Dell Inspiron 3200, Inspiron TSR6C User Manual

Dell® Inspiron™ Port Replicator I

User’s Guide

T

he Dell Inspiron Port Replicator I integrates your Dell
Inspiron 3000 portable computer quickly and easily into
a desktop environment. Use the instructions in this docu­ment to attach external devices to the port replicator and
to connect your computer to the port replicator.

NOTE: If you received a basic input/output system
(BIOS) upgrade diskett e with your po rt r eplicator, use the
diskette to upgrade the BIOS on your Dell Inspiron 3000
computer before attaching the computer to the port repli­cator. For instructions, see the document titled Dell
Inspiron 3000: Upgrading t he BIOS, which came with the
BIOS upgrade diskette.

A MIDI audio device or gami ng device,
such as a joystick, connected to the
MIDI/game connector

A serial device, such as a serial mouse
or external modem, connected to the
serial connector

A parallel device, such as a printer, con­nected to the parallel connector

An external monitor connected to the
monitor connector

C

onnecting External Devices

to the Port Replicator

The input/output (I/O) connectors on the back o f the p ort
replicator duplicate those on the back and side of your
computer, so you can connect any external device to the
port replicator that you can connect to the computer. In
addition, you can connect a musical instrument digital
interface (MIDI) device or a gaming device, such as a
joystick, to the port replicator. You can also connect two
Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices at once.

The following list shows the icons for each of the
connectors on the back of the port replicator and
indicates the type of external device(s) that can be
attached to each connector.

An external Personal System/2 (PS/2)­compatible mouse connected to the PS/
2 mouse connector

An external PS/2-compatible keyboard
or external numeric keypad connected
to the PS/2 keyboard connector

A speaker or headphones connected to
the line-out connector

A microphone connected to the micro­phone connector

A record/playback audio device such as
a cassette player, CD player, or VCR,
connected to the line-in connector

The AC adapter that came with the port
replicator connected to the AC adapter
connector

One or two USB devices, such as a
USB mouse, connected to the dual USB
connector

A lock slot, which you can use to secure
the port replicator

Dell Inspiron Port Replicator I User’s Guide 1

Use the following instructions to attach external devices

k

to the port replicator:

1. Refer to Figure 1 to attach ex ternal devices to the

appropriate connectors on the back of the port
replicator.

SCSI PC Card to your computer. See “Using Inter­nal Devices” in your online Dell Inspiron 3000

User’s Guide for information abou t using PC Cards.
For detailed information on using external devices

with your portable computer, see “Using External
Devices” in your online System User's Guide.

CAUTION: The connectors on the back of the
port replicator are inverted (as viewed while
facing the back of the port replicator). Before
attaching any cables, verify that the connector
pins are aligned correctly to avoid damaging
the connectors.

NOTES: If the cable connector from the external
device has thumbscrews, be sure to tighten them to
ensure a proper connectio n.

To connect the computer to a network, you must
install a network PC Card in your computer. Like­wise, to connect the computer to a small computer
system interface (SCSI) device, you must attach a

er

keyboard connector

PS/2 mouse connector

lock slot

spea

2. Connect the external devices to their power
sources, if applicable.

C

onnecting the Computer to the

Port Replicator

Use the following instructions to connect your computer
to the port replicator.

1. Save all your work, and exit all app lication
programs.

2. Shut down the computer.

3. If you have not already done so, connect the AC
adapter to the port replicator, and plug the AC
power cable into an AC power source.

MIDI/game
connector

dual USB
connector

serial connector

parallel connector

monitor connector

line-out connector

microphone connector

Figure 1. Attaching External Devices to the Port Replicator

2 Dell Inspiron Port Replicator I User’s Guide

speaker

AC adapter connector

line-in connector

4. Place the computer on the port replicator plat­form, with the back of the computer facing the
port replicator’s docking connector, as shown in
Figure 2.

Make sure that the grooves on the bottom of the
computer align properly on the platform rails.

computer

platform rails

7. If you need to use a MIDI or gaming device, go to
step 8.

If you do not need to use a MIDI or gaming device,
go to the next section, “Detaching the Computer
From the Port Replicator.”

8. When prompted just after start-up, press <F2> to
enter the Setup program.

The Main menu of the Setup program appears.

9. In the System Devices menu of the Setup pro­gram, set either the MPU Device option or the
Joystick option to Enabled, depending on which
device you want to use.

NOTE: Do not set both the MPU Device and the
Joystick options to Enabled at the same time.

10. Save the settings and exit the Setup program.

Figure 2. Positioning the Computer on the
Port Replicator

5. Position your fingers on the platform grips, as
shown in Figure 3, and use your thumbs to push
the computer forward until the docking connec­tors are fully engaged.

Figure 3. Docking the Computer

6. Turn on the computer.

Your computer automatically restarts.

D

etaching the Computer From

the Port Replicator

Use the following procedure to detach the computer from
the port replicator:

1. Save all your work, and exit all app lication
programs.

2. Shut down the computer.

3. Raise the release handle at the top of the replica­tor, as shown in Figure 4, to undock the computer .

release handle

Figure 4. Detaching the Computer From the
Port Replicator

Dell Inspiron Port Replicator I User’s Guide 3