Nec VERSA 550 SERVICE MANUAL

PROPRIETARY NOTICE AND LIABILITY DISCLAIMER

The information disclosed in this document, including all designs and related materials, is
the valuable property of NEC Corporation (NEC) and/or its licensors. NEC and/or its licen­sors, as appropriate, reserve all patent, copyright and other proprietary rights to this docu­ment, including all design, manufacturing, reproduction, use, and sales rights thereto, except
to the extent said rights are expressly granted to others.

The NEC product(s) discussed in this document are warranted in accordance with the terms
of the Warranty Statement accompanying each product. However, actual performance of
each such product is dependent upon factors such as system configuration, customer data,
and operator control. Since implementation by customers of each product may vary, the
suitability of specific product configurations and applications must be determined by the
customer and is not warranted by NEC.

To allow for design and specification improvements, the information in this document is
subject to change at any time, without notice. Reproduction of this document or portions
thereof without prior written approval of NEC is prohibited.

FastFacts, and NEC SVGA, are U.S. trademarks of NEC Technologies, Inc.
All other product, brand, or trade names used in this publication are the trademarks or registered

trademarks of their respective trademark owners.

First Printing — March 1996

Copyright 1996 Copyright 1996

NEC Technologies, Inc. NEC Corporation

1414 Massachusetts Avenue 7-1 Shiba 5-Chome, Minato-Ku

Boxborough, MA 01719 Tokyo 108-01, Japan

All Rights Reserved All Rights Reserved

Preface

This service and reference manual contains the technical information necessary to set up,
and maintain the NEC Versa® 550 Series notebook computer. It also provides hardware and
interface information for users who need an overview of the docking station design. The
manual is written for NEC-trained customer engineers, system analysts, service center per­sonnel, and dealers.

The manual is organized as follows:
Section 1  Technical Information, provides an overview of the hardware and interface

components. System specifications are listed including dimensions, weight, environment,
safety compliance, and power consumption.

Section 2   NEC Versa 550 Specifications, lists system specifications including dimen-
sions, weight, environment, safety compliance, and power consumption.

Section 3   Hardware Functional Blocks, defines major system functions and subsys-
tems.

xi

Section 4   Field Service Guidelines, provides system disassembly procedures,and an
exploded-view diagram with corresponding part numbers.

Section 5   Troubleshooting and Repair, lists technical support phone numbers, error
messages and their meanings, and ways to troubleshoot the notebook.

Appendix A   Supported Video Modes, provides a list of video modes available for use
with the notebook.

An Index is included for convenience.

Abbreviations

xiii

A ampere
AC alternating current
AT advanced technology

(IBM PC)

BBS Bulletin Board System
BCD binary-coded decimal
BCU BIOS Customized Utility
BIOS basic input/output system
bit binary digit
bpi bits per inch
bps bits per second
BUU BIOS Upgrade Utility
C centigrade
Cache high-speed buffer storage
CAM constantly addressable memory
CAS column address strobe
CD-ROM compact disk-ROM
CGA Color Graphics Adapter
CGB Color Graphics Board
CH channel
clk clock
cm centimeter
CMOS complementary metal oxide

semiconductor

COM communication
CONT contrast
CPGA ceramic pin grid array
CPU central processing unit
CRT cathode-ray tube
DAC digital-to-analog converter
DACK DMA acknowledge
DC direct current
DIP dual in-line package
DLAB Divisor Latch Address bit
DMA direct memory access
DMAC DMA controller

DOS disk operating system
DRAM dynamic RAM
DTE data terminal equipment
ECC error checking and correction
EDS error detecting system
EGA Enhanced Graphics Adapter
EMS Expanded Memory

Specification

EPP enhanced parallel port
EPROM erasable and programmable

ROM

EVGA Enhanced Video Graphics

Array

F Fahrenheit
FAX facsimile transmission
FCC Federal Communications

Commission

FG frame ground
FM frequency modulation
Fn Function
FRU field-replaceable unit
GB gigabyte
GND ground
HDD hard diskdrive
HEX hexadecimal
HGA Hercules Graphics Adapter
Hz hertz
IC integrated circuit
ID identification
IDE intelligent device electronics
IDTR interrupt descriptor table

register

IMR Interrupt Mask register
in. inch
INTA interrupt acknowledge
IPB illustrated parts breakdown

xiv Abbreviations

IRR Interrupt Request register
ISA Industry Standard Architecture
ISR In Service register
I/O input/output
IPC integrated peripheral controller
ips inches per second
IRQ interrupt request
K kilo (1024)
k kilo (1000)
KB kilobyte
kg kilogram
kHz kilohertz
kV kilovolt
lb pound
LDTR local descriptor table register
LED light-emitting diode
LSB least-significant bit
LSI large-scale integration
M mega
mA milliamps
max maximum
MB megabyte
MDA Monochrome Display Adapter
MFM modified frequency modulation
Mhz megahertz
mm millimeter
ms millisecond
MSB most-significant bit
NASC National Authorized Service

Center

NC not connected
NDP numeric data processor
NMI Non-maskable Interrupt
ns nanosecond
NSRC National Service Response

Center

PAL programmable array logic
PC personal computer

PCB printed circuit board
PFP plastic flat package
PIO parallel input/output
pixel picture element
PJQFP plastic J-lead quad flat pack
PLCC plastic lead chip carrier
PLL phase lock loop
p-p peak-to-peak
PPI programmable peripheral

interface

PROM programmable ROM
QFP quad flat pack
RAM random-access memory
RAMDAC RAM digital-to-analog
RAS row address strobe
RGB red green blue
RGBI red green blue intensity
ROM read-only memory
rpm revolutions per minute
R read
RTC real-time clock
R/W read/write
S slave
SCSI Small Computer System

Interface

SDLC Synchronous Data Link

Control

SG signal ground
SIMM single inline memory module
SOIC small outline integrated circuit
SQFP silver quad flat package
SVGA Super Video Graphics Array
SW switch
TAC Technical Assistance Center
TCP Thin chip package
TQFP Thin-quad flat package
TSC Technical Support Center
TTL transistor/transistor logic

tpi tracks per inch
UART universal asynchronous

receiver/transmitter

V volt
Vdc volts, direct current
VESA video electronics standards

association

VFO variable frequency oscillator
VGA Video Graphics Array
VLSI very large-scale integration
VRAM virtual RAM
W watt
µf microfarad
µPD microprocessor
µs microsecond

Abbreviations xv

Ω ohm

Contents

Preface........................................................................................................................ xi

Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. xiii

Section 1 Technical Information

Feature Highlights ....................................................................................................... 1-2

System Configuration .................................................................................................. 1-3

Quick Tour of the Notebook........................................................................................ 1-4

The Front Side of the Notebook ........................................................................... 1-4

Color LCD Display Panel............................................................................... 1-4

Power Switch/LCD Cover Switch.................................................................. 1-5

Status Panel and Power Indicator................................................................... 1-5

Keyboard....................................................................................................... 1-7

Trackball ....................................................................................................... 1-9

iii

The Right Side of the Notebook ........................................................................... 1-10

Built-in Floppy Disk Drive............................................................................. 1-10

Hard Disk Drive Compartment ...................................................................... 1-10

The Left Side of the Notebook.............................................................................. 1-11

Battery Compartment .................................................................................... 1-11

PCMCIA Slot Compartment.......................................................................... 1-12

DC-IN Connector Jack.................................................................................. 1-13

Hardware Reset Switch.................................................................................. 1-13

The Rear Side of the Notebook............................................................................. 1-13

External Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse Port....................................................... 1-14

VGA port...................................................................................................... 1-14

Printer Port (LPT 1) ...................................................................................... 1-15

Serial Port (COM 1)...................................................................................... 1-16

The Base of the Computer....................................................................................1-17

Battery Module Handle and Lock .................................................................. 1-17

Memory Slot Compartment Cover.................................................................1-17

System BIOS Setup Program....................................................................................... 1-18

The Bootup Setting Menu.....................................................................................1-18

The Power Management Setting Menu ........................................................................1-21

Notebook Drivers and Utilities.....................................................................................1-24

Installing the VGA Driver and Utility....................................................................1-24

Installing the PCMCIA Driver...............................................................................1-25

iv Contents

Installing the Mouse Driver................................................................................... 1-26

Applying the System Utility Programs................................................................... 1-26

TIME.SYS Driver ......................................................................................... 1-26

PHDISK.EXE Utility ..................................................................................... 1-27

System Upgrades.........................................................................................................1-27

Memory Upgrade Procedure ................................................................................. 1-27

System BIOS Upgrade Procedure.........................................................................1-29

Section 2 NEC Versa 550 Specifications

General Specification of the NEC VERSA 550 Series..................................................2-1

Product Mix ................................................................................................................2-6

Motherboard ...............................................................................................................2-6

LCD Status Board................................................................................................2-8

Cables...................................................................................................................2-8

Display Unit Specification............................................................................................ 2-8

LCD.....................................................................................................................2-8

Inverter.................................................................................................................2-9

LCD Status Bar Indicator.....................................................................................2-9

FDD Unit Specification.........................................................................................2-10

HDD Unit Specification........................................................................................2-11

NiMH Battery Pack Specification .........................................................................2-11

DC/DC Converter Specification............................................................................2-11

Battery Charger....................................................................................................2-12

Keyboard Unit Specification .................................................................................2-12

Pointing Device Specification................................................................................2-12

Switch Specification ............................................................................................. 2-13

AC/DC Adapter Specification...............................................................................2-13

BIOS Specification...............................................................................................2-14

Power Management Features (Mode Definition)...................................................2-15

Power Management Features (Mode Transition)...................................................2-16

Auto Power Reduction (APR) ..............................................................................2-17

HotKey Definitions...............................................................................................2-17

Environmental Specifications................................................................................2-17

AC Power Source ................................................................................................. 2-18

Vibration..............................................................................................................2-18

Shock...................................................................................................................2-18

ESD ............................................................................................................................2-19

Contents v

Section 3 Hardware Functional Overview

Functional Block Diagram ........................................................................................... 3-2

System BIOS........................................................................................................ 3-3

System Processor.................................................................................................. 3-3

Major Functional Blocks.............................................................................................. 3-4

System Logic Controller.............................................................................................. 3-4

Memory Subsystem ..................................................................................................... 3-6

DRAM Memory ................................................................................................... 3-6

ROM Memory...................................................................................................... 3-7

I/O Subsystem............................................................................................................. 3-7

Video Subsystem......................................................................................................... 3-7

Video Chipset Controller...................................................................................... 3-8

External VGA Capability...................................................................................... 3-9

Keyboard Subsystem ................................................................................................... 3-9

PCMCIA Controller and Sockets ................................................................................. 3-10

Hard Disk Subsystem................................................................................................... 3-10

Floppy Disk Drive Subsystem...................................................................................... 3-11

Pointing Device Subsystem.......................................................................................... 3-11

Power Subsystem ........................................................................................................ 3-11

AC Power Adapter............................................................................................... 3-11

Internal Battery Pack............................................................................................ 3-11

Powerboard.......................................................................................................... 3-12

LCD Inverter Board Assembly .............................................................................. 3-12

Section 4 Field Service Guidelines

Preventive Maintenance............................................................................................... 4-1

Cleaning the Notebook’s Exterior......................................................................... 4-1

Cleaning the Notebook’s Interior.......................................................................... 4-2

Protecting the Disk Drives.................................................................................... 4-2

Handling the Computer Battery Packs................................................................... 4-3

Maintaining the LCD Quality................................................................................ 4-3

Cleaning the Trackball.......................................................................................... 4-3

Required Tools and Equipment.................................................................................... 4-4

Illustrated Parts Breakdown .................................................................................. 4-5

Field-Replaceable Parts and Assemblies....................................................................... 4-8

Cover-Display LCD Assembly.............................................................................. 4-8

System Unit Assembly ................................................................................... 4-9

vi Contents

Parts Removal and Replacement Procedures................................................................ 4-13

Removing/Replacing the Notebook Battery Pack.................................................. 4-13

Removing/Replacing the Internal Keyboard .......................................................... 4-13

Removing/Replacing the LCD Status Bar Cover, the LCD Panel, and the LCD Status

Bar Module....................................................................................................... 4-14

Removing/Replacing the System Top Cover Case Assembly and the Trackball

Assembly........................................................................................................... 4-15

Removing/Replacing the Hard Disk Drive............................................................. 4-15

Removing/Replacing the Floppy Disk Drive.......................................................... 4-16

Removing/Replacing the Powerboard ................................................................... 4-17

Removing/Replacing the CPU............................................................................... 4-18

Removing/Replacing the Entire Motherboard........................................................ 4-19

Section 5 Troubleshooting and Repair

Service Information..................................................................................................... 5-1

Technical Support........................................................................................................ 5-2

Product Information .................................................................................................... 5-2

Ordering Information from FastFacts........................................................................... 5-2

Helpful Questions........................................................................................................ 5-3

Power On Self Test (POST) ........................................................................................ 5-3

POST Messages ................................................................................................... 5-4

Informational Messages............................................................................................... 5-7

Beep Codes................................................................................................................. 5-7

Explanation of Test Terms for Beep Code Table................................................... 5-7

Beep Codes for System Board Errors ................................................................... 5-8

Run-Time Error Messages........................................................................................... 5-13

Quick Troubleshooting................................................................................................ 5-14

Appendix A Supported Video Modes

VGA Standard Modes................................................................................................. A-1

VGA Extended Modes ................................................................................................ A-2

VGA High Refresh Modes ........................................................................................... A-4

List of Figures

1-1 NEC Versa 550 Series Notebook ................................................................... 1-1

1-2 System Configuration Diagram ...................................................................... 1-3

1-3 Front of the Notebook................................................................................... 1-4

Contents vii

1-4 LCD Status Bar............................................................................................. 1-6

1-5 Standard Keyboard Layout ............................................................................ 1-7

1-6 Embedded Numeric Keypad........................................................................... 1-8

1-7 Trackball ....................................................................................................... 1-9

1-8 Right Side of the Notebook ........................................................................... 1-10

1-9 Left Side of the Notebook.............................................................................. 1-12

1-10 Removing the Battery Pack............................................................................ 1-12

1-11 Inserting a PCMCIA Card.............................................................................. 1-12

1-12 Connecting the AC Adapter to the Notebook ................................................. 1-13

1-13 Rear Side of the Notebook............................................................................. 1-13

1-14 Connecting External Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse ............................................ 1-14

1-15 Connecting an External Monitor .................................................................... 1-15

1-16 Connecting to the Printer Port ....................................................................... 1-15

1-17 Connecting to the Serial Port......................................................................... 1-16

1-18 The Base of the Notebook............................................................................. 1-17

1-19 Memory Slot Compartment............................................................................ 1-17

1-20 The Bootup Setting Menu.............................................................................. 1-18

1-21 Power Management Setting Menu ................................................................. 1-21

3-1 Functional Block Diagram ............................................................................. 3-2

4-1 Removing and Replacing the Trackball Housing Cover.................................. 4-4

4-2 NEC Versa 550 Series Illustrated Parts Breakdown....................................... 4-7

4-3 Notebook Major Assemblies.......................................................................... 4-8

4-4 LCD Assembly .............................................................................................. 4-9

4-5 System Top Unit Assembly............................................................................ 4-11

4-6 System Base Unit Assembly........................................................................... 4-12

4-7 Hard Drive Module Assembly........................................................................ 4-16

4-8 Floppy Drive Module Assembly..................................................................... 4-17

4-9 Powerboard Module Assembly....................................................................... 4-18

4-10 The Motherboard........................................................................................... 4-19

List of Tables

1-1 Model Configurations.................................................................................... 1-1

1-2 Feature Highlights.......................................................................................... 1-2

1-3 LCD Status Bar Icons and Description........................................................... 1-6

1-4 Fn Key Combination Summary....................................................................... 1-8

viii Contents

1-5 Bootup Setting Menu..................................................................................... 1-19

1-6 Power Management Setting Menu ................................................................. 1-21

1-7 Power Management Setting Menu ................................................................. 1-23

2-1 NEC Versa 550 Series General Specification ................................................. 2-1

2-2 Model Configurations.................................................................................... 2-6

2-3 Motherboard Specifications ........................................................................... 2-6

2-4 LCD Status Board Specifications................................................................... 2-8

2-5 Motherboard Cable Specifications.................................................................. 2-8

2-6 LCD Panel Specifications............................................................................... 2-8

2-7 Inverter Specifications ................................................................................... 2-9

2-8 LCD Status Bar Indicator Specification ......................................................... 2-9

2-9 FDD Unit Specification.................................................................................. 2-10

2-10 HDD Unit Specification................................................................................. 2-11

2-11 NiMH Battery Pack Specification .................................................................. 2-11

2-12 DC/DC Converter Specification..................................................................... 2-11

2-13 Battery Charger Specification ........................................................................ 2-12

2-14 Keyboard Unit Specification .......................................................................... 2-12

2-15 Pointing Device Specification......................................................................... 2-12

2-16 Switch Specification ...................................................................................... 2-13

2-17 AC/DC Adapter Specification........................................................................ 2-13

2-18 BIOS Support................................................................................................ 2-14

2-19 Power Management Specifications................................................................. 2-15

2-20 Mode Definitions........................................................................................... 2-16

2-21 Mode Action ................................................................................................. 2-16

2-22 APR Times.................................................................................................... 2-17

2-23 Hotkey Definitions ......................................................................................... 2-17

2-24 Environmental Specifications......................................................................... 2-17

2-25 AC Power Specifications ............................................................................... 2-18

2-26 Vibration Specifications................................................................................. 2-18

2-27 Shock Specifications...................................................................................... 2-18

2-28 ESD Specifications........................................................................................ 2-19

4-1 NEC Versa 550 Series Field-Replaceable Parts.............................................. 4-5

5-1 NEC Service and Information Telephone Numbers ........................................ 5-1

5-2 POST Error Messages................................................................................... 5-4

Contents ix

5-3 BIOS Informational Messages........................................................................ 5-7

5-4 BIOS Beep Codes.......................................................................................... 5-8

5-5 BIOS Run-time Error Messages..................................................................... 5-13

5-6 Quick Troubleshooting .................................................................................. 5-14

A-1 VGA Standard Modes (Text Mode)............................................................... A-1

A-2 VGA Standard Modes (Graphics Mode)........................................................ A-2

A-3 VGA Standard Modes ( Planar Mode ).......................................................... A-2

A-4 Packed Pixel Mode........................................................................................ A-2

A-5 VGA Extended Modes (Text Mode).............................................................. A-2

A-6 VGA Extended Modes (4-bit Linear Mode)................................................... A-3

A-7 VGA Extended Modes (8-Bit Linear Mode) .................................................. A-3

A-8 VGA Extended Modes (15-bit Linear Mode)................................................. A-3

A-9 VGA Extended Modes (16-bit Linear Mode)................................................. A-3

A-10 VGA Extended Modes (24-bit Linear Mode)................................................. A-3

A-11 VGA Extended Modes (Planar Mode) ........................................................... A-4

A-12 VGA Extended Modes (Packed Pixel Mode) ................................................. A-4

A-13 VGA High Refresh Modes (8-bit Linear Mode) ............................................. A-4

A-14 VGA High Refresh Modes (Planar Mode) ...................................................... A-4

A-15 VGA High Refresh Modes (Packed Pixel Mode) ............................................ A-5

Section 1

Technical Information

This section focuses on providing the features and operations of the NEC Versa 550 Series
including the BIOS Setup program. Refer to the User’s Guide for more information on how
to operate the notebook. The NEC Versa 550 Series of notebooks are lightweight, com­pact, and fully IBM compatible computers.

The NEC Versa 550 Series comes with the following model configurations:

Table Section 1-1 Model Configurations

Configuration Versa 500D (1) Versa 500D (2) Versa 550D

CPU

On-Board DRAM

Video Memory

Hard Disk Drive

Color LCD

Battery Pack

Cyrix 486Dx4-75 Cyrix 486DX4-75 Cyrix 5x86-100

4 MB 8 MB 8 MB

512 KB 1 MB 1 MB

340 MB 340 MB 540 MB

9.4” DSTN LCD 9.4” DSTN LCD 10.4” DSTN LCD

A (2400mA NiMH) A (2400mA NiMH) B (2800mA NiMH)

NOTE: Models 1 and 2 are European models

only.

Figure Section 1-1 NEC Versa 550 Series Notebook

1-2 Technical Information

FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS

The NEC Versa 550 notebook series includes a variety of innovative features designed to
meet the most demanding computing requirements:

Table Section 1-2 Feature Highlights

Features Description

CPU

Memory

Display

VGA

HDD
FDD
Keyboard

Pointing Device
PCMCIA Slot

I/O Port

Power System

Cyrix 486DX4-75MHz (Cyrix 5x86-100MHz for Versa 550D) proces­sor with internal 8KB cache memory (16KB for Cyrix 5x86) and math
coprocessor

On-board 8MB RAM (4MB for Versa 500D1) and can be upgraded to
24MB (20MB for Versa 550D1)

9.4” DSTN VGA Color LCD (10.4” for Versa 550D) at 640 x 480 pix­els resolution with 256 colors

32-bit Video local bus VGA controller / 1MB RAM Video Memory
(512KB for Versa 550D1) / Supports up to 1024 x 768 pixels resolu­tion for external CRT monitor with 256 colors (16 colors for Versa
550D1)

Built-in 2.5-inch IDE high capacity hard drive (19mm / 17mm height)
Built-in 3.5-inch 1.44MB floppy disk drive
Built-in 85/86-key keyboard with 12 programmable function keys,

embedded numeric keypad and special function control keys, dedi­cated screen control keys, and inverted “T” cursor keys / IBM en­hanced 101/102-key compatible keyboard

Large integrated 19mm trackball
Two PCMCIA 2.1 card slots that support two Type II PC cards at the

same time or one Type III and one Type II PC cards at the same time
1 x Serial Port / 1 x Printer Port / 1 x VGA Port / 1 x PS/2 keyboard &

mouse port
Auto-switching AC Adapter (90V - 264V) / Rechargeable NiMH Bat-

tery pack / Advanced power management capabilities

SYSTEM CONFIGURATION

The following figure illustrates the Versa 500 Series configuration.

Technical Information 1-3

Cyrix DX4-75 /

Cyrix M1sc-100

CPU (3.45v)

BIOS

Flash ROM

4 / 8MB RAM

On-Board

Upgradable to

20 / 24MB

Bank 1 (Slot 1)

4 / 8 / 16MB

DIMM

Built-in

HDD

Color LCD

(640x480)

DSTN

VL Bus

Controller

(VGA)

Trackball

Pointing

Device

Keyboard

Serial Interface

(RS-232C)

Parallel

Interface

PCMCIA Card

Slot x 2

External

VGA

Monitor

PS/2 Keyboard

and

PS/2 Mouse

RS-232C

Peripheral

Printer

PCMCIA Card

3.5" FDD
Battery Pack

Figure Section 1-2 System Configuration Diagram

1-4 Technical Information

QUICK TOUR OF THE NOTEBOOK

Take a moment to become familiar with the location and function of controls, (the LCD
status panel, connectors, and ports), illustrated in this section. It is recommended to first go
through the NEC Versa User’s Guide of the notebook for more added information on how
to operate its feature as well as proper installation.

The Front Side of the Notebook

The following figure shows front side features.

Panel Release
Latch

LCD Panel

Contrast Control

Brightness Control

Power Indicator

Power Switch

Status Panel

Keyboard

Trackball

Figure Section 1-3 Front of the Notebook

Color LCD Display Panel

Both the NEC Versa 500D1 and 500D2 have a built-in 9.4” passive matrix dual scan STN
(DSTN) color liquid crystal display (LCD) that you could adjust and tilt to your desired
viewing position. The LCD provides 640 x 480 pixels resolution at maximum 256 colors
and supports simultaneous display with an external VGA monitor. The NEC Versa 550D
provides a 10.4” DSTN color LCD that also supports 640 x 480 pixels resolution at maxi­mum 256 colors and simultaneous display with the external monitor.

Technical Information 1-5

The LCD screen also uses CCFT (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Tube) backlighting which con­sumes much of the power of the notebook. To save battery power, the system has an ad­vanced power management feature that powers down the LCD when it has not been used
for a predetermined amount of time. You adjust the brightness and contrast level of the
LCD by adjusting the Brightness and Contrast controls found on the right side of the LCD
panel.

Power Switch/LCD Cover Switch

The power switch button, when pressed, turns on the notebook’s power. Pressing it again
turns the computer’s power off. Whenever the notebook is in “Save-to-disk” suspend mode,
the power switch button serves as a manual resume switch that allows you to continue your
application work to where you last left it before the suspend mode is activated.

NOTE: Always wait for a few seconds in be-
tween turning off and on the power. Check if the
power switch is turn off before installing the
power supply.

Also just on top of the power button switch found at the edge of the LCD hinge is the LCD
cover switch button. This button automatically depresses and releases when you lower or
raise the LCD display panel. Depending on your power management settings, the button
will either switch the notebook to Suspend mode or just shuts off the LCD when you close
the LCD panel.

NOTE: If the NEC Versa 550 has been left un-
used for a prolonged period of time with the AC
adapter disconnected, it is possible for the battery
to become completely discharged. In such case, it
is necessary to connect the AC adapter for ap­proximately 30 minutes before the battery begins
to recharge normally.

Status Panel and Power Indicator

Right below the LCD panel, just at the center and inclined 45 degrees, is the Status Panel
LCD Bar. This LCD bar provides an easier way to distinguish the actual status of the note­book’s operation. Different graphic icons will appear on the LCD bar indicating either a de­vice being accessed, an operation being done, or a certain mode being activated. The
graphic icons displayed on the LCD bar resembles either their physical characteristics or
their primary function.

Also found just on the upper rightmost of the LCD Status Bar is the Power LED Indicator
which activates (yellow color) whenever the computer’s power is on.

1-6 Technical Information

Graphic
Icons

AC

Adapter

Power

Management

Battery

Status

Suspend

Mode

HDD

PCMCIA

Slots

FDD

Pad

Lock

Num
Lock

Caps
Lock

Scroll

Lock

Power

LED

Figure Section 1-4 LCD Status Bar

Table Section 1-3 LCD Status Bar Icons and Description

Description

Activates when system is powered by AC adapter. The battery cell
inside indicate that the battery pack is being charged also and will
disappear when battery has been fully charged. The icon will blink
whenever you first connect the AC adapter and recharging initializes.

Activates if power management feature is enabled. The power
management setup is found on the CMOS SETUP program.

Activates when battery is in use. When battery is already running low,
the icon will start to blink and will generate an intermittent audible
beep. This warns you to save your data files and connect an AC
adapter or swap battery pack.

This icon informs you that the system is in “save-to-RAM” suspend
mode when blinking. Press any key to resume operation.

Activates whenever the hard disk drive is being accessed. To avoid
any data loss, never turn off the computer when this icon is visible.

Activates whenever a PCMCIA card is inserted. The “0” icon will
appear when a PC card is inserted in the upper slot while the “1’ icon
will appear if a card is inserted into the bottom slot.

Activates whenever the floppy disk drive is being accessed. To avoid
any data loss, never turn off the computer when this icon is visible.

This icon, when visible, informs you that the keyboard Pad Lock
function is engaged. The Pad Lock function activates the keyboard’s
embedded editing keys, but only if the Num Lock is disengaged.

Technical Information 1-7

This icon activates whenever the Num Lock key is enabled. This
allows you to use the embedded numeric keypad. Press the Num
Lock key again to disable.

This icon activates whenever the Caps Lock key is engaged. When
activated, the letters entered on the keyboard will be in capital letters
(upper case).

This icon, when visible, informs you that the keyboard Scroll Lock
function is engaged. When visible, text scrolls without altering the
cursor position on screen.

Keyboard

The notebook has a built-in 85/86-key keyboard that provides complete emulation of a full­sized IBM AT-enhanced keyboard with function keys and screen/cursor control keys.

Figure Section 1-5 Standard Keyboard Layout

The notebook keyboard is a little bit different from a standard desktop keyboard. Aside
from the normal alphanumeric characters and the standard keyboard function keys, the
notebook keyboard includes an embedded numeric keypad, and special function keys that
activates by pressing the <Fn> key together with another key. These special function keys
or more popularly known as “hot keys” allows you to control and adjust some of the note­book’s function like display controls, speaker volume, and power management feature. The
embedded numeric keypad is activated by pressing the <Num Lock> key. The LCD Status
Bar will display the Num Lock graphics icon to indicate that the Num Lock key has been
activated.

1-8 Technical Information

NOTE: Activating the Num Lock key (embed-

ded numeric keys) will in turn disable the actual
alphanumeric keys where the embedded keys are
located (i.e. pressing the “K” on the keyboard
will show “2” instead). Press the <Num Lock>
key again to disable the embedded keys and re­sume normal keyboard operation.

Key Combina­tion

<Fn> key +
<Esc> key

<Fn> key + <F1>

key
<Fn> key + <F8>

key

<Fn> key +
<F10> key

<Fn> key +
<F11> key

<Fn> key +
<PgUp> key

Figure Section 1-6 Embedded Numeric Keypad

Table Section 1-4 Fn Key Combination Summary

Function

This key combination puts the system in Suspend mode.

This key combination brings up the Power Management menu.

This key combination toggles between enabling and disabling the
battery low warning beep.

This key combination toggles between video display output to the LCD
display or to an external CRT monitor.

This key combination toggles the LCD display backlighting (CCFT) on
and off.

This key combination increases the speaker volume level
incrementally.

<Fn> key +
<PgDn> key

This key combination decreases the speaker volume level incremen­tally.

Technical Information 1-9

The notebook’s keyboard also features an embedded editing keypad, which offers an op­tional method for editing and moving within documents. The embedded editing keys are
color coded in blue and embedded on the front side of the key caps. To engage the editing
keys, first press the Fn + Pad|Lock key combination and then press the Num Lock key.

When the embedded editing keys are operational, the Pad Lock status icon is activated
while the Num Lock status icon is off. To return to normal keyboard operation, press the
Fn + Pad|Lock key combination again. If both the Pad Lock and the Num Lock status
icons are activated, the embedded numeric keypad takes precedence.

You will also find two retaining latches just above the keyboard panel. These latches release
the keyboard to give you easy access to the inside of the notebook in performing mainte­nance and upgrades.

Trackball

In front of the keyboard panel, just right at the center of the palm rest typing surface, is the
Trackball pointing device. The button below and to the left of the trackball is configured (by
default) as the left button you normally click on the mouse while the button to the right of
the trackball is configured as the right button. Moving the pointer on the screen is done by
rolling the ball with your finger and directing the pointer to where you want to go. The
Trackball is compatible with the standard PS/2 mouse and can be activated using the normal
DOS or Windows IBM or PS/2 mouse driver.

Figure Section 1-7 Trackball

The Right Side of the Notebook

The following figure shows NEC Versa 500 Series right side features.

1-10 Technical Information

Hard Drive Floppy

Drive

Eject

Button

Figure Section 1-8 Right Side of the Notebook

Built-in Floppy Disk Drive

On the right side of the notebook, you will find the floppy disk drive which supports 3.5­inch 1.44MB high density (HD) diskettes or 720KB double-sided (DS) diskettes. Insert the
floppy diskette with the metal shutter towards the drive and the diskette label facing up. To
remove the floppy diskette, you press the eject button found on the upper right of the
floppy disk drive.

Hard Disk Drive Compartment

Just beside the floppy disk drive is the notebook’s internal hard drive. The NEC Versa 550
provides industry standard 2.5-inch IDE hard disk drive at 340MB and 540MB. The System
BIOS of the notebook also includes Auto IDE detection and LBA mode for easy installa­tion as well as later upgrade for higher capacity disk drives.

The Left Side of the Notebook

The following figure shows NEC Versa 500 Series left side features.

Reset

Switch

DC-IN

Connector

PCMCIA

Compartment

Battery

Compartment

Technical Information 1-11

Figure Section 1-9 Left Side of the Notebook

Battery Compartment

To the left corner side of the notebook is the battery compartment which houses the re­chargeable NiMH battery pack. The battery pack is instantly charge whenever you connect
the AC adapter to the notebook. It is very important to always have the battery installed on
the notebook to have it always charged and conditioned by the AC adapter. Leaving the
battery pack unistalled for a long period would drain the battery cells completely, and may
cause deterioration to the entire battery pack.

To remove the battery pack from the compartment unit, push forward the battery compart­ment latch to release lock and slowly pull out the battery pack.

NOTE: There are two types of battery pack for
the Versa 550 Series. The two Versa 500 models
use Type A battery pack swith 2400mA; while
the NEC Versa 550D model uses Type B battery
pack with 2800mA. Battery packs are not inter­changeable.

Figure Section 1-10 Removing the Battery Pack

PCMCIA Slot Compartment

The PCMCIA slot compartment houses two card slots that support two PCMCIA Type II
devices or one Type III device. For Type III cards, insert into the upper slot. Insert the card
with the pin sockets facing towards the drive and the label facing up. To remove the
PCMCIA card, push on the eject button to release the pin connections and slowly pull out
the card.

1-12 Technical Information

The NEC Versa 550 Series also comes with DOS/Windows PCMCIA drivers for support­ing various PCMCIA cards like modem cards, network cards.

Figure Section 1-11 Inserting a PCMCIA card

DC-IN Connector Jack

To the left of the PCMCIA compartment, you will find a connector jack where you plug in
the AC adapter of the notebook. The NEC Versa 550 series provides a universal auto­switching AC adapter where you connect the AC power cord and into the power outlet. It
is important to have the AC adapter connected to the notebook to recharge the battery and
keep the notebook working continuously.

NOTE: Use only the AC adapter model that
comes with the NEC Versa 550 notebook.

Figure Section 1-12 Connecting the AC Adapter to the Notebook

Technical Information 1-13

Hardware Reset Switch

To the left of the AC adapter connector jack, you will notice a small hole which allows an
easy alternative to resetting the notebook’s hardware.

The Rear Side of the Notebook

The following figure shows NEC Versa 500 Series rear side features.

Ventilation

VGA

Port

Port

Parallel

Port

Serial

Figure Section 1-13 Rear Side of the Notebook

External Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse Port

duct

Ext. K/B and

PS/2 mouse port

The external keyboard and PS/2 mouse port allows you to connect an external full-sized
IBM AT-enhanced keyboard. When an external keyboard is connected, both the built-in
keyboard of the notebook and the external keyboard can be used simultaneously.

The NEC Versa 550 also provides an optional Y-connector adapter allowing simultaneous
use of external AT-enhanced keyboard and PS/2 mouse. When an external PS/2 mouse is
connected using the Y-connector, the built-in trackball will automatically be disabled.

NOTE: When connecting an external PS/2
mouse, it is required that you power off the
computer first before connecting the PS/2
mouse. This way, the system can detect the ex­ternal PS/2 mouse and disables the built-in track­ball device.

VGA port

The 15-pin female VGA connector allows you to connect an external VGA monitor that
supports up to 1024x768 pixels resolution. When displaying on the external VGA monitor
alone, the VGA port can support resolution at 800x600 at 256 colors and 1024x768 at 16
colors for the NEC Versa 550D1 and 640x480 at 64K colors, 800x600 at 256 colors, and
1024x768 at 256 colors for both the NEC Versa 500D2 and 550D2.

1-14 Technical Information

The NEC Versa 550 series provides VGA VESA driver diskette for installing different dis­play resolution drivers for Windows Setup. You can also toggle the display between the
LCD and the external monitor by pressing the <Fn> key + <F10> key combination.

NOTE: Even when set to 800x600 or 1024x768
resolution, the external monitor will only show
640x480 resolution if the computer is running at
Simultaneous display. You need to toggle the
display to the external monitor only in order to
display higher resolution.

Refer also to Appendix A for a list of supported video modes.

Figure Section 1-14 Connecting an External Monitor

Printer Port (LPT 1)

The 25-pin printer port provides a parallel interface to which you can connect a parallel
printer or pocket network adapter. Many operating systems and software applications refer
to this port as LPT1. You can run the BIOS SETUP program to change the configuration
of the parallel port to Standard or Bidirectional.

Figure Section 1-15 Connecting to the Printer Port

Technical Information 1-15

Serial Port (COM 1)

The 9-pin serial port provides a serial interface to which you can connect an RS-232C de­vice such as external serial pointing device or modem. This port is commonly referred to as
COM1.

Figure Section 1-16 Connecting to the Serial Port

NOTE: First power off the system before con-
necting an external serial mouse. After turning on
the power again, run the BIOS SETUP program
and disable the Trackball.

The Base of the Computer

See the following figure for NEC Versa 500 Series bottom features.

Memory

Compartment

Cover

Battery

Compartment

Latch

Figure Section 1-17 The Base of the Notebook

Battery Module Handle and Lock

Battery Pack

Handle

To release the battery module from its compartment, push forward the battery compartment
latch as indicated by the arrow mark on it. While doing this, hold the handle of the battery
module and pull it out from its compartment.

1-16 Technical Information

Memory Slot Compartment Cover

The memory slot compartment cover is secured with two retaining screws. Inside is a mem­ory slot compartment where you can upgrade the system memory of the notebook using
standard single inline memory modules (SIMMs).

Figure Section 1-18 Memory Slot Compartment

SYSTEM BIOS SETUP PROGRAM

The BIOS (Basic Input-Output System) Setup program allows you to change the system
configuration settings such as the current date and time, the disk drive and ports settings,
and the power management as well.

As Power-On Self Test (POST) executes during boot up process, the screen will display the
following message:

Press <Ctrl><Alt><S> to Enter SETUP

Press the <Ctrl><Alt><S> key combination to run the BIOS Setup program. The BIOS
Setup program is organized into two pages of menu which you can select using the PgDn
and PgUp keys. To move from one option to another, you use the up and down arrow keys
while using the <Spacebar> and <-> keys to change the settings.

To exit the BIOS Setup program, simply press the <Esc> key and select from the pop-up
window whether you want to load the default values for all fields; save your changes and
exit; or exit without saving any changes.

The Bootup Setting Menu

The bootup settings menu allows you to change the following configuration:

Technical Information 1-17

Figure Section 1-19 The Bootup Setting Menu

Table Section 1-5 Bootup Setting Menu

Item Function

System Time This option allows you to change the system time, using the

format hour : minute : second. You can change the system
time here or from your operating system’s command prompt.

System Date This option allows you to change the system date, using the

format month day, year. You can change the system date
here or from your operating system’s command prompt.

Diskette A This option allows you to specify the type of diskette drive

mounted inside the notebook. The default setting for this
option is 3.5”, 1.44MB disk drive.

HDD LBA Mode The Versa 550 supports LBA (logical block addressing) mode

which is Enabled automatically for large capacity hard drives
over DOS’ limit of 528MB.

Hard Disk This option allows you to specify the type of hard drive

mounted inside the notebook. Always select the Auto 1 option
to instruct the BIOS to automatically detect the relevant
parameters of the hard drive. Some hard drive, however, do
not respond correctly to the values detected. In such cases,
you must select search from the list if the make and model of
the drive is listed. Otherwise, select User 1 and manually
enter the manufacturer’s recommended drive parameters.

Base Memory This field reports the amount of base (or conventional)

memory found by the BIOS during its POST. The value
should not exceed or below 640KB.

Extended Memory This field reports the amount of extended memory found by

the BIOS during POST. The value displayed is the amount of
memory address map. Because all models in the Versa 550

1-18 Technical Information

series ship have a minimum of 4MB/8MB of memory as
standard configuration, this value should not be less than
3072KB.

Total Memory This field reports the total amount of memory found by the

BIOS during POST. The value displayed is the sum of the
base and extended memory, plus the 384KB of memory
reserved to the system for BIOS and BIOS extension
addresses. This value should not be less than 4096KB.

Display Output This option allows you to configure the notebook for video

display output between the LCD panel, the external VGA port,
or both. Select Auto to instruct the notebook to automatically
detect connection to an external monitor or display output to
the LCD panel. Otherwise, select SimulScan for simultaneous
output to both LCD panel and external monitor. 550D (2) and
550D models have these two options, but 550D (1) model this
field is fixed to “Auto”, can not be configured.

Serial Port This option allows you to enable or disable the notebook’s

serial port as COM1 (at address 03F8h). The default setting is
Enabled.

Parallel Port This option allows you to configure the notebook’s parallel

port as a Standard or Bidirectional printer port, or to disable
the port altogether. The default setting is Standard.

Password This option allows you to limit access to the computer through

the use of a password. If you select this option, a pop-up
window will appear asking you to set or change the password.
A password can be up to seven characters in length, and is
cleared by eliminating the password with the F1 key.

Note: If you forget the password of the computer, the only way
to access the system again is to discharge the CMOS battery.

Quick Boot This option allows you to configure the computer to shorten or

skip some non-critical tests during the BIOS POST, and thus
speed up the boot process.

Boot From This option allows you to configure the computer to which

drive it will first try to look for the operating system.
Select HDD only if the hard drive already holds an operating

system and all necessary startup file configuration.
Select FDD when you need to boot the operating system from

the floppy diskette. If there is no diskette found on the floppy
drive, the computer will then try to load the operating system
from the hard drive.

Trackball This option allows you to enable or disable the built-in

trackball. If you need to attach an external serial mouse, you
should disable this option so that the system will try to look for
the serial mouse.