Dell Precision M6300, Precision PY760 User Manual

Dell Precision™ Mobile

Workstation M6300

User’s Guide

Notes, Notices, and Cautions

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of

your computer.

NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data

and tells you how to avoid the problem.

CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury,

or death.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

For a complete list of abbreviations and acronyms, see "Glossary" on page 275.

If you purchased a Dell™ n Series computer, any references in this document to Microsoft

Windows® operating systems are not applicable.

____________________

Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.

Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, Inspiron, Dell Precision, Dimension, OptiPlex,

Latitude, PowerEdge, PowerConnect, PowerVault, PowerApp, Dell Media Experience, Dell TravelLite, ExpressCharge, Undock & Go, and Strike Zone are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Intel is a registered trademark and Core is a trademark of Intel Corporation; Microsoft, Windows, Windows Server, MS-DOS and Windows Vista are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft

Corporation in the United States and/or other countries; Bluetooth is a registered trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and is used by Dell under license; EMC is a registered trademark of EMC Corporation; ENERGY STAR is a registered trademark of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.

Model PP05XA

June 2007 P/N PY760 Rev. A00

Contents

1 Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

2 About Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Determining Your Computer’s Configuration . . . . . . 33

Front View

Left Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Right Side View

Back View

Bottom View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

3 Setting Up Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Transferring Information to a New Computer . . . . . 47

Microsoft

Running the Files and Settings Transfer

Wizard

Microsoft Windows Vista™

Windows® XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

. . . . . . . . . . . . 50

4 Using a Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Battery Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Contents 3

Checking the Battery Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Dell™ QuickSet Battery Meter

. . . . . . . . . . . 54

Microsoft® Windows® Vista™ Power Meter . . . 55

Microsoft

Charge Gauge

Windows® Power Meter . . . . . . . 55

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Low-Battery Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Conserving Battery Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Power Management Modes

Standby and Sleep Mode

Hibernate Mode

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Configuring Power Management Settings

Accessing Power Options Properties

Charging the Battery

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

. . . . . . . 58

. . . . . . . 59

Removing the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Storing a Battery

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

5 Using the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Numeric Keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Key Combinations

System Functions

Battery

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

CD or DVD Tray

Display Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Wireless Networking and Bluetooth Technology Function

Power Management

Speaker Functions

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Wireless

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

4 Contents

Microsoft® Windows® Logo Key Functions . . . . 77

Microsoft® Windows® Vista™ Logo Key

Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Touch Pad

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Customizing the Touch Pad

. . . . . . . . . . . . 80

6 Using the Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Adjusting Brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Using a Projector

Making Images and Text Look Bigger or Sharper

Microsoft

Windows Vista™

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

. . . 82

Windows® XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

7 Using Multimedia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Playing CDs or DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Copying CD, DVD, and Blu-ray Disc™ (BD)

Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Adjusting the Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Adjusting the Picture

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Connecting Your Computer to a TV or Audio

Device

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

8 Setting Up and Using Networks . . . . . . 111

Connecting a Network or Broadband Modem Cable

Setting Up a Network in the Microsoft® Windows® XP Operating System

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

. . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Contents 5

Setting Up a Network in the Microsoft Windows Vista™ Operating System

. . . . . . . . . . 113

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) . . . . . . . . . 113

What You Need to Establish a WLAN Connection

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Checking Your Wireless Network Card

. . . . . . 113

Setting Up a New WLAN Using a Wireless

Router and a Broadband Modem . . . . . . . . . 114

Connecting to a WLAN

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Mobile Broadband / Wireless Wide Area Network WWAN)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

What You Need to Establish a Mobile Broadband Network Connection

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Checking Your Dell Mobile Broadband Card . . . . 119

Connecting to a Mobile Broadband Network

Microsoft

Windows® Firewall . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

. . . 120

9 Using Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

ExpressCards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

ExpressCard Blanks

Installing an ExpressCard

Removing an ExpressCard or Blank

Smart Cards

About Smart Cards

Installing a Smart Card

10 Securing Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Security Cable Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

6 Contents

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

. . . . . . . . 125

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Smart Cards and Fingerprint Readers . . . . . . . . . 129

Passwords

About Passwords

Using a Primary Password

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Using an Administrator Password . . . . . . . . . 131

Using a Hard Drive Password

Trusted Platform Module (TPM)

Enabling the TPM Feature

. . . . . . . . . . . 132

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Security Management Software . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Activating the Security Management Software

Using the Security Management Software

Computer Tracking Software

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

. . . . 134

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

If Your Computer Is Lost or Stolen . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Alert Standard Format (ASF)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

11 Cleaning Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Computer, Keyboard, and Monitor . . . . . . . . . 137

Touch Pad

CDs and DVDs

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

12 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

When to Use the Dell Diagnostics

Starting the Dell Diagnostics From Your

Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

. . . . . . . . . 139

Contents 7

Starting the Dell Diagnostics From the Drivers and Utilities Media

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Dell Diagnostics Main Menu

Solving Problems

Battery Problems

Drive Problems

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems

. . . . . . . . . . . . 141

. . . . . . 146

Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

IEEE 1394 Device Problems

Lockups and Software Problems

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

. . . . . . . . . . 149

Memory Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Network Problems

Power Problems

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Scanner Problems

Sound and Speaker Problems

Touch Pad or Mouse Problems

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

. . . . . . . . . . . 155

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Video and Monitor Problems

. . . . . . . . . . . . 157

If only part of the display is readable . . . . . . . 158

Power Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

13 System Setup Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Viewing the System Setup Screens

System Setup Screens

Commonly Used Options

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Changing the Boot Sequence

. . . . . . . . . . . 162

8 Contents

14 Reinstalling Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

What Is a Driver?

Identifying Drivers

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities . . . . . . . . . . 166

Troubleshooting Software and Hardware Problems in

he Microsoft

Windows® XP and Microsoft Windows

Vista™ Operating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Restoring Your Operating System

Using Microsoft

Windows® System Restore . . . 170

Windows System Restore . . . . 172

. . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Using Dell™ PC Restore and Dell Factory Image

Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Using the Operating System Media

. . . . . . . . 176

15 Adding and Replacing Parts . . . . . . . . . 179

Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Recommended Tools

Turning Off Your Computer

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Before Working Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . 180

Optical Drive

Hard Drive

Removing the Hard Drive

Replacing the Hard Drive

Memory

Removing the Memory Module(s)

Replacing the Memory Module(s)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

. . . . . . . . . 185

. . . . . . . . . 187

Contents 9

Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Removing the Modem

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Replacing the Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Mini Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Internal Card With Bluetooth

Hinge Cover

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Removing the Hinge Cover

Replacing the Hinge Cover

Keyboard

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Wireless Technology . 195

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Removing the Display Assembly

. . . . . . . . . . 200

Replacing the Display Assembly . . . . . . . . . . 203

Display Bezel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Removing the Display Bezel

. . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Replacing the Display Bezel . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Display Panel

Removing the Display Panel

Replacing the Display Panel

Display Latch

Removing the Display Latch

Replacing the Display Latch

Coin-Cell Battery

Removing the Coin-Cell Battery

Replacing the Coin-Cell Battery

Flash Cache Module

Removing the FCM

Replacing the FCM

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

. . . . . . . . . . . . 210

. . . . . . . . . . . . 211

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

. . . . . . . . . . . . 212

. . . . . . . . . . . . 213

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

. . . . . . . . . . 213

. . . . . . . . . . 215

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

10 Contents

Palm Rest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Removing the Palm Rest

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Replacing the Palm Rest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Removing the Speakers

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Replacing the Speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

USB Port Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Removing the USB Port Board

. . . . . . . . . . . 221

Replacing the USB Port Board . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Processor Thermal-Cooling Assembly . . . . . . . . . 224

Removing the Processor Thermal-Cooling Assembly

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Replacing the Processor Thermal-Cooling Assembly

Processor Module

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Removing the Processor Module

. . . . . . . . . 226

Replacing the Processor Module . . . . . . . . . 228

Video Card/Thermal-Cooling Assembly . . . . . . . . 228

Removing the Video Card/Thermal-Cooling Assembly

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Replacing the Video Card/Thermal-Cooling Assembly

System Fan(s)

Removing the System Fan(s)

Replacing the System Fan(s)

ExpressCard Cage

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

. . . . . . . . . . . . 230

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Contents 11

Smart Card Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Removing the Smart Card Reader

. . . . . . . . . 235

Replacing the Smart Card Reader . . . . . . . . . 236

System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Removing the System Board

. . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Replacing the System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Battery Latch Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Removing the Battery Latch Assembly

. . . . . . . 243

Replacing the Battery Latch Assembly . . . . . . 246

Flashing the BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Pin Assignments for I/O Connectors

USB Connector

Video Connector

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

. . . . . . . . . . 247

S-Video TV-Out Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

IEEE 1394 Connector

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

16 Dell™ QuickSet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

17 Traveling With Your Computer . . . . . . . . 253

12 Contents

Identifying Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Packing the Computer

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Travel Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

Traveling by Air

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

18 Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Obtaining Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Technical Support and Customer Service

DellConnect

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

. . . . . 258

Online Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

AutoTech Service

Automated Order-Status Service

Problems With Your Order

Product Information

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

. . . . . . . . . 259

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit . . . . . 260

Before You Call

Contacting Dell

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

19 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

20 Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Macrovision Product Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

FCC Notice (U.S. Only)

FCC Class B

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Contents 13

14 Contents

Finding Information

NOTE: Some features or media may be optional and may not ship with your

computer. Some features or media may not be available in certain countries.

NOTE: Additional information may ship with your computer.

Finding Information 15

What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

• A diagnostic program for my computer

• Drivers for my computer

• My device documentation

• Notebook System Software (NSS)

Drivers and Utilities Media

NOTE: The Drivers and Utilities media may

be optional and may not ship with your computer.

Documentation and drivers are already installed on your computer. You can use the media to reinstall drivers (see "Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities" on page 166), to run the Dell Diagnostics (see "Dell Diagnostics" on page 139).

Readme files may be included on your media to provide last-minute updates about technical changes to your computer or advanced technical-reference material for technicians or experienced users.

16 Finding Information

NOTE: Drivers and documentation updates

can be found at support.dell.com.

What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

• How to set up my computer

• How to care for my computer

• Basic troubleshooting information

• How to run the Dell Diagnostics

• Tools and utilities

• How to set up a printer

• How to open my computer

• Warranty information

•Terms and Conditions (U.S. only)

•Safety instructions

Quick Reference Guide

NOTE: This document may be optional and

may not ship with your computer.

NOTE: This document is available as a PDF

at support.dell.com.

Dell™ Product Information Guide

• Regulatory information

• Ergonomics information

• End User License Agreement

Finding Information 17

What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

• Service Tag and Express Service Code

• Microsoft Windows License Label

Service Tag and Microsoft® Windows® License

These labels are located on your computer.

• Use the Service Tag to identify your computer when you use

support.dell.com

or contact support.

• Enter the Express Service Code to direct your call when contacting support.

NOTE: As an increased security measure,

the newly designed Microsoft Windows license label incorporates a missing portion or "hole" to discourage removal of the label.

18 Finding Information

What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

• Solutions — Troubleshooting hints and tips, articles from technicians, and online courses, frequently asked questions

• Community — Online discussion with other Dell customers

• Upgrades — Upgrade information for components, such as memory, the hard drive, and the operating system

• Customer Care — Contact information, service call and order status, warranty, and repair information

• Service and support — Service call status and support history, service contract, online discussions with technical support

• Dell Technical Update Service — Proactive e-mail notification of software and hardware updates for your computer

Dell Support Website — support.dell.com

NOTE: Select your region or business

segment to view the appropriate support site.

• Reference — Computer documentation, details on my computer configuration, product specifications, and white papers

• Downloads — Certified drivers, patches, and software updates

• Notebook System Software (NSS)— If you reinstall the operating system for your computer, you should also reinstall the NSS utility. NSS provides critical updates for your operating system and support for processors, optical drives, USB devices, and so on. NSS is necessary for correct operation of your Dell computer. The software automatically detects your computer and operating system and installs the updates appropriate for your configuration.

To download Notebook System Software:

Go to

support.dell.com

and click

Drivers & Downloads.

Enter your Service Tag or Product Type and Product Model, and click Go.

Scroll to

System and Configuration Utilities→ Dell Notebook System Software

Select

and click

Download Now

Drivers & Downloads

and click

NOTE: The support.dell.com user interface

may vary depending on your selections.

Finding Information 19

What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

• Software upgrades and troubleshooting hints — Frequently asked questions, hot topics, and general health of your computing environment

•How to use

Microsoft® Windows® XP

and Microsoft® Windows® Vista™

• How to work with programs and files

• How to personalize my desktop

• Information on network activity, the Power Management Wizard, hotkeys, and other items controlled by Dell QuickSet.

Dell Support Utility

The Dell Support Utility is an automated upgrade and notification system installed on your computer. This support provides real-time health scans of your computing environment, software updates, and relevant self-support information. Access the Dell Support Utility from the icon in the taskbar.

Windows Help and Support Center

Click

Start→

Type a word or phrase that describes

Help and Support

your problem and click the arrow icon.

Click the topic that describes your problem.

Follow the instructions on the screen.

Dell QuickSet Help

To v ie w

Dell QuickSet Help, right-click the

QuickSet icon in the Microsoft®

Windows

taskbar.

• How to reinstall my operating system

20 Finding Information

For more information on Dell QuickSet, see "Dell™ QuickSet" on page 125.

Operating System Media

NOTE: The Operating System media may be

optional and may not ship with your computer.

What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

The operating system is already installed on your computer. To reinstall your operating system, use the Operating System media. See "Restoring Your Operating System" on page 170" or in your Owner’s Manual.

After you reinstall your operating system, use the Drivers and Utilities media to reinstall drivers for the devices that came with your computer.

Your operating system product key label is located on your computer.

NOTE: The color of your media varies

based on the operating system you ordered.

Finding Information 21