Instruction/ maintenance manual of the product Aurora ALX Alienware
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ALIENWARE ALX DE SKT OP MANUAL The cont ents herein are s ubject t o c hang e without notice. ©1996-2006 A lienware C orporation. A ll ri ghts reserved. Repr oduction of this manua l in any manner w ithout the prior writt en permis sion of Alienw are C orporation i s strictly pr ohibit ed.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 2 C ONTENTS Introduction, 5 Chapter 1 Sy stem Pr eparation and Set up, 7 When y our C omputer Fir st Arriv es, 8 Loc ation and Po sitioning of Y our C omp uter , 8 Getti.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 3 Us ing Digital Fla sh Media, 32 C onnecting t o the Internet, 32 C onnecting t o a Home Network, 32 Pow er Manag ement, 3 3 Chapter 3 Inst allin g Additional or Rep la.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 4 Monitor , 56 Mouse, 57 Pow er , 57 Printer , 58 Speak ers, 58 Expans ion Cards, 59 Game C ontroll ers, 59 Appendix A Microsoft Critic al Updat es, 61 Appendix B Genera.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 5 INTRODUCTION Dear V alued Alienwar e Cu stomer , W elcome to the Alienw are f amily . W e are thrilled to include you among the grow ing number of s avvy computer u sers who h ave c hosen to purc hase a product rec ognized for its award winning c ombination of quality and innovation.
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Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 7 CHAP TER 1: S Y STEM PREP ARA TION AND SETUP.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 8 CHAP TER 1: SY STEM PREP ARA TION AND S ETUP When Y our C omputer First Arrives Befor e setting up y our comput er or components, pl ease in spect all it ems for an y phys ical damage that may hav e occ urred during shipment.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 9 Getting to Kno w Y our C omput er This section of Chapt er One prov ides es sential information about your new c omputer to f amiliariz e you w ith its various features and get y ou up and running quic kly . Front I/O P or ts and Fe ature s Pow er Button Pres s the power b utton onc e to turn on your c omputer .
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 10 FireWir e (IEEE1394) C onnect high-speed FireW ire (also known a s IEEE1394) devic es suc h as digit al camc orders and extern al h ard disk drives. Line In C onnect audio devic es s uc h as a s tereo microphone, MP3 p lay er, or an y other audio sourc e usin g a 1/8” mini-jac k.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 11 Re ar Por ts and F eatur es V entilation - Do not bloc k Power s upply sw itch I - On / O - Off Left and right panel relea se latc hes Power soc ket V entilation - Do.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 12 Pow er Supply Sw itc h M ak e su re t h e p o w er s up p l y s w i t c h i s i n th e on p os it io n be fo r e p o w er in g on yo ur c om pu t e r .
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 13 D VI Disp lay Por t 3 (Option al) If your c omputer is configured with two gr aphics car ds and you woul d lik e to use more than two monit ors, connect your third monitor to thi s por t. For detail ed information on connectin g monitors t o your c omputer, see C onnecting Monitors in this chapt er.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 14 C onnecting Monitors In addition to CR T and L CD displa ys, y our system also supports the use of multiple monitors. It can also be outp ut to a TV with an availab le S- Video input. T o connect multipl e monitors, a D VI-to- VGA adapter m ay be nec essary .
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 15 C onnecting an Analog Monitor An analog monitor c an be connected to your c omputer the s ame way a digital monit or can be c onnected; however , y ou wil l need a D VI-to-VGA a dapter in order to a dapt your comp uter’s D VI displa y port to an analog c onnection.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 16 C onnecting a T V A TV with an avail able S- Video input can be connected u sing an S-V ideo cable. These cab les can be pur c hased at home electronics ret ailers. For more inf ormation about your T V’s avail able video inputs, ref er to the telev is ion’s manual.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 17 C onnecting to an NVIDIA® SLI™ Graphics C onfiguration SLI-enab led graphic s pro vides hardw are support for one D VI-I monitor or one VGA monitor us ing a D VI-to- VGA adapter .
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 18 Enab ling Multip le Monitors with NVIDIA Ba sed Graphic s Use the nV iew Displ ay Settin gs c ontrol panel t o enabl e multiple monitor s. A c c e s s i n g nV ie w Di sp l ay Se tt i n gs f ro m t h e W i n d o ws C o nt ro l P an el From the W indows® t ask bar: 1.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 19 C onnecting to an A TI Cros sFire™ Graphics C onfiguration Cr ossFire-en abled graphics provides hardw are support for one D VI-I monitor or one VGA monitor us ing a D VI-to- VGA adapter .
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 20 C onfiguring a Cr ossFir e Graphic s C onfiguration w ith Multipl e Disp lay s Disp lay support is only av ailable through the C rossFire™ Inter connect cab le when Cr ossFire™ i s active. Thi s arrangement ensures the highe st pos sible performanc e.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 21 Enab ling Multip le Monitors with A TI Ba sed Graphics Use the Di spla ys M anager of the Cataly st ™ C ontrol C enter software to en able mu ltiple monitors. The Displa ys M anager i s availab le in both Stand ard and Advanc ed views of the C atalys t ™ C ontrol C enter software.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 22 T o Enable a Secondary Di spl ay D evic e C lic k the Wizar d button and fol low the instructions to enab le C lone Mode. Note: A sec ondary displ ay devic e can be a flat panel displ ay, CR T monitor, TV , or V CR. T o Enable a Secondary Di spl ay D evic e 1.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 23 Sound Bl ast er X -Fi Serie s Sound Bl aster X-Fi series sou nd cards do not feature an on boar d Game/MIDI port; inst ead, thi s c ard feat ures an AD_LINK port .
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 24 C onnecting K eyboar ds and Mic e C onnecting a K eyboard 1. L ocate the (p urple) PS/2 port at the bac k of the comput er . 2. Properly orient the keybo ard’s P S/2 connector w ith this port and gently push unti l the c onnector is fully inser ted.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 25 For further information, p lea se refer to your printer’s documentation. C onnecting a Print er C onnecting a Plug and Play Printer If your printer sup ports plug and play , Windows V ista wi ll det ect it and att empt to inst all the printer automatic ally .
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Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 27 CHAP TER 2: USING Y OUR SY STEM.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 28 CHAP TER 2: USING Y OUR S YSTEM C onnecting USB Devic es Plug the USB devic e into an availab le USB port on y our comput er. Windows Vist a wil l detect the dev ic e and attempt to in stall the ap propriate driver aut omatic ally .
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 29 CD-R/W Writer A CD-RW drive c an read CD-ROM, CD-R and CD-R W media. It c an also rec ord to CD-R or CD-RW media. It c annot re ad any type of D VD media or write to any type of D VD-RW medi a. D VD-ROM Rea der A D VD-ROM drive can r ead CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-R W and D VD media.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 30 Y ou can ea sily identify and distingui sh the optical drives install ed in y our comput er by looking f or the below logos on the front of eac h drive. These logos are used to indicate eac h drive’s res pective cap abilities and media comp atibility .
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 31 W riting a CD or D VD T o wr i t e a CD o r D VD : C lic k Start (Windo ws® Log o) > All Programs > Nero 7 Es sentials > Nero StartSmart Essenti als Select the type of CD or D VD you w ish to creat e from the menu.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 32 Us ing Digit al Fl ash Medi a (Optional Media R eader / Writer) Insert a supported media c ard into the c orrect media slot in the digit al flash media rea der / writer . W ind ow s wi ll r e ad t he m ed ia an d pr es en t a w in do w c on t ai ni n g th e me di a c ar d’s c on te nts .
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 33 Pow er Manag ement T o customize your computer’s power settings: 1. C lick St ar t (Windows® L ogo) > C ontrol P anel . 2. C lick ‘Cl assic V iew’ from the task panel. 3. Doub le-clic k on the ‘P ower Options’ icon.
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Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 35 CHAP TER 3: INST ALLING ADDITIONAL OR REPLA CEMENT C OMPONENTS.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 36 CHAP TER 3: INST ALLING ADDITIONAL OR REPLA CEMENT C OMPONENTS This c hapter pro vides inform ation about ins tallin g, unin stal ling, and repl acing sy stem components.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 37 Ins ta llin g Expans ion Car ds Inst alling a PCI Expres s x16 Video C ard Done properly , instal ling a v ideo card is a simple pr oce ss. T o begin, ensure th at any previou s v ideo card drivers have been u ninst alled.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 38 Inst alling PCI Expr ess x16 video cards in a dual card c onfiguration Graphic s C ard Bridge Pow er C onnectors (2) Dual-PCI Expres s Graphic s C ards Inst alling a.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 39 Inst all the new video c ard by c arefully in ser ting it into the motherboard’s PCI-E X16 slot. Gen tly ap ply pr es sur e ev enl y acr os s t he l ength of th e v ideo ca rd u nti l i t i s f ull y se ate d i n th e P CI-E X1 6 sl ot.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 40 Inst alling PCI Expr ess card s Us ing a Phillip s screwdriver , remove the c ard’s fa stening sc rew and k eep it s afely where it w ill not be lost; y ou wil l need it t o secure the new c ard. C areful ly remove the car d from its PCI slot.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 41 Hard Disk Drives 1. Di sconnect the drive’s S A T A power cabl e. 2. Di sconnect the drive’s S A T A data cab le. 3. R emove the drive b y pulling its release t abs t ogether and sliding it out of the drive c age.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 42 CD-RW , DVD/CD-RW , or DVD±R/W Drives 1. Di sconnect the drive’s Molex power cab le. 2. Di sconnect the drive’s A T A data cab le. 3. G ent ly pu ll ou twa rd o n t he d riv e r el ea se cl ip l oc ate d o n th e s ide of th e opt ica l drive c age and pul l the drive forward and out of the drive bay .
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 43 Remo ving a M emory Module Pres s outwar d on the retention clip s at eac h end of the module. This wi ll r elea se the module from the memory soc ket. Inst alling a Memory Module 1. P re ss ou twa rd on the r eten tion c lip s at ea ch end of th e emp ty mem ory s oc ke t.
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Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 45 CHAP TER 4: S Y STEM RE C O VERY.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 46 CHAP TER 4: SY STEM RE C OVERY AlienRe spawn 1.0 Ba sed on a unique im age of your personal sy stem hard drive cr eated b y Alienw are tec hnicians, AlienR espa wn enabl es a quic k and conv enient re storation of your syst em to the c ondition in whic h it wa s shipped.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 47 9. O nc e t he Alie nRe spa wn p ro c ess h a s com ple te d you r s yst em w il l h ave b een rest ored to original factory stat us. Remo ve and saf ely stor e y our AlienRe spawn Im age D VD in a secure location and res tart y our system.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 48 Rec overy Disc In order to st art the reco ver y proc ess, you w ill need to m ake s ure y ou have the Alienw are Rec overy Disc and M aster CD . The Alien ware Ma ster CD contain s drivers original ly ins tall ed on your c omputer.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 49 CHAP TER 5: TROUBLE SHOO TING.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 50 CHAP TER 5: TROUBLESHOO TING When trouble shooting y our comp uter , plea se remember the follow ing saf ety guidelines: • Befor e touc hing any of the c omputer’s internal components, touc h an unpaint ed portion of the ch assi s.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 51 Softwar e Diagnostic T ools Bac kup and g eneral Mainten ance • Alwa ys b ac kup your important dat a and keep copie s of your oper ating syste m an d s oftw are saf e. D on’t fo rg et to n ote the Ser ial num ber s i f yo u ar e st orin g th em outs ide of the ir o rig ina l ca ses - e .
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 52 Answ ers to C ommon Pr oblems CD-ROM, D VD-ROM, CD-RW , DVD±RW or Blu-Ray Drive The comp uter does not rec ognize the di sc or driv e: • Chec k to see if the disc is properly in ser ted into the drive with the l abel fac ing up.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 53 • Shut down and r estart your c omputer . • C lean the Di sc. • Rein stal l the D VD or Blu-Ray pla ybac k softw are prov ided with your sy stem.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 54 Error: “Non-sy stem di sk or disk error”: • Eject the di sk from the disk ette drive and then pres s ENTER. • The hard driv e is not recognized. • Chec k that the IDE or SA T A contro llers are properly enab led in the BIOS setup utility .
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 55 W ebs ite c onnection is s low Internet perform anc e can be aff ected by the follow ing factors: • The condition of the telephone or network cab les being used. • Th e c ond itio n o f t he netw ork eq uipm ent at y our IS P .
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 56 Memory Memory errors detected on st ar t up: • Chec k memor y modules for correct se ating and orientation. Rese at the memory modules if applic able. • C omputers us ing a dual-c hannel memory configur ation require that memory modules be inst alled in pair s.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 57 Disp lay ed text is dim, blurry , or other wise diffic ult t o rea d: • Adjust the brightnes s and c ontras t c ontrols.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 58 Print er The printer wi ll not t urn on: • Chec k that the power c ord is properly connected to a wal l outlet. • Chec k that the wal l outlet is working properly b y testing it with another devic e suc h a s a rad io o r l amp th at y ou kn ow w ork s.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 59 Expan sion C ar ds The comp uter does not rec ognize a PCI or AGP c omponent: • Chec k that the c ables are properly connect ed to the PCI or AGP component by the devic e that require s it, suc h as a monitor t o a video c ard.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 60.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 61 APPENDIX A: MICRO SOF T CRITICAL UPDA TES Y our new Alienware sy stem was updated w ith the lates t avai labl e Microsoft Windows Update s at the time of shipping in .
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Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 63 APPENDIX B: GENERAL AND ELECTRICAL S AFET Y PRE CAUTIONS C omputer Setup • Re ad all instruction s mark ed on the product and in the document ation before operating your c omputer. • Ret ain all s afety and operating in structions.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 64 When Y ou Shou ld C ontact Alienw are • The power c ord or plug i s dam aged. • The comp uter ha s ha d liquid spil led into it. • The comp uter wa s dropped or the c ase was damaged. • Normal operation of the c omputer does not occ ur when the operating instruction s are f ollow ed.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 65 APPENDIX C: TERMS AND C ONDITIONS AGREEMENT Plea se v isit http://www.alienware. com/terms/ to v iew the terms and condition s agreement. W e recommend th at you print a c opy and file it with y our invoice f or future referenc e.
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Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 67 APPENDIX D: LIMITED PRODUCT WARRANT Y: DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIE S; AND LIMIT A TION OF LIABILIT Y Limited Product W arranty Plea se v isit http://www.alienware. com/warranty/ t o view the Limit ed Product W arranty , Disc laimer of Warr anties and Limit ation of Liabi lity .
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 68 Sy stems R eturned to A lienwar e for Rep air If the T echnic al S upport represent ative determines that your system mus t c ome bac k to Alienw are for rep air, you will be issued an RMA number .
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 69 Repl acing a Defectiv e C omponent If a T echnic al S upport represent ative determines that a c omponent is def ective, y ou wil l be i ssued an RMA number . All c omponents arriving at A lienware w ithout a valid RMA number wil l be ref used and returned t o sender.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 70 The carrier’s shipping document must be printed cle arly and include: 1. The RMA number next to your name 2. T otal declared value (Insuranc e 3. Pac kage w eight 4. Y our return a ddres s C ontact Alienw are to sc hedule a pic kup.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 71 30-day Money B ac k Guarantee In addition to the s tandard w arranty , Alienwar e offers a 30-d ay money bac k guar antee on every syst em. If y ou are not sati sfied with y our system, y ou may return it within 30 day s for a ref und.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 72 APPENDIX E: C ONT ACTING ALIENWARE Sales Our sal es te am is avail able Monday thr ough Friday , to meet all your comp uter sal es needs.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 73 T echnic al Support W e have compi led an exten sive Knowl edge Ba se of Frequently Ask ed Questions and their Solutions. Y ou are able to se arch b y k ey words, c ategorie s or both. It i s likely that you w ill find the inform ation needed here.
Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 74 APPENDIX F: IMPOR T ANT INFORMA TION • PLEASE B ACKUP ANY D A T A Y OU HA VE BEFORE INITIA TING A SY STEM REC O VERY OR SENDING Y OUR S Y STEM IN FOR REP AIR OR UPGRADES. • PLEASE RET AIN ALL BOXES THA T WERE ORIGINALL Y SHIPPED TO Y OU IN CASE Y OU NEED T O RETURN ANY MERCHANDIS E.
An important point after buying a device Alienware Aurora ALX (or even before the purchase) is to read its user manual. We should do this for several simple reasons:
If you have not bought Alienware Aurora ALX 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 Alienware Aurora ALX - thus you can check whether the hardware meets your expectations. When delving into next pages of the user manual, Alienware Aurora ALX you will learn all the available features of the product, as well as information on its operation. The information that you get Alienware Aurora ALX will certainly help you make a decision on the purchase.
If you already are a holder of Alienware Aurora ALX, 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 Alienware Aurora ALX.
However, one of the most important roles played by the user manual is to help in solving problems with Alienware Aurora ALX. Almost always you will find there Troubleshooting, which are the most frequently occurring failures and malfunctions of the device Alienware Aurora ALX 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
