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NEC Versa® SXi
Release Notes
Congratulations on purchasing an NEC Versa SXi notebook computer! Before using your system read
the important informatio n detailed in t his doc ume nt. The topic s desc ribe d in this docume nt apply to
NEC Versa SXi systems running the Microsoft
Wind ows NT operat in g s ystems. Top ics specifi c t o a particu lar operating system are noted.
Contents
Introducing New System Features ...................................................................................................................2
Installing Windows 2000 or Windows NT...................................................................................................2
Notes for ALL Users.......................................................................................................................................2
Swapping VersaBay III Devices..................................................................................................................2
Notes for Using Windows 2000.......................................................................................................................2
Installing the Xircom Modem/LAN Drivers................................................................................................. 2
Notes for Using Windows 98 Second Edition...................................................................................... ............4
Playing Audio CDs.....................................................................................................................................4
Swapping Devices in the NEC VersaBay III................................................................................................5
Using a Generic Windows 98 Operating System..........................................................................................5
Using a Xircom LAN Card..........................................................................................................................6
Notes for Using Windows NT.........................................................................................................................6
Installing the Xircom LAN Driver...............................................................................................................6
Playing AVI files........................................................................................................................................6
®
Windows® 2000, Windows 98 Second Edition, or
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Introducing New System Features
Your NEC Versa SXi provides a variety of system features to accommodate your mobile computing
needs. In addit ion to the features described in the NEC Versa SXi User’s Guide, some systems now
offer the foll owing :
an Int el
a choice of either the Windows 2000 Professional Edition or the Windows NT 4 Workstation
opera ting system.
Installing Windows 2000 or Windows NT
Some NEC Versa SXi 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 f or the fir st time, you must s elect the op er ating syst em of your choice. Read the
screens carefully before making your s election. Once you choose an operatin g system , a messa ge
appears allowing you to either ‘Continue’ with the insta llation or go ‘Back’ to alter your selection.
®
Pentium III, 800 MHz or 850 MHz with SpeedStep™.
Note
systems.
Please note that once you click ‘Continue,’ you are unable to alter your choice of operating
Notes for ALL Users
Be sure t o r ead the following notes when using an y operating system on your NEC Versa S X i.
Swapping VersaBay III Devices
Your NEC Versa SXi system supports hot swapping some NEC VersaBay III devices. Hot swapping is
possible when the NEC VersaBay III Swap Utility is installed and your system is powered on. For
details about the using the swap utility, refer to your NEC Versa SXi User’s Guide.
Your NEC Versa SXi notebook system does not support warm swapping of NEC VersaBay III
devices. Warm swapping is possible when a system (that supports warm swapping) automatically or
manua lly enter s a sleep stat e.
Notes for Using Windows 2000
Be sure to read the following notes when using Windows 2000 on your NEC Versa SXi.
Installing the Xircom Modem/LAN Drivers
Your factory-installed NEC Versa SXi system contains the Xircom modem/LAN drivers. Before using
the Application & Driver CD (A&D CD) to install (or reinstall) the Xircom modem/LAN drivers, you
must first remove any existing modem or LAN files and configured drivers from your NEC Versa
system. Instructions to remove the modem/LAN files and configured drivers from the system and to
inst all the modem /LAN driver s from the A&D C D, are provided in the following secti ons. Be sur e to
follow all of the instructions to remove and install the drivers.
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Removing the Modem/LAN Files
Follow these instructions to remove the modem/LAN files.
1.
Double click My Computer and double click drive C:.
2.
Double click the Drivers folder.
3.
Highlight and delete the Modem and LAN folders.
4.
Follow the instructions to remove the Xircom LAN driver.
Removing the Xircom LAN Driver
Follow these instructions to remove the configured Xircom LAN driver from your system.
1.
Righ t click My Comput er, high light and click Properties.
2.
Select t he Hardware tab and cl ick the Hardware Wizard button.
3.
Click N ex t when the Add/ Rem ove Hard ware Wizar d screen appears.
4.
Select ‘Uninstall/unplug a device’ and c lick N ext.
5.
Select ‘Unins tall a device’ an d click Next.
6.
Scroll down to select ‘Intel Pro/100+ Mini PCI’ and click Next.
7.
Click Yes when the ‘I want to uninst all this d evi ce’ screen appears and click Next.
8.
Click Finish to remove the LAN driver.
9.
Click O K t o cl ose the System Propert ies window.
10.
Restart your comp uter.
11.
Follow the instructions to install the Xircom LAN driver from the A&D CD
Installing the Xircom LAN Driver
Follow t hese ins tr uction s t o install the Xircom LAN driver fr om th e A &D C D.
1.
Once you restart your computer, Windows 2000 automatically detects the ethernet controller.
When th e Files Needed s creen app ears, ins er t the A&D CD.
2.
Click the Browse button to locate your CD-ROM drive.
3.
Double click through the following path: \Software\Drivers\Xircom\LAN, and click Open.
4.
Click OK to install the LAN driver.
5.
Click Finish to complete the installation.
6.
Click Yes when prompted to restart your computer.
The LAN driver is now installed and ready to use.
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Removing the Xircom Modem Driver
Follow these instructions to remove the configured Xircom modem driver from your system.
1.
Double click My Computer and locate your CD-ROM drive.
2.
Double click your CD-ROM drive.
3.
Double click through the following path: \Software\Drivers\Xircom\Modem.
4.
Double click the remaining folder, the latest version of the Xircom modem driver.
5.
Double click the 2000 folder and double click xmremove.exe to launch the file.
6.
Click Yes to remove the driver.
7.
Click Yes when prompted to restart your computer.
8.
Follow the instructions to install the Xi rc om mode m dr iver.
Installing the Xircom Modem Driver
Follow these instructions to install the Xircom modem driver from the A&D CD.
1.
Once you restart your computer, Windows 2000 automatically detects the PCI serial port. When
the Found New Hardware screen appear s, insert the A &D C D.
2.
Click Next and click Next again to search for a suitable driver.
3.
Remove the check from the box n ext to ‘CD-ROM drive.’
4.
Place a check in the box next to ‘Speci fy a locati on’ and click Next.
5.
Click the browse button to locate your CD-ROM drive.
6.
Double click through the following path: \Software\Drivers\Xircom\Modem.
7.
Double click the remaining folder, the latest version of the Xircom modem driver.
8.
Double click the 2000 folder, click Open, then click OK.
9.
Click Next to install the driver.
10.
Click Finish to complete the installation.
11.
Restart your comp uter.
The modem driver is now installed and ready to use.
Notes for Using Windows 98 Second Edition
Be sure to read the following notes when using Windows 98 on your NEC Versa SXi.
Playing Audio CDs
Your NEC Versa SXi system supports audio CD play with a CD-ROM drive, CD-Read/Write drive or
DVD-ROM drive installed. The Windows 98 operating system provides a built-in CD player function
that allows you to play CDs and to modify play preferences. In addition, the built-in Multimedia
funct ion allows you to speci f y the way in whi ch Windows uses your CD devi ce f or playing CD music.
Using the Multim ed ia functi on in the system’s control panel, you can s p ecify that Win dows use di g ital,
rather than analog playback . To access this setting, simp ly go to Star t, Settin g s, Control Panel,
Mult imedia Properties. Select th e C D Mus ic tab and place a check in the box next to ‘Enable digital
CD audio for this CD-ROM device.’
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Your NEC Versa SXi system also supports hot swapping some NEC VersaBay III devices using the
swap utility provided on the Application & Driver CD that ships with your system. However, you may
need to download from the web and install version 3.13.11 of the swap utility, if you have enabled
digit al CD audio in the Multimed ia Properties fun ction. Your system ma y crash (blue screen) wh en
attempting to play audio CDs if:
Enable digita l CD audio for th is CD-ROM d evi ce is check ed .
The NEC VersaBay III Swap Utility was installed from the Application & Driver CD.
If your NEC Versa SXi i s configur ed as descri bed in the pr eced ing bull et ed list, be su re to download
and install version 3.13.11 of the swap utility before attempting to play audio CDs. Instructions to
download and install the swap utility are provided in the following section.
Downloading the NEC VersaBay III Swap Utility
Follow these steps to download and install the NEC VersaBay III Swap Utility, version 3.13.11.
1.
Launch your browser a nd go to
2.
Click downloads and click ‘Continue to download page.’
3.
Select ‘Versa’ for the base model and ‘Versa SXi’ as the model name.
4.
Select ‘Other’ as th e category and ‘Windows 98’ as the oper ating system.
5.
Click the Search button.
6.
Click the ‘SXi-VB3Swap-98.exe’ link and follow the on-screen instructions to download the file
www.nec-computers.com
to your hard drive.
7.
Locate the file on your hard drive and double click the file.
8.
Follow the on-screen instructions to install the swap utility.
9.
Reboot your system.
Swapping Devices in the NEC VersaBay III
Your NEC Versa SXi running the Windows 98 operating system supports hot swapping some NEC
VersaBay III devices. Using the NEC VersaBay III Swap utility, you can swap a floppy disk drive,
CD-ROM drive, CD Read/Write drive, Su perDisk drive, or DVD-ROM drive. For details about usin g
the swap utility, refer to the NEC Versa SXi User’s Guide.
When you power on your system with a SuperDisk drive installed in the NEC VersaBay III, the
SuperDisk drive is assigned drive B:. The SuperDisk drive is assigned drive D: under the following
conditions:
.
Use the swap utility to remove, then re-insert the SuperDisk drive in the NEC VersaBay III.
Hot swap the SuperD isk drive t o another d evi ce, and then s wap back to the S u p erDisk drive.
Using a Generic Windows 98 Operating System
Your NEC V ersa SXi system s h ips with an NEC -specific Windows 98 op erating system that includes
additional drivers and utilities. These drivers and utilities also are provided on the Application &
Dri ver CD that shi p s with your system . However , you may decid e to reformat the har d d isk drive and
inst all a generi c Windows 98 operating system.
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If you in stall a generic Windows 98 operating system, the NEC -specific d rivers and utili ties are
removed. To opt i miz e the video di s play quality on your NE C Versa SXi, NEC recom men ds that you
inst all the ATI Di splay Driver from th e Applicati on & Driver CD. F or d etails about usin g the
Application & Driver CD, refer to the NEC Versa SXi User’s Guide.
During the ATI Dis p lay Driver installation, a mes sage appears indi cating that you must install th e
DirectX component when u sing this video driver . N EC recommends that you d ownl oad an d install
Dir ectX 7 from the Mi crosoft site at
http://www.microsoft.com
Using a Xircom LAN Card
If you are using the Xircom 16 bit CE3B-100BTX LAN card with your NEC Versa SXi system, only
hot insert or remove the card from the P C card slots. Hot inserting and rem oving is pos s ible when the
system is powered on. Do
system is in a sleep state. Warm swapping the Xircom 16 bit CE3B-100BTX LAN card may cause
your system to ha ng.
warm swap th e card, that is, do not inser t or remove th e card while the
not
Notes for Using Windows NT
Be sure to read the following notes when using Windows NT on your NEC Versa SXi.
Installing the Xircom LAN Driver
Your NEC Versa SXi ships with the Xircom LAN driver alrea dy instal l ed. I f you replace the
NEC-s p ecific Windows NT oper ating system wi th a gen er ic Windows NT operating system, or if you
need to reinstall the LAN driver, follow the instructions provided on the Application & Driver CD
(A&D CD) th at ships with your syst em.
.
The A&D C D con tains the X ircom LAN dri ver, complete with ins tallati on instructions. Befor e
following the instructions to install the driver you must copy the LAN folder from the A&D CD to
your hard drive. Once you have copied the LAN folder to your hard drive, follow the installation
instructions, modifying the path location of the driver to indicate that the driver resides on your hard
drive, r ather than on the A&D CD.
Follow these instructions to install the LAN driver.
1.
Insert the A&D CD into your CD-ROM drive.
2.
Double click My Computer, then double click through the following path:
[CD-ROM drive]:\Software\Drivers\Xircom.
3.
Copy the LAN folder to your (C:) hard drive.
4.
Follow the Xircom LAN driver installation instructions provided on the A&D CD. Be sure to
modify the path loca tion of t he LAN dri ve r when prompted by t he Network Setup Wizard. The
installation instructions suggest the path: \Software\Drivers\Xircom\LAN. Modify this path to:
C:\LAN.
5.
When the installation is complete, restart your system to activate the new LAN driver.
Playing AVI files
Your NEC V ersa SXi system wi th Wind ows NT includes the Windows Media Player, ena bling you to
play a var iety of audio and video fi les. When op e ning or playing a n AVI file, l oc all y or across a
network , your s ystem m ay experience vi deo di s tort ion. T o correct the vide o distortion, NEC
recommends th at you download the latest version of med ia pl ayer from th e M icrosoft web site , th en
modify some of the player’s settings.
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Follow t hese step s to downloa d th e med ia player and to modi f y th e p layer’s setting s.
1.
Launch your web browser and go to
2.
Use the site’s search engin e t o locate the Windows Media Player home page. Enter
www.microsoft.com
.
media player
and click Go.
3.
Click ‘Home Page for Windows Media Player.’
4.
Click ‘Download Page,’ and use the drop-down men us to select the latest ve rsi on (version 6.4 or
higher) and langua ge. Click ‘Download Now.’
5.
Follow the on-screen instructions to download the latest Windows Media Player.
6.
Once the new player is downloaded and ins talled on your system, launch the media pl ayer and
play an AVI file. Don’t be alarmed if video d istortion occu rs.
7.
Go to View, Options on the player’s menu bar.
8.
In th e vid eo section of the wind ow, there is a hardware accelerat ion setting. Click th e s croll tab t o
redu ce the setting from full to none.
9.
Click OK. The video distortion is eliminated.
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819-200665-002
10/2000
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