Dell Studio 1749 User Manual

Dell™ Technology Guide

www.dell.com | support.dell.com

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.

____________________

Steps pertaining to Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate and Windows XP Professional edition respectively in default view.

NOTE: Steps may vary depending on the version of operating system

installed on your computer.

represents Windows Vista Start button.

represents Windows XP Start button.

____________________

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

Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, DellConnect, StrikeZone, Wi-Fi Catcher, ExpressCharge, and Dell TravelLite are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Intel and iAMT are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.; Bluetooth is a trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and is used by Dell Inc. under license; Blu-ray Disc is a trademark of Blu-ray Disc Association; Microsoft, Windows, Internet Explor er, Windows V ista, and the W indows V ista start button logo are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

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.

Windows Vista® and Windows® XP refer to

August 2008 Rev. A01

1 Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Start Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Microsoft Windows Help and Support

Windows Vista

Windows

Control Panel

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

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Information About Installed Hardware

Device Manager

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Hardware Devices Installed on Your Computer

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Programs Installed on Your Computer

Wireless Networking

Dell Support Website

Technical Support

Customer Service

Warranty Information

Dell Forums

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BIOS (System Setup Program) Settings

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2 Microsoft Windows Desktop . . . . . . . . . . 33

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Tas k ba r

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

Contents 3

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Displaying the Taskbar

Customizing the Taskbar

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Displaying Hidden Icons From the Notification

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Area

Adding Icons in the Notification Area

. . . . . . . 35

Desktop Icons and Shortcuts

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Deleting an Icon From the Desktop

Creating and Deleting Program Shortcuts on the Desktop

Shortcut Menus

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

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Changing the Desktop Appearance

Windows Vista

Windows

Setting up a Screen Saver

Windows Vista

Windows XP

Start Button (Menu)

Overview

Customizing the Start Menu

Control Panel

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

XP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

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Accessing and Using the Control Panel

Customizing Your Computer Settings

Managing Your Computer Performance

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3 Monitors and Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

4 Contents

Cleaning Your Computer’s Display Screen . . . . . . . 47

Adjusting the Resolution of Your Display . . . . . . . . 48

Windows Vista

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Windows® XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Troubleshooting

Choosing the Best Display Settings

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

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Setting the Display Resolution for External LCD Monitors

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

Setting the Display for Multiple Monitors

Windows Vista

Windows XP

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

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Using the Ambient Light Sensor in Bright or Low-Light Environments:

Cables and Connections

DisplayPort™ - Features and Benefits

NVIDIA SLI and ATI Crossfire Technologies

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

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4 Navigation Devices (Mouse, Keyboard,

Touch Pad)

Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Touch Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

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

Controlling the Speed of the Mouse Buttons

Controlling the Speed of the Scroll Wheel

Cleaning a Non-Optical Mouse

Cleaning an Optical Mouse

Using a Bluetooth

Circular Scrolling

Single Finger Zoom

-Enabled Wireless Mouse . . 60

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Cleaning the Touch Pad

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

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Using a Touch Pointer (Track Stick or Tablet PC Pen)

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Contents 5

Turning the Touch Pointer On or Off From the Control Panel

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Turning the Touch Pointer On or Off From the

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Taskbar

Using a USB Pointing Device (Mouse)

Troubleshooting a USB Pointing Device

Keyboard

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Customizing Your Keyboard

Backlit Keyboard

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

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Changing the Input Language of Your Keyboard

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Using the Numeric Keypad on a Laptop Computer

General Keyboard Shortcuts

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

. . . . . . . . . . . . 69

5 Printers—Settings and Drivers . . . . . . . 71

Accessing Printer Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Changing Printer Settings

For Windows Vista

For Windows

Setting up Printers

Adding a Printer

Setting the Default Printer

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

XP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

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6 Drives and Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

6 Contents

Sharing Printers on a Network

Installing a Printer Driver

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Freeing up Hard Drive Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Shadow Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Reducing Hard Drive Space Used by Shadow Storage

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

Solid-State Drive (SSD)

Installing Drivers for Media Drives

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

. . . . . . . . . . . 79

Determining Whether a Device Driver is the Source of a Device Problem

. . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Replacing a Driver With a Previous Version of the Driver

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Using the Drivers and Utilities Media to Reinstall a Driver

Manually Reinstalling a Driver

Drive Problems

Optical Drive Problems

Hard Drive Problems

Working with RAID

RAID Level 0

RAID Level 1

RAID Level 0+1 Configuration

RAID Level 5 Configuration

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

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Setting Your Computer to RAID-Enabled

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Mode

Configuring RAID

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

7 Shutting Down Your Computer . . . . . . . . 99

Windows Vista

Windows

Shutdown States

Microsoft

Windows

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

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Windows Vista

XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

. . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Contents 7

Ending a Program That is not Responding . . . . 101

Ending a Process That is not Responding

. . . . 103

Docking and Undocking Your Laptop Computer

. . . . 104

Undocking Your Computer While it is Running— Hot Undocking

Undocking Without Shutting Down

. . . . . . . . . . . . 104

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Shutting Down Your Computer When it Fails to Shut Down Normally

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Shutting Down a Stalled or "Frozen" Computer

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Shutting Down a Computer When it Stops Responding and Displays a Solid Blue Screen

Starting Your Computer in Safe Mode

Restarting Your Computer After a Power Loss

. . . . . . . . . . . 106

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8 Files and Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Navigating to Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Selecting and Opening Files

Selecting a Group of Files

Selecting Several Random Files

Opening and Saving a File

Opening a Graphic Image (Picture or Art)

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8 Contents

Finding Files

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

Searching for a File

Renaming Files

Printing Files

Deleting Files

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

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

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

Sharing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Windows Vista

Windows XP

Sharing Files With Password Protection.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

. . . . . 115

Restricting Access to a File

Transferring Files and Settings to a New Computer

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

. . 116

Transferring Files From a Computer Running Windows XP to a Computer Running Windows Vista

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

Transferring Files Between Computers Running Windows XP

Backing up Files

Windows Vista

Windows XP

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

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Running Backup When the Settings Have Been Preconfigured

Running Backup With Hidden Drives

Restoring Files

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

Windows Vista

Windows XP

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

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9 Managing Applications (Programs) . . . 121

Installing Applications on Your Computer . . . . . . . 121

Installing Applications From a CD or DVD With Microsoft

Installing (Downloading) Applications From the Internet

Installing Applications From a Network

Windows Vista

Windows

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

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Contents 9

Removing Applications From Your Computer . . . . . 123

Windows Vista

Windows XP

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

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Ending an Application When it Does not Respond

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10 Maintenance Tasks (Enhance

Performance and Ensure Security)

Performing Maintenance Tasks to Increase Computer Speed and Ensure Security

. . . . 125

. . . . . . . . . 125

Cleaning Your Computer

Before You Start

Cleaning the Computer

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

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Cleaning Optical Drives and Optical Drive

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

Media

Managing Your Computer Performance

Windows Vista

Windows

Performance Tuning

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

XP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

System Setup Based Performance Tuning

Software Based Performance Tuning

NVIDIA Performance

NVIDIA Monitor

Cleaning Up Your Hard Drive

Defragmenting Your Hard Drive

Detecting and Repairing Disk Errors

Scanning for Viruses and Spyware

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

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10 Contents

11 Power (Power Settings, Power

Protection Devices, and Batteries)

Setting Power Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Windows Vista

Windows

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

XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

. . . 135

Power Protection Devices

Surge Protector

Power Line Conditioner

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

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

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

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)

Laptop Computer Batteries

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

Using Your Laptop Computer for the First Time

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Preserving the Life of a Battery

Replacing a Battery

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

Checking the Battery Charge

Conserving Battery Power

Charging the Battery

Storing a Battery

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

US Department of Transportation (DOT) Notebook Battery Restrictions

Dell™ ControlPoint Power Manager

12 Networks (LAN, Wireless,

Mobile Broadband)

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

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Local Area Networks (LAN)

What You Need to Set up a LAN

Setting up a new LAN

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

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Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN)

. . . . . . . . 153

Contents 11

What you Need to set up a WLAN . . . . . . . . 153

Checking Your Wireless Network Card

. . . . . . 154

Reinstalling Software and Drivers for Your Wireless Network Card

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

Setting up a new Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)

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

Ad Hoc Networks

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Mobile Broadband (or Wireless Wide Area Network) Networks

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Establishing a Mobile Broadband Network Connection

Checking Your Mobile Broadband Card

Connecting to a Mobile Broadband Network

Activating Mobile Broadband Service

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

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. . 160

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Managing the Network With the Dell Mobile Broadband Card Utility

WiMAX

WPAN

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

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

Managing Your Network

Securing Your Network

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

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

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

Securing Your Wireless Local Area Network

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

(WLAN)

Ensuring Security When Using Public Wi-Fi Networks (Hotspots)

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

Locating Networks With the Dell Wi-Fi Catcher™ Network Locator

Scanning for a Wireless Network

Enabling the Network Locator

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

. . . . . . . . 167

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12 Contents

Managing Networked Computers With Intel Active Management Technology

. . . . . . . . . . . 168

13 Accessing the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

What you Need to Connect to the Internet

Web Browsers for Viewing Internet Sites

Web Addresses

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

. . . . . 171

. . . . . 172

Setting up Your Internet Connection

Windows Vista

Windows

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

. . . . . . . . . . 173

Troubleshooting Problems Connecting to the

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Internet

Web Browser Settings

Setting the Browser Home Page

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

. . . . . . . . . . 175

Setting the Way the Browser Displays Web Pages

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Saving Space by Setting the way the Browser Logs Viewing History

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Increasing Computer Speed by Limiting the Number of Open Internet Windows

. . . . . . . . 177

Using Accessibility Options for Visual Impairments

Internet Security and Privacy

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Increasing Security for Your Computer While Accessing the Internet

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Protecting Your Privacy While Accessing the Internet

Viruses

Firewalls

Spyware and Malware

Spam

Phishing Scams

Shopping Securely Over the Internet

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

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

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

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

. . . . . . . 183

Contents 13

Controlling Pop-ups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Controlling Unwanted Toolbars

Content Advisory/Parental Controls

Bookmarking Favorite Websites

Searching for Information on the Internet

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

. . . . . . . . . . 185

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. . . . . . . 186

Changing the Internet Communications Protocol (TCP/IP) Settings

Printing a Web Page

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Freeing up Space and Protecting Your Computer

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Clearing Browser History

Deleting Temporary Internet Files

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

. . . . . . . . 188

Decreasing the Size of the Temporary Files

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Folder

Maintaining Privacy by Blocking and Deleting Cookies

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

14 E-mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

14 Contents

Setting up a new E-mail Account . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Windows Vista

Windows

Managing and Organizing E-mail Messages

Windows Vista

Windows XP

Securing Your E-mail

Reducing Spam

Viruses and Phishing

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

XP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

. . . . . 192

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Avoiding E-mail Attachments. . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Viewing E-mail Messages

Sending E-mail

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

Windows Vista

Windows XP

Creating a Contact Group (Mailing List)

Windows Vista

Windows XP

Backing Up E-mail Messages

Windows Vista

Windows XP

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

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

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

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

15 Multimedia (CDs/DVDs, 5.1 Audio,

MP3s, TVs, Digital Cameras, and Projectors)

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray Disc™ Media

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

. . . . . . . . . 204

Playing a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray Disc Media

Copying CD, DVD, or Blu-ray Disc Media

. . . . . 204

. . . . . 205

5.1 Audio

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Setting up the 5.1 Audio Connections

. . . . . . . 207

Laptop Media Devices (MP3 Players). . . . . . . . . . 208

Connecting a Laptop Media Device (MP3 Player) to Your Computer

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Setting up the Laptop Media Device to Sync in Windows Media Player

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Setting up the Laptop Media Device the First

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

Tim e

Contents 15

Copying Audio and Video Files to Your Laptop Media Device

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

Playing Media Using the Dell Travel Remote

Adjusting the Volume on Your Computer

. . . . . 210

. . . . . . . 210

Enabling S/PDIF Digital Audio Through the Media Software

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

Enabling S/PDIF Digital Audio in the Windows Audio

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

Driver

Setting up the Cyberlink (CL) Headphones

Using a Digital Camera With Your Computer

Using Windows Media Player

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

. . . . . . 211

. . . . . 212

16 Connecting Your Computer to a TV and

Adjusting Display Settings

Accessing a TV With Your Computer Using a TV Tuner Card

Connecting Your Computer to a TV or Audio Device

Determining What you Have and What you Need

Identifying the Connectors on Your Computer

Identifying the Connectors on Your TV

Determining the Combination of Cables and Adapters you Need

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

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

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

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

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

. . . . . . . . . . 215

. . . . . . 219

16 Contents

Physically Connecting Your Computer to a TV or Audio Device

Performing the Basic Connection Steps

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

. . . . . . . . 224

Selecting the Correct Input Signal From the TV Menu

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

TV Menu Example

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

What to do If the TV Does not Recognize a

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

Signal

Evaluating Suggested Connection Configurations

Enabling the Display View for the Computer and the TV

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Verify the Connection to the TV

Verify the Input Signal for the TV

Set up the TV as a Display Device

Configure the Display Views

Dual Independent Display Mode

. . . . . . . . . . 239

. . . . . . . . . 239

. . . . . . . . . . . . 240

. . . . . . . . . . 241

Swapping Primary and Secondary Displays

Switching the Display Image

Configuring Display Settings

. . . . . . . . . . . . 242

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Setting Display Resolution With the Windows Display Properties Menu

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Accessing the Settings tab of the Display Properties Menu

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Accessing Additional Functions With the Advanced Button

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Accessing the Video Card Control Features

Getting Help for Video Display Resolution Problems

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

. . . 229

. . . . 242

. . . . 245

Adjusting Display Settings With the Vendor Video Card Control Panel

Windows Vista

Windows XP

Using the Wizards

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

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

Using a Video Card Wizard to Configure Display Settings

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

Contents 17

Using a TV Wizard to Configure Display Settings

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

Getting Help for Video Card Control Panels

. . . 249

Troubleshooting Display Settings

Where to Find Help

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

Resolving Common Problems

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

17 Security and Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Protecting Your Computer—Using Administrator Rights, User Groups, and Passwords

Administrator Rights

User Groups

Passwords

Smart Cards

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

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

Fingerprint Readers

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

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

Facial Recognition Software

Using a Firewall to Secure Your Computer

Turning On Windows Firewall

Encrypting Files and Folders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

. . . . . . . . . 251

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

. . . . . . 255

. . . . . . . . . . . 255

18 Contents

Using Antivirus Software

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Maintaining Security When Using a Public Wireless Network

Reducing the Risk of Getting Computer Viruses

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

. . . 257

Dealing With Cookies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Blocking all Cookies

Avoiding Spyware and Malware

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

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

18 Microsoft®Windows® XP Pro

Remote Desktop

Enabling Remote Desktop on the Host Computer . . . . 261

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Installing Remote Desktop Client Software

Calling From a Remote Location

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

. . . . . . . 262

19 Restoring Your Operating System . . . . . 265

Using Microsoft® Windows® System Restore . . . . . 265

Starting System Restore

Undoing the Last System Restore

Enabling System Restore

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

. . . . . . . . . 266

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Using Dell™ PC Restore and Dell Factory Image

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Restore

Windows Vista: Dell Factory Image Restore

Using the Operating System Media

Before you Begin

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

. . . . . . . . . . . 269

Reinstalling Windows XP or Windows Vista

. . . . 268

. . . . 269

20 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

Troubleshooting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

Power Lights for Desktop Computers

Diagnostic Lights for Desktop Computers

Diagnostic Lights for Laptop Computers

System Messages for Desktop Computers

System Messages for Laptop Computers

Windows Hardware Troubleshooter

Running the Dell Diagnostics

. . . . . . . 273

. . . . . 274

. . . . . . 275

. . . . . 275

. . . . . 276

. . . . . . . . 280

. . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Contents 19

Dell Support Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Solving Problems

Battery Problems

Drive Problems

Optical Drive Problems

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems

Error Messages

IEEE 1394 Device Problems

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

. . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Keyboard Problems for External Keyboards

Lockups and Software Problems

Memory Problems

Mouse Problems

Network Problems

Power Problems

Printer Problems

Scanner Problems

Sound and Speaker Problems

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

. . . . . . . . . . 299

Touch Pad or Mouse Problems for Laptop Computers

Video and Monitor Problems

Power Lights

Dell Technical Update Service

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

. . . . . . . . . . . 302

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

. . . . . . . . . . . . 305

. . . . . 289

. . . 292

. . . . . . . . . 292

21 System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

20 Contents

Viewing System Settings With the System Setup Program

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Entering the System Setup Program

. . . . . . . 308

Working With Options on the System Setup Program Screen

Changing the Boot Sequence

Performing a One-Time Boot

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

. . . . . . . . . . . 309

. . . . . . . . . . . 310

Changing Boot Sequence to a USB Device . . . . 310

Changing the BIOS Settings

Viewing the BIOS Settings

Upgrading the BIOS (Flashing the BIOS)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

. . . . . . 311

22 Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

USB Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

IEEE 1394 Port

RS232 Serial Port

Parallel Port

eSATA Port

Modem

Ethernet Port

Keyboard and Mouse Port (PS2)

VGA Port

DVI-I Port

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

S-Video TV-Out Port

Component Video

Composite Video

HDMI Port

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

DisplayPort™

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

S/PDIF Port (Coaxial RCA)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

Contents 21

S/PDIF Port (Toslink) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

Audio Ports

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

23 Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Obtaining Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Dell Support Service

Technical Support and Customer Service

DellConnect™

Online Services

AutoTech Service

Automated Order-Status Service

Problems With Your Order

Product Information

Returning Items for Warranty Repair or

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Credit

Before You Call

Contacting Dell

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

. . . . 332

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

. . . . . . . . . 334

. . . . . . . . . . . . 334

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

22 Contents

Finding Information

Start Button

From the Microsoft® Windows® operating system desktop, you can click the Start button to access resources, programs, and specialized tools for managing the way Windows appears and functions on your computer.

The Start button may differ in appearance depending on the version of Windows, but it is consistently located on the left side of the Windows taskbar.

Start button

From the Start button menu, you can access:

• Microsoft Windows Help and Support

• Control Panel

• Information About Installed Hardware

• Device Manager

• Programs Installed on Your Computer

• Wireless Networking

• Dell Support Website

Finding Information 23

Microsoft Windows Help and Support

This information center provides instructions, hints, and general information about Microsoft Windows and explains how to use available features. It also provides access to documentation for your computer and devices installed on your computer. To access Windows Help and Support:

Click

Start

Click the topic or task you want to perform.

If the specific task is not listed, use the search option.

Start Search

In the that describes your question, and then press <Enter> or click the arrow or the magnifying glass.

Click the topic that describes your question.

Follow the instructions on the screen.

→ Help and Support

field (or

in Windows XP), type a word or phrase

24 Finding Information

Windows Vista

Basic Computer Information

Click

Start → Control Panel→ System and Maintenance→ System to

view your computer information.

Windows® XP

User’s Guides

To view the user’s guides available on your computer, click Start → Help and Support→ Dell User and System guides (from the Pick a Topic

options).

Basic Information

Click

Start → Help and Support→ To ol s (from the Pick a Task

options) to view your computer information and to diagnose problems.

You can also view more details about your computer through the Control Panel (see "Control Panel" on page 26).

Finding Information 25

Control Panel

To manage viewing features and computer functions,

→ Control Panel.

click

Start or

FOR MORE INFORMATION: See Windows Help and Support:

Start or → Help and Support.

click

Information About Installed Hardware

Device Manager

Use the Device Manager to view a list of all devices installed on your computer and to learn more about how a specific device is configured.

26 Finding Information

Windows Vista

Click Start

→

Control Panel→ System and Maintenance→ System→

Device Manager (listed under Tasks).

Windows® XP

Click Start → Control Panel→ Performance and Maintenance→ System

→

Hardware tab→ Device Manager.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about your computer’s

hardware components, see the View your computer information topic in Windows Help and Support:

click

Start

→ Help

and Support.

Hardware Devices Installed on Your Computer

Click Start or → All Programs→ Accessories→ System To ol s → System Information.

Double click Components to expand the Components category.

Device Specifications

Click

Start

Tools→

Double click

Click the device category to view a table identifying the component or

System Information

device name and related setting and configuration information.

Components

→

All Programs→

to expand the

Accessories→

Components

System

category.

Exporting System Information as a Text File

Click

Start

Tools→

On the

Select the file type from the

Click

System Information

File

File name

Save

menu, click

Export

, type the filename.

→

All Programs→

Save as type

Accessories→

drop-down menu.

Finding Information 27

System

Programs Installed on Your Computer

Click

Start

→

All Programs

to view available programs.

If a program is not listed under All Programs, use the Search feature to search for a specific program:

Windows Vista

Click

Enter the name of the program in the Search field.

Press <Enter>.

Windows® XP

Click

Enter the name of the program and click

Start

→

Search.

Start → Search→

All Files or Folders

Wireless Networking

Wireless network information is available in the following sources:

Device guides See Microsoft Windows Help and Support to access

device guide for the specific wireless card installed in your computer. The device guide provides helpful information about connecting to a wireless network, as well as managing a wireless network connection.

Windows Help and Support

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

see "Networks (LAN, Wireless, Mobile Broadband)

28 Finding Information

See Microsoft Windows Help and Support for general information about wireless networking. The “Networking and the Web” topic provides an overview, requirements, details on connections, and tutorials in basic networking.

To learn more about wireless networking,

" on page 149.

Dell Support Website

The Dell Support website at support.dell.com provides a variety of information:

•

Technical Support:

your Dell product.

•

Customer Service:

Dell products.

• Warranty Information:

•

Dell Forums:

products.

•

: Information on various options available for contacting Dell.

Research and find the latest solutions and help for

Explore options such as order status and pickup for

Information relating to warranty for Dell products.

Information on forums for discussion and support of Dell

Technical Support

• Drivers and Downloads

• Enterprise Resource Center

• Find Express Service Code

• Manuals

Finding Information 29

• My Systems List

• Security Center

• Support History & Status

• System Configuration

• Technical Subscriptions

• Troubleshooting Search

• Windows Vista Center

• Windows XP Support Center

• Wireless Center

Customer Service

• Dell Financial Services

•FAQs

•Invoices

• Missing, Wrong & Damaged

• Order Status

• Ownership Transfer

• International Ownership Transfer

• Packing Slips

• Pickup/Redelivery

• Dell Dollars/Rebate Center

• Report a Stolen System

• Returns

• Update Billing Address

Warranty Information

• Expired Warranty Service

• Extend & Upgrade Warranty

• Ownership Transfer

• International Ownership Transfer

30 Finding Information

+ 324 hidden pages