Acer TRAVELMATE 4270, TRAVELMATE 4670, TRAVELMATE 4210 User Manual

TravelMate 4210/4270/4670 Series

User's Guide

TravelMate 4210/4270/4670 Series User's Guide Original Issue: November 2005

Changes may be made periodically to the information in this publication without obligation to notify any person of such revisions or changes. Such changes will be incorporated in new editions of this manual or supplementary documents and publications. This company makes no representations or warranties, either expressed or implied, with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaims the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Record the model number, serial number, purchase date and place of purchase information in the space provided below. The serial number and model number are recorded on the label affixed to your computer. All correspondence concerning your unit should include the serial number, model number and purchase information.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronically, mechanically, by photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Acer Incorporated.

TravelMate 4210/4270/4670 Series Notebook PC

Model number: __________________________________

Serial number: ___________________________________

Date of purchase: ________________________________

Place of purchase: ________________________________

Acer and the Acer logo are registered trademarks of Acer Incorporated. Other companies' product names or trademarks are used herein for identification purposes only and belong to their respective companies.

Disposal instructions

Do not throw this electronic device into the trash when discarding. To minimize pollution and ensure utmost protection of the global environment, please recycle.

USA For electronic products containing an LCD/CRT monitor or display: Lamp(s) inside this product contain mercury and must be recycled or disposed of

according to local, state or federal laws. For more information, contact the Electronic Industries Alliance at www.eiae.org information, check www.lamprecycle.org

. For lamp-specific disposal

iii

First things first

We would like to thank you for making an Acer notebook your choice for meeting your mobile computing needs.

Your guides

To help you use your Acer notebook, we have designed a set of guides:

First off, the Just for Starters... poster helps you get started with setting up your computer.

The printed User's Guide introduces you to the basic features and functions of your new computer. For more on how your computer can help you to be more productive, please refer to the AcerSystem User's Guide. This guide contains detailed information on such subjects as system utilities, data recovery, expansion options and troubleshooting. In addition it contains warranty information and the general regulations and safety notices for your notebook. It is available in Portable Document Format (PDF) and comes preloaded on your notebook. Follow these steps to access it:

1 Click on Start, All Programs, AcerSystem. 2 Click on AcerSystem User's Guide. Note: Viewing the file requires Adobe Reader. If Adobe Reader is

not installed on your computer, clicking on AcerSystem User's Guide will run the Adobe Reader setup program first. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation. For instructions on how to use Adobe Reader, access the Help and Support menu.

Basic care and tips for using your computer

Turning your computer on and off

To turn on the computer, simply press and release the power button below the LCD screen beside the easy-launch buttons. See "Front view" on page 11 for the location of the power button.

To turn the power off, do any of the following:

• Use the Windows shutdown command

Click on Start, Turn Off Computer, then click on Turn Off.

• Use the power button

You can also shut down the computer by closing the display cover, or by pressing the sleep hotkey <Fn> + <F4>.

Note: If you cannot power off the computer normally, press and hold the power button for more than four seconds to shut down the computer. If you turn off the computer and want to turn it on again, wait at least two seconds before powering up.

Taking care of your computer

Your computer will serve you well if you take care of it.

• Do not expose the computer to direct sunlight. Do not place it near sources

of heat, such as a radiator.

• Do not expose the computer to temperatures below 0 ºC (32 ºF) or above

50 ºC (122 ºF).

• Do not subject the computer to magnetic fields.

• Do not expose the computer to rain or moisture.

• Do not spill water or any liquid on the computer.

• Do not subject the computer to heavy shock or vibration.

• Do not expose the computer to dust or dirt.

• Never place objects on top of the computer.

• Do not slam the computer display when you close it.

• Never place the computer on uneven surfaces.

Taking care of your AC adapter

Here are some ways to take care of your AC adapter:

• Do not connect the adapter to any other device.

• Do not step on the power cord or place heavy objects on top of it.

Carefully route the power cord and any cables away from foot traffic.

• When unplugging the power cord, do not pull on the cord itself but pull

on the plug.

• The total ampere ratings of the equipment plugged in should not exceed

the ampere rating of the cord if you are using an extension cord. Also, the total current rating of all equipment plugged into a single wall outlet should not exceed the fuse rating.

Taking care of your battery pack

Here are some ways to take care of your battery pack:

• Use only batteries of the same kind as replacements. Turn the power off

before removing or replacing batteries.

• Do not tamper with batteries. Keep them away from children.

• Dispose of used batteries according to local regulations. Recycle if possible.

Cleaning and servicing

When cleaning the computer, follow these steps: 1 Turn off the computer and remove the battery pack. 2 Disconnect the AC adapter.

3 Use a soft, moist cloth. Do not use liquid or aerosol cleaners. If either of the following occurs:

• the computer has been dropped or the body has been damaged;

• the computer does not operate normally

please refer to "Frequently asked questions" on page 34.

Caution

Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the manufacturer could void the user's authority, which is granted by the Federal Communications Commission, to operate this computer.

Operation conditions

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Users are requested to follow the RF safety instructions for wireless option devices that are included in the user's manual of each RF option device.

An improper installation or unauthorized use may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Also, any tampering of the internal antenna will void the FCC certification and your warranty.

To prevent radio interference to the licensed service, this device is intended to be operated indoors, and installation outdoors is subject to licensing.

For more information about our products, services, and support information, please visit our website: http://global.acer.com

Disposal instructions iii First things first iv

Your guides iv Basic care and tips for using your computer iv

Turning your computer on and off iv Taking care of your computer v Taking care of your AC adapter v Taking care of your battery pack vi Cleaning and servicing vi

Acer Empowering Technology 1

Acer eDataSecurity Management 2 Acer eLock Management 3 Acer ePerformance Management 4 Acer eRecovery Management 5 Acer eSettings Management 6 Acer eNet Management 6 Acer ePower Management 8 Acer ePresentation Management 9

Your Acer notebook tour 11

Front view 11 Closed front view 12 Left view 13 Right view 14 Rear view 15

Base view 16 Specifications 17 Indicators 21 Easy-launch buttons 22 Touchpad 23

Touchpad basics 23 Using the keyboard 25

Lock keys and embedded numeric keypad 25

Windows keys 26

Hotkeys 26

Special keys 28 Ejecting the optical (CD or DVD) drive tray 29 Using a computer security lock 29

Audio 30

Adjusting the volume 30

Using the system utilities 31

Acer GridVista (dual-display compatible) 31 Launch Manager 32 Norton AntiVirus 33

Frequently asked questions 34

Requesting service 37

International Travelers Warranty (ITW) 37 Before you call 37

Taking your notebook PC with you 38

Disconnecting from the desktop 38 Moving around 38

Preparing the computer 38 What to bring to meetings 39

Taking the computer home 39

Preparing the computer 39 What to take with you 39 Special considerations 40 Setting up a home office 40

Traveling with the computer 40

Preparing the computer 40 What to take with you 40 Special considerations 41

Traveling internationally with the computer41

Preparing the computer 41 What to bring with you 41 Special considerations 41

Securing your computer 42

Using a computer security lock 42 Using passwords 42

Entering passwords 43 Setting passwords 43

Expanding through options 44

Connectivity options 44

Fax/data modem 44 Built-in network feature 45

Fast Infrared (FIR) 45 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 46 IEEE 1394 port 46 PC Card slot 47 ExpressCard 48 Installing memory 49

BIOS utility 49

Boot sequence 49 Enable disk-to-disk recovery 50 Password 50

Using software 50

Playing DVD movies 50 Power management 51 Acer eRecovery Management 51

Create backup 52 Restore from backup 52 Create factory default image CD 53 Re-install bundled software without CD 53 Change password 54

Troubleshooting 55

Troubleshooting tips 55 Error messages 55

Regulations and safety notices 57

ENERGY STAR guidelines compliance 57 FCC notice 57 Modem notices 58 Important safety instructions 61 Laser compliance statement 63 LCD pixel statement 63 Macrovision copyright protection notice 63 Radio device regulatory notice 64 General 64 European Union (EU) 64 The FCC RF safety requirement 65 Canada — Low-power license-exempt radio communication devices (RSS-210) 66 Federal Communications Comission

Declaration of Conformity 67 Declaration of Conformity for CE Marking 68

Index 69

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:

• Acer eDataSecurity Management protects data with passwords and

advanced encryption algorithms.

• Acer eLock Management limits access to external storage media.

• Acer ePerformance Management improves system performance by

optimizing disk space, memory and registry settings.

• Acer eRecovery Management backs up/recovers data flexibly, reliably

and completely.

• Acer eSettings Management accesses system information and adjusts

settings easily.

• Acer eNet Management hooks up to location-based networks intelligently.

• Acer ePower Management extends battery power via versatile usage

profiles.

• Acer ePresentation Management connects to a projector and adjusts

display settings conveniently.

Empowering Technology

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 a handy file encryption utility that protects 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

Empowering Technology

Messenger and Microsoft Outlook.

There are two passwords that can be used to encrypt/decrypt a file: the supervisor password and the file-specific password. The supervisor password is a "master" password that can decrypt any file on your system; the file-specific password is assigned when you encrypt each individual file.

The Acer eDataSecurity Management setup wizard will prompt you for a supervisor password and default file-specific password. This file-specific password will be used to encrypt files by default, or you can choose to enter your own file-specific 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 encrypted file! Be sure to safeguard all related passwords!

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.

• 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.

• Optical drive devices — includes any kind of CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drives.

• Floppy disk drives — 3.5-inch disks only.

To activate Acer eLock Management, a password must be set first. Once set, you may apply locks 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.

Empowering Technology

Note: If you lose your password, there is no method to reset it

except by reformatting your notebook or taking your notebook

to an Acer Customer Service Center. Be sure to remember or write

down your password.

Empowering Technology

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:

• Memory optimization — releases unused memory and check usage.

• Disk optimization — removes unneeded items and files.

• Speed optimization — improves the usability and performance of your

Windows XP system.

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:

• Password protection.

• Recovery of applications and drivers.

• Image/data backup:

• Back up to HDD (set recovery point).

• Back up to CD/DVD.

• Image/data recovery tools:

• Recover from a hidden partition (factory defaults).

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

• Recover from CD/DVD.

Empowering Technology

For more information, please refer to "Acer eRecovery Management" on page 51 in the AcerSystem User's Guide.

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:

• Provides a simple graphical user interface for navigating through the

program effortlessly.

• Displays general system status and advanced monitoring for power users.

Empowering Technology

• Logs when a hardware component has been removed or replaced.

• Permits you to migrate personal settings.

• Keeps a history log of all alerts that were previously issued.

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 notebook, 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, simply by right-clicking on the icon in the taskbar.

Acer eNet Management can save network settings for a location to a profile, and automatically apply 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.

Empowering Technology

Acer ePower Management

Acer ePower Management features a straightforward user interface. To launch it, select Acer ePower Management from the Empowering Technology interface, or double-click the Acer ePower Management icon in the task tray.

AC 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, Memory Card, Audio, and

Empowering Technology

Wired LAN.

DC mode

To suit your usage, there are four pre-defined profiles — Entertainment, Presentation, Word Processing, and Maximum Battery. Or, you can define up to three of your own profiles.

Create new power scheme

1 Assign a name for the new scheme. 2 Choose existing scheme to use as a template. 3 Select whether used for mains (AC) or battery mode. 4 Choose which power options best fit your needs, then click OK. 5 The new profile will appear on the main screen.

Battery status

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

You can also click "Advanced Settings" to:

• Set alarms.

• Re-load factory defaults.

• Select what actions will be taken when the cover is closed, and set

passwords for accessing the system after Hibernation or Standby.

• View information about Acer ePower Management.

Acer ePresentation Management

Empowering Technology

Acer ePresentation Management lets you select from two of the most common projector resolutions: XGA and SVGA.

Your Acer notebook tour

After setting up your computer as illustrated in the Just for Starters... poster, let us show you around your new Acer notebook.

Front view

English

# Item Description 1 Display screen Also called Liquid-Crystal Display (LCD), displays

computer output. 2 Microphone Internal microphone for sound recording. 3 Keyboard For entering data into your computer.

English

# Item Description 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 your hands when you

7 Power button Turns the computer on and off. 8 Easy-launch

buttons

9 Status

indicators

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

use the computer.

Buttons for launching frequently used programs. See "Easy-launch buttons" on page 22 for more details.

Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) that light up to show the status of the computer's functions and components.

Closed front view

# Icon Item Description 1 Speakers Left and right speakers deliver stereo

audio output.

2 Infrared port Interfaces with infrared devices

3 Power indicator Indicates the computer's power status.

4 Battery indicator Indicates the computer's batttery status.

5 Line-in jack Accepts audio line-in devices

6 Microphone-in jack Accepts input from external

(e.g., infrared printer and IR-aware computer) (for TravelMate 4270/4670 Series).

(e.g., audio CD player, stereo walkman).

microphones.

# Icon Item Description 7 Headphones/

speaker/line-out jack with S/PDIF support

8 5-in-1 card reader Accepts Memory Stick (MS), Memory

9Bluetooth

communication button/indicator

10 Wireless

communication button/indicator

11 Latch Locks and releases the lid.

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

Stick PRO (MS PRO), MultiMediaCard (MMC), Secure Digital (SD) and xD-Picture Card (xD) (for TravelMate 4270/4670 Series). Note: Only one card can operate at any given time.

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

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

Left view

English

# Icon Item Description 1 DC-in jack Connects to an AC adapter.

2Modem (RJ-11)

port

3Acer MediaBay

Optical drive

4 Optical disk

access indicator

5 Optical drive

eject button

Connects to a phone line.

Houses an optical drive module, second battery pack or hard disk drive (for TravelMate 4670 Series).

Internal optical drive; accepts CDs or DVDs (for TravelMate 4210/4270 Series).

Lights up when the optical drive is active.

Ejects the optical disk from the drive.

English

# Icon Item Description 6 Emergency eject

hole

7 Two USB 2.0

ports

Ejects the optical drive tray when the computer is turned off.

Connect to USB 2.0 devices (e.g., USB mouse, USB camera).

Right view

# Icon Item Description 1 IEEE 1394 port

(4-pin)

2 PC Card slot eject

button

3 PC Card slot Accepts one Type II PC Card.

Connects to IEEE 1394 devices (for TravelMate 4270/4670 Series).

Ejects the PC Card from the slot.

4 ExpressCard/34 slot Accepts one ExpressCard/34 module

5 Two USB 2.0 ports Connect to USB 2.0 devices

6 S-video/TV-out

(NTSC/PAL) port

7 Ventilation slots Enable the computer to stay cool, even

8 External display

(VGA) port

(for TravelMate 4270/4670 Series).

(e.g., USB mouse, USB camera). Connects to a television or display

device with S-video input (for TravelMate 4270/4670 Series).

after prolonged use. Connects to a display device

(e.g., external monitor, LCD projector).

+ 56 hidden pages

Acer TRAVELMATE 4270, TRAVELMATE 4670, TRAVELMATE 4210 User Manual

Disposal instructions

First things first

Your guides

Basic care and tips for using your computer

Contents

Acer Empowering Technology

Acer eDataSecurity Management

Acer eLock Management

Acer ePerformance Management

Acer eRecovery Management

Acer eSettings Management

Acer eNet Management

Acer ePower Management

Acer ePresentation Management

Your Acer notebook tour

Front view

Closed front view

Left view

Right view