Lenovo ThinkCentre M53 User Guide [en, id, uk]

ThinkCentreM53
UserGuide

MachineTypes:10DB,10DC,10DD,10DE,10DV,10DW,10DX,
10DY,10EC,10ED,10ER,and10ES

Note:Beforeusingthisinformationandtheproductitsupports,besuretoreadandunderstandthe“Read
thisfirst:Importantsafetyinformation”onpagev

andAppendixF“Notices”onpage131.

SecondEdition(December2014)

©CopyrightLenovo2014.

LIMITEDANDRESTRICTEDRIGHTSNOTICE:IfdataorsoftwareisdeliveredpursuantaGeneralServicesAdministration
“GSA”contract,use,reproduction,ordisclosureissubjecttorestrictionssetforthinContractNo.GS-35F-05925.

Contents

Readthisfirst:Importantsafety

information...............v

Beforeusingthismanual............v

Serviceandupgrades.............v

Staticelectricityprevention...........vi

Powercordsandpoweradapters........vi

Extensioncordsandrelateddevices.......vi

Plugsandoutlets..............vii

Externaldevices..............vii

Heatandproductventilation.........vii

Operatingenvironment...........viii

Lasercompliancestatement.........viii

Powersupplystatement............ix

Cleaningandmaintenance...........ix

Chapter1.Productoverview......1

Locations..................1

Locatingconnectors,controls,andindicators

onthefrontofyourcomputer........2

Locatingconnectorsontherearofyour

computer................3

Locatingcomponents...........4

Locatingpartsonthesystemboard.....6

Locatingthemachinetypeandmodellabel..7

Features..................7

Specifications...............11

Lenovoprograms.............11

AccessingLenovoprogramsontheWindows

7operatingsystem...........11

AccessingLenovoprogramsontheWindows

8.1operatingsystem..........12

AnintroductiontoLenovoprograms....13

Chapter2.Usingyourcomputer...15

Registeringyourcomputer..........15

Usingkeyboardshortcuts..........15

Usingthewheelmouse...........16

Managingpower..............16

Advancedconfigurationandpowerinterface

(ACPI)BIOS..............16

AutomaticPower-onfeatures.......16

Settingthecomputervolume.........17

Settingthevolumefromthedesktop....17

SettingthevolumefromControlPanel...17

Usingadisc................18

Usingtheopticaldrive..........18

Handlingandstoringadisc........18

Playingandremovingadisc.......19

Recordingadisc............19

NavigatingamongscreensontheWindows8.1

operatingsystem..............19

AccessingControlPanelontheWindows8.1

operatingsystem..............21

Frequentlyaskedquestions.........21

Chapter3.Youandyourcomputer..23

Accessibilityandcomfort..........23

Arrangingyourworkspace........23

Comfort...............23

Glareandlighting............24

Aircirculation.............24

Electricaloutletsandcablelengths.....24

Accessibilityinformation.........24

Movingyourcomputertoanothercountryor

region..................28

Chapter4.Security..........29

AttachingaKensington-stylecablelock.....29

Usingpasswords..............29

BIOSpasswords............29

Windowspasswords..........30

Usingthecoverpresenceswitch.......30

Usingthefingerprintreader..........30

Usingandunderstandingfirewalls.......31

Protectingdataagainstviruses........31

Chapter5.Advancedconfiguration..33

UsingtheSetupUtilityprogram........33

StartingtheSetupUtilityprogram.....33

Viewingandchangingsettings......33

UsingBIOSpasswords.........34

Enablingordisablingadevice.......35

Selectingastartupdevice........36

EnablingErPLPScompliancemode....36

Smartperformancechoices........37

ICEperformancemode.........37

ICEthermalalert............38

ExitingtheSetupUtilityprogram......38

UpdatingorrecoveringtheBIOS.......38

BIOSlevels..............39

Usingsystemprograms.........39

ChangingtheBIOSsettingsbeforeinstallinga

newoperatingsystem..........39

UpdatingtheBIOSfromadisc......40

UpdatingtheBIOSfromyouroperating

system................41

©CopyrightLenovo2014

i

RecoveringfromaBIOSupdatefailure...41

Chapter6.Preventingproblems...43

Keepingyourcomputercurrent........43

Gettingthelatestdevicedriversforyour

computer...............43

Updatingyouroperatingsystem......43

UsingtheSystemUpdateprogram.....44

Cleaningandmaintenance..........44

Basics................44

Cleaningyourcomputer.........44

Goodmaintenancepractices.......45

Movingyourcomputer...........46

Chapter7.Troubleshootingand

diagnostics..............47

Basictroubleshooting............47

Troubleshootingprocedure..........48

Troubleshooting..............48

Audioproblems............49

CDproblems.............49

DVDproblems.............50

Intermittentproblems..........51

Harddiskdriveproblems.........51

Problemswiththekeyboardormouse...52

Monitorproblems............53

Networkingproblems..........54

Ihaveconnectedanoptiontomycomputer,

butitdoesnotwork...........56

Performanceandlockupproblems.....56

Theprinterdoesnotwork........57

Serialconnectorcannotbeaccessed....57

Softwareproblems...........57

MyUSBconnectorscannotbeaccessed..58

Diagnostics................58

LenovoSolutionCenter.........58

RecoveringyouroperatingsystemifWindows

8.1failstostart.............67

Chapter9.Installingorreplacing

hardware...............69

Handlingstatic-sensitivedevices.......69

Installingorreplacinghardware........69

Installingexternaloptions........69

Installingandremovingtheacpoweradapter

bracket................70

Installingandremovingtheacpower

adapter................71

Installingandremovingtheverticalstand..73
InstallingandremovingtheVESAmount

bracket................75

Installingorreplacingtheexternaloptical

drive.................77

Installingorreplacingtheexternalharddisk

drive.................83

Removingthecomputercover.......89

Replacingthemicroprocessorfan.....91

Replacingtheheatsink.........93

Replacingthememorymodule......95

Installingorreplacingthecoverpresence

switch................96

Replacingtheinternalspeaker.......97

Replacingthepowerbuttonboard.....99

Replacingtheharddiskdriveassembly...100

Replacingthecoin-cellbattery......102

InstallingorreplacingtheWi-Ficard

module................103

InstallingandremovingthefrontWi-Fi

antenna...............105

InstallingandremovingtherearWi-Fi

antenna...............107

Installingorreplacingthekeyboardor

mouse................109

Completingthepartsreplacement.....109

Chapter8.Recoveryinformation...61

RecoveryinformationfortheWindows7operating

system..................61

Creatingandusingrecoverymedia.....61

Performingbackupandrecoveryoperations.62

Creatingandusingarescuemedium....64

Reinstallingprogramsanddevicedrivers..64

Solvingrecoveryproblems........66

RecoveryinformationfortheWindows8.1

operatingsystem..............66

Refreshingyourcomputer........66

Resettingyourcomputertothefactory-default

settings................66

Usingtheadvancedstartupoptions....67

iiThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Chapter10.Gettinginformation,help,

andservice.............113

Informationresources............113

LenovoThinkVantageTools........113

HelpandSupport............113

SafetyandWarranty...........113

LenovoWebsite............113

LenovoSupportWebsite.........114

Helpandservice..............114

Usingthedocumentationanddiagnostic

program...............114

Callingforservice............114

Usingotherservices..........115

Purchasingadditionalservices......115

AppendixA.Regulatory

information.............117

Exportclassificationnotice..........117

Electronicemissionsnotices.........117

FederalCommunicationsCommission

DeclarationofConformity........117

Eurasiancompliancemark..........119

Brazilregulatorynotice...........119

Mexicoregulatorynotice...........119

Additionalregulatoryinformation.......119

AppendixB.WEEEandrecycling

information.............121

ImportantWEEEinformation.........121

RecyclinginformationforJapan........121

RecyclinginformationforBrazil........122

BatteryrecyclinginformationforTaiwan.....122

BatteryrecyclinginformationfortheEuropean

Union..................122

AppendixC.RestrictionofHazardous

SubstancesDirective(RoHS)....125

EuropeanUnionRoHS...........125

ChinaRoHS................125

TurkishRoHS...............125

UkraineRoHS...............126

IndiaRoHS................126

AppendixD.ChinaEnergyLabel..127

AppendixE.ENERGYST ARmodel

information.............129

AppendixF.Notices.........131

Trademarks................132

Index.................133

©CopyrightLenovo2014

iii

ivThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Readthisfirst:Importantsafetyinformation

Thischaptercontainsthesafetyinformationthatyoumustbefamiliarwith.

Beforeusingthismanual

CAUTION:
Beforeusingthismanual,besuretoreadandunderstandalltherelatedsafetyinformationforthis
product.RefertotheinformationinthissectionandthesafetyinformationintheSafety,Warranty,and
SetupGuidethatyoureceivedwiththisproduct.Readingandunderstandingthissafetyinformation
reducestheriskofpersonalinjuryanddamagetoyourproduct.

IfyounolongerhaveacopyoftheSafety,Warranty,andSetupGuide,youcanobtainaPortableDocument
Format(PDF)versionfromtheLenovo
LenovoSupportWebsitealsoprovidestheSafety,Warranty,andSetupGuideandthisUserGuidein
additionallanguages.

®

SupportWebsiteathttp://www.lenovo.com/UserManuals.The

Serviceandupgrades

DonotattempttoserviceaproductyourselfunlessinstructedtodosobytheCustomerSupportCenteror
yourdocumentation.OnlyuseaServiceProviderwhoisapprovedtorepairyourparticularproduct.

Note:Somecomputerpartscanbeupgradedorreplacedbythecustomer.Upgradestypicallyare
referredtoasoptions.ReplacementpartsapprovedforcustomerinstallationarereferredtoasCustomer
ReplaceableUnits,orCRUs.Lenovoprovidesdocumentationwithinstructionswhenitisappropriatefor
customerstoinstalloptionsorreplaceCRUs.Youmustcloselyfollowallinstructionswheninstallingor
replacingparts.TheOffstateofapowerindicatordoesnotnecessarilymeanthatvoltagelevelsinsidea
productarezero.Beforeyouremovethecoversfromaproductequippedwithapowercord,alwaysensure
thatthepoweristurnedoffandthattheproductisunpluggedfromanypowersource.Formoreinformation
onCRUs,refertoChapter9“Installingorreplacinghardware”onpage69
concerns,contacttheCustomerSupportCenter.

Althoughtherearenomovingpartsinyourcomputerafterthepowercordhasbeendisconnected,the
followingwarningsarerequiredforyoursafety.

CAUTION:

.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsor

Hazardousmovingparts.Keepfingersandotherbodypartsaway.

CAUTION:

Beforeyouopenthecomputercover,turnoffthecomputerandwaitseveralminutesuntilthe
computeriscool.

©CopyrightLenovo2014

v

Staticelectricityprevention

Staticelectricity,althoughharmlesstoyou,canseriouslydamagecomputercomponentsandoptions.
Improperhandlingofstatic-sensitivepartscancausedamagetothepart.Whenyouunpackanoption
orCRU,donotopenthestatic-protectivepackagecontainingthepartuntiltheinstructionsdirectyou
toinstallit.

WhenyouhandleoptionsorCRUs,orperformanyworkinsidethecomputer,takethefollowingprecautions
toavoidstatic-electricitydamage:

•Limityourmovement.Movementcancausestaticelectricitytobuilduparoundyou.

•Alwayshandlecomponentscarefully.Handleadapters,memorymodules,andothercircuitboardsbythe
edges.Nevertouchexposedcircuitry.

•Preventothersfromtouchingcomponents.

•Whenyouinstallastatic-sensitiveoptionorCRU,touchthestatic-protectivepackagecontainingthe
parttoametalexpansion-slotcoverorotherunpaintedmetalsurfaceonthecomputerforatleasttwo
seconds.Thisreducesstaticelectricityinthepackageandyourbody.

•Whenpossible,removethestatic-sensitivepartfromthestatic-protectivepackagingandinstallthepart
withoutsettingitdown.Whenthisisnotpossible,placethestatic-protectivepackagingonasmooth,
levelsurfaceandplacethepartonit.

•Donotplacethepartonthecomputercoverorothermetalsurface.

Powercordsandpoweradapters

Useonlythepowercordsandpoweradapterssuppliedbytheproductmanufacturer.

Thepowercordsshallbesafetyapproved.ForGermany,itshallbeH05VV-F,3G,0.75mm
othercountries,thesuitabletypesshallbeusedaccordingly.

Neverwrapapowercordaroundapoweradapterorotherobject.Doingsocanstressthecordinwaysthat
cancausethecordtofray,crack,orcrimp.Thiscanpresentasafetyhazard.

Alwaysroutepowercordssothattheywillnotbewalkedon,trippedover,orpinchedbyobjects.

Protectpowercordandpoweradaptersfromliquids.Forinstance,donotleaveyourpowercordorpower
adapternearsinks,tubs,toilets,oronfloorsthatarecleanedwithliquidcleansers.Liquidscancausea
shortcircuit,particularlyifthepowercordorpoweradapterhasbeenstressedbymisuse.Liquidsalsocan
causegradualcorrosionofpowercordterminalsand/ortheconnectorterminalsonapoweradapter,
whichcaneventuallyresultinoverheating.

Ensurethatallpowercordconnectorsaresecurelyandcompletelypluggedintoreceptacles.

Donotuseanypoweradapterthatshowscorrosionattheacinputpinsorshowssignsofoverheating(such
asdeformedplastic)attheacinputoranywhereonthepoweradapter.

Donotuseanypowercordswheretheelectricalcontactsoneitherendshowsignsofcorrosionor
overheatingorwherethepowercordappearstohavebeendamagedinanyway.

2

,orbetter.For

Extensioncordsandrelateddevices

Ensurethatextensioncords,surgeprotectors,uninterruptiblepowersupplies,andpowerstripsthatyouuse
areratedtohandletheelectricalrequirementsoftheproduct.Neveroverloadthesedevices.Ifpowerstrips

viThinkCentreM53UserGuide

areused,theloadshouldnotexceedthepowerstripinputrating.Consultanelectricianformoreinformation
ifyouhavequestionsaboutpowerloads,powerrequirements,andinputratings.

Plugsandoutlets

Ifareceptacle(poweroutlet)thatyouintendtousewithyourcomputerequipmentappearstobedamaged
orcorroded,donotusetheoutletuntilitisreplacedbyaqualifiedelectrician.

Donotbendormodifytheplug.Iftheplugisdamaged,contactthemanufacturertoobtainareplacement.

Donotshareanelectricaloutletwithotherhomeorcommercialappliancesthatdrawlargeamountsof
electricity;otherwise,unstablevoltagemightdamageyourcomputer,data,orattacheddevices.

Someproductsareequippedwithathree-prongedplug.Thisplugfitsonlyintoagroundedelectricaloutlet.
Thisisasafetyfeature.Donotdefeatthissafetyfeaturebytryingtoinsertitintoanon-groundedoutlet.If
youcannotinserttheplugintotheoutlet,contactanelectricianforanapprovedoutletadapterortoreplace
theoutletwithonethatenablesthissafetyfeature.Neveroverloadanelectricaloutlet.Theoverallsystem
loadshouldnotexceed80percentofthebranchcircuitrating.Consultanelectricianformoreinformation
ifyouhavequestionsaboutpowerloadsandbranchcircuitratings.

Besurethatthepoweroutletyouareusingisproperlywired,easilyaccessible,andlocatedclosetothe
equipment.Donotfullyextendpowercordsinawaythatwillstressthecords.

Besurethatthepoweroutletprovidesthecorrectvoltageandcurrentfortheproductyouareinstalling.

Carefullyconnectanddisconnecttheequipmentfromtheelectricaloutlet.

Externaldevices

DonotconnectordisconnectanyexternaldevicecablesotherthanUniversalSerialBus(USB)cableswhile
thecomputerpowerison;otherwise,youmightdamageyourcomputer.Toavoidpossibledamageto
attacheddevices,waitatleastfivesecondsafterthecomputerisshutdowntodisconnectexternaldevices.

Heatandproductventilation

Computers,poweradapters,andmanyaccessoriescangenerateheatwhenturnedonandwhenbatteries
arecharging.Alwaysfollowthesebasicprecautions:

•Donotleaveyourcomputer,poweradapter,oraccessoriesincontactwithyourlaporanypartofyour
bodyforanextendedperiodwhentheproductsarefunctioningorwhenthebatteryischarging.Your
computer,poweradapter,andmanyaccessoriesproducesomeheatduringnormaloperation.Extended
contactwiththebodycouldcausediscomfortor,potentially,askinburn.

•Donotchargethebatteryoroperateyourcomputer,poweradapter,oraccessoriesnearflammable
materialsorinexplosiveenvironments.

•Ventilationslots,fans,andheatsinksareprovidedwiththeproductforsafety,comfort,andreliable
operation.Thesefeaturesmightinadvertentlybecomeblockedbyplacingtheproductonabed,sofa,
carpet,orotherflexiblesurface.Neverblock,cover,ordisablethesefeatures.

Inspectyourdesktopcomputerfordustaccumulationatleastonceeverythreemonths.Beforeinspecting
yourcomputer,turnoffthepowerandunplugthecomputer'spowercordfromtheelectricaloutlet;then
removeanydustfromventsandperforationsinthebezel.Ifyounoticeexternaldustaccumulation,then
examineandremovedustfromtheinsideofthecomputerincludingheatsinkinletfins,powersupplyvents,
andfans.Alwaysturnoffandunplugthecomputerbeforeopeningthecover.Ifpossible,avoidoperating

©CopyrightLenovo2014

vii

yourcomputerwithintwofeetofhigh-trafficareas.Ifyoumustoperateyourcomputerinornearahigh-traffic
area,inspectand,ifnecessary,cleanyourcomputermorefrequently.

Foryoursafetyandtomaintainoptimumcomputerperformance,alwaysfollowthesebasicprecautions
withyourdesktopcomputer:

•Keepthecoverclosedwheneverthecomputerispluggedin.

•Regularlyinspecttheoutsideofthecomputerfordustaccumulation.

•Removedustfromventsandanyperforationsinthebezel.Morefrequentcleaningsmightberequiredfor
computersindustyorhigh-trafficareas.

•Donotrestrictorblockanyventilationopenings.

•Donotstoreoroperateyourcomputerinsidefurniture,asthismightincreasetheriskofoverheating.

•Airflowtemperaturesintothecomputershouldnotexceed35°C(95°F).

•Donotinstallairfiltrationdevices.Theymayinterferewithpropercooling.

Operatingenvironment

Theoptimalenvironmentinwhichtouseyourcomputeris10°C–35°C(50°F–95°F)withhumidityranging
between35%and80%.Ifyourcomputerisstoredortransportedintemperatureslessthan10°C(50°F),
allowthecoldcomputertoriseslowlytoanoptimaloperatingtemperatureof10°C–35°C(50°F–95°F)before
use.Thisprocesscouldtaketwohoursinextremeconditions.Failuretoallowyourcomputertorisetoan
optimaloperatingtemperaturebeforeusecouldresultinirreparabledamagetoyourcomputer.

Ifpossible,placeyourcomputerinawell-ventilatedanddryareawithoutdirectexposuretosunshine.

Keepelectricalappliancessuchasanelectricfan,radio,high-poweredspeakers,airconditioner,and
microwaveovenawayfromyourcomputerbecausethestrongmagneticfieldsgeneratedbythese
appliancescandamagethemonitoranddataontheharddiskdrive.

Donotplaceanybeveragesontopoforbesidethecomputerorotherattacheddevices.Ifliquidisspilledon
orinthecomputeroranattacheddevice,ashortcircuitorotherdamagemightoccur.

Donoteatorsmokeoveryourkeyboard.Particlesthatfallintoyourkeyboardcancausedamage.

Lasercompliancestatement

CAUTION:
Whenlaserproducts(suchasCD-ROMs,DVDdrives,fiberopticdevices,ortransmitters)are
installed,notethefollowing:

•Donotremovethecovers.Removingthecoversofthelaserproductcouldresultinexposureto
hazardouslaserradiation.Therearenoserviceablepartsinsidethedevice.

•Useofcontrolsoradjustmentsorperformanceofproceduresotherthanthosespecifiedherein
mightresultinhazardousradiationexposure.

viiiThinkCentreM53UserGuide

DANGER

SomelaserproductscontainanembeddedClass3AorClass3Blaserdiode.Notethefollowing:

Laserradiationwhenopen.Donotstareintothebeam,donotviewdirectlywithoptical
instruments,andavoiddirectexposuretothebeam.

Powersupplystatement

Neverremovethecoveronapowersupplyoranypartthathasthefollowinglabelattached.

Hazardousvoltage,current,andenergylevelsarepresentinsideanycomponentthathasthislabelattached.
Therearenoserviceablepartsinsidethesecomponents.Ifyoususpectaproblemwithoneoftheseparts,
contactaservicetechnician.

Cleaningandmaintenance

Keepyourcomputerandworkspaceclean.Shutdownthecomputerandthendisconnectthepower
cordbeforecleaningthecomputer.Donotsprayanyliquiddetergentdirectlyonthecomputeroruse
anydetergentcontainingflammablematerialtocleanthecomputer.Spraythedetergentonasoftcloth
andthenwipethecomputersurfaces.

©CopyrightLenovo2014

ix

xThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Chapter1.Productoverview

Thischapterprovidesthefollowinginformation:

•Locationsofconnectors

•Locationsofcomponents

•Locationsofpartsonthesystemboard

•Locationsofinternaldrives

•Computerfeatures

•SoftwareprogramsprovidedbyLenovo

Locations

Thissectionprovidesthefollowingtopics:

•“Locatingconnectors,controls,andindicatorsonthefrontofyourcomputer”onpage2

•“Locatingconnectorsontherearofyourcomputer”onpage3

•“Locatingcomponents”onpage4

•“Locatingpartsonthesystemboard”onpage6

•“Locatingthemachinetypeandmodellabel”onpage7

Note:Thecomponentsinyourcomputermightlookslightlydifferentfromtheillustrations.

©CopyrightLenovo2014

1

Locatingconnectors,controls,andindicatorsonthefrontofyour

1

2

computer

Thefollowingillustrationshowsthelocationsoftheconnectors,controls,andindicatorsonthefrontofyour
computer.

Figure1.Frontconnector,control,andindicatorlocations

1Powerbutton2Bluetoothactivityindicator

3Wirelessactivityindicator4Harddiskdriveactivityindicator

5Powerindicator

7Microphoneconnector8Headsetconnector

9Always-onUSB3.0connector

6USB2.0connector

2ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Locatingconnectorsontherearofyourcomputer

Thefollowingillustrationshowsthelocationsoftheconnectorsontherearofyourcomputer.Some
connectorsontherearofyourcomputerarecolor-codedtohelpyoudeterminewheretoconnectthe
cablesonyourcomputer.

Figure2.Rearconnectorlocations

1USB2.0connector

3VGAconnector4USB2.0connector

5USB2.0connector

7acpoweradapterconnector

9Optionalconnector

11Wi-Fiantennaslot

2Ethernetconnector

6DisplayPort

8Security-lockslot

10acpoweradaptercableloop

®

connector

Notes:

•TheUSB2.0connector4supportsthesmartpoweronfeaturethatenablesyoutoturnonthecomputer
orwakeitupfromS4hibernationmodebypressingAlt+Ponthekeyboard.Y oucanenableordisable
thesmartpoweronfeaturefromtheSetupUtilityprogram.Fordetailedinformation,see“Enablingor
disablingadevice”onpage35

.

•Ifyouusetheoptionalconnectorforinstallingaserialconnector,theserialconnectorandtheadjacent
VGAconnectormightinterferewitheachotherwhenconnectingcables.Toavoidtheinterference,ensure
thatyouusetheserialconnectorconvertcablethatcomeswiththecomputerwhenyouconnecta
devicetotheserialconnector.

Chapter1.Productoverview3

ConnectorDescription

DisplayPortconnector

Ethernetconnector

HeadsetconnectorUsedtoattachasupportedheadsettoyourcomputertorecordsound,use

Microphoneconnector

USB2.0connectorUsethisconnectortoattachadevicethatrequiresaUSB2.0connection,suchasa

USB3.0connectorUsethisconnectortoattachadevicethatrequiresaUSB2.0orUSB3.0

VGAconnectorUsedtoattachaVGAmonitororotherdevicesthatuseaVideoGraphicsArray

Usedtoattachahigh-performancemonitor,adirect-drivemonitor,orotherdevices
thatuseaDisplayPortconnector.

UsedtoattachanEthernetcableforalocalareanetwork(LAN).
Note:T ooperatethecomputerwithinFCCClassBlimits,useaCategory5eor
betterEthernetcable.

speech-recognitionsoftware,listentomusic,orothersoundswithoutdisturbing
anyone.Theheadsetconnectorisalsoknownasaudiojack.

Usedtoattachamicrophonetoyourcomputerwhenyouwanttorecordsoundorif
youusespeech-recognitionsoftware.

keyboard,amouse,ascanner,aprinter,orapersonaldigitalassistant(PDA).

connection,suchasakeyboard,amouse,ascanner,aprinter,oraPDA.

(VGA)connector.

Locatingcomponents

Thefollowingillustrationshowsthelocationsofthevariouscomponentsinyourcomputer.Toremovethe
computercover,see“Removingthecomputercover”onpage89.

4ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Figure3.Componentlocations

1Externalopticaldrive(somemodels)2Externalharddiskdrive(somemodels)

3VESA

5acpoweradapterbracket(somemodels)

7Microprocessorfan

9Coverpresenceswitch(intrusionswitch)(somemodels)

11Internalspeaker

13Powerbuttonboard

15Harddiskdriveassembly

®

mountbracket(somemodels)4Computercover

6acpoweradapter

8Heatsink

10Memorymodule

12FrontWi-Fiantenna(somemodels)

14Coin-cellbattery

16Wi-Ficardmodule(somemodels)

Chapter1.Productoverview5

17RearWi-Fiantenna(somemodels)18Verticalstand(somemodels)

19Keyboard20Mouse

Locatingpartsonthesystemboard

Thefollowingillustrationshowsthelocationsofthepartsonthesystemboard.

Figure4.Systemboardpartlocations

1Heatsink(withthemicroprocessorunderneath)2ClearCMOS/Recoveryjumper

3Cover-presence-switchconnector(intrusionswitch

4Memoryslot

connector)

5Internalspeakerconnector6Powerbuttonboardcableconnector

7Coin-cellbattery8MiniPCIExpresscardslot

9SATA2.0connector

11Serial(COM)connector12OptionalUSB2.0connector

13Microprocessorfanconnector

10Harddiskdrivepowerconnector

6ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Locatingthemachinetypeandmodellabel

Themachinetypeandmodellabelidentifiesyourcomputer.WhenyoucontactLenovoforhelp,themachine
typeandmodelinformationhelpssupporttechnicianstoidentifyyourcomputerandprovidefasterservice.

Themachinetypeandmodellabelisattachedonthesideofyourcomputerasshown.

Figure5.Machinetypeandmodellabel

Features

Thecomputerfeaturesintroducedinthissectioncoversavarietyofmodels.

Chapter1.Productoverview7

Microprocessor

Toviewthemicroprocessorinformationofyourcomputer,dothefollowing:

•OntheMicrosoft

®

Windows

®

7operationsystem,clickStart,right-clickComputer,andselectProperties

toviewtheinformation.

•OntheMicrosoftWindows8.1operatingsystem,gotothedesktopandmoveyourpointertothe
top-rightorbottom-rightcornerofthescreentodisplaythecharms.ThenclickSettings➙PCinfoto
viewtheinformation.

Memory

Yourcomputersupportsuptoonedoubledatarate3smalloutlinedualinlinememorymodules(DDR3
SODIMMs).

Todeterminetheamountofmemoryinstalledonyourcomputer,dothefollowing:

•OnWindows7,clickStart,right-clickComputer,andselectPropertiestoviewtheinformation.

•OnWindows8.1,gotothedesktopandmoveyourpointertothetop-rightorbottom-rightcornerofthe
screentodisplaythecharms.ThenclickSettings➙PCinfotoviewtheinformation.

Formoreinformation,see“Replacingthememorymodule”onpage95

.

Internaldrives

•Externalopticaldrive(availableonsomemodels)

•Harddiskdrive

•Hybriddrive(availableonsomemodels)

•Solid-statedrive(availableonsomemodels)

Videofeatures

Integratedgraphicssupportsthefollowingconnectorsonyourcomputer:

•DisplayPortconnector

•VGAconnector

Audiofeatures

Integratedaudiocontrollersupportsthefollowingconnectorsanddevicesonyourcomputer:

•Headsetconnector

•Internalspeaker(availableonsomemodels)

•Microphoneconnector

Input/Output(I/O)features

•Audioconnectors(headsetconnectorandmicrophoneconnector)

•Displayconnectors(DisplayPortconnectorandVGAconnector)

•Ethernetconnector

•Optionalconnector

•USBconnectors

Formoreinformation,see“Locatingconnectors,controls,andindicatorsonthefrontofyourcomputer”on
page2and“Locatingconnectorsontherearofyourcomputer”onpage3.

8ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Expansion

•Externalopticaldrivebox(availableonsomemodels)

•Harddiskdrivebay

•Memoryslot

•MiniPCIExpresscardslot

Powersupply

Yourcomputercomeswitha65-wattacpoweradapter.

Wirelessfeatures

Dependingonyourcomputermodel,thefollowingwirelessfeaturesmightbesupported:

•Wirelesslocalareanetwork(LAN)

•Bluetooth

Systemmanagementfeatures

•Abilitytostorepower-onself-test(POST)hardwaretestresults

•DesktopManagementInterface(DMI)
DesktopManagementInterfaceprovidesacommonpathforuserstoaccessinformationaboutall

aspectsofacomputer.Theinformationincludesprocessortype,installationdate,attachedprintersand
otherperipherals,powersources,maintenancehistory,andsoon.

•ErPLPScompliancemode
Theenergy-relatedproductsdirective(ErP)lowestpowerstate(LPS)compliancemodereducesthe

consumptionofelectricitywhenyourcomputerisinsleeporoffmode.Formoreinformation,see
“EnablingErPLPScompliancemode”onpage36

.

•IntelligentCoolingEngine(ICE)
TheIntelligentCoolingEngineisasystemthermalmanagementsolutionthatenablesyourcomputer

torunwithbetterthermalandacousticperformance.TheICEfunctionalsomonitorsthethermal
performanceofyourcomputertoidentifythermalproblems.Formoreinformation,see“ICEperformance
mode”onpage37

•Intel

®

StandardManageability

and“ICEthermalalert”onpage38.

IntelStandardManageabilityishardware-andfirmware-basedtechnologythatmakescomputerseasier
andlessexpensiveforbusinessestomonitor,maintain,update,upgrade,andrepair.

•PrebootExecutionEnvironment(PXE)
PrebootExecutionEnvironmentenablescomputerstostartthroughanetworkinterfaceindependentof

datastoragedevices(suchastheharddiskdrive)orinstalledoperatingsystems.

•SmartPerformanceChoice
TheSmartPerformanceChoicefunctionenablesyourcomputertorunwithbetteracousticperformance

orbetterthermalperformance.See“Smartperformancechoices”onpage37

.

•SystemManagement(SM)BasicInput/OutputSystem(BIOS)andSMsoftware
TheSMBIOSspecificationdefinesdatastructuresandaccessmethodsthatcanbeusedtoread

managementdatastoredintheBIOSofacomputer.

•WakeonLAN
WakeonLANisanEthernetcomputernetworkingstandardthatallowsacomputertobeturnedon

orwokenupbyanetworkmessage.Themessageisusuallysentbyaprogramrunningonanother
computeronthesameLAN.

Chapter1.Productoverview9

•WakeonRing
WakeonRing,sometimesreferredtoasWakeonModem,isaspecificationthatallowssupported

computersanddevicestoresumefromsleeporhibernationmode.

•WindowsManagementInstrumentation(WMI)
WindowsManagementInstrumentationisasetofextensionstotheWindowsDriverModel.Itprovidesan

operatingsysteminterfacethroughwhichinstrumentedcomponentsprovideinformationandnotification.

Securityfeatures

•AbilitytoenableanddisabledevicesandUSBconnectors
Formoreinformation,see“Enablingordisablingadevice”onpage35

.

•Avarietyofpasswordstodeterunauthorizeduseofyourcomputer
Formoreinformation,see“Usingpasswords”onpage29.

•ComputraceAgentsoftwareembeddedinfirmware
TheComputraceAgentsoftwareisanITassetmanagementandcomputertheftrecoverysolution.

Thesoftwaredetectsifchangeshavebeenmadeonthecomputer,suchashardware,software,or
thecomputercall-inlocation.YoumighthavetopurchaseasubscriptiontoactivatetheComputrace
Agentsoftware.

•Coverpresenceswitch(alsocalledintrusionswitch)(availableonsomemodels)
Formoreinformation,see“Usingthecoverpresenceswitch”onpage30.

•Keyboardwithfingerprintreader(availableonsomemodels)
Formoreinformation,see“Usingthefingerprintreader”onpage30.

•Startupsequencecontrol
Formoreinformation,see“Selectingorchangingthestartupdevicesequence”onpage36

.

•Startupwithoutkeyboardormouse
Yourcomputerisabletologintotheoperatingsystemwithoutkeyboardormouseconnected.

•SupportforaKensington-stylecablelock
Formoreinformation,see“AttachingaKensington-stylecablelock”onpage29.

Preinstalledoperatingsystem

Yourcomputerispreinstalledwithoneofthefollowingoperatingsystems:

•Windows7operatingsystem

•Windows8.1operatingsystem

Operatingsystem(s),certifiedortestedforcompatibility(variesbymodeltype)

Theoperatingsystem(s)listedherearebeingcertifiedortestedforcompatibilityatthetimethispublication
goestopress.AdditionaloperatingsystemsmightbeidentifiedbyLenovoascompatiblewithyourcomputer
followingthepublicationofthismanual.Thislistissubjecttochange.T odetermineifanoperatingsystem
hasbeencertifiedortestedforcompatibility,checktheWebsiteoftheoperatingsystemprovider.

•Linux

®

10ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Specifications

Thissectionliststhephysicalspecificationsforyourcomputer.

Dimensions

Width:179mm(7.05inches)
Height:34.5mm(1.36inches)
Depth:182mm(7.17inches)

Weight

Maximumconfigurationasshipped:4.86kg(10.71lb)(withpackage)
Maximumconfigurationasshipped:4.14kg(9.13lb)(withoutpackage)

Environment

•Airtemperature:

Operating:From10°C(50°F)to35°C(95°F)
Storageinoriginalshippingpackage:From-40°C(-40°F)to60°C(140°F)
Storagewithoutpackage:From-10°C(14°F)to60°C(140°F)

•Humidity:

Operating:20%–80%(non-condensing)
Storage:20%–90%(non-condensing)

•Altitude:

Operating:From-15.2m(-50ft)to3048m(10000ft)
Storage:From-15.2m(-50ft)to10668m(35000ft)

Electricalinput

Inputvoltage:From100Vacto240Vac
Inputfrequency:50/60Hz

Lenovoprograms

YourcomputercomeswithLenovoprogramstohelpyouworkmoreeasilyandsecurely.Dependingon
theWindowsoperatingsystempreinstalled,theprogramsmightvary.

AccessingLenovoprogramsontheWindows7operatingsystem

YoucanaccessLenovoprogramsontheWindows7operatingsystemthroughWindowsSearchorfrom
ControlPanel.TheiconnamedisplayedinthesearchresultorControlPanelmightbedifferentfromthe
programname.YoucanfindtheprogrambyitsprogramnameoriconnameasshownintheLenovo
programsavailableontheWindows7operatingsystemtable.

Note:Ifyoudonotfindtheprogramyouneed,opentheLenovoThinkVantage
dimmediconfortheprogram.Thendouble-clicktheicontoinstalltheprogram.

ToaccessLenovoprogramsthroughWindowsSearch,dothefollowing:

1.ClicktheStartbuttonandthentypetheprogramnameortheiconnameintothesearchbox.

2.Locatetheprogrambytheprogramnameortheiconnameandthenclicktheprogramtolaunchit.

ToaccessLenovoprogramsfromControlPanel,dothefollowing:

®

Toolsprogramtofindthe

Chapter1.Productoverview11

Note:SomeLenovoprogramsmightnotbedisplayedinControlPanel.Tofindtheseprograms,use
WindowsSearch.

1.ClickStart➙ControlPanel.ChangetheviewofControlPanelfromCategorytoLargeiconsorSmall
icons.

2.Locatetheprogrambytheiconnameandthenclicktheprogramtolaunchit.

ThefollowingtableliststheprogramsavailableontheWindows7operatingsystem.

Note:Dependingonyourcomputermodel,someoftheLenovoprogramsmightnotbeavailable.

Table1.LenovoprogramsavailableontheWindows7operatingsystem

ProgramnameIconname

CommunicationsUtilityLenovo-WebConferencing

FingerprintManagerProor
ThinkVantageFingerprintSoftware

LenovoBluetoothLockLenovoBluetoothLock

LenovoReachLenovoReach

LenovoSHAREitLenovoSHAREit

LenovoSolutionCenterLenovo-SystemHealthandDiagnostics

LenovoThinkVantageToolsLenovoThinkvantageTools

PasswordManagerLenovo-PasswordVault

PCCloudManagerPCCloudManager

PowerManager

RecoveryMedia

RescueandRecovery

SystemUpdate

ViewManagementUtilityLenovo-ViewManagementUtility

®

Lenovo-FingerprintManagerProorLenovo-FingerprintReader

Lenovo-PowerControls

Lenovo-FactoryRecoveryDisksorCreateRecoveryMedia

Lenovo-EnhancedBackupandRestore

Lenovo-UpdateandDrivers

AccessingLenovoprogramsontheWindows8.1operatingsystem

ToaccessLenovoprogramsontheWindows8.1operatingsystem,dothefollowing:

1.PresstheWindowskeytogototheStartscreen.

2.Dooneofthefollowing:

•ClickaLenovoprogramtolaunchit.

•Ifyoucannotfindtheprogramyouneed,clickthearrowiconinthebottom-leftcornerofthe

screentogototheAppsscreen.Findthedesiredprogramintheappslistorsearchforitinthe
searchboxinthetop-rightcornerofthescreen.

Note:Dependingonyourcomputermodel,someoftheLenovoprogramsmightnotbeavailable.

•FingerprintManagerProorThinkVantageFingerprintSoftware

•LenovoBluetoothLock

•LenovoCompanion

•LenovoReach

•LenovoSHAREit

12ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

•LenovoSolutionCenter

•LenovoT ools

•PasswordManager

•PCCloudManager

•PowerManager

•SystemUpdate

AnintroductiontoLenovoprograms

ThistopicprovidesabriefintroductiontosomeLenovoprograms.

Note:Dependingonyourcomputermodel,someoftheLenovoprogramsmightnotbeavailable.

•CommunicationsUtility(Windows7)
TheCommunicationsUtilityprogramprovidesacentrallocationforintegratedcameraandmicrophone

settings.ItcontrolsadvancedsettingsfortheintegratedmicrophoneandcameratooptimizeWeb
conferencingandVoiceoverIP(VOIP)experience.

•FingerprintManagerProorThinkVantageFingerprintSoftware(Windows7andWindows8.1)
Theintegratedfingerprintreaderprovidedonsomekeyboardsenablesyoutoenrollyourfingerprint

andassociateitwithyourpower-onpassword,harddiskpassword,andWindowspassword.Asa
result,fingerprintauthenticationcanreplacepasswordsandenablesimpleandsecureuseraccess.A
fingerprintreaderkeyboardisavailablewithselectcomputersorcanbepurchasedforcomputersthat
supportthisoption.

•LenovoBluetoothLock(Windows7andWindows8.1)
TheLenovoBluetoothLockprogramenablesyoutouseaBluetoothdevice(suchasyoursmartphone)as

aproximity-basedunitforlockingorunlockingyourcomputerautomatically.Bydetectingthedistance
betweenyourcomputerandthepredefinedBluetoothdevicethatyouarecarrying,theLenovoBluetooth
Lockprogramautomaticallylocksyourcomputerwhenyouwalkawayandunlocksyourcomputerwhen
youcomeback.Thisisasimplewaytoprotectyourcomputeragainstunauthorizedaccessincase
thatyouforgettolockyourcomputer.

•LenovoCompanion(Windows8.1)
Yoursystem’sbestfeaturesshouldbeeasytoaccessandunderstand.WithCompanion,theyare.
UseLenovoCompaniontoregisteryourcomputer,accessyourusermanual,managesystemhealthand

update,checkthewarrantystatus,andseeaccessoriescustomizedforyourcomputer.Youalsocan
readhintsandtips,exploreLenovoforums,andstayup-to-dateontechnologynewswitharticlesand
blogsfromtrustedsources.ThisappisfilledwithexclusiveLenovocontenttohelpyoulearnabout
yournewsystem.

•LenovoReach(Windows7andWindows8.1)
UsetheLenovoReachprogramtoenhanceyourcloudexperience.LenovoReachkeepsyouconnected

atalltimesandenablesyoutoaccessallyourfavoriteitemsfrompersonalcomputers,smartphones,
ortablets.Asaresult,youcanaccess,edit,andshareyourfilesfromanywhere.WithLenovoReach,
youalsocanaddyourfavoriteWebservicestoyourclouddesktopandstaylogged-intoWebsiteswith
thecloudpasswordmanager.

•LenovoSHAREit(Windows7andWindows8.1)
TheLenovoSHAREitprogramprovidesaquickandeasywaytosharefilesandfoldersamongcomputers,

smartphones,tablets,orsmartTVswiththeAndroidortheWindowsoperatingsysteminstalled.SHAREit
usesanytypeofnetworkorevennonetworkatalltosharefilesandfolders.

Chapter1.Productoverview13

•LenovoSolutionCenter(Windows7andWindows8.1)
TheLenovoSolutionCenterprogramenablesyoutotroubleshootandresolvecomputerproblems.It

combinesdiagnostictests,systeminformationcollection,securitystatus,andsupportinformation,along
withhintsandtipsformaximumsystemperformance.

•LenovoThinkVantageT ools(Windows7)
TheLenovoThinkVantageToolsprogramprovideseasyaccesstovarioustoolstohelpyouworkmore

easilyandsecurely.

•LenovoTools(Windows8.1)
TheLenovoToolsprogramguidesyoutoahostofinformationsourcesandprovideseasyaccessto

varioustoolstohelpyouworkmoreeasilyandsecurely.

•PasswordManager(Windows7andWindows8.1)
ThePasswordManagerprogramautomaticallycapturesandfillsinauthenticationinformationfor

WindowsprogramsandWebsites.

•PCCloudManager(Windows7andWindows8.1)
ThePCCloudManager(PCM)programisabrowser-basedsolutionforclient-computermanagement.

ThePCMprogramhastwocomponents:PCMServerandPCMClient.PCMServerisinstalledonthe
computer,wheretheadministratorperformsmanagementwork,suchaspowermanagementandsecurity
management.PCMClientisinstalledontheclientcomputerstobemanaged.Theadministratorcanlog
intoPCMServertomanagecomputerswithPCMClientinstalled,throughtheInternetWebbrowser.

•PowerManager(Windows7andWindows8.1)
ThePowerManagerprogramprovidesconvenient,flexible,andcompletepowermanagementforyour

computer.Itenablesyoutoadjustyourcomputerpowersettingstoachievethebestbalancebetween
performanceandpowersaving.

•RecoveryMedia(Windows7)
TheRecoveryMediaprogramenablesyoutorestorethecontentsoftheharddiskdrivetothe

factory-defaultsettings.

•RescueandRecovery(Windows7)
TheRescueandRecoveryprogramisaone-buttonrecoveryandrestoresolution.Itincludesasetof

self-recoverytoolstohelpyoudiagnosecomputerproblems,gethelp,andrecoverfromsystemcrashes,
evenifyoucannotstarttheWindowsoperatingsystem.

•SystemUpdate(Windows7andWindows8.1)
TheSystemUpdateprogramhelpsyoukeepthesoftwareonyourcomputerup-to-datebydownloading

andinstallingsoftwareupdatepackages.ExamplesofthesesoftwareupdatepackagesincludeLenovo
programs,devicedrivers,UEFIBIOSupdates,andotherthird-partyprograms.

•ViewManagementUtility(Windows7)
TheViewManagementUtilityprogramenablesyoutoeasilyorganizeyouropenwindows.Itdividesyour

screenintomultiplepartsandthenresizesandpositionsopenwindowsintodifferentpartstomakethe
bestuseofyourdesktop.Theprogramalsoisabletoworkacrossmultiplemonitorstoimproveyour
productivity.

14ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Chapter2.Usingyourcomputer

Thischapterprovidesinformationaboutthefollowingtopics:

•“Registeringyourcomputer”onpage15

•“Usingkeyboardshortcuts”onpage15

•“Usingthewheelmouse”onpage16

•“Settingthecomputervolume”onpage17

•“Usingadisc”onpage18

•“NavigatingamongscreensontheWindows8.1operatingsystem”onpage19

•“AccessingControlPanelontheWindows8.1operatingsystem”onpage21

•“Frequentlyaskedquestions”onpage21

Registeringyourcomputer

WhenyouregisteryourcomputerwithLenovo,youenterrequiredinformationintoaLenovodatabase.The
informationenablesLenovotocontactyouwhenthereisarecallorothersevereproblemandprovide
quickerservicewhenyoucallLenovoforhelp.Inaddition,somelocationsofferextendedprivilegesand
servicestoregisteredusers.

ToregisteryourcomputerwithLenovo,ensurethatyourcomputerisconnectedtotheInternetandthen
dooneofthefollowing:

•Gotohttp://www.lenovo.com/registerandfollowtheinstructionsonthescreentoregisteryourcomputer.

•Registeryourcomputerthroughapreinstalledregistrationprogramonyourcomputer:

–ForWindows7:ThepreinstalledLenovoProductRegistrationprogramlaunchesautomaticallyafteryou

haveusedyourcomputerforatime.Followtheinstructionsonthescreentoregisteryourcomputer.

–ForWindows8.1:OpentheLenovoCompanionprogramandfollowtheinstructionsonthescreento

registeryourcomputer.

Note:ForinformationabouthowtoopentheLenovoCompanionprogramonWindows8.1,see
“AccessingLenovoprogramsontheWindows8.1operatingsystem”onpage12

.

Usingkeyboardshortcuts

Akeyboardshortcutisonekeyorcombinationofmultiplekeys.Throughkeyboardshortcuts,youcan
performtasksthatwouldtypicallyrequireamouseorotherpointingdevices.Keyboardshortcutsprovide
aneasieralternativetointeractwithyourcomputerasyouworkwiththeWindowsoperatingsystemand
mostapplications.

Formoreinformationaboutthekeyboardshortcuts,gotohttp://windows.microsoft.com/,andthentypeany
ofthefollowingkeywordsforsearching:keyboardshortcuts,keycombinations,shortcutkeys.

©CopyrightLenovo2014

15

Usingthewheelmouse

Thewheelmousehasthefollowingcontrols:

1Primarymousebutton:Usethisbuttontoselectorstartaprogramormenuitem.

2Wheel:Usethewheeltocontrolthescrollingactionofthemouse.Thedirectioninwhichyourotatethe

wheelcontrolsthedirectionofthescrollingaction.

3Secondarymousebutton:Usethisbuttontodisplayamenufortheactiveprogram,icon,orobject.

Youcanviewandchangethesettingsofyourmousebydoingthefollowing:

1.OntheWindows7operatingsystem,clickStart➙ControlPanel➙HardwareandSound.Onthe
Windows8.1operatingsystem,openControlPanelandclickHardwareandSound.

Note:FordetailedinformationonhowtoopenControlPanelonWindows8.1,see“AccessingControl
PanelontheWindows8.1operatingsystem”onpage21.

2.IntheDevicesandPrinterssection,clickMousetoviewandchangethesettings.

Managingpower

Powermanagementreducesthepowerconsumptionofcertaincomponentsofthecomputersuchasthe
systempowersupply,processor,harddiskdrives,andsomemonitors.

Advancedconfigurationandpowerinterface(ACPI)BIOS

BeinganACPIBIOSsystem,theoperatingsystemisallowedtocontrolthepowermanagementfeatures
ofthecomputerandthesettingforAdvancedPowerManagement(APM)BIOSmodeisignored.Not
alloperatingsystemssupportACPIBIOSmode.

AutomaticPower-onfeatures

TheAutomaticPower-OnfeatureswithinthePowerManagementmenuallowyoutoenableanddisable
featuresthatturnonthecomputerautomatically.

•WakeUponAlarm:Youcanspecifyadateandtimeatwhichthecomputerwillbeturnedon
automatically.Thiscanbeeitherasingleeventoradailyevent.

•WakeonLAN:Ifthecomputerhasaproperlyconfiguredtoken-ringorEthernetLANadaptercardthatis
WakeonLAN-enabledandthereisremotenetworkmanagementsoftware,youcanusetheWakeonLAN
feature.WhenyousetWakeonLANtoEnabled,thecomputerwillturnonwhenitreceivesaspecific
signalfromanothercomputeronthelocalareanetwork(LAN).

16ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

ToenabletheWakeonLANfunctionortheWakeUponAlarmfunctionontheWindows8.1operating
system,dothefollowing:

1.OpenControlPanel.

2.ClickHardwareandSound➙PowerOptions.

3.Intheleftpanel,clickChoosewhatthepowerbuttondoes.

4.IntheShutdownsettingsection,clearTurnonfaststartup.

Note:Ifthesettingsareunavailable,clickChangesettingsthatarecurrentlyunavailable.

5.ClickSavechanges.

Settingthecomputervolume

Anaudiocontrollerisbuiltintothecomputersystemboardtosupporttheaudioconnectorsonyour
computer.See“Audiofeatures”onpage8.

ThissectionprovidesinstructionsonhowtosetthecomputervolumefromthedesktopandControlPanel.

Settingthevolumefromthedesktop

Tosetthecomputervolumefromthedesktop,dothefollowing:

1.Clickthevolumeicononthetaskbar.Youcanlocatethetaskbaratthebottom-rightcornerofthe
desktop.

2.Movetheslideruptoincreaseordowntodecreasethevolume.Clickthemute-speakericontoturnoff
theaudio.

Ifthevolumeiconisnotonthetaskbar,addthevolumeicontothetaskbar.T oaddthevolumeicon,
dothefollowing:

•ForWindows7:

1.FromtheWindowsdesktop,clickStart➙ControlPanel➙AppearanceandPersonalization.

2.IntheTaskbarandStartMenusection,clickCustomizeiconsonthetaskbar.

3.ClickT urnsystemiconsonoroffandchangethevolumebehaviorsfromOfftoOn.

4.ClickOKtosavethenewsettings.

•ForWindows8.1:

1.OpenControlPanel,andclickAppearanceandPersonalization.

Note:FordetailedinformationonhowtoopenControlPanelonWindows8.1,see“Accessing
ControlPanelontheWindows8.1operatingsystem”onpage21.

2.IntheTaskbarandNavigationsection,clickCustomizeiconsonthetaskbar.

3.ClickT urnsystemiconsonoroffandchangethevolumebehaviorfromOfftoOn.

4.ClickOKtosavethenewsettings.

SettingthevolumefromControlPanel

TosetthecomputervolumefromControlPanel,dothefollowing:

1.OntheWindows7operatingsystem,clickStart➙ControlPanel➙HardwareandSound.Onthe
Windows8.1operatingsystem,openControlPanelandclickHardwareandSound.

Note:FordetailedinformationonhowtoopenControlPanelonWindows8.1,see“AccessingControl
PanelontheWindows8.1operatingsystem”onpage21

.

Chapter2.Usingyourcomputer17

2.IntheSoundsection,clickAdjustsystemvolume.

3.Movetheslideruptoincreaseordowntodecreasethevolume.

Usingadisc

Thissectionprovidesinformationaboutthefollowingtopics:

•“Usingtheopticaldrive”onpage18

•“Handlingandstoringadisc”onpage18

•“Playingandremovingadisc”onpage19

•“Recordingadisc”onpage19

Usingtheopticaldrive

Dependingonthemodel,yourcomputerisequippedwithoneofthefollowingopticaldrives:

•CD-ROMdrive:UsedtoreadCDsonly.

•DVD-ROMdrive:UsedtoreadDVDsandCDs.

•BD-ROMdrive:Usedtoreadblu-raydiscs(BDs),DVDs,andCDs.

•Recordableopticaldrive:Usedtoreadandrecordadisc.

Whenusingtheopticaldrive,followtheseguidelines:

•Donotplacethecomputerinalocationwherethedriveisexposedtoanyofthefollowingconditions:

–Hightemperature
–Highhumidity
–Excessivedust
–Excessivevibrationorsuddenshock
–Aninclinedsurface
–Directsunlight

•Donotinsertanyobjectotherthanadiscintothedrive.

•Donotinsertdamageddiscsintothedrive.Warped,scratched,ordirtydiscscandamagethedrive.

•Beforemovingthecomputer,removethediscfromthedrive.

Handlingandstoringadisc

Whenhandlingandstoringadisc,followtheseguidelines:

•Holdthediscbyitsedges.Donottouchthesurfaceofthesidethatisnotlabeled.

•Toremovedustorfingerprints,wipethediscwithaclean,softclothfromthecentertotheoutside.Wiping
thediscinacirculardirectionmightcauselossofdata.

•Donotwriteorstickpaperonthedisc.

•Donotscratchormarkthedisc.

•Donotplaceorstorethediscindirectsunlight.

•Donotusebenzene,thinners,orothercleanerstocleanthedisc.

•Donotdroporbendthedisc.

18ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Playingandremovingadisc

Toplayadisc,dothefollowing:

1.Withthecomputeron,presstheeject/closebuttononthefrontoftheopticaldrive.Thetrayslides
outofthedrive.

2.Insertadiscintothetray.Someopticaldrivehasasnaphubinthecenterofthetray.Ifyourdrivehasa
snaphub,supportthetraywithonehandandthenpushcenterofthediscuntilitsnapsintoplace.

3.Presstheeject/closebuttonagainorgentlypushthetrayforwardtoclosethetray.Thediscplayer
programstartsautomatically.Formoreinformation,refertothehelpsystemofthediscplayerprogram.

Toremoveadiscfromtheopticaldrive,dothefollowing:

1.Withthecomputeron,presstheeject/closebuttononthefrontoftheopticaldrive.Thetrayslides
outofthedrive.

2.Carefullyremovethediscfromthetray.

3.Presstheeject/closebuttonagainorgentlypushthetrayforwardtoclosethetray.

Note:Ifthetraydoesnotslideoutofthedrivewhenyoupresstheeject/closebutton,turnoffyourcomputer.
Then,insertastraightenedpaperclipintotheemergency-ejectholeadjacenttotheeject/closebutton.
Usetheemergencyejectonlyinanemergency.

Recordingadisc

Ifyourcomputerisinstalledwitharecordableopticaldrive,youcanusethedrivetorecordadisc.

Torecordadisc,dothefollowing:

•OntheWindows7operatingsystem,useeithertheCorelDVDMovieFactoryLenovoEditionprogramor
thePower2Goprograminstalledonyourcomputer.

–ToruntheCorelDVDMovieFactoryLenovoEditionprogram,clickStart➙AllPrograms➙Corel

DVDMovieFactoryLenovoEdition➙CorelDVDMovieFactoryLenovoEdition.Followthe
instructionsonthescreen.

–TorunthePower2Goprogram,clickStart➙AllPrograms➙PowerDVDCreate➙Power2Go.

Followtheinstructionsonthescreen.

•OntheWindows8.1operatingsystem,runthePower2Goprogrambydoingthefollowing:

1.OntheStartscreen,clickthedownarrowinthebottom-leftcornertogototheAppsscreen.Then
typePower2Gointhesearchboxinthetop-rightcornerofthescreen.

2.ClickPower2Gointhesearchresulttoopentheprogram.

3.Followtheinstructionsonthescreen.

NavigatingamongscreensontheWindows8.1operatingsystem

Tonavigateamongthedesktop,theStartscreen,andapplicationsopenedfromtheStartscreenonthe
Windows8.1operatingsystem,dooneofthefollowing:

•FromtheStartscreen,dooneofthefollowingtonavigatetothemostrecentlyaccessedworkspace
(application,setting,ordesktop):

–Usingapointingdevice:Movethepointertotheextremebottom-leftcornerofthescreenuntilthe

Windowsscreen-controlicon

–Usingatouchscreen:Swipeinandoutontheleftedgeofthescreen.Representationsofallavailable

workspacesaredisplayedalongtheleftedgeofthescreen.TaptheWindowsscreen-controlicon

atthebottom.

isdisplayed;thenclicktheicon.

Chapter2.Usingyourcomputer19

Note:TheWindowsscreen-controliconisdisplayedonlywhenyouhaveatleastoneactive
workspaceinthebackgroundofthesystem.

•FromthedesktoporanyotherworkspacethatisopenedfromtheStartscreen,dooneofthefollowingto
navigatetotheStartscreen:

–Usingapointingdevice:

–Fromthedesktop,clicktheWindowsscreen-controlicon

inthebottom-leftcornerofthescreen.

–Fromanyotherworkspace,movethepointertotheextremebottom-leftcornerofthescreenuntil

theWindowsscreen-controliconisdisplayed;thenclicktheicon.

–Usingatouchscreen:Dooneofthefollowing:

–Fromthedesktop,taptheWindowsscreen-controlicon

inthebottom-leftcornerofthescreen.

–Fromanyotherworkspace,dooneofthefollowing:

•Swipeinandoutontheleftedgeofthescreen.Representationsofallavailableworkspaces
aredisplayedalongtheleftedgeofthescreen.TaptheWindowsscreen-controliconat

thebottom.

•Swipeinfromtherightedgeofthescreentodisplaythecharms;thentapStart.

•Fromanyworkspace(Startscreen,desktop,PCsettings,orapplicationopenedfromtheStartscreen),go
toanotherpreviously-openedworkspaceusinganyofthefollowingprocedures:

–Tonavigatetoapreviouslyaccessedworkspace(application,setting,ordesktop),dooneofthe

following:

–Usingapointingdevice:

1.Dooneofthefollowing:

•Movethepointertotheextremetop-leftcornerofthescreenandthenmovethepointer
downwardalongtheleftedgeofthescreen.

•Movethepointertotheextremebottom-leftcornerofthescreenandthenmovethepointer
upwardalongtheleftedgeofthescreen.

Representationsofallavailableworkspacesaredisplayedalongtheleftedgeofthescreen.

Note:OnlyactiveworkspacesthatyouhaveaccessedduringthecurrentWindowssessionare
displayedalongtheleftedge.Ifyoucloseanactiveworkspace,itsrepresentationwillnotbe
displayedalongtheleftedgeofthescreen.

2.Clicktherepresentation.

–Usingatouchscreen:

•Method1

1.Swipeinandoutontheleftedgeofthescreen.Representationsofallavailableworkspaces
aredisplayedalongtheleftedgeofthescreen.

2.Tapthedesiredworkspace.

•Method2

1.Swipeinfromtheleftedgeofthescreentonavigatetothenextavailableworkspace.

2.Repeatstep1untilyounavigatetothedesiredworkspace.

–Tonavigatetothemostrecentlyaccessedworkspace(application,PCsettings,ordesktop),doone

ofthefollowing:

–Usingapointingdevice:Movethepointertotheextremetop-leftcornerofthescreenuntilthe

Windowsscreen-controlicon

isdisplayed;thenclicktheicon.

20ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

–Usingatouchscreen:Swipeinfromtheleftedgeofthescreen.

ForinformationaboutusingotherfeaturesoftheWindows8.1operatingsystem,opentheHelp+Tips
applicationfromtheStartscreenorAppsscreen.Alternatively,refertotheWindowsHelpandSupport
informationsystem.Formoreinformation,see“HelpandSupport”onpage113

.

AccessingControlPanelontheWindows8.1operatingsystem

OntheWindowsoperatingsystem,youcanviewandchangecomputersettingsthroughControlPanel.T o
accessControlPanelontheWindows8.1operatingsystem,dooneofthefollowing:

•Fromthedesktop

1.Movethepointertothetop-rightorbottom-rightcornerofthescreentodisplaythecharms.

2.ClickSettings.

3.ClickControlPanel.

•FromtheStartscreen

1.Clickthedownarrowinthebottom-leftcornerofthescreentogototheAppsscreen.

2.Scrolltotherightside,andclickControlPanelintheWindowsSystemsection.

Frequentlyaskedquestions

Thefollowingaresomeofthefrequentlyaskedquestionsandtheiranswers.Theanswerscanhelpyou
optimizetheuseofyourcomputer.

Fortheanswerstomorefrequentlyaskedquestionsaboutusingyourcomputer,goto:
http://www.lenovo.com/support/faq

HowcanIgetmyuserguideinanotherlanguage?

Theuserguideisavailableinvariouslanguagesat:
http://www.lenovo.com/UserManuals

HowcanIrestoremycomputersettings?

Yourcomputerprovidesaprogramthatenablesyoutorestorethecomputersettings.Formoreinformation,
seeChapter8“Recoveryinformation”onpage61.

Additionally,incaseofahard-disk-drivefailure,youcanorderarecoverydiscsetfromtheLenovoCustomer
SupportCenter.ForinformationaboutcontactingtheCustomerSupportCenter,seeChapter10“Getting
information,help,andservice”onpage113
thatcomeswiththediscset.

Note:Arecoverydiscsetmightcontainmultiplediscs.Ensurethatyouhaveallofthediscsreadybefore
startingtherecoveryprocess.Duringtherecoveryprocess,youmightbepromptedtochangediscs.

WherecanIfindhelpabouttheWindowsoperatingsystem?

TheWindowsHelpandSupportinformationsystemprovidesyouwithdetailedinformationaboutusing
theWindowsoperatingsystem.ToaccesstheWindowsHelpandSupportinformationsystem,doone
ofthefollowing:

.Beforeusingtherecoverydiscset,refertothedocumentation

•OntheWindows7operatingsystem,clickStart➙HelpandSupport.

•OntheWindows8.1operatingsystem,moveyourpointertothetop-rightorbottom-rightcornerofthe
screentodisplaythecharms.ThenclickSettings➙Help.Additionally,theWindows8.1operating
systemprovidesaHelp+TipsapplicationthatyoucanopenfromtheStartscreenorAppsscreen.

Chapter2.Usingyourcomputer21

HowcanIchangetheWindows8.1startupbehaviortoopeneitherthedesktoportheStartscreen?

OntheWindows8.1operatingsystem,youcansetthecomputertoopeneitherthedesktoportheStart
screenbydefault.T osetthedefaultstartupscreen,dothefollowing:

1.Onthedesktop,right-clickonthetaskbaratthebottomofthescreen.

2.ClickProperties.The“TaskbarandNavigationproperties”windowisdisplayed.

3.OntheNavigationtab,locatetheStartscreensection,andthendooneofthefollowing:

•Tosetthedesktopasyourdefaultstartupscreen,selectWhenIsigninorcloseallappsona
screen,gotothedesktopinsteadofStart.

•TosettheStartscreenasyourdefaultstartupscreen,cleartheWhenIsigninorcloseallappson
ascreen,gotothedesktopinsteadofStartcheckbox.

4.ClickOKtosavethenewsetting.

22ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Chapter3.Youandyourcomputer

Thischapterprovidesinformationaboutaccessibility,comfort,andrelocatingyourcomputertoother
countriesorregions.

Accessibilityandcomfort

Goodergonomicpracticeisimportanttogetthemostfromyourpersonalcomputerandtoavoiddiscomfort.
Arrangeyourworkplaceandtheequipmentyouusetosuityourindividualneedsandthekindofwork
thatyouperform.Inaddition,usehealthyworkhabitstomaximizeyourperformanceandcomfortwhile
usingyourcomputer.

Thefollowingtopicsprovideinformationaboutarrangingyourworkarea,settingupyourcomputer
equipment,andestablishinghealthyworkhabits.

Arrangingyourworkspace

Togetthemostfromyourcomputer,arrangeboththeequipmentyouuseandyourworkareatosuityour
needsandthekindofworkyoudo.Yourcomfortisofforemostimportance,butlightsources,aircirculation,
andthelocationofelectricaloutletscanalsoaffectthewayyouarrangeyourworkspace.

Comfort

Althoughnosingleworkingpositionisidealforeveryone,hereareafewguidelinestohelpyoufinda
positionthatsuitsyoubest.

Sittinginthesamepositionforalongtimecancausefatigue.Thebackrestandseatofyourchairshould
adjustindependentlyandprovidegoodsupport.Theseatshouldhaveacurvedfronttorelievepressureon
thethighs.Adjusttheseatsothatyourthighsareparalleltothefloorandyourfeetareeitherflatonthe
floororonafootrest.

Whenusingthekeyboard,keepyourforearmsparalleltothefloorandyourwristsinacomfortableposition.
Usealighttouchonthekeyboardandyourhandsandfingersrelaxed.Changetheangleofthekeyboard
formaximumcomfortbyadjustingthepositionofthekeyboardfeet.

Adjustthemonitorsothetopofthescreenisat,orslightlybelow,eyelevel.Placethemonitorata
comfortableviewingdistance,usually51–61cm(20–24inches).Then,positionthemonitorsothatyoucan
viewitwithouttwistingyourbody.Also,positionotherequipmentyouuseregularly,suchasthetelephone
oramouse,withineasyreach.

©CopyrightLenovo2014

23

Glareandlighting

Positionthemonitortominimizeglareandreflectionsfromoverheadlights,windows,andotherlightsources.
Reflectedlightfromshinysurfacescancauseannoyingreflectionsonyourmonitorscreen.Placethe
monitoratrightanglestowindowsandotherlightsources,whenpossible.Reduceoverheadlighting,if
necessary,byturningofflightsorusinglowerwattagebulbs.Ifyouinstallthemonitornearawindow,use
curtainsorblindstoblockthesunlight.Y oucanadjustthebrightnessandcontrastcontrolsonthemonitor
astheroomlightingchangesthroughouttheday.

Whereitisimpossibletoavoidreflectionsortoadjustthelighting,anantiglarefilterplacedoverthescreen
mightbehelpful.However,thesefiltersmightaffecttheclarityoftheimageonthescreen;trythemonlyafter
youhaveexhaustedothermethodsofreducingglare.

Dustbuildupcompoundsproblemsassociatedwithglare.Remembertocleanyourmonitorscreen
periodicallyusingasoftclothasdirectedinyourmonitordocumentation.

Aircirculation

Yourcomputerandmonitorproduceheat.Thecomputerhasafanthatpullsinfreshairandforcesouthot
air.Themonitorletshotairescapethroughvents.Blockingtheairventscancauseoverheating,whichmight
resultinamalfunctionordamage.Placethecomputerandmonitorsothatnothingblockstheairvents;
usually,51mm(2inches)ofairspaceissufficient.Also,ensurethattheventedairisnotblowingonpeople.

Electricaloutletsandcablelengths

Thefollowingfactorsmightdeterminethefinalplacementofyourcomputer:

•Locationofelectricaloutlets

•Lengthofpowercords

•Lengthofthecablesthatareconnectedtothemonitorandotherdevices

Whenarrangingyourworkspace:

•Avoidtheuseofextensioncords.Whenpossible,plugthecomputerpowercorddirectlyintoanelectrical
outlet.

•Keeppowercordsandcablesneatlyroutedawayfromwalkwaysandotherareaswheretheymight
getkickedaccidentally.

Formoreinformationaboutpowercords,see“Powercordsandpoweradapters”onpagevi

.

Accessibilityinformation

Lenovoiscommittedtoprovidingpeoplewithdisabilitiesgreateraccesstoinformationandtechnology.
Sometechnologiesarealreadyprovidedinyouroperatingsystem.Otherscanbepurchasedthrough
vendors.

UsersalsocanusetheEaseofAccessCenterprovidedintheWindowsoperatingsystemtoconfiguretheir
computerstosuittheirphysicalandcognitiveneeds.TheEaseofAccessCenterisacentrallocationthat
youcanusetoconfiguretheaccessibilitysettingsandprogramsavailableontheMicrosoftWindows
operatingsystem.TousetheEaseofAccessCenter,openControlPanelandclickEaseofAccess
➙EaseofAccessCenter.

Thefollowinginformationprovideswaystohelpuserswhohavehearing,vision,andmobilitylimitationsget
themostoutoftheircomputerexperience.

24ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

On-screennotification

On-screennotificationhelpshearing-impairedpeoplebeawareofthestatusoftheircomputer.On-screen
notificationreplacessoundswithvisualcuesortextcaptionstoindicatethatactivityishappeningonthe
computer.Asaresult,systemalertsarenoticeableevenwhentheyarenotheard.Forexample,whenyou
selectoneobjectwithyourkeyboard,theobjectishighlighted.Whenyoumovethepointertooneobject
withyourmouse,theintroductorytextoftheobjectisdisplayed.

Touseon-screennotification,openControlPanel,clickEaseofAccess➙EaseofAccessCenter,and
thenclickUsetextorvisualalternativesforsounds.

Audionotification

Audionotificationhelpsvisuallyimpairedpeopleorpeoplewithweaksightbeawareofthestatusoftheir
computer.

Touseaudionotification,openControlPanel,clickEaseofAccess➙EaseofAccessCenter➙Usethe

computerwithoutadisplay,andthenselectTurnonAudioDescription.

Narrator

Narratorisascreenreaderthatreadswhatisdisplayedonthescreenaloudanddescribeseventslike
errormessages.

ToopenNarrator,dothefollowing:

•ForWindows7:ClicktheStartbutton.Then,typeNarratorintothesearchfield.Inthelistofresults,
clickNarrator.

•ForWindows8.1:Moveyourpointertothetop-rightorbottom-rightcornerofthescreentodisplaythe
charmsandclickSearch.Then,typeNarratorintothesearchfield.Inthelistofresults,clickNarrator.

FormoreinformationabouthowtouseandconfigureNarrator,seetheWindowsHelpandSupport
informationsystem.

Screen-readertechnologies

Screen-readertechnologiesareprimarilyfocusedonsoftwareprograminterfaces,helpinformationsystems,
andavarietyofonlinedocuments.Foradditionalinformationaboutscreenreaders,seethefollowing:

•UsingPDFswithscreenreaders:
http://www.adobe.com/accessibility.html?promoid=DJGVE

•UsingtheJAWSscreenreader:
http://www.freedomscientific.com/jaws-hq.asp

•UsingtheNVDAscreenreader:
http://www.nvaccess.org/

SpeechRecognition

SpeechRecognitionenablesyoutocontrolyourcomputerbyvoice.

Usingonlyyourvoice,youcanstartprograms,openmenus,clickobjectsonthescreen,dictatetextinto
documents,andwriteandsende-mails.Everythingyoudowiththekeyboardandmousecanbedonewith
onlyyourvoice.

ToopenSpeechRecognition,dothefollowing:

•ForWindows7:ClicktheStartbutton.Then,typeSpeechRecognitionintothesearchfield.Inthelist
ofresults,clickSpeechRecognition.

Chapter3.Youandyourcomputer25

•ForWindows8.1:Moveyourpointertothetop-rightorbottom-rightcornerofthescreentodisplaythe
charmsandclickSearch.Then,typeSpeechRecognitionintothesearchfield.Inthelistofresults,
clickSpeechRecognition.

FormoreinformationabouthowtouseandconfigureSpeechRecognition,seetheWindowsHelpand
Supportinformationsystem.

Customizabletextsize

Dependingonyourpreference,youcanchangeonlythetextsizeinsteadofchangingthesizeofeverything
onthedesktop.Tochangethetextsize,openControlPanelandclickAppearancesandPersonalization➙

Display.Then,gotoChangeonlythetextsizeandsetatextsizethatmeetsyourneeds.

Magnifier

YourcomputerisequippedwiththeMicrosoftMagnifiertohelpvisuallyimpairedpeopleusethecomputer
morecomfortably.Magnifierisausefulutilitythatenlargestheentirescreenorpartofthescreensothatyou
canseethewordsandimagesbetter.Y oucanopenMagnifierfromtheEaseofAccessCenter.

ToopenMagnifier,dothefollowing:

•ForWindows7:ClicktheStartbutton,clickAllPrograms➙Accessories➙EaseofAccess,and
thenclickMagnifier.

•ForWindows8.1:Moveyourpointertothetop-rightorbottom-rightcornerofthescreentodisplaythe
charmsandclickSearch.Then,typeMagnierintothesearchfield.Inthelistofresults,clickMagnifier.

FormoreinformationabouthowtouseandconfigureMagnifier,seetheWindowsHelpandSupport
informationsystem.

Note:Fortouch-screencomputermodels,youalsocanzoominandzoomoutbyusingtouchgestures
insteadofthekeyboard.See“Zoom”onpage26

.

Zoom

Youcanusethezoomfeaturetoenlargeorreducethesizeoftext,pictures,maps,orotherobjects.

•Fromthekeyboard:

–Zoomin:PresstheWindowslogokey+theplus-signkey(+)toenlargethesizeoftext,pictures,

maps,orotherobjects.

–Zoomout:PresstheWindowslogokey+theminus-sign(-)keytoreducethesizeoftext,pictures,

maps,orotherobjects.

•Fromthetouchscreen:

–Zoomin:Movetwofingersfartherapartonthetouchscreentoenlargethesizeoftext,pictures,

maps,orotherobjects.

–Zoomout:Movetwofingersclosertogetheronthetouchscreentoreducethesizeoftext,pictures,

maps,orotherobjects.

Screenresolution

Youcanmakeyourdocumentseasiertoreadbyadjustingthescreenresolutionofyourcomputer.Toadjust
thescreenresolution,rightclickanywhereonthedesktop,clickScreenresolution,andthenadjustthe
settingsasyouprefer.

Note:Settingtoolowofaresolutionmightpreventsomeitemsfromfittingonthescreen.

Foralternativesonincreasingthesizeoftextandotherobjects,seethefollowing:

26ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

•“Customizabletextsize”onpage26

•“Magnifier”onpage26

•“Zoom”onpage26

EaseofAccesskeyboardshortcuts

Thefollowingtablecontainskeyboardshortcutsthatcanhelpmakeyourcomputereasiertouse.

KeyboardshortcutFunction

Windowslogokey+U

RightShiftforeightseconds

ShiftfivetimesTurnStickyKeysonoroff

NumLockforfivesecondsTurnToggleKeysonoroff

LeftAlt+LeftShift+NumLock

LeftAlt+LeftShift+PrtScn(orPrtSc)TurnHighContrastonoroff

OpentheEaseofAccessCenter

TurnFilterKeysonoroff

TurnMouseKeysonoroff

Formoreinformation,gotohttp://windows.microsoft.com/,andthentypeanyofthefollowingkeywords
forsearching:keyboardshortcuts,keycombinations,shortcutkeys.

On-ScreenKeyboard

Ifyouprefertotypeorenterdataintoyourcomputerwithoutusingaphysicalkeyboard,youcanuse
On-ScreenKeyboard.On-ScreenKeyboarddisplaysavisualkeyboardwithallthestandardkeys.Y oucan
selectkeysusingthemouseoranotherpointingdevice,oryoucantaptoselectthekeysifyourcomputer
supportsmulti-touchscreen.

ToopenOn-ScreenKeyboard,dothefollowing:

•ForWindows7:ClicktheStartbutton.Then,typeOn-ScreenKeyboardintothesearchfield.Inthelistof
results,clickOn-ScreenKeyboard.

•ForWindows8.1:Moveyourpointertothetop-rightorbottom-rightcornerofthescreentodisplaythe
charmsandclickSearch.Then,typeOn-ScreenKeyboardintothesearchfield.Inthelistofresults,
clickOn-ScreenKeyboard.

FormoreinformationabouthowtouseandconfigureOn-ScreenKeyboard,seetheWindowsHelpand
Supportinformationsystem.

Personalizedkeyboard

Thetactilebumpsonthekeyboardprovideareferencepointfromwhichyoucaneasilylocateallkeyson
thekeyboardwithoutvisualassistance.

Toadjustyourkeyboardsettings,openControlPanel,clickEaseofAccess➙EaseofAccessCenter,
andthenclickMakethekeyboardeasiertouse.

Industry-standardconnectors

Yourcomputerprovidesindustry-standardconnectorsthatenableyoutoconnectassistivedevices,
ifneeded.

Formoreinformationaboutthelocationandfunctionoftheconnectors,see“Locatingconnectors,controls,
andindicatorsonthefrontofyourcomputer”onpage2

and“Locatingconnectorsontherearofyour

computer”onpage3.

Chapter3.Youandyourcomputer27

TTY/TDDconversionmodem

Yourcomputersupportstheuseofthetexttelephone(TTY)orthetelecommunicationsdeviceforthe
deaf(TDD)conversionmodem.ThemodemmustbeconnectedbetweenyourcomputerandaTTY/TDD
telephone.Then,youcantypeamessageonyourcomputerandsendittothetelephone.

Documentationinaccessibleformats

Lenovoprovideselectronicdocumentationinaccessibleformats,suchasproperlytaggedPDFfilesor
HyperTextMarkupLanguage(HTML)files.Lenovoelectronicdocumentationisdevelopedtoensure
thatvisuallyimpaireduserscanreadthedocumentationthroughascreenreader.Eachimageinthe
documentationalsoincludesadequatealternativetextsothatvisuallyimpaireduserscanunderstandthe
imagewhentheyuseascreenreader.

Movingyourcomputertoanothercountryorregion

Whenyoumoveyourcomputertoanothercountryorregion,youmusttakelocalelectricalstandards
intoconsideration.

Ifyourelocateyourcomputertoacountryorregionthatusesanelectricaloutletstyledifferentfromthe
typeyouarecurrentlyusing,youwillhavetopurchaseeitherelectricalplugadaptersornewpowercords.
YoucanorderpowercordsdirectlyfromLenovo.

Forpowercordinformationandpartnumbers,goto:
http://www.lenovo.com/powercordnotice

28ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Chapter4.Security

Thischapterprovidesinformationabouthowtoprotectyourcomputerfromtheftandunauthorizeduse.

AttachingaKensington-stylecablelock

YoucanuseaKensington-stylecablelocktosecureyourcomputertoadesk,table,orothernon-permanent
fixture.Thecablelockattachestothesecurity-lockslotattherearofyourcomputer.Dependingonthetype
selected,thecablelockcanbeoperatedwithakeyorcombination.Thecablelockalsolocksthebuttons
usedtoopenthecomputercover.Thisisthesametypeoflockusedwithmanynotebookcomputers.You
canordersuchacablelockdirectlyfromLenovobysearchingforKensingtonat:
http://www.lenovo.com/support

Figure6.Kensington-stylecablelock

Usingpasswords

YoucansetavarietyofpasswordsthroughtheMicrosoftWindowsoperatingsystemandthroughtheBIOS
ofyourcomputertohelpdeterunauthorizeduseofyourcomputer.

BIOSpasswords

YoucanusetheBIOSSetupUtilityprogramtosetpasswordstopreventunauthorizedaccesstoyour
computeranddata.Thefollowingtypesofpasswordsareavailable:

•Administratorpassword

•Harddiskpassword

©CopyrightLenovo2014

29

•Power-onpassword(POP)

FormoreinformationaboutBIOSpasswords,see“UsingBIOSpasswords”onpage34
setanypasswordstouseyourcomputer.However,usingpasswordsimprovescomputingsecurity.

.Youdonothaveto

Windowspasswords

DependingonyourversionoftheWindowsoperatingsystem,youcanuseWindowspasswordsforavariety
offeatures,includingaccesscontrolandindividualusersettings.Formoreinformation,seetheWindows
HelpandSupportinformationsystem.

Usingthecoverpresenceswitch

Thecoverpresenceswitchpreventsyourcomputerfromloggingintotheoperatingsystemwhenthe
computercoverisnotproperlyinstalledorclosed.Toenablethecover-presence-switchconnectoronthe
systemboard,dothefollowing:

1.StarttheSetupUtilityprogram.See“StartingtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage33.

2.Settheadministratorpassword.See“Setting,changing,anddeletingapassword”onpage34.

3.FromtheSecuritysubmenu,selectChassisIntrusionDetection➙Enabled.The
cover-presence-switchconnectoronthesystemboardisenabled.

Whenyouturnonthecomputer,ifthecoverpresenceswitchdetectsthatyourcomputercoverisnot
correctlyinstalledorclosed,anerrormessagewillbedisplayed.Tobypasstheerrormessageandloginto
theoperatingsystem,dothefollowing:

1.Properlyinstallorcloseyourcomputercover.See“Completingthepartsreplacement”onpage109.

2.PressF1toentertheSetupUtilityprogram.ThenpressF10tosaveandexittheSetupUtilityprogram.
Theerrormessagewillnotbedisplayedagain.

Usingthefingerprintreader

Theintegratedfingerprintreaderprovidedonsomekeyboardsenablesyoutoenrollyourfingerprintand
associateitwithyourpower-onpassword,harddiskpassword,andWindowspassword.Asaresult,
fingerprintauthenticationcanreplacepasswordsandenablesimpleandsecureuseraccess.

ToopenFingerprintManagerProorThinkVantageFingerprintSoftwareandusethefingerprintreader,
dothefollowing:

•OntheWindows7operatingsystem,see“AccessingLenovoprogramsontheWindows7operating
system”onpage11.

•OntheWindows8.1operatingsystem,see“AccessingLenovoprogramsontheWindows8.1operating
system”onpage12.

Toconfigurethefingerprintreader,dothefollowing:

1.StarttheSetupUtilityprogram.See“StartingtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage33.

2.FromtheSetupUtilityprogrammainmenu,selectSecurity➙FingerprintSetup,andpressEnter.
TheFingerprintSetupwindowopens.

3.SelectPrebootAuthenticationorEraseFingerprintDataasdesired,andpressEnter.

Note:

•PrebootAuthentication:enablesordisablesthefingerprintauthenticationforaccessingtheBIOS.

•EraseFingerprintData:clearsthefingerprintdatastoredinafingerprintreader.

30ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

4.SelectthedesiredsettingsandpressEnter.

5.PressF10tosavechangesandexittheSetupUtilityprogram.PressEnterwhenpromptedtoconfirm
theexit.

Formoreinformationaboutusingthefingerprintreader,refertothehelpsystemofFingerprintManagerPro
orThinkVantageFingerprintSoftware.

Usingandunderstandingfirewalls

Afirewallcanbehardware,software,oracombinationofbothdependingonthelevelofsecurityrequired.
Firewallsworkonasetofrulestodeterminewhichinboundandoutboundconnectionsareauthorized.If
yourcomputerispreinstalledwithafirewallprogram,ithelpsprotectagainstcomputerInternetsecurity
threats,unauthorizedaccess,intrusions,andInternetattacks.Italsoprotectsyourprivacy.Formore
informationabouthowtousethefirewallprogram,refertothehelpsystemofyourfirewallprogram.

TheWindowsoperatingsystempreinstalledonyourcomputerprovidestheWindowsFirewall.Fordetailson
usingtheWindowsFirewall,referto“HelpandSupport”onpage113

.

Protectingdataagainstviruses

Yourcomputerispreinstalledwithanantivirusprogramtohelpyouguardagainst,detect,andeliminate
viruses.

Lenovoprovidesafullversionofantivirussoftwareonyourcomputerwithafree30-daysubscription.After
30days,youmustrenewthelicensetocontinuereceivingtheantivirussoftwareupdates.

Note:Virusdefinitionfilesmustbekeptup-to-datetoguardagainstnewviruses.

Formoreinformationabouthowtouseyourantivirussoftware,refertothehelpsystemofyourantivirus
software.

Chapter4.Security31

32ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Chapter5.Advancedconfiguration

Thischapterprovidesthefollowinginformationtohelpyouconfigurethecomputer:

•“UsingtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage33

•“UpdatingorrecoveringtheBIOS”onpage38

UsingtheSetupUtilityprogram

TheSetupUtilityprogramisusedtoviewandchangetheconfigurationsettingsofyourcomputer,regardless
ofwhichoperatingsystemyouareusing.However,theoperatingsystemsettingsmightoverrideanysimilar
settingsintheSetupUtilityprogram.

StartingtheSetupUtilityprogram

TostarttheSetupUtilityprogram,dothefollowing:

1.Ensurethatyourcomputeristurnedoff.

2.RepeatedlypressandreleasetheF1keywhenturningonthecomputer.Whenyouhearmultiple
beepsorseealogoscreen,releasetheF1key.

Note:Ifapower-onpasswordoranadministratorpasswordhasbeenset,theSetupUtilityprogram
menuwillnotbedisplayeduntilyouenterthecorrectpassword.Formoreinformation,see“Using
BIOSpasswords”onpage34

.

WhenthePOSTdetectsthattheharddiskdrivehasbeenremovedfromyourcomputerorthememorysize
hasdecreased,anerrormessagewillbedisplayed.Youmustdooneofthefollowing:

•PressF1toentertheSetupUtilityprogram.

Note:AfteryouentertheSetupUtilityprogram,pressF10tosavechangesandexittheSetupUtility
program.PressEnterwhenpromptedtoconfirmtheexit.Theerrormessagewillnotbedisplayedagain.

•PressF2tobypasstheerrormessageandlogintotheoperatingsystem.

Note:Y ouhavetoenabletheconfigurationchangedetectionfeatureforthePOSTtodetecttheremovalof
theharddiskdrive.T oenabletheconfigurationchangedetectionfeature,dothefollowing:

1.StarttheSetupUtilityprogram.

2.FromtheSetupUtilityprogrammainmenu,selectSecurity➙ConfigurationChangeDetection,
andpressEnter.

3.SelectEnabledandpressEnter.

4.PressF10tosavechangesandexittheSetupUtilityprogram.PressEnterwhenpromptedtoconfirm
theexit.

Viewingandchangingsettings

TheSetupUtilityprogrammenulistsvariousitemsaboutthesystemconfiguration.Tovieworchange
settings,starttheSetupUtilityprogram.See“StartingtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage33.Then,follow
theinstructionsonthescreen.

Youcanuseeitherthekeyboardorthemousetonavigatethroughmenuchoices.Thekeysusedtoperform
varioustasksaredisplayedatthebottomofeachscreen.

©CopyrightLenovo2014

33

UsingBIOSpasswords

ByusingtheSetupUtilityprogram,youcansetpasswordstopreventunauthorizedaccesstoyourcomputer
anddata.

Youdonothavetosetanypasswordstouseyourcomputer.However,usingpasswordsimprovescomputer
security.Ifyoudecidetosetanypasswords,readthefollowingtopics.

SetupUtilityprogrampasswordtypes

Thefollowingtypesofpasswordsareavailable:

•Power-onpassword
Whenapower-onpasswordisset,youarepromptedtoenteravalidpasswordeachtimethecomputeris
turnedon.Thecomputercannotbeuseduntilthevalidpasswordisentered.

•Administratorpassword
Settinganadministratorpassworddetersunauthorizedusersfromchangingconfigurationsettings.Ifyou
areresponsibleformaintainingtheconfigurationsettingsofseveralcomputers,youmightwanttoset
anAdministratorpassword.

Whenanadministratorpasswordisset,youarepromptedtoenteravalidpasswordeachtimeyou
trytoaccesstheSetupUtilityprogram.TheSetupUtilityprogramcannotbeaccesseduntilavalid
passwordisentered.

Ifboththepower-onpasswordandadministratorpasswordareset,youcanentereitherpassword.
However,youmustuseyourAdministratorpasswordtochangeanyconfigurationsettings.

•Harddiskpassword
Settingaharddiskpasswordpreventsunauthorizedaccesstothedataontheharddiskdrive.Whena
harddiskpasswordisset,youarepromptedtoenteravalidpasswordeachtimeyoutrytoaccessthe
harddiskdrive.

Notes:

–Afteryousetaharddiskpassword,yourdataontheharddiskdriveisprotectedeveniftheharddisk

driveisremovedfromonecomputerandinstalledinanother.

–Iftheharddiskpasswordisforgotten,thereisnowaytoresetthepasswordorrecoverdatafromthe

harddiskdrive.

Passwordconsiderations

Apasswordcanbeanycombinationofupto64alphabeticandnumericcharacters.Forsecurityreasons,it
isrecommendedtouseastrongpasswordthatcannotbeeasilycompromised.

Note:TheSetupUtilityprogrampasswordsarenotcasesensitive.

Tosetastrongpassword,considerthefollowingguidelines:

•Haveatleasteightcharactersinlength

•Containatleastonealphabeticcharacterandonenumericcharacter

•Notbeyournameoryourusername

•Notbeacommonwordoracommonname

•Besignificantlydifferentfromyourpreviouspasswords

Setting,changing,anddeletingapassword

Toset,change,ordeleteapassword,dothefollowing:

1.StarttheSetupUtilityprogram.See“StartingtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage33.

2.FromtheSetupUtilityprogrammainmenu,selectSecurity.

34ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

3.Dependingonthepasswordtype,selectSetPower-OnPassword,SetAdministratorPassword,or
HardDiskPassword.

4.Followtheinstructionsontherightsideofthescreentoset,change,ordeleteapassword.

Note:Apasswordcanbeanycombinationofupto64alphabeticandnumericcharacters.Formore
information,see“Passwordconsiderations”onpage34

.

Erasinglostorforgottenpasswords(clearingCMOS)

Thissectionprovidesinstructionsonhowtoeraselostorforgottenpasswords,suchasauserpassword.

Toerasealostorforgottenpassword,dothefollowing:

1.Removeallmediafromthedrivesandturnoffallattacheddevicesandthecomputer.Then,disconnect
allpowercordsfromelectricaloutletsanddisconnectallcablesthatareconnectedtothecomputer.

2.Removethecomputercover.See“Removingthecomputercover”onpage89.

3.LocatetheClearCMOS/Recoveryjumperonthesystemboard.See“Locatingpartsonthesystem
board”onpage6.

4.Movethejumperfromthestandardposition(pin1andpin2)tothemaintenanceposition(pin2and
pin3).

5.Reinstallthecomputercoverandconnectthepowercord.See“Completingthepartsreplacement”on
page109.

6.Turnonthecomputerandleaveitonforapproximately10seconds.Then,turnoffthecomputerby
holdingthepowerbuttonforapproximatelyfiveseconds.

7.Repeatstep1throughstep2.

8.MovetheClearCMOS/Recoveryjumperbacktothestandardposition(pin1andpin2).

9.Reinstallthecomputercoverandconnectthepowercord.See“Completingthepartsreplacement”on
page109.

Enablingordisablingadevice

Thissectionprovidesinformationonhowtoenableordisableuseraccesstothefollowingdevices:

USBSetupUsethisoptiontoenableordisableaUSBconnector.WhenaUSBconnectoris

disabled,thedeviceconnectedtotheUSBconnectorcannotbeused.

SATAControllerWhenthisoptionissettoDisable,alldevicesconnectedtotheSATAconnectors

(suchasharddiskdrivesoropticaldrives)aredisabledandcannotbeaccessed.

Toenableordisableadevice,dothefollowing:

1.StarttheSetupUtilityprogram.See“StartingtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage33.

2.FromtheSetupUtilityprogrammainmenu,selectDevices.

3.Dependingonthedeviceyouwanttoenableordisable,dooneofthefollowing:

•SelectUSBSetuptoenableordisableaUSBdevice.

•SelectAT ADriveSetuptoenableordisableaninternalorexternalSATAdevice.

4.SelectthedesiredsettingsandpressEnter.

5.PressF10tosavechangesandexittheSetupUtilityprogram.See“ExitingtheSetupUtilityprogram”
onpage38.

Chapter5.Advancedconfiguration35

Selectingastartupdevice

Ifyourcomputerdoesnotstartupfromadeviceasexpected,dooneofthefollowingtoselectthestartup
deviceyouwant.

Selectingatemporarystartupdevice

Usethisproceduretoselectatemporarystartupdevice.

Note:Notalldiscsandharddiskdrivesarebootable.

1.Turnonorrestartyourcomputer.

2.Whenyouseethelogoscreen,repeatedlypressandreleasetheF12key.TheStartupDeviceMenu
windowisdisplayed.

3.SelectthedesiredstartupdeviceandpressEnter.Thecomputerwillstartupfromthedeviceyou
selected.

Note:SelectingastartupdevicefromtheStartupDeviceMenuwindowdoesnotpermanentlychange
thestartupsequence.

Selectingorchangingthestartupdevicesequence

Tovieworpermanentlychangetheconfiguredstartupdevicesequence,dothefollowing:

1.StarttheSetupUtilityprogram.See“StartingtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage33.

2.FromtheSetupUtilityprogrammainmenu,selectStartup.

3.SelectthedevicesforthePrimaryStartupSequence,theAutomaticStartupSequence,andtheError
StartupSequence.Readtheinformationdisplayedontherightsideofthescreen.

4.PressF10tosavechangesandexittheSetupUtilityprogram.See“ExitingtheSetupUtilityprogram”
onpage38.

EnablingErPLPScompliancemode

Lenovocomputersmeettheeco-designrequirementsoftheErPLot3regulation.Formoreinformation,go
to:
http://www.lenovo.com/ecodeclaration

YoucanenableErPLPScompliancemodeintheSetupUtilityprogramtoreducetheconsumptionof
electricitywhenyourcomputerisofforinsleepmode.

ToenableErPLPScompliancemodeintheSetupUtilityprogram,dothefollowing:

1.StarttheSetupUtilityprogram.See“StartingtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage33.

2.FromtheSetupUtilityprogrammainmenu,selectPower➙EnhancedPowerSavingMode,and
pressEnter.

3.SelectEnabledandpressEnter.

4.FromthePowermenu,selectAutomaticPowerOnandpressEnter.

5.SelectWakeonLanandpressEnter.

6.SelectDisabledandpressEnter.

7.PressF10tosavechangesandexittheSetupUtilityprogram.PressEnterwhenpromptedtoconfirm
theexit.

WhenErPLPScompliancemodeisenabled,youcanwakeupyourcomputerbydoingoneofthefollowing:

•Pressthepowerbutton

•Enablethewakeuponalarmfeature

36ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Thewakeuponalarmfeatureenablesyourcomputertowakeupatasettime.T oenablethewake
uponalarmfeature,dothefollowing:

1.StarttheSetupUtilityprogram.

2.FromtheSetupUtilityprogrammainmenu,selectPower➙AutomaticPowerOn,andpressEnter.

3.SelectWakeUponAlarmandpressEnter.Thenfollowtheinstructionsonthescreen.

4.PressF10tosavechangesandexittheSetupUtilityprogram.PressEnterwhenpromptedto
confirmtheexit.

•Enabletheafterpowerlossfeature
Theafterpowerlossfeatureenablesyourcomputertowakeupwhenthepowersupplyresumesaftera

suddenlossofelectricity.T oenabletheafterpowerlossfeature,dothefollowing:

1.StarttheSetupUtilityprogram.

2.FromtheSetupUtilityprogrammainmenu,selectPower➙AfterPowerLoss,andpressEnter.

3.SelectPowerOnandpressEnter.

4.PressF10tosavechangesandexittheSetupUtilityprogram.PressEnterwhenpromptedto
confirmtheexit.

Smartperformancechoices

YoucanadjusttheacousticandthermalperformanceofyourcomputerthroughtheSmartPerformance
Choicemenu.T wochoicesareavailable:

•BetterAcousticPerformance(defaultchoice)

•BetterThermalPerformance

ByenablingBetterAcousticPerformance,yourcomputerwillrunwithlessnoiseatanormalthermal
level.ByenablingBetterThermalPerformance,yourcomputerwillrunatabetterthermallevelwith
normalacousticperformance.

Toswitchbetweenbetteracousticperformanceandbetterthermalperformance,dothefollowing:

1.StarttheSetupUtilityprogram.See“StartingtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage33.

2.FromtheSetupUtilityprogrammainmenu,selectPower.

3.SelectSmartPerformanceChoice.TheSmartPerformanceChoicewindowisdisplayed.

4.SelectBetterAcousticPerformanceorBetterThermalPerformanceasdesired.

5.PressF10tosaveyoursettingandexittheSetupUtilityprogram.See“ExitingtheSetupUtility
program”onpage38.

ICEperformancemode

YoucanadjusttheacousticandthermalperformanceofyourcomputerthroughtheICEPerformance
Modemenu.T wochoicesareavailable:

•BetterAcousticPerformance(defaultsetting)

•BetterThermalPerformance

ByenablingBetterAcousticPerformance,yourcomputerwillrunwithlessnoiseatanormalthermal
level.ByenablingBetterThermalPerformance,yourcomputerwillrunatabetterthermallevelwith
normalacousticperformance.

ToconfiguretheICEperformancemode,dothefollowing:

1.StarttheSetupUtilityprogram.See“StartingtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage33.

Chapter5.Advancedconfiguration37

2.FromtheSetupUtilityprogrammainmenu,selectPower.

3.SelectIntelligentCoolingEngine(ICE).TheIntelligentCoolingEngine(ICE)windowisdisplayed.

4.SelectICEPerformanceMode.TheICEPerformanceModewindowisdisplayed.

5.SelectBetterAcousticPerformanceorBetterThermalPerformanceasdesired.

6.PressF10tosavechangesandexittheSetupUtilityprogram.See“ExitingtheSetupUtilityprogram”
onpage38.

ICEthermalalert

YoucanmonitorthethermalfunctionofyourcomputerundercriticalthermalsituationsthroughtheICE
ThermalAlertmenu.Twochoicesareavailable:

•Enabled(defaultsetting)

•Disabled

AfterenablingtheICEthermalalertfunction,whencriticalthermalsituationsoccur,suchasmalfunctioning
fans,abnormallyhightemperature,andpoorcoolingperformances,analertlogwillbewrittenintothe
Windowssystemlog.Thealertlogcanhelpyouidentifythethermalproblems.

ToconfiguretheICEthermalalertfunction,dothefollowing:

1.StarttheSetupUtilityprogram.See“StartingtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage33.

2.FromtheSetupUtilityprogrammainmenu,selectPower.

3.SelectIntelligentCoolingEngine(ICE).TheIntelligentCoolingEngine(ICE)windowisdisplayed.

4.SelectICEThermalAlert.TheICEThermalAlertwindowisdisplayed.

5.SelectEnabledorDisabledasdesired.

6.PressF10tosavechangesandexittheSetupUtilityprogram.See“ExitingtheSetupUtilityprogram”
onpage38.

ExitingtheSetupUtilityprogram

Afteryoufinishviewingorchangingsettings,pressEsctoreturntotheSetupUtilityprogrammainmenu.
YoumighthavetopressEscseveraltimes.Dooneofthefollowing:

•Ifyouwanttosavethenewsettings,pressF10tosavechangesandexittheSetupUtilityprogram.

•Ifyoudonotwanttosavethesettings,selectExit➙DiscardChangesandExit,andthenpressEnter.
WhentheResetWithoutSavingwindowdisplays,selectYes,andthenpressEntertoexittheSetup
Utilityprogram.

•Ifyouwanttoreturntothedefaultsettings,pressF9toloadthedefaultsettings,andthenpressF10to
saveandexittheSetupUtilityprogram.

UpdatingorrecoveringtheBIOS

LenovomightmakechangesandenhancementstotheBIOS.Whenupdatesarereleased,theyareavailable
asdownloadablefilesontheLenovoWebsiteathttp://www.lenovo.com/drivers.Instructionsforusingthe
BIOSupdatesareavailableinaTXTfilethatisincludedwiththeupdatefiles.Formostmodels,youcan
downloadeitheranupdateprogramtocreateasystem-program-updatediscoranupdateprogramthat
canberunfromtheoperatingsystem.

ThischapterprovidesinformationaboutupdatingtheBIOS,andhowtorecoverfromaBIOSupdatefailure.

38ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

BIOSlevels

AnincorrectlevelofBIOScancausefalseerrorsandunnecessaryFRUreplacement.Usethefollowing
informationtodeterminethecurrentlevelofBIOSinstalledinthecomputer,thelatestBIOSavailableforthe
computer,andwheretoobtainthelatestlevelofBIOS.

•TodeterminethecurrentLevelofBIOS:
–StarttheSetupUtility.
–SelectMainmenu.

•SourcesforobtainingthelatestlevelBIOSavailable

1.Lenovosupportwebsite:http://www.lenovo.com/support/

2.LenovoCustomerSupportCenter

3.Levels1and2Support

ToupdatetheBIOS,see“UpdatingorrecoveringtheBIOS”onpage38.

Note:BIOSsettingsvarybyoperatingsystem.ChangetheBIOSsettingsbeforeinstallinganewoperating
system.See“ChangingtheBIOSsettingsbeforeinstallinganewoperatingsystem”onpage39.

Usingsystemprograms

Systemprogramsarethebasiclayerofsoftwarebuiltintoyourcomputer.Systemprogramsincludethe
POST,theBIOS,andtheSetupUtilityprogram.ThePOSTisasetoftestsandproceduresthatare
performedeachtimeyouturnonyourcomputer.TheBIOSisalayerofsoftwarethattranslatesinstructions
fromotherlayersofsoftwareintoelectricalsignalsthatthecomputerhardwarecanexecute.Y oucanusethe
SetupUtilityprogramtovieworchangetheconfigurationsettingsofyourcomputer.See“UsingtheSetup
Utilityprogram”onpage33

fordetailedinformation.

Thesystemboardofyourcomputerhasamodulecalledelectricallyerasableprogrammableread-only
memory(EEPROM,alsoreferredtoasflashmemory).ItenablesyoutoupdatethePOST,theBIOS,and
theSetupUtilityprogrameasily.T operformsuchanupdate,youcaneitherstartyourcomputerwitha
system-program-updatediscorrunaspecialupdateprogramfromyouroperatingsystem.

LenovomightmakechangesandenhancementstothePOSTandBIOS.Whenupdatesarereleased,they
areavailableasdownloadablefilesontheLenovoWebsiteathttp://www.lenovo.com.Instructionsforusing
thePOSTandBIOSupdatesareavailableinaTXTfilethatisincludedwiththeupdatefiles.Formost
models,youcandownloadanupdateprogramthatcanbeusedtocreateasystem-program-updatedisc
orberunfromtheoperatingsystem.

ChangingtheBIOSsettingsbeforeinstallinganewoperatingsystem

BIOSsettingsvarybyoperatingsystem.ChangetheBIOSsettingsbeforeinstallinganewoperatingsystem.

TochangetheBIOSsettings,dothefollowing:

1.StarttheSetupUtilityprogram.See“StartingtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage33.

2.FromtheSetupUtilityprogrammainmenu,selectExit➙OSOptimizedDefault.

3.Dependingontheoperatingsystemtobeinstalled,dooneofthefollowing:

•ToinstalltheWindows8.1(64-bit)operatingsystem,selectEnabled.

•ToinstallanoperatingsystemotherthanWindows8.1(64-bit),selectDisabled.

4.SelectY esinthewindowdisplayedandpressEntertoconfirmyourselection.

5.PressF10tosavechangesandexittheSetupUtilityprogram.See“ExitingtheSetupUtilityprogram”
onpage38.

Chapter5.Advancedconfiguration39

UpdatingtheBIOSfromadisc

Thissectionprovidesinstructionsonhowtoupdate(flash)theBIOSfromadiscontheWindows8.1(64-bit)
operatingsystemandonotheroperatingsystems.

Note:Youcandownloadaself-startingbootablediscimage(knownasanISOimage)withthesystem
programupdatestocreateasystem-program-updatedisc.Goto:
http://www.lenovo.com/support

Toupdate(flash)theBIOSfromadiscontheWindows8.1(64-bit)operatingsystem,dothefollowing:

1.StarttheSetupUtilityprogram.See“StartingtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage33.

2.FromtheSetupUtilityprogrammainmenu,selectExit➙OSOptimizedDefault➙Disabled.

3.SelectY esinthewindowdisplayedandpressEntertoconfirmyourselection.

4.PressF10tosavechangesandexittheSetupUtilityprogram.See“ExitingtheSetupUtilityprogram”
onpage38.

5.Turnoffyourcomputer.

6.Pressthepowerbuttontoturnonthecomputer.ThenrepeatedlypressandreleasetheF12keyuntilthe
StartupDeviceMenuwindowopens.

7.FromtheStartupDeviceMenuwindow,selectthedesiredopticaldriveasthestartupdevice.Then,
insertthediscintothisopticaldriveandpressEnter.Theupdatebegins.

8.Whenpromptedtochangetheserialnumber,itissuggestedthatyoudonotmakethischangeby
pressingN.However,ifyoudowanttochangetheserialnumber,pressY,andthentypeintheserial
numberandpressEnter.

9.Whenpromptedtochangethemachinetypeandmodel,itissuggestedthatyoudonotmakethis
changebypressingN.However,ifyoudowanttochangethemachinetypeandmodel,pressY,and
thentypeinthemachinetypeandmodelandpressEnter.

10.Followtheinstructionsonthescreentocompletetheupdate.Aftertheupdateiscompleted,removethe
discfromtheopticaldrive.

11.RestartyourcomputerandstarttheSetupUtilityprogram.See“StartingtheSetupUtilityprogram”
onpage33.

12.FromtheSetupUtilityprogrammainmenu,selectExit➙OSOptimizedDefault➙Enabled.

13.SelectY esinthewindowdisplayedandpressEntertoconfirmyourselection.

14.PressF10tosavechangesandexittheSetupUtilityprogram.See“ExitingtheSetupUtilityprogram”
onpage38

.

ToupdatetheBIOSfromadisc,dothefollowing:

1.Turnoffyourcomputer.

2.Pressthepowerbuttontoturnonthecomputer.ThenrepeatedlypressandreleasetheF12keyuntilthe
StartupDeviceMenuwindowopens.

3.FromtheStartupDeviceMenuwindow,selectthedesiredopticaldriveasthestartupdevice.Then,
insertthediscintothisopticaldriveandpressEnter.Theupdatebegins.

4.Whenpromptedtochangetheserialnumber,itissuggestedthatyoudonotmakethischangeby
pressingN.However,ifyoudowanttochangetheserialnumber,pressY,thentypeintheserialnumber
andpressEnter.

5.Whenpromptedtochangethemachinetypeandmodel,itissuggestedthatyoudonotmakethis
changebypressingN.However,ifyoudowanttochangethemachinetypeandmodel,pressY,then
typeinthemachinetypeandmodelandpressEnter.

40ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

6.Followtheinstructionsonthescreentocompletetheupdate.Aftertheupdateiscompleted,removethe
discfromtheopticaldrive.

UpdatingtheBIOSfromyouroperatingsystem

LenovomakesconstantimprovementstoitsWebsites.TheWebpagecontentsaresubjecttochange
withoutnotice,includingthecontentsreferencedinthefollowingprocedure.ToupdatetheBIOSfrom
youroperatingsystem,dothefollowing:

1.Gotohttp://www.lenovo.com/driversandfollowtheinstructionsontheWebpagetolocatetheBIOS
driverthatyouneed.

2.DownloadtheBIOSdriverandtheTXTfilethatcontainstheinstructions.

3.PrinttheTXTfilethatcontainstheinstallationinstructionsandfollowtheinstructionstoupdateyour
BIOS.

RecoveringfromaBIOSupdatefailure

TorecoverfromaBIOSupdatefailure,dothefollowing:

1.Removeallmediafromthedrivesandturnoffallattacheddevicesandthecomputer.Then,disconnect
allpowercordsfromelectricaloutletsanddisconnectallcablesthatareconnectedtothecomputer.

2.Removethecomputercover.See“Removingthecomputercover”onpage89.

3.LocatetheClearCMOS/Recoveryjumperonthesystemboard.See“Locatingpartsonthesystem
board”onpage6.

4.RemoveanycablesthatimpedeaccesstotheClearCMOS/Recoveryjumper.

5.Movethejumperfromthestandardposition(pin1andpin2)tothemaintenanceposition(pin2and
pin3).

6.ReconnectanycablesthatweredisconnectedandreinstallthePCIcardifremoved.

7.Reinstallthecomputercoverandreconnectthepowercordsforthecomputerandmonitortoelectrical
outlets.See“Completingthepartsreplacement”onpage109.

8.PressthepowerbuttontoturnonthecomputerandinserttheBIOSupdatediscintotheopticaldrive.
Waitafewminutes.Therecoveryprocessbegins.Aftertherecoveryprocessiscompleted,your
computerwillbeturnedoffautomatically.

Note:Dependingonthecomputermodel,therecoveryprocesswilltaketwotothreeminutes.

9.Repeatstep1throughstep4.

10.MovetheClearCMOS/Recoveryjumperbacktothestandardposition(pin1andpin2).

11.ReconnectanycablesthatweredisconnectedandreinstallthePCIcardifremoved.

12.Reinstallthecomputercoverandreconnectanycablesthatweredisconnected.

13.Pressthepowerbuttontoturnonthecomputerandrestarttheoperatingsystem.

Chapter5.Advancedconfiguration41

42ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Chapter6.Preventingproblems

Thischapterprovidesinformationthatcanhelpyouavoidcommonproblemsandkeepyourcomputer
runningsmoothly.

Keepingyourcomputercurrent

Insomesituationsyoumightfinditnecessarytohavethemostcurrentsoftwareprograms,devicedrivers,or
operatingsystem.Thissectionexplainshowtogetthelatestupdatesforyourcomputer.

Gettingthelatestdevicedriversforyourcomputer

Note:LenovomakesconstantimprovementstoitsWebsites.ThecontentsontheWebpagearesubjectto

changewithoutnotice,includingthecontentsreferencedinthefollowingprocedure.

Togetthelatestdevicedriversforyourcomputer,dothefollowing:

1.Gotohttp://www.lenovo.com/supportandfollowtheinstructionsonthescreen.

2.Selectyourproductbydoingoneofthefollowing:

•Enteryourmachineinformationinthequickpath.

•Choosefromtheproductoptions.

3.Selectthecategoryofdeviceandtheoperatingsystemforwhichyouneedthedevicedriver.

4.Inthefilteredlist,downloadandinstalltheappropriatedevicedriver.

Attention:DonotdownloadthelatestdevicedriversfromtheWindowsUpdateWebsite.Thedevicedrivers
providedontheWindowsUpdateWebsitehavenotbeentestedbyLenovoandusingthemmightcause
unexpectedproblems.ObtainthelatestdevicedriversfromLenovo.

Updatingyouroperatingsystem

Youcanupdateyouroperatingsystemthroughthesystemupdatefeatureprovidedbytheoperatingsystem.
Systemupdatesincludesecurityfixes,newversionsofWindowscomponents,fixestootherportionsof
theWindowsoperatingsystem,orenhancements.

Toupdateyouroperatingsystem,dothefollowing:

Note:EnsurethatyourcomputerisconnectedtotheInternet.

•ForWindows7:

1.FromtheWindowsdesktop,clickStart➙AllPrograms➙WindowsUpdate.

2.ClickCheckforupdates.

3.Ifanyupdatesareavailable,selecttheupdatesyouneedandclickInstallupdates.

•ForWindows8.1:

1.Movethepointertothetop-rightorbottom-rightcornerofthescreentodisplaythecharms.Click
Settings➙ChangePCsettings➙Updateandrecovery➙WindowsUpdate.

2.ClickChecknow.

3.Ifanyupdatesareavailable,clickViewdetails,selecttheupdatesyouneed,andclickInstall.

©CopyrightLenovo2014

43

UsingtheSystemUpdateprogram

TheSystemUpdateprogram(hereinafterreferredtoasSystemUpdate)providesregularaccesstosystem
andsoftwareupdatesforyourcomputertokeepyoursystemandsoftwareup-to-date.SystemUpdate
gathersinformationfromtheLenovoHelpCenteraboutnewupdatesforyourcomputer.ThenSystem
Updatesortsanddisplayseachupdateascritical,recommended,oroptionaltohelpyouunderstandthe
importance.Y ouhavecompletecontrolofwhichupdatestodownloadandinstall.Afteryouselectthe
updatesyouwant,SystemUpdateautomaticallydownloadsandinstallstheupdateswithoutanyfurther
interventionfromyou.

SystemUpdateispreinstalledonmostLenovocomputersandisreadytorun.Theonlyprerequisiteis
anactiveInternetconnection.Youcanstarttheprogrammanually,oryoucanusetheschedulefeature
toenabletheprogramtosearchforupdatesautomaticallyatspecifiedintervals.Youalsocanpredefine
scheduledupdatestosearchbyseverity(criticalupdates,criticalandrecommendedupdates,orallupdates).
Asaresult,thelistyouchoosefromcontainsonlythoseupdatetypesthatareofinteresttoyou.

ToopenSystemUpdate,see“AccessingLenovoprogramsontheWindows7operatingsystem”onpage11
or“AccessingLenovoprogramsontheWindows8.1operatingsystem”onpage12.

IfSystemUpdateisnotcurrentlyinstalledonyourcomputer,youcandownloaditfromtheLenovoSupport
Websiteat:
http://www.lenovo.com/support

Cleaningandmaintenance

Withappropriatecareandmaintenanceyourcomputerwillserveyoureliably.Thefollowingtopicsoffer
informationtohelpyoukeepyourcomputerintopworkingorder.

Basics

Herearesomebasicpointsaboutkeepingyourcomputerfunctioningproperly:

•Keepyourcomputerinaclean,dryenvironment.Ensurethatthecomputerrestsonaflat,steadysurface.

•Donotcoveranyoftheventsinthecomputerormonitor.Theseventsprovideairflowtokeepyour
computerfromoverheating.

•Keepfoodanddrinksawayfromallpartsofyourcomputer.Foodparticlesandspillsmightmakethe
keyboardandmousestickandunusable.

•Donotgetthepowerswitchesorothercontrolswet.Moisturecandamagethesepartsandcausean
electricalhazard.

•Alwaysdisconnectapowercordbygraspingthepluginsteadofthecord.

Cleaningyourcomputer

Itisagoodpracticetocleanyourcomputerperiodicallytoprotectthesurfacesandensuretrouble-free
operation.

CAUTION:
Besuretoturnoffthecomputerandmonitorbeforecleaningthecomputerandmonitorscreen.

Computer

Useonlymildcleaningsolutionsandadampclothtocleanthepaintedsurfacesofthecomputer.

Keyboard

Tocleanyourcomputerkeyboard,dothefollowing:

44ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

1.Applysomeisopropylrubbingalcoholtoasoft,dust-freecloth.

2.Wipeeachkeytopsurfacewiththecloth.Wipethekeysonebyone;ifyouwipeseveralkeysatatime,
theclothmayhookontoanadjacentkeyandpossiblydamageit.Ensurethatnoliquiddripsonto
orbetweenthekeys.

3.Toremoveanycrumbsordustfrombeneaththekeys,youcanuseacamerablowerwithabrush
orcoolairfromahairdryer.

Note:Avoidsprayingcleanerdirectlyontothekeyboard.

Opticalmouse

Anopticalmouseusesalight-emittingdiode(LED)andanopticalsensortonavigatethepointer.Ifthe
pointeronthescreendoesnotmovesmoothlywiththeopticalmouse,youmightneedtocleanthemouse.

Tocleananopticalmouse,dothefollowing:

1.Turnoffyourcomputer.

2.Disconnectthemousecablefromthecomputer.

3.Turnthemouseupsidedowntocheckthelens.

•Ifthereisasmudgeonthelens,gentlycleantheareawithaplaincotton-tippedswab.

•Ifthereisdebrisinthelens,gentlyblowthedebrisawayfromthearea.

4.Checkthesurfaceonwhichyouareusingthemouse.Ifyouhaveaveryintricatepictureorpattern
beneaththemouse,itmightbedifficultforthedigitalsignalprocessortodeterminechangesinthe
mouseposition.

5.Reconnectthemousecabletothecomputer.

6.Turnyourcomputerbackon.

Displayscreen

Dustbuildupcompoundsproblemsassociatedwithglare.Remembertocleanyourmonitorscreen
periodically.

Cleaningaflat-panelmonitorsurface

Tocleantheflexiblefilmsurfaceofaflat-panelcomputerdisplay,wipeitgentlywithasoft,drycloth,or
blowonthescreentoremovegritandotherlooseparticles.ThenmoistenaclothwithLCDcleanerand
wipethescreensurface.

Manycomputersupplystorescarrythespecialcleaningfluidsfordisplays.Usecleaningfluidsdevelopedfor
LCDdisplaysonly.Firstapplythefluidtoalint-free,softcloth,thencleantheLCDdisplay.Somecomputer
supplystorescarrypre-moistenedtowelettesforLCDmaintenance.

Cleaningaglass-screensurface

Tocleanaglass-screensurface,wipeitgentlywithasoft,drycloth,orblowonthescreentoremovegritand
otherlooseparticles.Thenuseasoftclothmoistenedwithanonabrasiveliquidglasscleaner.

Goodmaintenancepractices

Byperformingafewgoodmaintenancepractices,youcanmaintaingoodcomputerperformance,protect
yourdata,andbepreparedincaseofacomputerfailure.

•Emptyyourrecyclebinonaregularbasis.

•Usethediskdefragmentationordiskoptimizationfeatureofyouroperatingsystemoccasionallyto
preventperformanceproblemscausedbyanexcessivenumberoffragmentedfiles.

Chapter6.Preventingproblems45

•CleanoutyourInbox,SentItems,andDeletedItemsfoldersinyoure-mailapplicationonaregularbasis.

•Backupcriticaldataregularlyonremovablemediamemory,suchasdiscsandUSBstoragedevices,
andstoretheremovablemediainasafelocation.Thefrequencyofmakingbackupcopiesdependson
howcriticalthedataistoyouoryourbusiness.

•Backupyourentireharddiskdriveonaregularbasis.

•Keepyourcomputersoftware,devicedrivers,andoperatingsystemup-to-date.See“Keepingyour
computercurrent”onpage43

•Keepalogbook.Entriesmightincludemajorsoftwareorhardwarechanges,device-driverupdates,
intermittentproblemsandwhatyoudidtoresolvethem,andotherissuesyoumighthaveexperienced.
Thecauseofaproblemmightbechangeinhardware,changeinsoftware,oranyotheractionsthatmight
havetakenplace.AlogbookcanhelpyouoraLenovotechniciandeterminesthecauseofaproblem.

•CreateProductRecoverydiscs.See“Creatingandusingrecoverymedia”onpage61formoreinformation
aboutusingProductRecoverydiscstorestoretheharddiskdrivetothefactory-defaultsettings.

•CreaterescuemediausingdiscsorUSBstoragedevicesasearlyaspossible.Youcanusearescue
mediumtorecoverfromfailuresthatpreventyoufromgainingaccesstotheWindowsenvironmentorthe
RescueandRecoveryworkspaceonyourharddiskdrive.

.

Movingyourcomputer

Takethefollowingprecautionsbeforemovingyourcomputer:

1.Backupallfilesanddatafromtheharddiskdrive.Thereareavarietyofbackupprogramsavailable
commercially.IfyouusetheWindows7operatingsystem,LenovoprovidestheRescueandRecovery
programtohelpyoubackupandrestoredata.See“Performingbackupandrecoveryoperations”
onpage62.

2.Removeallmediafromyourcomputer,suchasdiscs,USBstoragedevices,memorycards,andsoon.

3.Turnoffthecomputerandallattacheddevices.Yourharddiskdriveautomaticallyparkstheread/write
headinanondataarea.Thispreventsdamagetotheharddiskdrive.

4.Unplugthepowercordsfromelectricaloutlets.

5.Disconnectcommunicationcables,suchasmodemornetworkcables,fromtheoutletsfirst,andthen
disconnecttheotherendsfromthecomputer.

6.Notewhereanyremainingcablesareattachedtothecomputer;then,removethem.

7.Ifyousavedtheoriginalshippingcartonsandpackingmaterials,usethemtopacktheunits.Ifyouare
usingdifferentcartons,cushiontheunitstoavoiddamage.

46ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Chapter7.Troubleshootinganddiagnostics

Thischapterprovidesinformationaboutdiagnosingandtroubleshootingcomputerproblems.Ifyour
computerproblemisnotdescribedhere,seeChapter10“Gettinginformation,help,andservice”onpage
113foradditionaltroubleshootingresources.

Basictroubleshooting

Thefollowingtableprovidessomebasicinstructionstohelpyoutroubleshootyourcomputerproblems.

Note:Ifyoucannotcorrecttheproblem,havethecomputerserviced.Foralistofserviceandsupport
telephonenumbers,refertotheSafety,Warranty,andSetupGuidethatcomeswithyourcomputerorgoto
theLenovoSupportWebsiteat:
http://www.lenovo.com/support/phone

SymptomAction

Thecomputerdoesnotstart
whenyoupressthepower
button.

Themonitorscreenisblank.Ensurethat:

Thekeyboarddoesnotwork.Ensurethat:

Themousedoesnotwork.Ensurethat:

Ensurethat:

•Thepowercordiscorrectlyconnectedtotherearofthecomputerandtoa
workingelectricaloutlet.

•Ifyourcomputerhasasecondarypowerswitchontherearofthecomputer,
ensurethatitisswitchedon.

•Thepowerindicatoronthefrontofthecomputerison.

•Thecomputervoltagematchesthevoltageavailableattheelectricaloutletfor
yourcountryorregion.

•Themonitorsignalcableiscorrectlyconnectedtothemonitorandtothe
appropriatemonitorconnectoronthecomputer.

•Themonitorpowercordiscorrectlyconnectedtothemonitorandtoaworking
electricaloutlet.

•Themonitoristurnedonandthebrightnessandcontrastissetcorrectly.

•Thecomputervoltagematchesthevoltageavailableattheelectricaloutletfor
yourcountryorregion.

•Ifyourcomputerhasadiscretegraphicscardinstalled,besuretouseamonitor
connectoronthediscretegraphicscard.

•Thecomputeristurnedon.

•ThekeyboardissecurelyconnectedtoaPS/2keyboardconnectororaUSB
connectoronthecomputer.

•Nokeysarestuck.

•Thecomputeristurnedon.

•ThemouseissecurelyconnectedtoaPS/2mouseconnectororaUSB
connectoronthecomputer.

•Themouseisclean.Referto“Opticalmouse”onpage45forfurtherinformation.

©CopyrightLenovo2014

47

SymptomAction

Theoperatingsystemdoesnot
start.

Thecomputerbeepsmultiple
timesbeforetheoperating
systemstarts.

Ensurethatthestartupsequenceincludesthedevicewheretheoperatingsystem
resides.Usually,theoperatingsystemisontheharddiskdrive.Formore
information,see“Selectingastartupdevice”onpage36

Ensurethatnokeysarestuck.

.

Troubleshootingprocedure

Usethefollowingprocedureasastartingpointfordiagnosingproblemsyouareexperiencingwithyour
computer:

1.Ensurethatthecablesforallattacheddevicesareconnectedcorrectlyandsecurely.

2.Ensurethatallattacheddevicesthatrequireacpowerareconnectedtoproperlygrounded,functioning
electricaloutlets.

3.EnsurethatallattacheddevicesareenabledintheBIOSsettingsofyourcomputer.Formoreinformation
aboutaccessingandchangingtheBIOSsettings,referto“UsingtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage33.

4.Goto“Troubleshooting”onpage48andfollowtheinstructionsforthetypeofproblemyouare
experiencing.IftheTroubleshootinginformationdoesnothelpyouresolveaproblem,continuewiththe
nextstep.

5.Tryusingapreviouslycapturedconfigurationtoseeifarecentchangetohardwareorsoftwaresettings
hascausedaproblem.Beforerestoringapreviousconfiguration,captureyourcurrentconfigurationin
casetheolderconfigurationsettingsdonotsolvetheproblemorhaveadverseeffects.Torestorea
capturedconfiguration,dothefollowing:

•ForWindows7:ClickStart➙ControlPanel➙SystemandSecurity➙System➙System

Protection➙SystemRestore.

•ForWindows8.1:OpenControlPanel,andthenclickSystemandSecurity➙System➙System

Protection➙SystemRestore.

Note:FordetailedinformationonhowtoopenControlPanelonWindows8.1,see“Accessing

ControlPanelontheWindows8.1operatingsystem”onpage21.

Ifthisdoesnotcorrecttheproblem,continuewiththenextstep.

6.Runthediagnosticprogram.See“LenovoSolutionCenter”onpage58formoreinformation.

•Ifthediagnosticprogramdetectsahardwarefailureorifyouareunabletorunthediagnostic

program,contacttheLenovoCustomerSupportCenter.SeeChapter10“Gettinginformation,help,
andservice”onpage113formoreinformation.

•Ifthediagnosticprogramdoesnotdetectahardwarefailure,continuewiththenextstep.

7.Useanantivirusprogramtoseeifyourcomputerhasbeeninfectedbyavirus.Iftheprogramdetectsa
virus,removethevirus.

8.Ifnoneoftheseactionssolvetheproblem,seektechnicalassistance.SeeChapter10“Getting
information,help,andservice”onpage113

formoreinformation.

Troubleshooting

Usethetroubleshootinginformationtofindsolutionstoproblemsthathavedefinitesymptoms.

Ifthesymptomoccurredimmediatelyafteryouinstallednewsoftwareoranewhardwareoption,dothe
followingbeforereferringtothetroubleshootinginformation:

48ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

1.Removethenewhardwareoptionorsoftware.Ifyoumustremovethecomputercovertoremovea
hardwareoption,ensurethatyoureviewandfollowtheelectricalsafetyinformationprovidedwithyour
computer.Foryoursafety,donotoperatethecomputerwiththecoverremoved.

2.Runthediagnosticprogramtoensureyourcomputerisoperatingcorrectly.

3.Reinstallthenewhardwareoptionorsoftwarefollowingtheinstructionsprovidedbythemanufacturer.

Audioproblems

Thissectionprovidessolutionstoaudio-relatedproblems.

NoaudioinWindows

Solutions:

•IfyouareusingpoweredexternalspeakersthathaveanOn/Offcontrol,ensurethefollowing:

–TheOn/OffcontrolissettotheOnposition.
–Thespeakerpowercableisconnectedtoaproperlygrounded,functionalacelectricaloutlet.

•Ifyourexternalspeakershaveavolumecontrol,ensurethatthevolumeisnotsettoolow.

•OntheWindowsdesktop,clickthespeakericonintheWindowsnotificationarea.ThenclickMixer.
Ensurethatthemutespeakerssettingsarenotselectedandnoneofthevolumesettingsissettoolow.

•Somemodelshaveafrontaudiopanelyoucanusetoadjustvolume.Ifyouhaveafrontaudiopanel,
ensurethatthevolumeisnotsettoolow.

•Ensurethatyourexternalspeakers(andheadphones,ifused)areconnectedtothecorrectaudio
connectoronthecomputer.Mostspeakercablesarecolor-codedtomatchtheconnector.

Note:Whenexternal-speakerorheadphonecablesareattachedtotheaudioconnector,theinternal
speaker,ifpresent,isdisabled.Inmostcases,ifanaudioadapterisinstalledinoneoftheexpansion
slots,theaudiofunctionbuiltintothesystemboardisdisabled.Therefore,youmustusetheaudio
connectorsontheaudioadapter.

•EnsurethattheprogramyouarerunningisdesignedforuseintheMicrosoftWindowsoperatingsystem.
IftheprogramisdesignedtoruninDOS,theprogramdoesnotusetheWindowssoundfeature.The
programmustbeconfiguredtouseSoundBlasterProorSoundBlasteremulation.

•Ensurethattheaudiodevicedriversarecorrectlyinstalled.SeeWindowsHelpandSupportinformation
systemformoreinformation.

Soundcomesfromoneexternalspeakeronly

Solutions:

•Ensurethatthespeakercableisinsertedcompletelyintotheconnectoronthecomputer.

•Ensurethatthecablethatattachestheleftspeakertotherightspeakerissecurelyconnected.

•ClickthespeakericonintheWindowsnotificationarea.Thenclickthespeakericonontopofthevolume
control.ClicktheLevelstabandensurethattheBalancesettingsaresetcorrectly.

CDproblems

ThissectionprovidessolutionstoCD-relatedproblems.

AnaudiodiscorAutoPlay-enableddiscdoesnotautomaticallyplaywhenitis
insertedintoaCDdrive

Solutions:

•IfyouhavemultipleCDorDVDdrivesinstalled(oracombinationofCDandDVDdrives),tryinsertingthe
discintotheotherdrive.Insomecases,onlyoneofthedrivesisconnectedtotheaudiosubsystem.

Chapter7.Troubleshootinganddiagnostics49

•Ifthisdoesnotcorrecttheproblem,followthesolutionsfor“ACDorDVDdoesnotwork”onpage50.

ACDorDVDdoesnotwork

Solutions:

•Ensurethatthediscisinsertedcorrectly,withitslabelup.

•Ensurethatthediscyouareusingisclean.Toremovedustorfingerprints,wipethedisccleanwithasoft
clothfromthecentertotheoutside.Wipingadiscinacircularmotionmightcauselossofdata.

•Ensurethatthediscyouareusingisnotscratchedordamaged.Tryinsertinganotherdiscthatyou
knowisgood.Ifyoucannotreadfromaknown-gooddisc,youmighthaveaproblemwithyouroptical
driveorthecablingtoyouropticaldrive.Ensurethatthepowercableandsignalcablearesecurely
connectedtothedrive.

Unabletouseabootablerecoverymedium,suchastheProductRecoveryCD,to
startyourcomputer

Solution:EnsurethattheCDorDVDdriveisinthestartupsequencebeforetheharddiskdrive.Referto
“Selectingorchangingthestartupdevicesequence”onpage36forinformationonviewingandchanging
thestartupsequence.Notethatonsomemodelsthestartupsequenceispermanentlysetandcannot
bechanged.

DVDproblems

ThissectionprovidessolutionstoDVD-relatedproblems.

BlackscreeninsteadofDVDvideo

Solutions:

•RestarttheDVDplayerprogram.

•Tryalowerscreenresolutionorcolordepth.

•Closeanyopenfiles,andthenrestartthecomputer.

DVDmoviedoesnotplay

Solutions:

•Ensurethatthediscsurfaceiscleanandnotscratched.

•Checkthediscorpackageforregionalcoding.Y oumightneedtopurchaseadiscwithcodingfor
theregionwhereyouareusingyourcomputer.

NoaudioorintermittentaudiowhileplayingaDVDmovie

Solutions:

•Checkthevolumecontrolsettingsonyourcomputerandonyourspeakers.

•Ensurethatthediscsurfaceiscleanandnotscratched.

•Checkallcableconnectionstoandfromthespeakers.

•UsetheDVDmenuforthevideotoselectadifferentaudiotrack.

Playbackissloworchoppy

Solutions:

•Disableanybackgroundprograms,suchasAntiVirusorDesktopThemes.

•Ensurethatvideoresolutionissettolessthan1152x864pixels.

50ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Invaliddiscornodiscfoundmessage

Solutions:

•EnsurethataDVDdiscisinthedrivewiththeshinysideofthediscfacingdown.

•Ensurethatvideoresolutionissettolessthan1152x864pixels.

•OncomputersthathaveaCD-ROMorCD-RWdriveinadditiontoaDVD-ROMdrive,ensurethatthe
DVDdiscisinthedrivelabeled“DVD”.

Intermittentproblems

Someproblemsoccuronlyoccasionallyandaredifficulttorepeat.

Solutions:

•Ensurethatallcablesandcordsaresecurelyconnectedtothecomputerandattacheddevices.

•Ensurethatwhenthecomputerison,thefangrillisnotblocked(thereisairflowaroundthegrill),andthe
fansareworking.Ifairflowisblockedorthefansarenotworking,thecomputermightoverheat.

•IfSmallComputerSystemInterface(SCSI)devicesareinstalled,ensurethatthelastexternaldevicein
eachSCSIchainisterminatedcorrectly.Formoreinformation,seeyourSCSIdocumentation.

Harddiskdriveproblems

Selectyoursymptomfromthefollowinglist:

•“SomeorallharddiskdrivesmissingfromtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage51

•“"NoOperatingSystemFound"messageorthesystemnotstartingfromthecorrectharddiskdrive”
onpage51

SomeorallharddiskdrivesmissingfromtheSetupUtilityprogram

Symptom:SomeorallharddiskdrivesmissingfromtheSetupUtilityprogram

Actions:

•Ensurethatallharddiskdrivesignalcablesandpowercablesareconnectedcorrectly.

•Ensurethatyourcomputerisconfiguredcorrectlytosupporttheharddiskdrives.

–IfyourcomputerisinstalledwithfiveSATAharddiskdrives,ensurethattheSATAharddiskdrive

enablementmodule(onetofiveharddiskdrives)isinstalled.

–IfyourcomputerisinstalledwithSASharddiskdrives,ensurethattheSASharddiskdriveenablement

module(onetofiveharddiskdrives)ortheLSIMegaRAIDSASadapterisinstalled.

Iftheseactionsdonotcorrecttheproblem,runthediagnosticprogramLenovoSolutionCenter.See
“LenovoSolutionCenter”onpage58
help,andservice”onpage113.

.Ifyouneedtechnicalassistance,seeChapter10“Gettinginformation,

"NoOperatingSystemFound"messageorthesystemnotstartingfromthecorrect
harddiskdrive

Symptom:"NoOperatingSystemFound"messageorthesystemnotstartingfromthecorrectharddiskdrive

Actions:

•Ensurethatallharddiskdrivesignalcablesandpowercablesareconnectedcorrectly.

•EnsurethattheharddiskdriveyourcomputerstartsfromislistedasthefirststartupdeviceintheSetup
Utilityprogram.Referto“Selectingastartupdevice”onpage36

.

Chapter7.Troubleshootinganddiagnostics51

Note:Inrarecases,theharddiskdrivewiththeoperatingsystemmightgetcorruptedordamaged.Insuch
cases,youmightneedtoreplacetheharddiskdrive.Referto“Replacingtheharddiskdriveassembly”on
page100.

Iftheseactionsdonotcorrecttheproblem,runthediagnosticprogramLenovoSolutionCenter.See
“LenovoSolutionCenter”onpage58.

Problemswiththekeyboardormouse

Thissectionprovidessolutionstokeyboard-relatedandmouse-relatedproblems.

Keysonthekeyboarddonotwork

Solutions:

•ConnectthekeyboardcabletoaUSBconnectororPS/2keyboardconnector.

•IfyouareusingaUSBkeyboard,enabletheUSBconnectorsintheBIOSsettings.Formoreinformation,
see“Enablingordisablingadevice”onpage35.

•IfyouareusinganEnhancedPerformanceUSBkeyboard,usethehelpsystemintheEnhanced
PerformanceCustomizationKeyboardprogramtohelpdiagnoseproblems.

ToopentheEnhancedPerformanceCustomizationKeyboardprogram,dooneofthefollowing:

–OnWindows7:

1.ClickStart➙ControlPanel.

2.ClickHardwareandSound.

3.ClickDevicesandPrinters.

4.Double-clickUSBEnhancedPerformanceKeyboard.

–OnWindows8.1:

1.OpenControlPanel.Formoreinformation,see“AccessingControlPanelontheWindows8.1
operatingsystem”onpage21.

2.ClickHardwareandSound.

3.ClickDevicesandPrinters.

4.Double-clickUSBEnhancedPerformanceKeyboard.

Themousedoesnotwork

Solutions:

•ConnectthemousecabletoaUSBconnectororPS/2mouseconnector.

Note:Dependingonyourkeyboard,integratedUSBconnectorsmightbeavailabletobeusedto
connectaUSBmouse.

•Installthedevicedriversforthemouse.

•IfyouareusingaUSBmouse,enabletheUSBconnectorsintheBIOSsettings.Formoreinformation,
see“Enablingordisablingadevice”onpage35

.

Thepointeronthescreendoesnotmovesmoothlywiththemouse

Solution:Cleanthemouse.Formoreinformation,see“Opticalmouse”onpage45.

Thefingerprintreaderonthekeyboarddoesnotwork

Note:Thekeyboardwithfingerprintreaderisonlyavailableonsomemodels.

Solutions:

52ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

•Enrollyourfingerprintcorrectly.

•Neverscratchthesurfaceofthereaderwithahard,pointedobject.

•Neverscrapthesurfaceofthereaderwithyournailoranythinghard.

•Useortouchthereaderwithacleanfinger.

•Ensurethatthesurfaceofyourfingeristhesamewiththeonewhenyoulastenrolled.

Thewirelesskeyboarddoesnotwork

Solutions:

•IfthetransceivercommunicationsLEDisnoton,reconnectthetransceiverandthekeyboard.

•IfthewirelesskeyboarddoesnotworkwhenthetransceivercommunicationsLEDison,restartyour
computer.

Iftheproblempersistsaftertherestart,ensurethat:

•Thebatteriesareinstalledcorrectly.

•Thebatteriesstillretaintheircurrent.

•Thedistancefromthewirelesskeyboardtothetransceiverislessthan10m(393.7inches).

•Thetransceiverisinstalledfully.

Monitorproblems

Thissectionprovidessolutionstomonitor-relatedproblems.

Myscreengoesblankwhilethecomputerison

Solutions:Y ourscreensaverorpowermanagementmighthavebeenenabled.Dooneofthefollowing:

•Pressakeytoexitthescreensaver.

•Pressthepowerbuttontoresumethecomputerfromsleeporhibernationmode.

ThemonitorworkswhenIturnonthecomputer,butgoesblankwhenIstartsome
applicationprograms

Solutions:

•Connectthemonitorsignalcablefromyourmonitortoanappropriateconnectoronthecomputer.A
loosecablemightcauseintermittentproblems.

•Installthedevicedriversfortheapplicationprograms.Refertothedocumentationfortheaffected
applicationprogramtocheckwhetheranydevicedriversarerequired.

Theimageappearstobeflickering

Solution:Resettherefreshrate.

1.OpenControlPanel.

Note:ToopenControlPanelonWindows8.1,see“AccessingControlPanelontheWindows8.1
operatingsystem”onpage21

2.ClickHardwareandSound➙Adjustscreenresolution➙Advancedsettings.

3.ClicktheMonitortabtoresettherefreshrate.
Settherefreshratetobethehighest,noninterlacedrefreshratesupportedonyourcomputer.Referto

thedocumentationthatcomeswithyourmonitorforthesupportedrefreshrates.

Chapter7.Troubleshootinganddiagnostics53

Theimageisdiscolored

Solution:Themonitormightbeaffectedbyinterferencefromnearbyequipment.Movefluorescentdesk
lightingoranyequipmentthatproducesmagneticfieldsfurtherawayfromthemonitor.Iftheproblem
persists,dothefollowing:

1.Turnoffthemonitor.

2.Adjusttheplacementofthemonitorandotherdevicessothattheyareatleast305mm(12inches)apart.

3.Turnonthemonitor.

Networkingproblems

Thissectionprovidessolutionstonetworking-relatedproblems.

Ethernetproblems

Mycomputercannotbeconnectedtothenetwork

Solutions:

•ConnectthecablefromtheEthernetconnectortotheRJ45connectorofthehub.

•Havethelatestdevicedriverinstalledonyourcomputer.
Tocheckwhetheryouareusingthelatestdevicedriver,dooneofthefollowing:

–OnWindows7:

1.ClickStart➙ControlPanel.

2.ClickHardwareandSound.

3.ClickDeviceManager.T ypetheadministratorpasswordorprovideconfirmationifprompted.

4.IfanexclamationmarkisdisplayednexttoanadapternameunderNetworkadapters,theadapter
drivermightnotbethelatestorisdisabled.Right-clickthehighlightedadaptertoupdatethedriver.

5.ClickUpdateDriverSoftware,andthenfollowtheinstructionsonthescreen.

–OnWindows8.1:

1.OpenControlPanel.Formoreinformation,see“AccessingControlPanelontheWindows8.1
operatingsystem”onpage21.

2.ClickHardwareandSound.

3.ClickDeviceManager.T ypetheadministratorpasswordorprovideconfirmationifprompted.

4.IfanexclamationmarkisdisplayednexttoanadapternameunderNetworkadapters,theadapter
drivermightnotbecorrectorisdisabled.Right-clickthehighlightedadaptertoupdatethedriver.

5.ClickUpdateDriverSoftware,andthenfollowtheinstructionsonthescreen.

•Setthesameduplexfortheswitchportandtheadapter.
Ifyouconfiguredtheadapterforfullduplex,ensurethattheswitchportisalsoconfiguredforfullduplex.

Settingthewrongduplexmodemightdegradeperformance,causedataloss,orresultinlostconnections.

•Installallnetworkingsoftwarethatisnecessaryforyournetworkenvironment.
CheckwithyourLANadministratorforthenecessarynetworkingsoftware.

Theadapterstopsworkingfornoreason

Solution:Thenetworkdriverfilesmightbecorruptormissing.Updatethedriverbyreferringtothe“Solution”
descriptionforthepreviousproblemtoensurethatthelatestdevicedriverisinstalled.

TheWakeOnLANfeatureisnotworking

Solution:EnabletheWakeOnLAN(WOL)featureintheBIOSprogram.

54ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

MycomputerisaGigabitEthernetmodelandIuseaspeedof1000Mbps,buttheconnectionfails
orerrorsoccur

Solution:ConnectthenetworkcabletotheEthernetconnectorusingCategory5wiringanda100BASE-T
hub/switch(not100BASE-X).

MycomputerisaGigabitEthernetmodel,butitcannotbeconnectedtothenetworkat1000Mbps,
butatonly100Mbps

Solutions:

•Tryanothercable.

•Setthelinkpartnertoauto-negotiate.

•Settheswitchtobe802.3ab-compliant(gigabitovercopper).

IcannotconnecttoawirelessLANusingthebuilt-inwirelessnetworkingcard

Solutions:

•InstallthelatestwirelessLANdrivers.

•Placeyourcomputerwithintherangeofawirelessaccesspoint.

•Enablethewirelessradio.

•CheckNetworkName(SSID)andyourpassword.

–OnWindows7:

1.ClickStart➙LenovoThinkVantageTools➙AccessConnections.

2.SwitchtotheAdvancedview,andthenclicktheMobileHotspottabtocheckyourSSIDand
password.

–OnWindows8.1:

1.OpenControlPanel.Formoreinformation,see“AccessingControlPanelontheWindows8.1
operatingsystem”onpage21.

2.ClickNetworkandInternet➙NetworkandSharingCentertocheckyourSSIDandpassword.

SounddoesnotcomefromtheBluetoothheadsetorheadphonebutcomesfrom
thelocalspeakereventhoughtheheadsetorheadphoneisconnectedusingthe
HeadsetprofileorAVprofile

Solution:

1.Exittheapplicationthatusesthesounddevice(forexample,WindowsMediaPlayer).

2.OpenControlPanel.

Note:FordetailedinformationonhowtoopenControlPanelonWindows8.1,see“AccessingControl
PanelontheWindows8.1operatingsystem”onpage21.

3.ClickHardwareandSound➙Sound.

4.SelectthePlaybacktab.

5.IfyouareusingtheHeadsetprofile,selectBluetoothHands-freeAudio,andthenclickSetDefault.If
youareusingtheAVprofile,selectStereoAudio,andthenclickSetDefault.

6.ClickOK.

Note:Bluetoothissupportedonlyonsomecomputermodels.

Chapter7.Troubleshootinganddiagnostics55

Ihaveconnectedanoptiontomycomputer,butitdoesnotwork

Solution:Refertothedocumentationthatcomeswiththeoptiontoensurethatyouhaveconnectedthe
optioncorrectly.

Performanceandlockupproblems

Thissectionprovidessolutionstoperformance-relatedproblemsofyourcomputer.

Insufficientfreeharddiskdrivespace

Solution:Freeupharddiskdrivespace.

•Method1

1.ClickStart➙ComputeronWindows7oropenFileExploreronWindows8.1.

2.Right-clickyourCdriveentryandthenclickProperties.

3.ClickDiskCleanup,andthenfollowtheinstructionsonthescreen.

•Method2

1.OpenControlPanel.

Note:FordetailedinformationonhowtoopenControlPanelonWindows8.1,see“Accessing
ControlPanelontheWindows8.1operatingsystem”onpage21.

2.ClickPrograms.

3.ClickT urnWindowsfeaturesonoroff,andthenfollowtheinstructionsonthescreen.

•Method3

1.ClickStart➙ComputeronWindows7oropenFileExploreronWindows8.1.

2.Right-clickyourCdriveentryandthenclickProperties.

3.ClickDiskCleanup.

4.ClickCleanupsystemfiles.

5.ClicktheMoreOptionstab.

6.ClickCleanupintheProgramsandFeaturesarea,andthenfollowtheinstructionsonthescreen.

•CleanoutyourInbox,SentItems,andDeletedItemsfoldersfromyoure-mailapplication.Thefolder
namesandproceduresvarydependingonyoure-mailapplication.Ifyouneedassistance,seethe
helpsystemforyoure-mailapplication.

Excessivenumberoffragmentedfiles

Solution:UsetheWindowsdiskdefragmentationordiskoptimizationfeaturetocleanupthefiles.

Note:Dependingonthevolumeoftheharddiskdrivesandamountofdatastoredontheharddiskdrives,
thedisk-defragmentationprocessmighttakeuptoseveralhours.

•OnWindows7:

1.Closeanyopenprogramsandwindows.

2.ClickStart➙Computer.

3.Right-clickyourCdriveentryandthenclickProperties.

4.ClickDefragmentnowundertheToolstabtostartadisk-defragmentationprocess.

•OnWindows8.1:

1.Closeanyopenprogramsandwindows.

2.OpenFileExplorer.

56ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

3.Right-clickyourCdriveentryandthenclickProperties.

4.ClickOptimizeundertheToolstabtostartadisk-defragmentationprocess.

Insufficientmemory

Solution:Installadditionalmemorymodules.Forinstructionsoninstallingmemorymodules,see“Replacing
thememorymodule”onpage95.

Topurchasememorymodules,goto:
http://www.lenovo.com

Theprinterdoesnotwork

Solutions:

•IfyouareusingIEEE-approvedprintersignalcables,dothefollowing:

1.Connecttheprintersignalcablefirmlytothecorrectparallel,serial,orUSBconnectoronthe
computer.

2.Loadthepapercorrectly.

3.Turnontheprinterandkeeptheprinteronline.

•Ifyouareusingnon-IEEE-approvedprintersignalcables,dothefollowing:

1.Correctlyinstalldevicedriversandsoftwarethatcomewiththeprinter.

2.Assigntheprinterportcorrectlyinyouroperatingsystem,applicationprogram,orBIOSsettings.For
moreinformationaboutBIOSsettings,see“UsingtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage33

.

Iftheproblempersists,runthetestsdescribedinthedocumentationthatcomeswithyourprinter.Ifyou
cannotcorrecttheproblem,havethecomputerserviced.SeeChapter10“Gettinginformation,help,and
service”onpage113

.

Serialconnectorcannotbeaccessed

Solutions:

•Connecttheserialcabletotheserialconnectoronthecomputerandtotheserialdevice.Iftheserial
devicehasitsownpowercord,attachthepowercordtoagroundedelectricaloutlet.

•Turnontheserialdeviceandkeepthedeviceonline.

•Installanyapplicationprogramssuppliedwiththeserialdevice.Refertothedocumentationthatcomes
withtheserialdeviceformoreinformation.

•Ifyouaddedoneserial-connectoradapter,installtheadaptercorrectly.

Softwareproblems

Thissectionprovidessolutionstosoftware-relatedproblems.

Whenusingasortfeature,datescannotbesortedinthecorrectorder

Solution:Someprogramsdevelopedbeforetheyear2000usedonlythelasttwodigitsofayeartosort
dates,assumingthefirsttwodigitswere19.Consequently,datescannotbesortedinthecorrectorder.
Checkwithyoursoftwaremanufacturertoseeifanyupdatesareavailable.Manysoftwaremanufacturers
makeupdatesavailablefromtheWorldWideWeb.

Someapplicationprogramsdonotworkasexpected

Solutions:

Chapter7.Troubleshootinganddiagnostics57

•Ifyouarehavingdifficultywithperformingaspecifictaskwithinanapplicationprogram,refertothe
helpsystemfortheprogram.

•IfyouarehavingdifficultywiththeWindowsoperatingsystemoroneofitscomponents,refertothe
Windowshelpsystem.

•Checkwhethertheproblemsarecausedbyanewly-installedapplicationprogram.

1.Ensurethatthesoftwareiscompatiblewithyourcomputer.Refertotheinformationsuppliedwiththe
softwareformoreinformation.

2.Verifythatothersoftwareworkscorrectlyonyourcomputer.

3.Verifythatthesoftwareyouareusingworksonanothercomputer.

•Ifyoureceivedanyerrormessageswhileusingtheprogram,seetheprinteddocumentationthatcomes
withtheprogramorthehelpsystemforsolutions.

•CheckifanyupdatesareavailablefromyourmanufacturerorWebsite.Manysoftwaremanufacturers
makeupdatesavailablefromtheWorldWideWeb.

•Ifthesoftwareprogramusedtoworkcorrectly,butdoesnotworkcorrectlynow,uninstalltheapplication
programandreinstallit.

MyUSBconnectorscannotbeaccessed

Solutions:

•ConnecttheUSBcablefromtheUSBconnectortotheUSBdevice.IftheUSBdevicehasitsownpower
cord,attachthepowercordtoagroundedelectricaloutlet.

•TurnontheUSBdeviceandkeepthedeviceonline.

•InstallanydevicedriversorapplicationprogramssuppliedwiththeUSBdevice.Refertothe
documentationthatcomeswiththeUSBdeviceformoreinformation.

•DetachandreattachtheUSBconnectortoresettheUSBdevice.

Diagnostics

Thediagnosticprogramisusedtotesthardwarecomponentsofyourcomputer.Thediagnosticprogramcan
alsoreportoperating-system-controlledsettingsthatinterferewiththecorrectoperationofyourcomputer.
Youcanusethepreinstalleddiagnosticprogramtodiagnosecomputerproblems,ifyourcomputeris
runningtheWindowsoperatingsystem.

Notes:

1.YourcomputerispreinstalledwiththeLenovoSolutionCenterprogramfordiagnosticpurposes.For
moreinformationabouttheLenovoSolutionCenterprogram,see“LenovoSolutionCenter”onpage58.

2.Ifyouareunabletoisolateandrepairtheproblemyourselfafterrunningthediagnosticprogram,save
andprintthelogfilescreatedbythediagnosticprogram.Y ouwillneedthelogfileswhenyouspeaktoa
Lenovotechnicalsupportrepresentative.

LenovoSolutionCenter

TheLenovoSolutionCenterprogramenablesyoutotroubleshootandresolvecomputerproblems.It
combinesdiagnostictests,systeminformationcollection,securitystatus,andsupportinformation,along
withhintsandtipsformaximumsystemperformance.

•YourcandownloadtheLenovoSolutionCenterprogramfromhttp://www.lenovo.com/diags.

•IfyouareusingaWindowsoperatingsystemotherthanWindows7orWindows8.1,goto
http://www.lenovo.com/diagsforthelatestinformationondiagnosticsforyourcomputer.

58ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

ToruntheLenovoSolutionCenterprogram,see“Lenovoprograms”onpage11.

Note:Ifyoucannotisolateandrepairtheproblemyourselfafterrunningtheprogram,saveandprintthelog
files.YouwillneedthelogfileswhenyouspeaktoaLenovotechnicalsupportrepresentative.

Foradditionalinformation,refertotheLenovoSolutionCenterhelpsystem.

Chapter7.Troubleshootinganddiagnostics59

60ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Chapter8.Recoveryinformation

Thischapterprovidesinformationabouttherecoverysolutions.Thereareavarietyofmethodstochoose
fromwhenconsideringhowtorecoverfromasoftware-orhardware-relatedproblem.Somemethods
varydependingonthetypeofoperatingsystemthatisinstalled.Youcanrestorethecomputersettings
usingaprogramortherecoverydiscset.Formoreinformationaboutusingtherecoverydiscset,see
thedocumentationthatcomeswiththediscset.

Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:

•“RecoveryinformationfortheWindows7operatingsystem”onpage61

•“RecoveryinformationfortheWindows8.1operatingsystem”onpage66

RecoveryinformationfortheWindows7operatingsystem

TherecoveryinformationinthissectiononlyappliestothecomputersthathavetheRescueandRecovery
programortheProductRecoveryprograminstalled.IftheEnhancedBackupandRestoreiconinthe
LenovoThinkVantageT oolsprogramisdimmed,itindicatesthatyoumustinstalltheRescueandRecovery
programmanuallybeforeenablingitsfeatures.ToinstalltheRescueandRecoveryprogram,dothefollowing:

1.ClickStart➙AllPrograms➙LenovoThinkVantageTools,anddouble-clickEnhancedBackup
andRestore.

2.Followtheinstructionsonthescreen.

3.Whentheinstallationprocessfinishes,theEnhancedBackupandRestoreiconisactivated.

Thissectioncontainsthefollowingtopics:

•“Creatingandusingrecoverymedia”onpage61

•“Performingbackupandrecoveryoperations”onpage62

•“Creatingandusingarescuemedium”onpage64

•“Reinstallingprogramsanddevicedrivers”onpage64

•“Solvingrecoveryproblems”onpage66

Creatingandusingrecoverymedia

Recoverymediaenableyoutorestoretheharddiskdrivetothefactory-defaultstateandputthecomputerin
anoperationalstateafterallotherrecoverymethodshavefailed.Recoverymediaareusefulifyoutransfer
thecomputertoanotherarea,sellthecomputer,orrecyclethecomputer.Asaprecautionarymeasure,itis
importanttocreaterecoverymediaasearlyaspossible.Thedataontherecoverymediacanbeusedfor
thefollowingpurposes:

•Reinstalltheprogramsanddevicedriversonyourcomputer

•Reinstalltheoperatingsystem

•ModifythedatafilesontheharddiskdriveusingtheAdditionalFiles

Note:Therecoveryoperationsyoucanperformusingrecoverymediavarydependingontheoperating
systemfromwhichtherecoverymediawerecreated.Therecoverymediamightcontainabootmedium
andadatamedium.YourMicrosoftWindowslicensepermitsyoutocreateonlyonedatamedium.Itis
recommendedthatyoustoretherecoverymediainasafeplaceafteryouhavemadethem.

©CopyrightLenovo2014

61

Creatingrecoverymedia

Note:OntheWindows7operatingsystem,youcancreaterecoverymediausingdiscsorexternalUSB

storagedevices.

TocreaterecoverymediaontheWindows7operatingsystem,clickStart➙AllPrograms➙Lenovo

ThinkVantageTools➙FactoryRecoveryDisks.Then,followtheinstructionsonthescreen.

Usingrecoverymedia

Attention:Whenyouuserecoverymediatorestoretheharddiskdrivetothefactory-defaultstate,allthe

filescurrentlyontheharddiskdrivewillbedeleted.Thesefileswillbereplacedbythefactory-defaultfiles.

TouserecoverymediaontheWindows7operatingsystem,dothefollowing:

1.Dependingonthetypeofyourrecoverymedia,connectthebootUSBstoragedevicetothecomputer,
orinsertthebootdiscintotheopticaldrive.

2.Turnonorrestartyourcomputer.

3.Whenyouseethelogoscreen,repeatedlypressandreleasetheF12key.TheStartupDeviceMenu
windowisdisplayed.

4.SelectthedesiredstartupdeviceandpressEnter.Therestoreprocessbegins.

5.Followtheinstructionsonthescreentocompletetheoperation.

Note:Afterrestoringyourcomputerharddiskdrivetothefactory-defaultstate,youmighthavetoreinstall
devicedriversforsomedevices.See“Reinstallingprogramsanddevicedrivers”onpage64.

Performingbackupandrecoveryoperations

TheRescueandRecoveryprogramenablesyoutobackupallyourharddiskdrivecontentsincluding
theoperatingsystem,datafiles,softwareprograms,andpersonalsettings.Youcanstorethebackupat
thefollowinglocations:

•TheRescueandRecoveryworkspace

•Thesecondaryharddiskdriveifasecondaryharddiskdriveisinstalledinyourcomputer

•AnexternalUSBharddiskdriveconnectedtoyourcomputer

•Anetworkdrive

•Recordablediscs(arecordableopticaldriveisrequiredforthisoption)

Afteryouhavecompletedthebackupoperation,youcanrestorepartsorwholeofthedataonthehard
diskdrive.

Performingabackupoperation

ToperformabackupoperationusingtheRescueandRecoveryprogramontheWindows7operating
system,dothefollowing:

1.FromtheWindowsdesktop,clickStart➙AllPrograms➙LenovoThinkVantageT ools➙Enhanced
BackupandRestore.TheRescueandRecoveryprogramopens.

2.IntheRescueandRecoverymainwindow,clicktheLaunchadvancedRescueandRecoveryarrow.

3.ClickBackupyourharddriveandselectbackupoperationoptions.Then,followtheinstructionson
thescreentocompletethebackupoperation.

Performingarecoveryoperation

Thissectionprovidesthefollowingtopics:

•“PerformingarecoveryoperationfromWindows7”onpage63

62ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

•“PerformingarecoveryoperationfromtheRescueandRecoveryworkspace”onpage63

PerformingarecoveryoperationfromWindows7

ToperformarecoveryoperationusingtheRescueandRecoveryprogramontheWindows7operating
system,dothefollowing:

1.FromtheWindowsdesktop,clickStart➙AllPrograms➙LenovoThinkVantageT ools➙Enhanced
BackupandRestore.TheRescueandRecoveryprogramopens.

2.IntheRescueandRecoverymainwindow,clicktheLaunchadvancedRescueandRecoveryarrow.

3.ClicktheRestoreyoursystemfromabackupicon.

4.Followtheinstructionsonthescreentocompletetherecoveryoperation.

PerformingarecoveryoperationfromtheRescueandRecoveryworkspace

TheRescueandRecoveryworkspaceresidesinaprotectedandhiddenareaofyourharddiskdrivethat
operatesindependentlyfromtheWindowsoperatingsystem.TheRescueandRecoveryworkspaceenables
youtoperformrecoveryoperationsevenifyoucannotstarttheWindowsoperatingsystem.Youcanperform
thefollowingrecoveryoperationsfromtheRescueandRecoveryworkspace:

•Rescuefilesfromyourharddiskdriveorfromabackup:
Youcanlocatefilesonyourharddiskdriveandtransferthemtoanetworkdriveorotherrecordable
media,suchasaUSBdeviceoradisc.Thissolutionisavailableevenifyoudidnotbackupyourfilesorif
changesweremadetothefilessinceyourlastbackupoperation.Youalsocanrescueindividualfilesfrom
aRescueandRecoverybackuplocatedonyourlocalharddiskdrive,aUSBdevice,oranetworkdrive.

•RestoreyourharddiskdrivefromaRescueandRecoverybackup:
IfyouhavebackedupyourharddiskdriveusingtheRescueandRecoveryprogram,youcanrestorethe
harddiskdrivefromaRescueandRecoverybackup,evenifyoucannotstarttheWindowsoperating
system.

•Restoreyourharddiskdrivetothefactory-defaultstate:
Youcanrestorethecompletecontentsofyourharddiskdrivetothefactory-defaultstateevenifyou
cannotstarttheWindowsoperatingsystem.Ifyouhavemultiplepartitionsonyourharddiskdrive,you
havetheoptiontorestoretheC:partitionandleavetheotherpartitionsintact.

Attention:YoucanrestoretheharddiskdrivefromaRescueandRecoverybackuporrestoretheharddisk
drivetothefactory-defaultsettings.Duringeitherprocess,allfilesontheprimaryharddiskdrivepartition
(usuallydriveC:)willbedeleted.Ifpossible,makecopiesofimportantfiles.IfyoucannotstarttheWindows
operatingsystem,youcanusetherescuefilesfeatureoftheRescueandRecoveryworkspacetocopyfiles
fromyourharddiskdrivetoothermedia.

ToperformarecoveryoperationfromtheRescueandRecoveryworkspace,dothefollowing:

1.Turnonorrestartyourcomputer.

2.Whenyouseethelogoscreen,pressEnter,andthenpressF11toentertheRescueandRecovery
workspace.

3.IfyouhavesetaRescueandRecoverypassword,enteryourpasswordwhenprompted.TheRescue
andRecoveryworkspaceopensafterashortdelay.

Note:IftheRescueandRecoveryworkspacefailstoopen,see“Solvingrecoveryproblems”onpage66.

4.Dooneofthefollowing:

•Torescuefilesfromyourharddiskdrive,clickRescuefilesandfollowtheinstructionsonthescreen.

•TorestoreyourharddiskdrivefromaRescueandRecoverybackuportorestoreyourharddiskdrive

tothefactory-defaultstate,clickFullRestoreandfollowtheon-screeninstructions.

Note:Afterrestoringyourcomputerharddiskdrivetothefactory-defaultstate,youmighthaveto
reinstalldevicedriversforsomedevices.See“Reinstallingprogramsanddevicedrivers”onpage64

Chapter8.Recoveryinformation63

.

FormoreinformationaboutthefeaturesoftheRescueandRecoveryworkspace,clickHelp.

Creatingandusingarescuemedium

CreaterescuemediausingdiscsorUSBstoragedevicesasearlyaspossible.Youcanusearescuemedium
torecoverfromfailuresthatpreventyoufromgainingaccesstotheWindowsenvironmentortheRescue
andRecoveryworkspaceonyourharddiskdrive.

Notes:

•Therecoveryoperationsyoucanperformusingarescuemediumvarydependingontheoperatingsystem.

•Therescuedisccanbestartedinalltypesofopticaldrives.

Creatingarescuemedium

TocreatearescuemediumontheWindows7operatingsystem,dothefollowing:

1.FromtheWindowsdesktop,clickStart➙AllPrograms➙LenovoThinkVantageT ools➙Enhanced
BackupandRestore.TheRescueandRecoveryprogramopens.

2.IntheRescueandRecoverymainwindow,clicktheLaunchadvancedRescueandRecoveryarrow.

3.ClicktheCreateRescueMediaicon.The“CreateRescueandRecoveryMedia”windowopens.

4.IntheRescueMediaarea,selectthetypeoftherescuemediumyouwanttocreate.Youcancreatea
rescuemediumusingadisc,aUSBstoragedevicewithsufficientcapacity,orasecondaryinternal
harddiskdrive.

5.ClickOKandfollowtheinstructionsonthescreentocreatearescuemedium.

Usingarescuemedium

DependingonwhetheryouhavecreatedarescuemediumusingadiscoraUSBharddiskdrive,doone
ofthefollowing:

•Ifyouhavecreatedarescuemediumusingadisc,dothefollowing:

1.Turnonorrestartyourcomputer.

2.Whenyouseethelogoscreen,repeatedlypressandreleasetheF12key.TheStartupDeviceMenu
windowisdisplayed.

3.Selectthedesiredopticaldriveasthefirstbootdevice.Then,inserttherescuediscintotheoptical
driveandpressEnter.Therescuemediumstarts.

•IfyouhavecreatedarescuemediumusingaUSBharddiskdrive,dothefollowing:

1.ConnecttheUSBharddiskdrivetooneoftheUSBconnectorsonyourcomputer.

2.Turnonorrestartyourcomputer.

3.Whenyouseethelogoscreen,repeatedlypressandreleasetheF12key.TheStartupDeviceMenu
windowisdisplayed.

4.SelecttheUSBharddiskdriveasthefirstbootdeviceandpressEnter.Therescuemediumstarts.

Whentherescuemediumstarts,theRescueandRecoveryworkspaceopens.Thehelpinformationfor
eachfeatureisavailablefromtheRescueandRecoveryworkspace.Followtheinstructionstocomplete
therecoveryprocess.

Reinstallingprogramsanddevicedrivers

Thissectionprovidesthefollowingitems:

•“Reinstallingpreinstalledprogramsanddevicedrivers”onpage65

•“Reinstallingprogramsanddevicedriversthatarenotpreinstalled”onpage65

64ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Reinstallingpreinstalledprogramsanddevicedrivers

Yourcomputerenablesyoutoreinstallpreinstalledprogramsanddevicedrivers.

Reinstallingpreinstalledprograms

ToreinstallprogramspreinstalledonyourLenovocomputer,dothefollowing:

1.Turnonthecomputer.

2.GotoC:\SWTOOLS.

3.Opentheappsfolderandlocatethesubfolderthatisnamedaftertheprogrampreinstalledonyour
computer.

4.OpenthesubfolderandlocatetheEXEfile.

5.Double-clicktheEXEfileandfollowtheinstructionsonthescreentocompletetheinstallation.

Reinstallingpreinstalleddevicedrivers
Attention:Reinstallingdevicedriverswillchangethecurrentconfigurationofyourcomputer.Reinstall

devicedriversonlywhenitisnecessarytocorrectaproblemwithyourcomputer.

Toreinstallthedevicedriverforafactory-installeddevice,dothefollowing:

1.Turnonthecomputer.

2.GotoC:\SWTOOLS.

3.OpentheDRIVERSfolderandlocatethesubfolderthatisnamedafterthefactory-installeddevicein
yourcomputer,suchasAUDIOorVIDEO.

4.Openthesubfolder.

5.Dooneofthefollowing:

•LocatetheEXEfile.Double-clicktheEXEfileandfollowtheinstructionsonthescreentocomplete

theinstallation.

•Locatethereadmefilewiththe.txtextension.Thedevicedriverinstallationinformationisincludedin

thereadmefile.Followtheinstructionstocompletetheinstallation.

•IfthedevicesubfoldercontainsanINFfileandyouwanttoinstallthedevicedriverusingtheINFfile,

seetheWindowsHelpandSupportinformationsystemfordetailedinformation.

Note:Formoreinformationaboutthelatestdevicedrivers,see“Gettingthelatestdevicedriversforyour
computer”onpage43.

Reinstallingprogramsanddevicedriversthatarenotpreinstalled

Yourcomputerenablesyoutoreinstallprogramsanddevicedriversthatarenotpreinstalled.

Reinstallingprogramsthatarenotpreinstalled

Ifasoftwareprogramyouinstalledonyourcomputerisnotworkingcorrectly,youmightneedtouninstall
andthenreinstallit.Reinstallingaprogramoverwritestheexistingprogramfilesandusuallyfixesany
problemsthatyoumighthavehadwiththeprogram.

Touninstallaprogramfromyoursystem,refertotheMicrosoftWindowshelpsystem.

Toreinstallmostcommerciallyavailableprogramsonyoursystem,refertotheMicrosoftWindowshelp
systemtogetherwiththedocumentationprovidedwiththeprogram.

Reinstallingdevicedriversthatarenotpreinstalled

Toreinstalladevicedriverforanoptionyouinstalled,refertothedocumentationthatcomeswiththeoption.

Chapter8.Recoveryinformation65

Note:Reinstalldevicedriverswillchangethecurrentconfigurationofyourcomputer.Reinstalldevicedrivers
onlywhenitisnecessarytocorrectaproblemwithyourcomputer.

Solvingrecoveryproblems

Note:Ensurethatyourrescuedeviceissetasthefirstbootdeviceinthestartupdevicesequencein

theSetupUtilityprogram.See“Selectingastartupdevice”onpage36fordetailedinformationabout
temporarilyorpermanentlychangingthestartupdevicesequence.FormoreinformationabouttheSetup
Utilityprogram,see“UsingtheSetupUtilityprogram”onpage33.

IfyoucannotaccesstheRescueandRecoveryworkspaceortheWindowsenvironment,dooneofthe
following:

•UsearescuemediumtostarttheRescueandRecoveryworkspace.See“Creatingandusingarescue
medium”onpage64

•Userecoverymediaifallothermethodsofrecoveryhavefailedandyoumustrestoretheharddiskdrive
tothefactory-defaultsettings.See“Creatingandusingrecoverymedia”onpage61

Itisimportanttocreatearescuemediumandasetofrecoverymediaasearlyaspossibleandstorethem
inasafeplaceforfutureuse.

.

.

RecoveryinformationfortheWindows8.1operatingsystem

Thissectioncontainsthefollowingtopics:

•“Refreshingyourcomputer”onpage66

•“Resettingyourcomputertothefactory-defaultsettings”onpage66

•“Usingtheadvancedstartupoptions”onpage67

•“RecoveringyouroperatingsystemifWindows8.1failstostart”onpage67

Refreshingyourcomputer

Ifyourcomputerdoesnotperformwellandtheproblemmightbecausedbyarecentlyinstalledprogram,
youcanrefreshyourcomputer.

Attention:Ifyourefreshyourcomputer,theprogramspreinstalledonyourcomputerandtheprogramsthat
youinstalledfromWindowsStorewillbereinstalled.However,allotherprogramswillbeuninstalled.

Torefreshyourcomputer,dothefollowing:

1.Movethepointertothetop-rightorbottom-rightcornerofthescreentodisplaythecharms.Click
Settings➙ChangePCsettings➙Updateandrecovery➙Recovery.

2.IntheRefreshyourPCwithoutaffectingyourfilessection,clickGetstarted.

Resettingyourcomputertothefactory-defaultsettings

Youcanresetyourcomputertothefactory-defaultsettings.Resettingthecomputerwillreinstallthe
operatingsystemandalltheprogramsthatcomewithyourcomputer.

Attention:Ifyouresetyourcomputer,allyourpersonalfilesandsettingswillbedeleted.Toavoiddataloss,
makeabackupcopyofallthedatathatyouwanttokeep.

Toresetyourcomputer,dothefollowing:

1.Movethepointertothetop-rightorbottom-rightcornerofthescreentodisplaythecharms.Click

Settings➙ChangePCsettings➙Updateandrecovery➙Recovery.

66ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

2.IntheRemoveeverythingandreinstallWindowssection,clickGetstarted.

Usingtheadvancedstartupoptions

AdvancedstartupoptionsenableyoutochangethestartupsettingsofyourWindowsoperatingsystem,
startthecomputerfromanexternaldevice,orrestoretheWindowsoperatingsystemfromasystemimage.

Tousetheadvancedstartupoptions,dothefollowing:

1.Movethepointertothetop-rightorbottom-rightcornerofthescreentodisplaythecharms.Click
Settings➙ChangePCsettings➙Updateandrecovery➙Recovery.

2.IntheAdvancedstartupsection,clickRestartnow➙Troubleshoot➙Advancedoptions.

3.Restartyourcomputerfollowingtheinstructionsonthescreen.

RecoveringyouroperatingsystemifWindows8.1failstostart

TheWindowsrecoveryenvironmentonyourcomputeriscapableofoperatingindependentlyfromthe
Windows8.1operatingsystem.ItenablesyoutorecoverorrepairtheoperatingsystemeveniftheWindows

8.1operatingsystemfailstostart.

Aftertwoconsecutivefailedbootattempts,theWindowsrecoveryenvironmentstartsautomatically.Then
youcanchooserepairandrecoveryoptionsbyfollowingtheinstructionsonthescreen.

Note:Ensurethatyourcomputerisconnectedtoacpowerduringtherecoveryprocess.

FormoredetailsabouttherecoverysolutionsprovidedoncomputerspreinstalledwiththeWindows8.1
operatingsystem,refertothehelpinformationsystemoftheWindows8.1operatingsystem.

Chapter8.Recoveryinformation67

68ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

Chapter9.Installingorreplacinghardware

Thischapterprovidesinstructionsonhowtoinstallorreplacehardwareforyourcomputer.

Handlingstatic-sensitivedevices

Donotopenthestatic-protectivepackagecontainingthenewpartuntilthedefectiveparthasbeenremoved
andyouarereadytoinstallthenewpart.Staticelectricity,althoughharmlesstoyou,canseriouslydamage
computercomponentsandparts.

Whenyouhandlepartsandothercomputercomponents,taketheseprecautionstoavoidstatic-electricity
damage:

•Limityourmovement.Movementcancausestaticelectricitytobuilduparoundyou.

•Alwayshandlepartsandothercomputercomponentscarefully.HandlePCIcards,memorymodules,
systemboards,andmicroprocessorsbytheedges.Nevertouchanyexposedcircuitry.

•Preventothersfromtouchingthepartsandothercomputercomponents.

•Touchthestatic-protectivepackagecontainingtheparttoametalexpansion-slotcoverorother
unpaintedmetalsurfaceonthecomputerforatleasttwoseconds.Thisreducesstaticelectricityfrom
thepackageandyourbodybeforeyouinstallorreplaceanewpart.

•Whenpossible,removethenewpartfromthestatic-protectivepackage,andinstallitdirectlyinthe
computerwithoutsettingthepartdown.Whenthisisnotpossible,placethestatic-protectivepackage
thatthepartcameinonasmooth,levelsurfaceandplacethepartonthepackage.

•Donotplacethepartonthecomputercoverorothermetalsurface.

Installingorreplacinghardware

Thissectionprovidesinstructionsonhowtoinstallorreplacehardwareforyourcomputer.Youcanexpand
thecapabilitiesofyourcomputerandmaintainyourcomputerbyinstallingorreplacinghardware.

Attention:Donotopenyourcomputerorattemptanyrepairbeforereadingandunderstandingthe“Read
thisfirst:Importantsafetyinformation”onpagev.

Notes:

•Formachinetypes10DV,10DW,10DX,10DY,youmustinstallyourcomputeronthematchedmonitor.
Therefore,thestepsofinstallingsomepartsmightbedifferentfromthestepsinthechapter.Formore
information,refertotheuserguideintheCDthatcomeswiththemonitor.

•UseonlycomputerpartsprovidedbyLenovo.

•Wheninstallingorreplacinganoption,usetheappropriateinstructionsinthissectionalongwiththe
instructionsthatcomewiththeoption.

Installingexternaloptions

Youcanconnectexternaloptionstoyourcomputer,suchasexternalspeakers,aprinter,orascanner.For
someexternaloptions,youmustinstalladditionalsoftwareinadditiontomakingthephysicalconnection.
Wheninstallinganexternaloption,see“Locatingconnectors,controls,andindicatorsonthefrontofyour
computer”onpage2
requiredconnector.Usetheinstructionsshippedwiththeoptiontohelpyoumaketheconnectionandinstall
anysoftwareordevicedriversthatarerequiredfortheoption.

and“Locatingconnectorsontherearofyourcomputer”onpage3toidentifythe

©CopyrightLenovo2014

69

Installingandremovingtheacpoweradapterbracket

1

2

Attention:Donotopenyourcomputerorattemptanyrepairbeforereadingandunderstandingthe“Read
thisfirst:Importantsafetyinformation”onpagev.

Note:TheacpoweradapterbracketisinstalledontheVideoElectronicsStandardsAssociation(VESA)
mountbracket.TheacpoweradapterbracketandtheVESAmountbracketareonlyavailableonsome
models.

Toinstalltheacpoweradapterbracket,dothefollowing:

1.Slidetheacpoweradapterintotheacpoweradapterbracket.Ensurethattheacpoweradapteris
securedbythebracket.

2.AlignthetwotabsontheacpoweradapterbracketwiththeslotsintheVESAmountbracket.Then,
slidetheacpoweradapterbracketasshowntoinstallitontheVESAmountbracket.

Figure7.Installingtheacpoweradapterbracket

Toremovetheacpoweradapterbracket,dothefollowing:

1.Removeallmediafromthedrivesandturnoffallattacheddevicesandthecomputer.Then,disconnect
allpowercordsfromelectricaloutletsanddisconnectallcablesthatareconnectedtothecomputer.

70ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

2.Pullthetab1andthenslidetheacpoweradapterbracketasshowntoremoveitfromtheVESA

1

2

mountbracket.

Figure8.Removingtheacpoweradapterbracket

3.Removetheacpoweradapterfromtheacpoweradapterbracket.

Installingandremovingtheacpoweradapter

Attention:Donotopenyourcomputerorattemptanyrepairbeforereadingandunderstandingthe“Read

thisfirst:Importantsafetyinformation”onpagev.

Toinstalltheacpoweradapter,dothefollowing:

Chapter9.Installingorreplacinghardware71

1.Connecttheacpoweradaptertotheacpoweradapterconnectorattherearofyourcomputeranda
workableelectricaloutlet.Then,securethepowercordintothepoweradaptercableloopattherear
ofthecomputerasshown.

Figure9.Installingtheacpoweradapter

2.Iftheacpoweradapterbracketisavailable,installtheacpoweradapterbracket.See“Installingand
removingtheacpoweradapterbracket”onpage70

.

Toremovetheacpoweradapter,dothefollowing:

1.Removeallmediafromthedrivesandturnoffallattacheddevicesandthecomputer.Then,disconnect
allpowercordsfromelectricaloutletsanddisconnectallcablesthatareconnectedtothecomputer.

2.Iftheacpoweradapterbracketisavailable,removetheacpoweradapterbracket.See“Installingand
removingtheacpoweradapterbracket”onpage70.

72ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

3.Removethepowercordfromtheacpoweradaptercableloopattherearofthecomputerandthen
disconnecttheacpoweradapterfromthecomputer.

Figure10.Removingtheacpoweradapter

Installingandremovingtheverticalstand

Attention:Donotopenyourcomputerorattemptanyrepairbeforereadingandunderstandingthe“Read

thisfirst:Importantsafetyinformation”onpagev.

Note:TheverticalstandandVESAmountbracketareonlyavailableonsomemodels.Ifyourcomputer
comeswiththeVESAmountbracketinstalled,ensurethatyouremovetheVESAmountbracketbefore
youinstalltheverticalstand.ToremovetheVESAmountbracket,see“InstallingandremovingtheVESA
mountbracket”onpage75.

Toinstalltheverticalstand,dothefollowing:

1.Removeallmediafromthedrivesandturnoffallattacheddevicesandthecomputer.Then,disconnect
allpowercordsfromelectricaloutletsanddisconnectallcablesthatareconnectedtothecomputer.

Chapter9.Installingorreplacinghardware73

2.Aligntherearofthecomputerwiththerearoftheverticalstandandpositionthecomputeronthe

1

2

verticalstandasshown.

Figure11.Installingtheverticalstand

Toremovetheverticalstand,dothefollowing:

1.Removeallmediafromthedrivesandturnoffallattacheddevicesandthecomputer.Then,disconnect
allpowercordsfromelectricaloutletsanddisconnectallcablesthatareconnectedtothecomputer.

74ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

2.Liftthecomputertoremoveitfromtheverticalstand.

1

2

Figure12.Removingthecomputerfromtheverticalstand

InstallingandremovingtheVESAmountbracket

Attention:Donotopenyourcomputerorattemptanyrepairbeforereadingandunderstandingthe“Read

thisfirst:Importantsafetyinformation”onpagev

Note:TheVESAmountbracketisonlyavailableonsomemodels.

ToinstalltheVESAmountbracket,dothefollowing:

1.Removeallmediafromthedrivesandturnoffallattacheddevicesandthecomputer.Then,disconnect
allpowercordsfromelectricaloutletsanddisconnectallcablesthatareconnectedtothecomputer.

.

Chapter9.Installingorreplacinghardware75

2.SlidethecomputerintotheVESAmountbracket.

Figure13.InstallingtheVESAmountbracket

3.InstallthetwoscrewstosecuretheVESAmountbrackettothecomputer.

Figure14.InstallingthescrewsthatsecuretheVESAmountbracket

4.Iftheacpoweradapterbracketisavailable,installtheacpoweradapterbracket.See“Installingand
removingtheacpoweradapterbracket”onpage70.

ToremovetheVESAmountbracket,dothefollowing:

1.Removeallmediafromthedrivesandturnoffallattacheddevicesandthecomputer.Then,disconnect
allpowercordsfromelectricaloutletsanddisconnectallcablesthatareconnectedtothecomputer.

2.Iftheacpoweradapterbracketisavailable,removetheacpoweradapterbracket.See“Installingand
removingtheacpoweradapterbracket”onpage70.

76ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

3.RemovethetwoscrewsthatsecuretheVESAmountbrackettothecomputer.

Figure15.RemovingthescrewsthatsecuretheVESAmountbracket

4.SlidethecomputerfromthefrontoftheVESAmountbrackettoremovetheVESAmountbracket
fromthecomputer.

Figure16.RemovingtheVESAmountbracket

Installingorreplacingtheexternalopticaldrive

Attention:Donotopenyourcomputerorattemptanyrepairbeforereadingandunderstandingthe“Read

thisfirst:Importantsafetyinformation”onpagev

Note:Theexternalopticaldriveisonlyavailableonsomemodels.

Toinstallorreplacetheexternalopticaldrive,dothefollowing:

1.Removeallmediafromthedrivesandturnoffallattacheddevicesandthecomputer.Then,disconnect
allpowercordsfromelectricaloutletsanddisconnectallcablesthatareconnectedtothecomputer.

.

Chapter9.Installingorreplacinghardware77

2.Ifyouarereplacingtheexternalopticaldrive,disconnecttheexternalopticaldrivecablefromtheUSB

1

2

connectoronthecomputer.

3.RemovethescrewthatsecurestheexternalopticaldriveboxontheVESAmountbracketandthenslide
theexternalopticaldriveboxtoremoveitfromtheVESAmountbracket.

Figure17.Removingtheexternalopticaldrivebox

78ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

4.Removethescrewthatsecurestheexternalopticaldriveintheexternalopticaldrivebox.Usethe
screwdrivertoslidetheexternalopticaldriveforwardandthenremovetheexternalopticaldrivefrom
theexternalopticaldrivebox.

Figure18.Removingtheexternalopticaldrivefromtheexternalopticaldrivebox

5.Removethetwoscrewsthatsecuretheexternalopticaldrivemetalplateandthenremovethemetal
platefromtheexternalopticaldrive.

Figure19.Removingtheexternalopticaldrivemetalplate

Chapter9.Installingorreplacinghardware79

6.Alignthetwoscrewholesintheexternalopticaldrivemetalplatewiththecorrespondingholesin
thenewexternalopticaldriveandtheninstallthetwoscrewstosecurethemetalplateonthenew
externalopticaldrive.

Figure20.Installingtheexternalopticaldrivemetalplate

7.Slidethenewexternalopticaldriveintotheexternalopticaldriveboxuntilitsnapsintoposition.

Figure21.Installingtheexternalopticaldriveintotheexternalopticaldrivebox

80ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

8.Installthescrewthatsecurestheexternalopticaldriveintheexternalopticaldrivebox.

Figure22.Installingthescrewthatsecurestheexternalopticaldrive

Chapter9.Installingorreplacinghardware81

9.AlignthescrewholesintheexternalopticaldriveboxwiththetwoscrewsontheVESAmountbracket

1

2

andthenslidetheexternalopticaldriveboxtoinstallitontheVESAmountbracket.

Figure23.Installingtheexternalopticaldrivebox

82ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

10.InstallthescrewthatsecurestheexternalopticaldriveboxontheVESAmountbracket.

1

2

Figure24.Installingthescrewthatsecurestheexternalopticaldrivebox

11.ConnecttheexternalopticaldrivecabletoaUSBconnectoronthecomputer.See“Locatingconnectors
ontherearofyourcomputer”onpage3.

Installingorreplacingtheexternalharddiskdrive

Attention:Donotopenyourcomputerorattemptanyrepairbeforereadingandunderstandingthe“Read

thisfirst:Importantsafetyinformation”onpagev.

Notes:

•Theexternalharddiskdrive,externalhybriddrive,andexternalsolid-statedriveareonlyavailableon
somemodels.

•Toinstallorreplacetheexternalhybriddriveorexternalsolid-statedrive,followthestepsofinstallingor
replacingtheexternalharddiskdrive.

Toinstallorreplacetheexternalharddiskdrive,dothefollowing:

1.Removeallmediafromthedrivesandturnoffallattacheddevicesandthecomputer.Then,disconnect
allpowercordsfromelectricaloutletsanddisconnectallcablesthatareconnectedtothecomputer.

2.Ifyouarereplacingtheexternalharddiskdrive,disconnecttheexternalharddiskdrivecablefrom
theUSBconnectoronthecomputer.

Chapter9.Installingorreplacinghardware83

3.RemovethescrewthatsecurestheopticaldriveboxontheVESAmountbracketandthenslidethe

1

2

opticaldriveboxasshowntoremoveitfromtheVESAmountbracket.

Figure25.Removingtheopticaldrivebox

4.Slidethereleasebuttonontheopticaldriveboxandthenremovetheexternalharddiskdriveadapter
fromtheopticaldrivebox.

Figure26.Removingtheexternalharddiskdriveadapterfromtheopticaldrivebox

84ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

5.Flexthesidesoftheexternalharddiskdriveadapterbracketandthenpivottheexternalharddiskdrive
adaptertoremovetheadapterfromtheadapterbracket.

Figure27.Removingtheexternalharddiskdriveadapterfromtheadapterbracket

6.Toremovetheexternalharddiskdrivefromtheadapter,lifttheadapterretaininglatch.Slidetheexternal
harddiskdrivetowardstheretaininglatchandthenlifttheexternalharddiskdriveoutoftheadapter.

Figure28.Removingtheexternalharddiskdrivefromtheadapter

7.Installthefourscrewstothenewexternalharddiskdrive.

Figure29.Installingthefourscrewstotheexternalharddiskdrive

Chapter9.Installingorreplacinghardware85

8.Installthenewexternalharddiskdriveintotheadapterasshown.Then,lowertheadapterretaining
latchuntilitsnapsintoposition.

Figure30.Installinganewexternalharddiskdriveintotheadapter

9.Positiontheadapterintotheadapterbracketandthenpivottheadapterdownwarduntilitsnapsinto
position.

Figure31.Installingtheexternalharddiskdriveadapterintotheadapterbracket

86ThinkCentreM53UserGuide

10.Slidetheadapterbracketintotheopticaldriveboxuntilitsnapsintoposition.

Figure32.Installingtheadapterbracketintotheopticaldrivebox

Chapter9.Installingorreplacinghardware87

11.AlignthescrewholesintheopticaldriveboxwiththetwoscrewsontheVESAmountbracketandthen

1

2

slidetheopticaldriveboxtoinstallitontheVESAmountbracket.

Figure33.Installingtheopticaldrivebox

88ThinkCentreM53UserGuide