IBM RT-686EX, RT-686 User Manual

NOTEBOOK COMPUTER

RT-686 & RT-686EX

USER’S GUIDE

Copyright © 2001
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, or other, without the prior written permission of the
manufacturer.

The manufacture reserves the right to revise this publication and to make changes
from time to time in the contents hereof without obligation to notify any person of
such revision or changes.

The manufacturer makes no representations or warranties, either expressed or
implied, with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaims any
warranties as to merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Any of the
manufacturer's software described in this manual is sold or licensed "as is".
Should the programs prove defective following their purchase, the buyer (and not
the manufacturer, 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.

Trademark Acknowledgments
IBM, PC, AT, XT are registered trademarks of International Business Machines

Corp.
MS-DOS and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp.
Pentium is the registered trademark of Intel Corp.
All product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their

respective holders.

Warranty

This warranty gives you specific legal rights. You may also have other right that
may vary from state to state or country to country.

One-Year Limited Warranty

The company warrants its computer hardware products against defects in materials
and workmanship for a period of one year from delivery of the products. During
the warranty period, the company reserves the right to either repair or replace
products that prove to be defective.

Warranty Exclusions:
The warranty on your computer shall not apply to defects resulting from:

1. Vibration, shock, drop, dust, rain, high/low temperature, fungus, etc.
environmental exposure.

2. Improper or inadequate maintenance by the customer.

3. Improper site preparation and maintenance.

4. Unauthorized modification, change hardware configuration or misuse.

5. Customer supplied software or interfacing.

6. Operation outside of the specified ratings.

To maintain the warranty, you must have your computer serviced by an authorized
repair depot in the country of original purchase. You must prepay all shipping
charges, duties and taxes for products returned to your dealer.

Warranty Limitations:
The warranty set forth above is exclusive and no other warranty, whether written

or oral, is expressed or implied. Specifically disclaims the implied warranties of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.

Some states or countries do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty
lasts, so the limitation or exclusion in the previous section may not apply to you.
Any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness is limited to the one-year
duration of this written warranty.

Extended Warranty:
Please consult your dealer for details.

EMC Notice

FCC

Warning!

This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not
installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause interference to
radio communications. This equipment has been tested and found to comply with
Class B digital devices, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules that are designed to
provide reasonable protection against such interference when operated in a
commercial or residential environment.

Countermeasures if interference occurs

You are encouraged to do the following if interference occurs while you are
operating the computer:

1. Turn OFF the computer and unplug the AC adapter from the outlet to see if the

interference disappears.

2. Connect the AC adapter to the outlet in another room and check if the

interference still exists.

3. Use an outlet that is far away from the interfered appliance.

4. Re-orient your computer in respect to the interfered appliance to see if there is

improvement.

If all of these failed, please call your dealer for help.

CE

This equipment complies with the requirements set out in the Council Direction on
the Approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to Electromagnetic
Compatibility (89/336/EEC). For the evaluation regarding the electromagnetic
compatibility, the following standards were applied:

EMI: EN55022 (CISPR 22) class B (conduction and radiation)
EMS EN55024

Harmonics: EN61000-3-2
Flicker: EN61000-3-3
ESD: EN61000-4-2
RS: EN61000-4-3

EFT: EN61000-4-4
Surge: EN61000-4-5
CS: EN61000-4-6
Power-Frequency Magnetic Field: EN61000-4-8
Voltage Dips, Interruptions: EN61000-4-11

UL, TÜV

AC Adapter (TÜV includes EN60950 LVD)

Power Conservation

This computer consumes much less power than conventional computers.
However, you still can reduce power consumption by properly configuring the
Power Management Setups.

It is recommended that you enable the power saving functions even when you are
not running with the battery.

Power Management generally does not degrade the system performance while
saving power.

Please read the power saving features and the setting procedures described in this
manual before setting your computer.

Recycling

All materials of the computer are recyclable or environmentally friendly. No CFC
or related materials were used in the manufacturing process or inside the product.

Please recycle the packing materials, and at the end of the computer's life, all other
materials in accordance with the local regulations.

Please refer “Material and Recycling” for the contents of the materials.

CONTENTS

GETTING STARTED.............................................................................................1

UNPACKING ...........................................................................................................................1

QUICK OPERATION.............................................................................................................2

CONTROLS AND INDICATORS........................................................................................3

USEFUL INFORMATION................................................................................7

LOCATION...............................................................................................................................7

RUGGEDNESS ........................................................................................................................7

OPERATING SYSTEMS.......................................................................................................8

AC ADAPTER.........................................................................................................................8

BATTERY.................................................................................................................................9

BOOT UP AND POST.......................................................................................................10

SUSPEND/RESUME............................................................................................................11

SHUTDOWN ..........................................................................................................................11

RTC.........................................................................................................................................11

REPLACING MODULES....................................................................................................12

COMPONENTS AND FUNCTIONS....................................................13

KEYBOARD...........................................................................................................................13

FLOPPY DISK DRIVE........................................................................................................14

PRINTER CABLE.................................................................................................................14

HARD DISK DRIVE ...........................................................................................................15

CD-ROM DRIVE..............................................................................................................15

IRDA TRANSCEIVER.......................................................................................................16

PCMCIA CARDS..............................................................................................................16

DOCKUNDER (OPTIONAL)............................................................................................16

OPTIONAL DEVICES........................................................................................20

MEMORY CARD.................................................................................................................20

ND

2

BATTERY .......................................................................................................................20

FAX/MODEM CARD.........................................................................................................20

LAN CARD..........................................................................................................................20

DVD ROM DRIVE ..........................................................................................................20

CD-RW DRIVE..................................................................................................................20

ND

2

HDD................................................................................................................................20

TOUCH SCREEN..................................................................................................................20

PCMCIA COVER..............................................................................................................21

VEHICLE ADAPTER ..........................................................................................................21

DUAL BATTERY CHARGER..........................................................................................21

DOCKUNDER.......................................................................................................................21

SPECIFICATIONS..................................................................................................22

CPU.........................................................................................................................................22

MEMORY...............................................................................................................................22

DISPLAY.................................................................................................................................22

KEYBOARD...........................................................................................................................23

FLOPPY DISK DRIVE........................................................................................................23

HARD DISK DRIVE ...........................................................................................................23

CD-ROM DRIVE..............................................................................................................23

TOUCH SCREEN ..................................................................................................................23

I/O PORTS..............................................................................................................................24

AC ADAPTER......................................................................................................................24

VEHICLE ADAPTER ..........................................................................................................24

BATTERY...............................................................................................................................25

SYSTEM UNIT DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT...........................................................25

MATERIALS AND RECYCLING.....................................................................................25

ENVIRONMENTAL .............................................................................................................26

BIOS SETUP...................................................................................................................27

MAIN.......................................................................................................................................27

ADVANCED...........................................................................................................................28

ADVANCED BIOS FEATURES.....................................................................................28

INTEGRATED PERIPHERALS .........................................................................................29

POWER MANAGEMENT ..................................................................................................29

PNP/PCI CONFIGURATIONS........................................................................................32

DEFAULTS.............................................................................................................................32

SECURITY..............................................................................................................................33

EXIT.........................................................................................................................................33

UTILITIES AND DRIVERS..........................................................................35

VGA UTILITY.....................................................................................................................35

DISPLAY CAPABILITY.....................................................................................................35

MOUSE DRIVER .................................................................................................................36

TOUCH SCREEN DRIVER................................................................................................36

CD-ROM DRIVER...........................................................................................................36

PCMCIA DRIVER............................................................................................................36

AUDIO DRIVER...................................................................................................................37

LAN CARD DRIVER........................................................................................................37

FAX/MODEM CARD DRIVER.......................................................................................37

MAINTENANCE / SERVICE......................................................................38

CLEANING.............................................................................................................................38

TROUBLESHOOTING.........................................................................................................38

RMA SERVICE...................................................................................................................38

Getting Started

GETTING STARTED

Unpacking

The following components come with your computer. If anything is missing or
damaged please notify the dealer immediately.

• Computer unit

• Removable FDD or CD-ROM (one of them is installed on computer and

the other as accessory)

• AC Adapter

• AC Power Cord

• Utility Diskettes or CD

• User's Guide

• External Keyboard Adapter Cable

• Printer adapter cable

• Carrying Bag

1

Getting Started

Quick Operation

• Turn loose the battery screw to remove the battery insulation sheet then

fix the battery again.

• Attach the AC adapter to charge battery for at least 10 minutes.

• Turn ON the computer by pressing the power switch momentarily.

• Turn OFF the computer by either of the following:

1. Press power switch for 4 seconds makes a “Hard” power off.
System shut down immediately without saving any data or parameters.

2. Press power switch momentarily causes “Suspend”* or “Hibernate”*
dependent on operating system (OS) and power management settings.

*: Some operating systems may not support these functions.

3. Click Start → Shut Down in Windows to turn OFF.

Driver or application software installation may be necessary for further
operation.

2

Controls and Indicators

Controls and Indicators (Upper)

Getting Started

1. IrDA

2. PCMCIA

3. KB Number Lock

4. KB Caps Lock

5. KB Scroll Lock

6. HDD in use

7. Secondary Battery Charge

8. Primary Battery Charge

9. Power indicator

10. Power switch

11. Touch pad left button

3

12. Touch pad

13. Touch pad right button

Controls and Indicators (Right)
FDD Configuration:

1. FDD in use

2. Diskette eject button

CD-ROM Drive Configuration:

Getting Started

1. CD-ROM eject button

2. CD-ROM in use

Battery Configuration: (optional)

No special control and indicator.

4

Controls and Indicators (Left)

1. Phone Jack

2. External Speaker

3. External Keyboard

4. Microphone

5. External PS/2

6. USB

7. LAN Jack

Getting Started

8. PCMCIA slots

9. IrDA

10. PCMCIA card eject button

External Device Connectors (Rear)

1. DC Power Jack

2. Serial Port COM1

3. External CRT Monitor Port

4. Docking Port

5. Printer/External FDD Port*

5

Getting Started

6. Serial Port COM2 (or COM3 by optional configuration)

*: The port is a dual function port and default as printer output. System will

detect which device is attached and switch to proper output automatically.
Hot swap is possible under most conditions. However, if not able to hot
swap, please re-boot computer with the new device attached.

6