Instruction/ maintenance manual of the product A100 Dell
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Dell™ V ostro™ A100/A180 Setup and Quick Referen ce Guide This guide provides a features overview, specifications, and quick setup, software, and troubleshooting informatio n for your computer . For more infor mation abou t your oper ating sy s tem, dev ices, and tec hnolog ies, see the Dell T echnology Guide at suppor t.
Notes, Notices, and Cautions NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer . NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardw are or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury , or death.
Contents 3 Contents About Y o ur Computer . . . . . . . . 7 Front V iew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Back V iew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Back Pan el Connec t ors . . . . . . . 9 V ostro A100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 V ostro A180 . . . . . .
Cont ents 4 Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Sy stem Messa ges . . . . . . . . . 40 T r oubl eshoot ing So ftwar e and Hardware Problems . . . . . . . . 42 Dell Diag nost ics . . . . . . . . . . 42 T roublesh ooting T ips . . . . . . . . 45 Power Pr oblems .
Contents 5 Onli ne S erv ices . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Auto T e ch Serv ice . . . . . . . . . 65 Automated Ord er-Sta tus Servi ce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Proble m s With Y our Order . . . . . 66 Product Informa tion . . . . . . . . . 66 Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit .
Cont ents 6 book.book Page 6 Thursday, June 26, 2008 12:10 PM.
About Your Compu ter 7 About Y our Compute r Front V iew 1 2 4 5 6 8 7 3 1 optical drive 2 optical-drive eject button 3 optional optical drive bay 4 U SB 2.0 connectors (2) 5 microphone connector 6 headp hone connector 7 power button, power light 8 drive-activity light book.
About Your Co mputer 8 Back View NOTE: T he serial and parallel c onnectors are availabl e only in Vostro™ A 180. 2 1 4 5 6 3 1 power connector 2 voltage select or switch (optional) 3 power supply light 4 back-p anel connectors 5 expansion card slots 6 padlock r ing book.
About Your Compu ter 9 Back Panel Connectors V ostro A100 1 2 3 4 5 7 6 8 10 9 1 mouse connector 2 link-integrity light 3 network adapter connector 4 network-activity light 5 line-in connector 6 front line-out conne ctor 7 microphone connector 8 USB 2.
About Your Co mputer 10 V ostro A180 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 7 9 12 11 10 1 mouse connector 2 parallel connector 3 network activity light 4 network adapter connector 5 link-integrity light 6 line-in connector 7 front line-out connector 8 microphone connector 9 USB 2.
Setting Up Your Compu ter 11 Setting Up Y our Computer Quick Setup CAUTION: Before you beg in any of t he procedure s in this sect ion, follow the s afety instru ctions that shipped w ith your computer. NOTE: Some dev ices may no t be include d if you did not o rder the m.
Setting Up Your Compute r 12 2 Connec t a USB dev ice, such as a keybo ard or mouse. 3 Connect th e networ k cable. 4 Connect the modem. 5 Connect the power cable (s).
Setting Up Your Compu ter 13 6 Press the pow er butto ns on the monit or and the comput er . 7 Connec t to your ne twork. 4 3 2 1 1 Internet service 2 cable or DSL modem 3 wireless router 4 desktop computer with network adapter 5 desktop computer with USB wireless adapter 6 USB wireless adapter 6 5 book.
Setting Up Your Compute r 14 Installing Y our Computer in an Enclosure Install ing your c omputer in an enclosu re can restrict the ai rflow an d impact yo ur comput er’ s perform ance, poss ibly causi ng it to ove rheat. Follow the guidel ines below when installing you r computer i n an enclo sure.
Setting Up Your Compu ter 15 • If your co mputer is in stalled in a co rner on a desk or un der a des k, leave at least 5.1 -cm (2-inch) cleara nce from the back of the computer to the wall to permit the a irflow require d for proper ve ntila tion. Connecting to the Internet NOTE: ISPs a nd ISP offering s vary by country.
Setting Up Your Compute r 16 connectio n. If you are usi ng a DSL or cable/satellit e modem co nnection , contact yo ur ISP or cellular phone serv ice for setu p instructio ns.
Setting Up Your Compu ter 17 4 In the Connect to the Int ernet w indow, click either Bro adban d (PPPoE) or Dial-up , dependi ng on how y ou want to co nnect: • Choose Broa dband if y ou w ill use a DSL, s atellite m odem, c able TV mod em, or Blue tooth ® wi reless tec hnology connect ion.
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Specificat ions 19 Specif icati ons NOTE: Offerings may var y by regio n. For more i nforma tion rega rding the conf iguration of your comput er , cl ick St art → Help and Suppor t and select the o ption to v iew inform ation about your computer.
Specificat ions 20 Inte rr upt leve ls 24 24 BIOS chi p (NVRAM ) 4 Mb 8 Mb NIC integrated network in terface ca pable of 10/100 communi cation integrate d network i nterface c apable of 10/100 comm un.
Specificat ions 21 Video Vostro A1 00 Vostro A 180 T y pe: Integrat ed Intel integ rated v ideo GMA 95 0 up to 256-M B video me mory (share d) at total sy s tem me mory of grea ter than 512 MB Intel G.
Specificat ions 22 Expansio n Bus V ostro A100 V ostro A1 80 Bus type PCI 2.3 SA T A 1.0 and 2. 0 USB 2 .0 PCI 2.3 PCI Express 1.0 A SA T A 1.0 and 2. 0 USB 2. 0 Bus spe ed 133 MB/ s (PCI) 1.5 Gb ps and 3 .0 Gbps (SA T A) 480-Mb ps hig h speed , 12-Mbp s full speed , 1.
Specificat ions 23 PCI Express x1 N/A one connect or size N/A 36 pins connect or dat a widt h (maxim um) N/A 1 PCI Express lane PCI Express x1 6 N/A one connect or size N/A 16 4 pins connect or dat a widt h (maxim um) N/A 16 PCI Ex press lanes Driv es V ostro A100 V ostro A180 Externall y access ible: two 3.
Specificat ions 24 Available devices • up to two 3.5 -inch SA T A hard drive s • two 5. 25-inch optica l dis c drive bay s • up to four 3.5-i nch SA T A hard driv es • two 5.
Specificat ions 25 Sy s tem board co nnecto rs: Serial A T A two 7-pi n connec tors four 7-pin conn ectors Floppy drive N/A one 34-p in connect or Proce ssor fa n N/A one 4-pi n connecto r Ch assi s fan one 4-pi n connec tor one 4-pi n connecto r PCI 2.
Specificat ions 26 Power 12V one 4-pin connector one 4- pin connec tor Power one 24-pi n connect or on e 24-pin connector Controls and L ights Vo s t ro A 10 0 Vo s t ro A 18 0 Front o f co mputer: Po.
Specificat ions 27 Rear of comput er: Link inte grity lig ht (on the inte grated ne twork ad apter ) green light — A good conn ection exists betwee n the net work and th e computer . off (no light ) — The comput er is not detecting a ph y s ical con nection to th e network.
Specificat ions 28 Power DC power supply: Wa ttage 180 W Maximum heat diss ipation ( MHD) 614 BTU/ hr Heat dissipation is calculated by using the power supply wattage rating. V oltage (see the safety info rmation that ship ped with yo ur comput er for import ant v oltage sett ing info rmation) 200-240 V AC, 50/ 60 Hz, 3.
Specificat ions 29 Depth 45. 0 cm (17. 7 inches ) We ight 12.7 kg (28.0 l b ) Environme ntal T em perature : Operat ing 10° to 35°C (50° to 95°F) Storage –40° to 65°C (–40° t o 149°F ) Relative h umidity 20% to 80% (noncon densi ng) Maximum vibration: Storage 5~500 Hz, 2.
Specificat ions 30 Alti tude: Operatin g –15.2 t o 3048 m (– 50 to 1 0,000 ft) Storag e –15.2 to 10 ,668 m (–50 to 35 ,000 ft) Airborne contamin ant leve l G2 or low er as defined b y ISA-S71 .
Troub leshoot ing 31 T roub leshooti ng CAUTION: T o guard ag ainst t he likeliho od of electric s hock, lac eration by moving fan blades, or other exp ected inj uries, alw ay s unplug y our compu ter from the e lectrica l outlet b efore opening the cover .
Troubles hooting 32 If your co mputer b eeps durin g start-u p: 1 Write down th e beep code. 2 Run the Dell Diagno stics to i dentify a m ore seriou s cause (s ee "Dell D iagnosti cs" on page 42). Code (repe tit ive short be eps) Desc ription Sugges ted Remedy 1 BIOS checksum failure.
Troub leshoot ing 33 4 RAM Read/Write f ailure Ensure t hat no specia l memory module/me mory con nector placeme nt r equiremen ts exis t (see you r Service M anual at suppo rt.dell. com ). V erify that the memory modules th at you are installi n g are compa tible wit h your co mputer (see your Serv ice Manu al at suppo rt.
Troubles hooting 34 Error Messag es CAUTION: Bef ore yo u begin a ny of th e procedure s in this sect ion, fo llow the safe ty instruc tions th at shippe d with yo ur computer. If the messa ge is not list ed, see the do cument ation for the ope rating sy ste m or the program that was running when the me ssage appeared .
Troub leshoot ing 35 D RIVE NOT READY — The ope ration requi res a hard drive i n the bay bef ore it can continu e. Instal l a hard drive i n the hard dri ve bay. See your Service Manual at suppor t.dell.c om for more informat ion. E RROR READING PCMCIA CARD — The computer ca nnot ident ify the Express Card.
Troubles hooting 36 H ARD - DISK DRIVE CONTROLLER FAILURE 0— The hard drive does not respo nd to command s from t he computer . Shut down t he computer, re move th e hard drive (s ee your Serv ice Manual at suppor t.dell.c om ), and b oot the comp uter from a CD.
Troub leshoot ing 37 K EYBOARD CONTROLLER FAIL URE — Fo r externa l keyboards , check t he cable con nection . Resta rt the com puter , and avoi d touch ing th e keyboa rd or the mouse during the boot ro utine. Ru n the Keyboard Controller t e st in the Dell Diagnostics (see "Del l Diagnos tics" on pa ge 42).
Troubles hooting 38 M EMORY DOUBLE WO RD L OGIC FAILURE AT ADDRESS , RE AD VALUE EXPECTING VALUE — A memory module may be faulty or improperly seated. Reinstall the memory modules and, if nec essary, replace them . See your Se rvice Manual at support.
Troub leshoot ing 39 O PTIO NA L ROM BAD CHECKSUM — Th e optional ROM has failed . Contact Dell (see "Contac ting Del l" on page 69). A REQUIRED .DLL FILE WAS NOT FOUND — The pro gram tha t you are trying to open is mis sing an es sential file .
Troubles hooting 40 Connect y our computer to an elect rical outlet to charge the battery. If the problem persists, con tact Dell (see " Contacting D ell" on pag e 69). T IME - OF - DAY NOT SET - PLEASE RUN THE S YS T E M S ET UP PROGRAM — The tim e or date sto red in the sy ste m setup program do es not match the sy stem clock.
Troub leshoot ing 41 CMOS CHECKSUM ERRO R — Possi ble sy stem boa rd failure or RTC bat tery low. Replace the battery. See your Serv ice Manua l at suppor t.dell.c om or s ee " Contacti ng De ll" on page 69 f or assista nce. CPU FAN FAILURE — Pr ocessor f an failure.
Troubles hooting 42 NOTICE - H ARD D RI VE SELF MONITORING SYSTEM HAS REPORTED THAT A PARA ME TER HAS EXCEED ED ITS NORMA L OPERA TING RANGE . D ELL RECOMMENDS THAT YOU BACK UP YOUR DATA REGULARLY . A PARAMETER OUT OF RANGE MAY OR MAY NOT INDICATE A POTENTIAL HARD DRIVE PROBLEM — S.
Troub leshoot ing 43 When to Use the Dell Diagnostics If you exper ience a prob lem with your comp uter , perform the check s in Lockups and Soft ware Problems (see "Lockups and Software Problems" on page 47) and run the D ell Diagnos tics before you contact Dell for te chnical assistan ce.
Troubles hooting 44 NOTE: If you see a m essage stating that no diagnostics utility partition has been foun d, run the Del l Diagnos tics from the D rivers an d Util ities m edia. 4 Press any key to start the Dell Dia gnost ics from the di agnostics utility pa rtition on y our hard dri ve, and follow the ins tructions on the scre en.
Troub leshoot ing 45 T roubleshooting T ips Follow th ese tips when troubles hooting your computer: • If you added or remo ved a part bef ore the problem s tarted, review th e installat ion procedure s and ens ure that the pa rt is correc tly instal led (see you r Service M anual at support.
Troubles hooting 46 • Ensure th at the ma in power cab le and fron t panel cab le are sec urely connect ed to the sy stem bo ard ( see your Service Manual at support .dell.c om ). I F THE POWER LIGHT IS BLUE AND THE COMPUTER IS NOT RESPO NDI NG — • Ensure th at the displ ay is connec ted and powere d on.
Troub leshoot ing 47 • Run the Dell Diagnostics (see "Dell Diagn ostics" on page 42). I F YOU EXPERIENCE OTHER MEMORY PROBLEMS — • Reseat the m emory mo dules (see your Serv ice Manu al at supp ort.del l.com ) to ensu re that your computer i s success fully communicating with th e memory .
Troubles hooting 48 A pr ogram stop s res pondi ng E ND THE PROGRAM — 1 Press <Ctrl> <Shift><Esc> s imultaneo usly to access t he T ask Man ager , and click the Applic ations ta b. 2 Click to select the program that is no lon ger responding , a nd click End T as k .
Troub leshoot ing 49 Other so ftware proble ms C HECK THE SOFTWARE DOCUMENTATION OR CONTACT THE SOFTWARE MANU FACTU RER FOR TROUBLESHOO TING INFORMATION — • Ensure th at the progr am is co mpatible w ith the opera ting sy stem installed on your computer.
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Reinst a lling Softwa re 51 Reinstalling Software Drivers Identifying Driver s If you exper ience a prob lem with any device, identif y whether th e driver is the s ource of your problem a nd, if neces sary, update the dr iver . Micros oft ® Windows Vis ta ® : 1 Click the Window s Vista Start button™ , and right-cl ick Comp uter .
Reinst a llin g Softwa re 52 2 Click Properties → Devi ce Manage r . NOTE: The User A ccou nt Contro l window m ay appear . If you are an administrator on the computer , click Continue ; otherw ise, contact your administ rator to ent er the Devi ce Manager.
Reinst a lling Softwa re 53 6 At the Welcome D ell Sy stem Ow ner screen, click Next . NOTE: The Drivers and Utilities program display s dri vers only for hardwa re that came installe d in your computer. I f you inst alled addi tional hardwa re, the drivers for the new hardware might not be displayed.
Reinst a llin g Softwa re 54 5 Click the Driver tab → Update Dr iver → Browse my computer for driver software . 6 Click Browse and browse t o the locat ion to which yo u previous ly copied the drive r files. 7 When the na me of the appro priate dr iver appea rs, click the nam e of the driver → OK → Next .
Reinst a lling Softwa re 55 computer i n an und esirable op erating s tate. Any changes that Sy stem Res tore makes to your computer are completely reversible. NOTICE: M ake regul ar backups of your dat a files. Sy st em Restore doe s not mo nitor you r data f iles or r ecove r them .
Reinst a llin g Softwa re 56 Using Del l™ Factory Image Resto re NOTICE: U sing Dell Fact ory Ima ge Restore perman ently dele tes all data on t he hard drive an d remove s any pro grams or drive rs installed after y ou re ceived your com puter . If possi ble, back up the data before using these opt ions.
Reinst a lling Softwa re 57 6 Click Dell F actory I mage Re store . NOTE: Depen ding upon y our configura tion, you m ay need to select Dell Fa ctory T ools , then Dell Fa ctory Image Res tore . 7 On the D ell Factory Im age Rest ore wel come screen, cl ick Next.
Reinst a llin g Softwa re 58 NOTE: The Del l Dr ivers an d Utilit ies me dia contai ns driver s that were i nstalle d during the asse mbly of th e computer.
Find ing Infor mat ion 59 Findin g Infor matio n NOTE: Some feature s or medi a may be option al and may no t ship wi th your computer. So me feature s or media m ay not be avai lable in cer tain coun tries. NOTE: Additional informatio n may ship with your co mputer .
Finding In formation 60 Drivers and Util ities Media The Dri vers and U tilities media is a CD o r DVD that m ay have shippe d with your compute r . • A diagn ostic progr am for your co mputer • Driv ers f or your comput er NOTE: Drivers a nd docum entation update s can be found at support .
Find ing Infor mat ion 61 Service Ma nual The Servic e Manual for your c omputer can be found at support.dell.com . • How to remo ve and r eplace parts • How to conf igure sy stem settings • How.
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Gett ing H elp 63 Getti ng H elp Obtaining Assistance CAUTION: If you n eed t o rem ove th e comput er cover , first di sconnect the comput er power an d modem cables f rom all electrical outle ts. Fol low t he saf ety instru ctions that shipped w ith your computer.
Gettin g Help 64 you do not ha ve an Expres s Service Code , open the Dell Ac cess orie s folde r , double-c lick the Expre ss Service Code i con, and fol low the direc tions. For instru ctions o n using th e Dell Suppor t, see "T echnical Sup port and Custome r Service" on page 64.
Gett ing H elp 65 • Dell Supp ort e-mail add resses: mobile_s upport @us.dell.com support@us.dell.com la-techs uppo rt@dell.c om (Latin Ame rica and Caribbea n countri es only) apsupport@dell.com (Asian/P aci fic countries only) • Dell Mar keting and Sales e-mail ad dresses: apmarketing@dell.
Gettin g Help 66 Problems With Y our Order If you hav e a proble m with your or der , suc h as missing p arts, wron g parts, or incorrect billing, contact Dell for custo mer assista nce. Have y our invoice or packing s lip available when yo u call. For the teleph one numbe r to call for your re gion , see "Contact ing Dell" on pag e 69.
Gett ing H elp 67 5 Pack the eq uipment to be re turned in the original (or equival ent) pack ing mater ials. Y ou are res ponsib le for payi ng sh ipping expe nses . Y ou are also respon sible for i nsuring a ny product returned , and yo u assum e the risk of loss duri ng shipment to Dell .
Gettin g Help 68 Diagn ostics Checkl ist Name: Date: Addre ss: Phon e number: Servic e T ag ( bar code o n the back or b ottom of th e comput er): Expr ess Servic e Code: Return Ma terial Aut horizati.
Gett ing H elp 69 Contacting Dell For cust omers i n the Unite d States, call 800-W WW- DELL (8 00-999-335 5). NOTE: If you do no t have a n active Int ernet connect ion, yo u can find co ntact informatio n on your purchas e invoice, pack ing slip, bill, or Dell pro duct catalog .
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Index 71 Index B beep code s, 3 1 C connect ing modem, 1 2 monitor , 1 1 network , 1 3 power ca bles, 1 2 contact ing Del l , 63, 69 D Dell c o nt ac t i ng , 63, 69 Factory Imag e Restor e, 5 6 techn.
Index 72 documen tation, 59 Dell T e chnology Gui de, 6 1 Service M anual, 6 1 driver s, 51 Drivers an d Util ities media , 6 0 identifying , 5 1 reinstalling, 5 1 returning t o a previou s version, 5.
Index 73 memo ry troubl eshooti ng, 4 6 N networks, 13 connect ing, 1 3 O operat ing sy stem Dell Fac tory I mage R estore , 5 6 media, 5 7 reinst alling, 5 9 Sy stem Restore, 5 4 Operatin g Sy stem m.
Index 74 Servic e Manual, 61 Servic e T ag, 59 setup computer, 11 installing your comp uter in an en closure, 1 4 Internet, 1 6 quick s etup, 1 1 software problems, 4 8 reinstalling, 5 1 trouble shoot.
Index 75 troub leshooti ng (con tinued) error me ssage s, 3 4 memory, 46 power , 4 5 power li ght conditi ons, 45 power light s, 3 1 progra m crashes, 4 7 programs and Windows compatibilit y, 4 8 res .
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An important point after buying a device Dell A100 (or even before the purchase) is to read its user manual. We should do this for several simple reasons:
If you have not bought Dell A100 yet, this is a good time to familiarize yourself with the basic data on the product. First of all view first pages of the manual, you can find above. You should find there the most important technical data Dell A100 - thus you can check whether the hardware meets your expectations. When delving into next pages of the user manual, Dell A100 you will learn all the available features of the product, as well as information on its operation. The information that you get Dell A100 will certainly help you make a decision on the purchase.
If you already are a holder of Dell A100, but have not read the manual yet, you should do it for the reasons described above. You will learn then if you properly used the available features, and whether you have not made any mistakes, which can shorten the lifetime Dell A100.
However, one of the most important roles played by the user manual is to help in solving problems with Dell A100. Almost always you will find there Troubleshooting, which are the most frequently occurring failures and malfunctions of the device Dell A100 along with tips on how to solve them. Even if you fail to solve the problem, the manual will show you a further procedure – contact to the customer service center or the nearest service center
