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NEC Versa TXi
Release Note s
Congratulations on purchasing an NEC Versa® TXi notebook com pute r! The NEC Versa TX i
provides a high-performance, portable solution for your computing needs. Before using your
system read th e imp ortant information detai led in this document.
This document contains notes about:
New features added to the product line after the user’s guide was printed.
General system behavior and how to optimize performance.
Systems running the Microsoft® Windows® 98 Secon d Ed ition (SE) op er ating system.
Systems running the Windows Millennium Edition (Me) operating system.
Systems running an “off-the-shelf” version of the Windows 2000 or Windows NT
operating system.
Resou rces for finding more in format ion a bout your NE C V ersa TXi note book computer.
New Features
The NEC Versa TXi notebook computer is now offered with a choice of two additional
processors and a n ew serial transfer ca bl e. Each new feature is br iefly descr ibed in the fol lowing
sections.
®
Processors
In addition to the processors listed in the printed user’s guide, the NEC Versa TXi notebook
computer is offered with the following processors:
Intel® Pentium® III 800-MHz processor featuring Intel SpeedStep™ technology
Intel Celeron™ LV 600-MHz processor.
Serial Transfer Cable
The NE C Ver s a TXi system comes with a serial transfer cable. This s p ecialized cable (see the
follo wing figur e allows you to c on nect serial devices to your system.
To install a seria l device, you need the serial transfer cable and the serial cable that com es with
your serial device. The ser ial transfer cable h as a 36-pin con nector that plugs into the prin ter port
on you r NEC Versa s ystem. The ot her end is a 9-pin s e rial port wher e you can conn ect one end
of your serial ca bl e.
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Serial transfer cable
A
– Release Clips
B
– 36-Pin Connector (to Versa)
Connecting a Serial Device
Connect a serial d evi ce to your NE C Versa notebook comput er as follows.
1.
Check th at power to both the NEC Ver s a n otebook an d the device are powered off.
2.
Open the print er port cover on the left side of the system.
3.
Align the small, 36-pin connector on th e s er ial transfer cable with the pr in ter port on the
system.
4.
Squeeze the cli p s on bot h en ds of the conn ector and in s er t the connector into the print er
port . Rel ease the cl ips when th e connector is secu re.
5.
Align an d connect th e other end of the serial tr ansfer cabl e to the 9- pin s er ial conn ector on
the serial cabl e th at comes with the device. Turn the s crews (if any) on the seri al device
conn ector to secure it.
6.
Connect the oth er end of the ser ial cable t o the serial d evi ce.
C
– 9-Pin Serial Port
Connecting a serial device
7.
Connect the power cable (if any) to the d evi ce and a properly grounded wall ou tlet.
8.
Turn on p ower to the system and the d evi ce.
Note
with the device for more information.
Check that the device is online before you try to use it. See the instructions that came
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Disconnecting a Serial Device
Use the followin g g uidelin es when disconnectin g the serial tr ansfer cable from the NEC Versa
notebook.
Power off the system a n d the serial d evi ce (if any) bef ore disconnect in g the serial tr ansfer
cable fr om the NEC Ver sa notebook.
Squeeze the release clip s on the connect or before pu lling the connector ou t of the system
port.
Failure to squeeze t he release c lips on t he serial transfer ca ble
connector during removal can result in damage to the connector.
General
The foll o wi ng condi tions can occu r in systems runnin g an y Windows operating system. Rea d
the sections be low for in forma t ion on usin g a nd configuring your system accordingly.
Using the USB Diskette Drive in MS-DOS Mode
The USB dis k ette drive can be used while th e system is runn ing MS-DOS® unde r the f ollow ing
situations:
you access MS-DOS from a Windows interface (by clicking Start on the task bar, pointing
to Programs, and clicking the MS-DOS listing).
you b oot from an M S -DOS boot diskette.
You cannot access the USB diskette drive i f you rest ar t your system in M S- D O S mod e ( b y
clicking Start on the task bar and pointing to Shutdown, and selecting “Restart in MS-DOS
mode” in the Shutdown Windows dia log box). Th e drive is not d etected in th is case.
Using an Extended Desktop Display and a Television Set
The following situation can occur if you configure your primary display for dual mode in order
to set up an ex tended des k top (so the desktop ap p ears over the combined screen area of your
LCD and an ex ternal monitor) and you configure a television set as your secondary display.
If your system goes into a Hibern ate state*
the video on th e exten ded desktop m ight be come corrupted
the syst em might hang when you try to bring it ba ck to an active state.
NEC Com pu ters Inc. d oes not recommend running the comp u ter with thi s configura tion.
*When your system hibernat e s, it p erform s a save-to - disk or sa ve-to - fil e (STF) so y ou r cu r r e nt worki n g enviro nment i s
saved to t h e hard disk during p eriods of ina c t ivity.
Restarting Your System While Using the LCD, a Monitor, and a TV
The following situation can occur if you configure your primary display for simultaneous mode
(allowing the desktop to display on your LCD and an external monitor) and you configure a
television set as your secondary display.
If you restart your system (by clicking Start on the task bar and pointing to Shutdown, and
selecting “Restart” in the Shutdown W i ndows dialog box), the ext erna l monit or might not
display the desktop a fter the system h a s restart ed.
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If the monitor does not display the desktop when the system restarts, do the following.
1.
Access the Display Properties window by right clicking your desktop and selecting
Properties.
2.
Click the Settings tab, click the Advanced Button, and click the Displays tab.
3.
Select the Monitor display field. Set the mode to Primary.
4.
Click O K t o cl ose the Advan ced wi ndow.
5.
Click O K t o cl ose the Disp lay Proper ties wind ow.
The desk top should reappear on the extern al monit or .
Windows 98 Second Edition
The foll o wi ng condi tions migh t occu r on systems runn in g the Windows 9 8 S econd Edition (SE)
operating system. Read the sections below for information on using and configuring your system
accordingly.
Optimizing DVD Movie Playback
If your system comes with a DVD-ROM drive or a combinat i on DVD-ROM and CD-RW drive,
you can play DVD movies on your computer.
NEC Computers has identified settings that optimize DVD movie playback. After you have
installed the NEC SoftDVD Pla yer with Jet Audi o softwar e, verif y that your system h as these
settings by performing the following steps.
1.
From th e Windows desktop, ri gh t click My Compu ter. Click Proper ties. In the System
Properties window, click the Device Manager tab.
2.
In the Device Manager area, if necessary, double click the CD-ROM icon to display its
subentries.
3.
Double click the DVD-ROM drive icon.
4.
Click the Se ttings tab.
5.
Place a check next to “DMA.”
6.
Click O K. Cl ick OK in the System P roperties wind ow.
Configuring Intel SpeedStep Technology
Note
Pentium III processor featuring Intel SpeedStep technology.
NEC Computers presets the Intel SpeedStep technology with audio notification disabled. NEC
Computers recommends this setting for optimal performance.
If you have enabled the Intel SpeedStep technology audio notification at some point, you can
disable it by following these instructions.
1.
The following applies to systems running the Windows 98 operating system with a
Click Start, Settings, Control Panel, and Power Management.
2.
Click the Intel SpeedStep tab.
3.
Click Advanced.
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4.
Select the item “Disable audi o n ot ificati on when perfor mance changes” and confirm that
there is a check mar k in the box.
5.
Click OK twice to exit.
Changing Network Computer Name
If your system comes with wireless LAN, note that if you change your computer name in the
Network control panel Identification tab (click Start, click Settings, click Control Panel, click
Network, click Identification tab), the new name is not updated in the Client Manager Link Test
until you reboot the system twice.
Note
name won’t be updated in the Client Manager Link Test until you reboot your system twice.
If your system comes with wireless LAN and you change your computer name, the new
Windows Millennium Edition
The following condition can arise on systems running the Windows Millennium Edition (Me)
operati ng syst em. Read the section be low for in forma t ion on u sing and config uring your system
accordingly.
Configuring Volume Control for CD Audio
Before playing an audio CD on a syste m running the Windows Me operating system, you must
change a setting in the Windows Media Player so the standard Windows volume control allows
you to set CD playback vol u me. (The standard Windows volu me contr ol is acces sed by double
clicking the sp eaker icon in th e s ystem tray within th e tas k bar.)
Con figure your system as follows .
1.
Launch the Windows Media Player 7 software by clicking the Start button, pointing to
Progr ams, Accessories, En tertainment, and clicking Windows Medi a Player .
2.
Click Tools on t he Win dows Media Player wind ow and s elect Options.
3.
Click the CD Audio tab.
4.
Remove t he check nex t to the ‘Digital Playback’ field. Click OK.
You can now control audio CD volume using the standard Windows volume controls.
Note
is checked or unchecked.
The W indo w s Media Player vo lum e c ontro l functions whether the Di gital Playback f ield
Windows 2000
If you need to uninstall the wireless LAN driver from the factory-installed Windows 2000
opera ting system, use th e Win d ows De vi ce Mana ger. The wireless LAN driver, even though it is
listed under W i ndows A dd/Re move Programs , c annot be removed from ther e. T o uninstal l the
driver from th e Device Mana g er, follow th es e steps.
1.
On the Windows desktop, right click on My Computer and click Properties.
2.
Click Device Manager and click View devices by type.
3.
Highlight the wireless LAN driver and click Remove.
4.
Click OK to return to the Windows desktop.
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Windows 2000 Purchased Separately
Some users chan g e op er ating s ystem s b y instal ling an “off-the-shelf” copy of Windows (a
softwa re packa g e purchased separately through a r etail vend or).
NEC Versa TXi computers come with a Microsoft Windows operating system (2000, 98SE, or
Me) preinstalled. NEC Computers has slightly configured this operating system to optimize
perfor mance on the computer . The NEC Produ ct Recovery CD contains the operating system
that wa s originally purchased with the computer, and it r eloads the oper ating s ystem with the
customizations. “Off-the-shelf” Windows operating systems d o not incl u d e the customizations.
The foll o wi ng condi tions migh t arise on syst em s r un ning an “off-the-shelf” version of the
Windows 2000 operating system. Please read the following sections for information on using
and configuring your syste m accord i ngly.
Note
system, NEC strongly recommends that before uninstalling the preinstalled Windows 2000
operati ng system, you co py the wirel ess LA N hotfix files (
a floppy disc. To find the files on your hard drive, click Start, select Find, and click Files or
Folders. Enter the file name in the dialog box and click Find Now. Copy the file to a floppy disc.
Repeat for each file.
If you plan on using wireless LAN with the “off-the-shelf” Windows 2000 operating
Wireless LAN Setup File
NEC Computers provides a s e tup fi le req uire d for usi ng wir e less LAN in the NEC V ersa T Xi
system notebook computer. This setup file is preinstalled on the systems that ship with the
Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system.
The setup file is not provided with the Microsoft Windows 2000 retail version. If you install the
retail version, you must install a Microsoft hotfix if you want to use wireless LAN. If you did
not save copies of the hotfix files before you uninstalled Windows 2000, go to the Microsoft
support site (
The fil es you need ar e:
Ntdetect.com (34,756 KB)
Pci.sys (58,992 KB)
Pcmcia.sys (109,136 KB)
Though the article Q279491 describes the Cardbus controller, it does relate to the NEC Versa
TXi system wireless LAN.
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/
Ntdetect.com, Pci.sys, Pcmcia.sys
) and enter the Q279491 article numb e r.
) to
Serial Port Error Icon
If you in s tall an “off-the-shelf” version of Windows 2000, you might find a yellow exclamation
poin t over the serial port i con in D evi ce M anager , an indication that th e serial devi ce cannot be
detected using the drivers on the system.
This can occur even if the s e rial device is wor king properly, and the appr opria te dr ivers for your
system h ave been installed.
If th e yell o w exclama tion point appears over the icon of a s er ial device that is fun ctionin g
corr ectly, ign ore the excl amation p oint and cont inue usin g your system.
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Windows NT Purchased Separately
If you a re instal ling Wi ndows N T 4.0 on a V e rsa TXi note book wi th a Mi ni PC I L A N Ca rd,
install networking after the installation of t he Windows NT Workstation operatin g system . Be
sure to select the option “Do not connect this computer to the network at this time.”
After you complete the operating system installation, install NT Networking and the network
card driver. Use the network card driver (5.40.1 1. 0 000) from the NEC Versa TXi A p p lication
and Dri ver CD.
Information Resources
To opti mi ze your not ebo ok experi ence, use the followin g r es ou rces.
For complete details about using your NEC Versa TXi system, refer to the NEC Ve r s a TXi
User’s Guide.
For detailed product and support information, visit the NEC Computers Web site at:
www.neccomp.com
For customer support, contact NEC Computers Support Services at 1-800-632-4525.
Information in this publication is subject to change without notice. NEC is a registered trademark and Versa is a U.S.
regist er ed trademark of NEC C or p or at ion and/or on e or more of its subsi di ar i es. B oth ar e us ed u nd er license. Microsoft,
MS DOS, Windows, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Intel and Pentium are registered
trademarks and C el eron and SpeedStep are trademar ks of Intel Corporation. A ll ot h er tr ad em arks and regis tered
trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Printed in the U.S.A. ©2001 NEC Computers Inc.
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819-200719-002
10/2001
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