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NEC Versa® LXi
Release Notes
Congratulations on purchasing an NEC Versa LXi notebook computer that ships with 16 MB of video
RAM for en h anced graphics processi ng. Before u s ing your system read the impor tant information
detailed in this document.
Contents
Installing Windows 2000 or Windows NT.......................................................................................................2
Notes to All Users...........................................................................................................................................2
Entering the BIOS Setup Utility................................................................................................ ..................2
Optimizing the LCD Panel Display..............................................................................................................2
Toggling Between Video Modes .................................................................................................................2
Disabling Power Management.....................................................................................................................2
Using a TV as an External Dis play Device ...................................................................................................3
Hot Docking Your System ..........................................................................................................................3
Upgrading to a New Versa Dock Monitor Stand..........................................................................................3
Notes for Using Windows 98 Second Edition..................................................................................................3
Restoring the Hard Disk Drive ....................................................................................................................3
Docking Your System .................................................................................................................................3
Modifying the System’s Color Settings........................................................................................................ 3
Updating the IR (infrared) Driver.............................................................................................. ..................4
Disabling Save-to-Disk...............................................................................................................................4
Using PC Cards ..........................................................................................................................................4
Resuming from Save-to File........................................................................................................................5
Using the Internal Microphone....................................................................................................................5
Using Novell Software................................................................................................................................5
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Installing Windows 2000 or Windows NT
Your NEC V er s a LX i systems ship with a dual configuration, giving you a choice between the
Windows 2000 Professional Edition and Windows NT 4 Workstation operating systems. When you
power on the system for the first time, you must select the opera ting system of your choice. Rea d the
screens carefully before mak ing your selection. Once you ch oose an operating system, a message
appears allowing you to either ‘Continue’ with the install ation or go ‘Back’ to alter your selection.
Note
systems.
Please note that once you click ‘Continue,’ you are unable to alter your choice of operating
Notes to All Users
Be sure t o r ead the following notes when using any of the Windows opera ting systems on your NEC
Versa LXi.
Entering the BIOS Setup Utility
A new Microsoft requirement affects the speed of the system boot process and the time it takes to load
the operating syst e m. The boot process sp eed is i ncrea s e d, thereby decr e asing the time betwee n power
on and th at during which you can access th e BI O S S etup utility.
To access the BIOS Setup utility to view or modify the system’s BIOS settings, you must pr ess
system startup. Fol low these step s to ensure that you access the BIOS Setup utility before the operatin g
system loads.
1.
Press the power button to power on your system.
2.
Immediately after pressing the power button, press F2, twice, to enter the BIOS Setup utility.
Optimizing the LCD Panel Display
To optimize the LCD panel display, be sure to set your system’s colors setting to High Color, 16 bit.
To modi f y the Colors setting, right click on the Windows desktop and select Pr op erties. Select the
Settings tab, then use the drop -down box in the C olors s ec tion of the window to change the sett ing to
High Color (16 bit).
F2
at
Toggling Between Video Modes
Pressing
Fn-F3
display mode. To reestablish simultaneous mode for the TV, reenable the TV display settings. Follow
these steps to enable the TV display settings for Windows 98.
To enable the TV display settings in Windows 98, right click on the Windows desktop, click
Properties, select the Sett in g s tab, and select the Advanced tab. Next, select the S3 DuoVu e tab and
place a check in the box next to the TV graphic.
Fn-F3
toggles th e s ystem between vi d eo m od es. With a TV an d m on it or attached , u sing
to repeatedly toggle between video modes results in CRT and LCD, only, in simultaneous
Disabling Power Management
NECC recommends that you disable power management on the NEC Versa when using the following
hardware devices or software.
USB devices
cordless mouse
SlimSCSI PC cards
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PC storage cards
Applications requiring a full-screen DOS box
Optional DVD-ROM drive.
Using a TV as an External Display Device
Follow t hese guid elines when using a TV as an extern al displa y device.
Always connect your NEC Versa LXi to an AC power source.
To toggle back to the LCD when in TV out only mode, right click on the Windows desktop,
click Properties, select the S3 DuoVue tab, and enable the LCD.
In Windows 98, you cannot use
DVD movie.
Fn-F3
to toggle the display from LCD to TV while playing a
Hot Docking Your System
If your system has an internal mini -PCI card and you hot dock to the NEC Versa Dock, it tak es
appr oximately 90 seconds for th e s ystem to acknowledge docked st atus.
Upgrading to a New Versa Dock Monitor Stand
If you purchased an NEC Versa Dock prior to October 29, 1999, the monitor stand that shipped with
the docking station cannot accommodate the NEC Versa LXi with 14.5-inch and 15-inch LCD panels.
You need to order a new monitor stand. To order a new monitor stand call 1-800-632-4525 to order the
part number, 136-245512-001A.
Notes for Using Windows 98 Second Edition
Be sure to read the following notes when using Windows 98 Second Edition on your NEC Versa LXi.
Restoring the Hard Disk Drive
Your NEC V er s a system ship s wi th a s in g le partition on the hard dis k drive. If you choose to change to
multiple partitions and want to use the Product Recovery CD to restore the hard disk drive to its initial
shipped configuration, you must format all the partitions before performing the hard disk drive
restoration. For details about using the Product Recovery CD, see the NEC Versa LXi User's Guide.
Docking Your System
The optional NEC Versa Dock lets you turn your NEC Versa LXi with Windows 98 into a desktop or a
multimedia workstation. With the optional docking station you can warm dock or cold dock your NEC
Versa LXi.
Warm docking occurs when your NEC Versa is in a suspen d ed s tate and then docked with the NE C
Versa Dock. Cold docking occurs when your NEC Versa is powered off and then docked with the
NEC Versa Dock.
Currently, your NEC Versa LXi with Windows 98 does not support hot docking with an NEC Versa
Dock.
Modifying the System’s Color Settings
Your NEC Versa LXi ships with the default color setting of High Color (16 bit). If you modify the
color sett i ngs using the Display Properties function provided with th e W i ndows operating syst em, you
are pr om p ted to restart the system.
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However, if you choose to modify the color settings to 256 colors, from either the default or any other
color setting, vid eo cor ruption may occur upon system restart. If video corruption occurs, it is
necessa ry to reboot your system a second time to eliminate the corruption.
Updating the IR (infrared) Driver
Before using IR data transfer on your NEC Versa LXi, be sure to install the latest IR driver, v3.08R,
from the Application and Driver CD.
Follow these steps to install the latest IR driver.
1.
Insert the Application and Driver CD into the CD-ROM drive.
If autorun is enabled, the CD automatically runs.
If autorun is not enabled, double click the CD-ROM icon in Windows Explorer to launch the
CD.
2.
Click the Drivers tab.
3.
Click on Latest Non-Logo'd IR Drivers.
4.
Highlight Installation Instructions.
5.
Click View.
6.
Print out and follow the on-screen instructions to install the latest IR driver.
Disabling Save-to-Disk
To optimize system performance when using a hard disk drive in the VersaBay III, disable the
Save-to-Disk parameter in the Power Management section of the BIOS Setup utility as follows.
1.
Press F2 when booting the system to enter the BIOS Setup utility.
2.
Select Power Management Setup from the main menu.
3.
At the Power Management Setup menu, select Auto Save-to-File and set it to Disabled.
4.
5.
Esc
Press
to return to the main menu.
Select Save Settings and Exit.
Using PC Cards
Follow t hese guid elines when using PC cards on your NEC Versa LXi s ystem.
After inserting a PC card into the PC card slot with the system powered on, th e system
recognizes and l oa d s the card driver . I f the cursor tog g les repeat ed ly between a poin ter and
hourglas s , click on the PC c a rd icon on the lower righ t corn e r of the taskbar . Stop the P C card.
Eject and reinsert the PC card. Th e system loads the card and funct ions correctly.
When using PC storage cards with your NEC Versa LXi, do not change the default settings for
Power Button and Lid Close functions in Windows.
When u sing the Adapt ec S limSCSI PC card in the NEC Versa LXi, always have a devi ce
atta ch ed to the card.
Do not swap PC cards between slots when the system is in Suspend mode.
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Resuming from Save-to File
When the NE C V ersa r esumes from Save- to-File, a progress bar displays on the s c reen. When th e
progress bar shows 100% and the resume process is complete, the screen goes blank for approximately
15 secon d s as the system res u mes normal operation.
Using the Internal Microphone
Use the Audio Mixer to mute the internal microphone in Windows 98 as follows.
1.
Click St ar t, Program s, A ccessories, En tertainm ent , an d then Volume Con trol.
2.
Select Op tions, Prop erties, and Rec ording , th en cl ick OK.
3.
Deselect the MIC as a source of input by removing the ch eck from the Select box.
Using Novell Software
When resuming from Standby mode with Novell software installed, do not use the VersaGlide for
appr ox i mately 10 secon d s until the system fully resumes operation.
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819-200700-000
10/2000
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