genuine Windowsl

NOTE: Windowsl® VistaTM Capable PCs come with Windows® XP installed, and can be upgraded to

Windows

VistaTM. For more information on Windows® VistaTM and how to upgrade, go to:

Microsoft.com/windowsvista.

Platform and memroy

T Intel

T Integrated Intel

T Core logic: Intel

T Up to 2GB of DDR2 677 MHz memory, upgradeable to 4GB using two soDIMM moules (dual-

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

945PM Express chipset

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED

channel support)

VistaTM Capable

XP Home Edition (Service Pack 2)

XP Media Center Edition 2005 (Rollup 2)

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

solution, supporting Acer SignalUpTM wireless technology

945PM+ICH7M (north bridge+ south bridge)

Chapter 1

Display and graphics

T 20.1” WSXGA+ high-brightness Acer CrystalBrite

lamps

T 19” WXGA+ high-brightness Acer CrystalBrite

T 16 ms typical of/off and 8 ms average gray-to-gray response time

T Simultaneous multi-window viewing via Acer Vista

T NVIDIA

VRAM and up to 256 MB of shared system memory) or,

T NVIDIA

VRAM and up to 128 MB of shared system memory)

T Supporting NVIDIA

Acceleration, integrated HDTV encoder) dual-link DVI, Microsoft

OpenEXR Hight Dynamic Range (HDR) technology, NVIDIA

Express

T Dual independent display

T 16.7 million colors (20.1” LCD model)

T 16.2 million colors (19” LCD model)

T MPEG-2/DVD hardware-assisted capability

T S-video/TV-out (NTSC/PAL) support

TFT LCD, 1680 x 1050 pixel resolution, 6

TFT LCD, 1440 x 900 pixel resolution, 4 lamps

supported

GeForce® Go 7600 with up to 512MB TurboCacheTM (256 MB of dedicated GDDR2

GeForce® Go 7300 with up to 256MB TurboCacheTM (128 MB of dedicated GDDR2

PureVideoTM technology (WMV HD, High-Definition MPEG-2 Hardware

DirectX® 9.0, Shader Model 3.0,

PowerMizerTM 6.0 and PCI

Chapter 1 1

TV-tuner

Audio

T DVI-D (ture digital video interface) with HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) support

T Acer Arcade

T Acer TV-tunver options:

tAnalog TV-tuner supporting hardware MPEG-2 stream encding

tDigital and analog hybrid TV-tuner supporting hardware MPEG-2 stream encoding

tDigital and analog hybrid TV-tuner supporting software MPEG-2 stream encoding

T Analog TV-tuner supporting international analog TV standards (NTSC/PAL/SECAM)

T Digital TV-tuner supporting DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial) standard (6 MHz to

featuring Acer CinemaVisionTM and Acer ClearVision technologies

8MHz)

T TV-tuner I/O:

tRF jack for digital/analog TV antenna cable input

tAV-in port for composite/S-video/line-in audio/video input

T TV-tuner cables:

tPAL cable for digital/analog TV input, PAL/SECAM to NTSC port converter

tMini DIN cable: RCA jack and S-video port for audio/video input

T Acer DVB-T antenna (UHF/VHF reception) supporting Acer SignaUp

T Audio system with two built-in Acer 3DSonic (1.5W) stereo speakers and one Acer BasSonic

wireless technology

Subwoofer

T Dolby

T Intel

T S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) support for digital speakers (1.5W)

T Sound Blaster Pro

T Two built-in stereo microphone

Digital Live and DTS Neo: PC support

High Definition audio support

and MS Sound compatible

Storage subsystem

T One or two 80/100/120 GB Serial ATA hard disk drive, supporting software RAID 0/1

T Optical drive options: DVD-Super Mulit double-layer drive (slot-load)

T 5-in-1 card reader, supporting Secure Digital (SD), MultiMediaCard (MMC), Memory Stick

Memory Stick PRO

(MS PRO), xD-Picture CardTM (xD)

(MS),

Input devices

T 88/89-key Acer FineTouch

T Touchpad with 4-way scroll button

T Four easy-launch buttons

T Two front-access switches: WLAN LED and Bluetooth

keyboard with 5-degree curve

LED-switches (for selected models)

Communication

T Acer Video Conference, featuring Voice and Video over Internet Protocol (VVoIP) support via Acer

OrbiCam

T Acer OrbiCam

t30 degree ergonomic rotation

tAcer VisageOn

2 Chapter 1

and optional Acer Bluetooth® VoIP phone

1.3 megapixel CMOS camera, featuring:

technology

tAcer PrimaLite

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

T LAN: gigabit Ethernet; wake-on-LAN ready

T WPAN: Bluetooth

T WLAN: Intel

CERTIFIEDTM solution, supporting Acer SignalUpTM wireless technology

technology

2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)

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

I/O Ports

T ExpressCard

T PC Card slot (one Type II)

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

T Four USB 2.0 ports

T DVI-D port with HDCP support

T IEEE 1394 port

T Consumer infrared (CIR) port

T Fast infrared (FIR) port

T External display (VGA) port

T S-video/TV-out (NTSC/PAL) port

T AV-in port

T TV-tuner antenna-in port

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

T Microphone-in jack

T Line-in jack

T Parallel port

T Serial port

T Ethernet (RJ-45) port

T Modem (RJ-11) port

T DC-in jack for AC adaptor

NOTE: HDCP is acronym for High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection. An encryption system for enforcing

digital rights management (DRM) over DVI and HDMI interfaces

/54 slot

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%

Chapter 1 3

°°

System Block Diagram

HDMI

M P.38

HDCP

VGA

Controller

NVG73M/G72MV

SMSC

LPC47N217

BIOS

CIR / FIR

KB / LED

TOUCH PAD

2 PICK BUTTON/

4 WAY

ROM

M P.30

OPTION

CD-ROM

M P.57

A P.1

M P.62

T P.1

M P.28-31

VRAM

* 8(4) PCS

HDD

M P.53

M P32-36

LPC 3.3V 33MHZ

PCIE

SATA

Ultra ATA-100

PATA

HDD

M P.53

SUPER I/O & KBC

PWR Board

Batt Charger

MAIN BATT

8 Cell

LCM

M P.39

DVI

M P.38

CRT

M P.37

S-Video

M P.38

I/O BOARD

I P.3 I P.3

PRINTER

I P.3

PORT

COM PORT

YONAH/MEROM

North Bridge

Calistoga

South Bridge

LPC 3.3V 33MHZ

OPTION

KBC1122

CPU

31W/34W

PSB

1466 uFCBGA

DMI

ICH7-M

652 BGA

M P.57

HD Codec

REAL_ALC883DD-GR

MAX_MAX9714

M P.14-17

M P19-24

M P40-44

1394 CONN X 1

Azalia

Audio Board

AMP

DDR2 533/667

PCI_Express Bus

USB 2.0

PCI Bus

CardBus

Controller

TI PCI7412

M P.48

PCMCIA

TYPE II

M P.46

M P.58

M P.59

DDR2_SODIMM0

DDR2_SODIMM1

USB2.0 PORT

M P.45

M P.47

6 IN 1 SLOT

MS,MS-P,SD.SD-IO,XD,MMC

LINE IN

Jack

CLK GEN

ICS9LPR316

Two

Speakers

MAX_9713

M P.59

A P.2

M P.13

DSC

MINI PCI

1.5*3A TAPE

TV TUNER

M P.60

ANT

Azalia

Sub

Woofer

Internal Array

MIC

A P.2

M P.25

M P.26

M P.39M P54 & I P.1

M P.56

M P.60

AV IN

MDC

MDC 1.5

RJ11 CNTR

MIC IN

Jack

BLUETOOTH

VER 2.0

SIL3512E

SUPPORT 0,1

HDD

M P.53

I P.2

MAX 9722

M P.59

A P.2

M P.55

RAID

SATA

Express Card

M P.52

SATA

HDD

M P.53

HP Jack \SPDIF\

LINE OUT

THERMAL SENSOR

& FAN

ADM1032

Mini Card

M P.46

A P.2

M P.18

LOM

Controller

MARVELL

88E8055

M P.49

RJ45

CONN

M P.50

M P.51

Mini Card

TITLE

SIZE

ANT

Aspire 9800

CODE

(No USB)

INTEL PRO

WIRELESS 3945ABG

DOC. NUMBER

ANT

M P.51

4 Chapter 1

Board Layout

Top View

1 JACK1 AV-in Jack 20 CN29 PATA HDD Connector

2 CN1 TV Antenna Connector 21 CN30 SATA HDD Connector

3 CN2 S-Video Connector 22 U23 North Bridge

4 CN509 Card Bus Socket 23 U33 RAID Controller

5 CN3 S-Video Connector 24 U37 Timing Controller

6 CN4 HDMI Connector 25 CN13 CPU Socket

7 U6 Video Memory 26 CN28 SATA HDD Connector

8 CN5 I/O Board to Main Board

Connector

9 U7 Video Memory 28 U515 Audio Codec

10 CN8 DVI-D Port 29 CN20 Mini PCI Socket

11 U14 Graphic Controller 30 CN23 Mini Card Connector

12 U9 DDR2 SDRAM IC 31 CN26 Media Board Connector

13 U15 DDR2 SDRAM IC 32 CN22 Wireless LAN Card Connector

14 JACK2 Microphone Jack 33 CN21 USB Connector

15 U11 Ethernet Controller 34 CN19 USB Connector

16 CN15 DIMM Socket 35 CN16 USB Connector

17 CN14 DIMM Socket 36 CN11 IEEE port

18 CN18 Optical Disk Drive Connector 37 U25 PCI cardbus/Media Board/1394 IC

19 U39 South Bridge

27 CN24 BIOS Flash Memory

Chapter 1 5

Bottom View

1 U504 LAN Transformer GSN 5009 9 CN4000 Touchpad Connector (Touchpad

to main board)

2 CN502 Launch Board Connector 10 CN4001 6-pin Touchpad Board Connector

3 U503 Video Memory 11 CN504 Audio Board Connector

4 U502 Video Memory 12 CN506 DDR2 SDRAM IC

5 CN4002 LCD Connector 13 CN5001 Hotkey Board Connector

6 CN3000 Hotkey Board Connector 14 CN5000 Main Board to Media Board

7 CN503 Express Card Slot 15 CN505 Touchpad Board Connector

8 CN507 DDR2 SDRAM IC

Connector

6 Chapter 1

Your Acer Notebook tour

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

Front View

# Icon Item Description

1 Built-in camera 1.3 megapixel web camera for video

2 Display screen Also called Liquid-Crystal Display (LCD),

3 Media/volume buttons For use with Acer Arcade and other mdeia

4/8 Microphone Internal microphone for sound recording.

5 Touchpad Touch-sensitive pointing device which

6 Click buttons (left,

center and right)

7 Palmrest Comfortable support area for your hands

9 Keyboard For entering data into your computer.

communication.

displays computer output.

playing programs.

functions like a computer mouse.

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.

Chapter 1 7

10/11 Easy-launch buttons Buttons for launching frequently used

"Easy-launch buttons" on page 18

12 Power button Turns the computer on and off.

Closed Front View

# Icon Item Description

1 Speaker Left and right speakers deliver stereo audio

2 Infrared port/CIR

receiver

programs.

output.

Interfaces with infrared devices (e.g, infrared printer and IR-aware computer)/ Receives signals from a remote control.

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

CD player, stereo walkman).

4 Microphone-in jack Accepts input from external microphones.

5 Headphones/speaker/

line-out jack with S/ PDIF support

6 Power indicator Indicates the computer’s power status.

7 Battery indicator Indicates the computer’s battery status.

9 Wireless

Bluetooth communication button/ indicator

communication button/ indicator

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

Enables/disables the Bluetooth Indicates the status of Bluetooth communication.

Enables/disables the wireless function. Indicates the status of wireless LAN communication.

function.

8 Chapter 1

Left View

Note:

# Icon Item Description

1 USB 2.0 ports Connects to USB 2.0 devices (e.g., USB

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

mouse, USB camera).

3 Optical drive Internal optical drive; accepts CDs or DVDs

4 Optical disk access

5 Optical drive eject

6 Emergency eject hole Ejects the optical drive tray when the

7 Latch Locks and releases the lid.

Right View

(slot-load or tray-load depending on model).

Lights up when the optical drive is active.

indicator

Ejects the optical disk from the drive.

button

computer is turned off.

# Icon Item Description

1 Latch Locks and releases the lid.

2 5-in-1 card reader Accepts Secure Digital (SD),

Chapter 1 9

MultiMediaCard (MMC), Memory Stick (MS), Memory Stick PRO (MS PRO), xDPicture Card (xD).

3 3 USB 2.0 ports Connect to USB 2.0 devices (e.g., USB

mouse, USB camera).

4 4-pin IEEE 1394 port Connects to IEEE 1394 devices.

5 PC Card slot eject

6 PC Card slot Accepts one Type II PC Card.

7 Express Card/54 slot Accepts and ExpressCard/34 module

Rear view

button

Ejects the PC Card from the slot.

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/54 slot means this notebook accepts 75x54mm ExpressCards.

# Icon Item Description

1 DC-in jack Connects to an AC adapter.

2 TV-in port Accepts input signals from analog/digital

3 AV-in port Accepts input signals from audio/video

4 Kensington lock slot Connects to a Kensington-compatible

TV-tuner devices (for selected models).

(AV) devices (manufacturing option).

computer security lock.

10 Chapter 1

# Icon Item Description

5 Ventilation slots Enable the computer to stay cool, even

after prolonged use.

6 S-video/TV-out

(NTSC/PAL) port

Connects to a television or display device with S-video input.

7 External display

(VGA) port

8 DVI-D port Supports digital video connections.

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

10 Parallel port Connects to a printer.

11 Serial port Connects to a serial device.

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

based network (for selected models).

Base view

# Item Description

1 Ventilation slots and

cooling fan

Enable the computer to stay cool, even after prolonged use.

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

Chapter 1 11

2 Memory compartment Houses the computer’s main memory.

Icon Function Description

3 Battery lock Locks the battery in position.

4 Battery release latch Releases the battery for removal.

5 Battery bay Houses the computer’s battery pack.

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

with screws)

7 Sub woofer Emits low frequency sound output.

Indicators

The computer has several easy-to-read status indicators.

The front panel indicators are visible even when the computer cover is closed up.

Icon Function Description

Standby Indicates the computer’s standby status.

HDD Indicates when the hard disc or optical

drive is active.

Cap lock Lights when Cap Lock is activated

Num lock Lights when Num Lock is activated.

Power Lights up when the computer is on.

12 Chapter 1

Icon Function Description

Battery Lights up when the battery is being

charged.

Bluetooth Indicates the status of Bluetooth

Wireless LAN Indicates the status of wireless LAN

communication.

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

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

Acer Empowering Technology (user-programmable)

P User-programmable

Web browser Internet browser (user-programmable)

Mail Email application (user-programmable)

Chapter 1 13

Touchpad Basics

The following teaches you how to use the touchpad:

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 on the touchpad to drag the cursor.

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); rest your finger on the touchpad on the second tap and drag the cursor.

Center button (3)

up/down/left/right.

NOTE: When using the touchpad, keep it - and your infers - 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

yyygg

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

Num lock

Scroll lock

are in uppercase.

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

<Fn>

Key Description

< > + <Tab>:

< > + <E>:

< > + <F1>:

< > + <F>:

+ <R>:

< > + <M>:

<Shift> + < > + <M>:

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

Applicati

on key

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.

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

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 Empowering Technology. See “Acer Empowering Technology” on page 19.

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.

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

typography/faq/faq12.htm for more information.

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.

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 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. T Acer eDataSecurity Management protects data with passwords and advanced encryption algorithms. T Acer eLock Management limits access to external storage media. T Acer eRecovery Management backs up and recovers data flexibly, reliably and completely. T Acer eSettings Management accesses system information and adjusts settings easily. T Acer ePerformance Management improves system performance by optimizing disk space, memory and

registry settings.

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

Empowering Technology password

Before using Acer eLock Management and Acer eRecovery Management, you must initalize the Empowering Technology password. Right-click on the Empowering Technology toolbard and select “Password Setup” to do so. If you do not initialize the Empowering Technology password, you will be prompted to do so when running Acer eLock Management or Acer eRecovery Management for the first time.

Acer eNet Management

Acer eNet Management helps you to quickly and easily connect to both wired and wireless networks in a variety of locations. To access this utility, either click on the “Acer eNet Management” icon on your netebook, or start the program from the Start menu. You also have the option to set Acer eNet Management to start automatically when you boot up your PC.

Acer eNet Management automatically detects the best settings for a new location, while offering you the freedom to manually adjust the settings to match your needs.

Chapter 1 19

Acer eNet Management can save network settings for a location to a profile, and automatically switch to the appropriate profile when you move from one location to another. Settings stored include network connection settings (IP and DNS settings, wireless AP details, etc.), as well as default printer settings.

Security and safety concerns mean that Acer eNet Management does not store username and password information.

20 Chapter 1

Acer ePower Management

Acer ePower Management features a straightforward user interface. To launch it, select Acer ePower Management from the Empowering Technology interface.

AC Mode (Adapter mode)

The default setting is “Maximum Performance.” You can adjust CPU speed, LCD brightness and other settings, or click on buttons to turn the following functions on/off: Wireless LAN, Bluetooth, CardBus, FireWire (1394), Wired LAN and Optical Device if supported.

DC Mode (Battery mode)

There are four pre-defined profiles - Entertainment, Presentation, Word Processing, and Battery Life. You can also define up to three of your own.

To create new power profile

1. Change power settings as desired.

2. Click “Save as...” to save to a new power profile.

3. Name the newly created profile.

4. Select whether this profile is for Adapter or Battery mode, then click OK.

5. The new profile will appear in the profile list.

Chapter 1 21

Battery status

For real-time battery life estimates based on current usage, referto the panel on the lower left-hand side of the window.

For additional options, click “Settings” to:

T Set alarms. T Re-load factory defaults. T Select what actions will be taken when the cover is closed or the power button is pressed. T View information about Acer ePower Management.

22 Chapter 1

Acer ePresentation Management

Acer ePresentation Management lets you project your computer’s display to an external device or project using the hot key: Fn + F5. If auto-detection hardware is implemented in the system, your system display will be automatically switched out when an external display is connected to the system.

Chapter 1 23

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

The Acer eDataSecurity Management setup wizard will prompt you for a suvervisor password and default encryption. This encryption will be used to encrypt files by default, or you can choose to enter your won 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!

24 Chapter 1

+ 92 hidden pages