Dell Inspiron DCMA User manual

www.dell.com | support.dell.com

Dell™ Inspiron™ 531 Owner’s Manual

Model DCMA

book.book Page 1 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

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 hardware 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.

If you purchased a Dell™ n Series computer, any references in this document to

Microsoft

Windows

operating systems are not applicable.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

For a complete list of abbreviations and acronyms, see the "Glossary" on

page 189.

____________________

Information in this document is subject to change without notice.

Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.

Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, YOURS IS HERE,Inspiron,Dell TravelLite, and

Strike Zone are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Bluetooth is a registered trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG,

Inc. and is used by Dell under license; Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista, and Windows Vista start

button logo are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United

Statesand/orothercountries;Intel andIntel SpeedStep areregisteredtrademarksofIntelCorporation;

AMD, AMD Athlon, AMD Sempron, and Cool ’n’ Quiet are trademarks of Advanced MicroDevices,

Inc;Nvidiaisaregisteredtrademarkof Nvidia Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming

the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and

trade names other than its own.

Model DCMA

April 2008

book.book Page 2 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

Contents 3

Contents

1 Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2 Setting Up and Using Your Computer . . . 15

Front View of the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Back View of the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Back Panel Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Installing Your Computer in an Enclosure . . . . . . . 20

Setting Up a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Printer Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Connecting a USB Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Playing CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Adjusting the Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Adjusting the Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Copying CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

How to Copy a CD or DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Using Blank CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Helpful Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Using a Media Card Reader (Optional) . . . . . . . . . 30

Connecting Two Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Connecting Two Monitors With VGA

Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

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4Contents

Connecting One Monitor With a VGA Connector

and One Monitor With a DVI Connector . . . . . . 32

Connecting a TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Changing the Display Settings . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Power Management Options in

Microsoft®Windows®XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Standby Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Hibernate Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Power Options Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Power Schemes Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Advanced Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Hibernate Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Power Management Options in

Windows Vista®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Standby Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Hibernate Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Power Plan Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Enabling Cool ’n’ Quiet Technology . . . . . . . . . . . 40

About RAID Configurations (For Windows

Vista only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

RAID Level 1 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Configuring Your Hard Drives for RAID . . . . . . . 42

Using the Nvidia MediaShield ROM Utility . . . . . 43

Using Nvidia MediaShield . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Transferring Information to a New Computer . . . . . . 44

Setting Up a Home and Office Network . . . . . . . . . 47

Connecting to a Network Adapter . . . . . . . . . 47

Network Setup Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Setting Up Your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . 49

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Contents 5

3 Solving Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Troubleshooting Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Battery Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

CD and DVD drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Hard drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems . . . . . . . . 54

Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Keyboard Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Lockups and Software Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

The computer does not start up . . . . . . . . . . 58

The computer stops responding . . . . . . . . . . 59

A program stops responding . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

A program crashes repeatedly . . . . . . . . . . 59

A program is designed for an earlier

Microsoft®Windows®operating system . . . . . 60

A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Other software problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Media Card Reader Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Memory Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Mouse Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Network Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

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6Contents

Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

No sound from speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

No sound from headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Video and Monitor Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

If the screen is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

If the screen is difficult to read . . . . . . . . . . . 72

4 Troubleshooting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Power Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Beep Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

When to Use the Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . 80

Starting the Dell Diagnostics From

Your Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Starting the Dell Diagnostics From the

Drivers and Utilities Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Dell Diagnostics Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

What is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Identifying Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities . . . . . . . . . . 84

Resolving Software and Hardware

Incompatibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Restoring Your Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Using Microsoft Windows System Restore . . . . 88

Using Dell PC Restore and Dell Factory

Image Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Using the Operating System CD . . . . . . . . . . 94

book.book Page 6 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

Contents 7

5 Removing and Installing Parts . . . . . . . . 97

Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Turning Off Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Before Working Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . 98

Removing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Inside View of Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

System Board Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Power Supply DC Connector Pin Assignments . . . . . 104

Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Memory Installation Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . 108

Installing Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Removing Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

PCI and PCI Express Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Bezel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Removing the Bezel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Replacing the Bezel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Recommended Drive Cable Connections . . . . . 121

Connecting Drive Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Drive Interface Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Connecting and Disconnecting Drive Cables . . . 122

Hard Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Installing a Second Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . 125

Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Media Card Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

CD or DVD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

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8Contents

Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Replacing the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Replacing the Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Removing the Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Installing the Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Removing the I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Installing the I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Processor Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Removing the Processor Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Installing the Processor Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Chassis Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Removing the Chassis Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Replacing the Chassis Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Removing the System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Installing the System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Replacing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

book.book Page 8 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

Contents 9

A Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Entering System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

System Setup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Boot Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Clearing Forgotten Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Clearing CMOS Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Flashing the BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Cleaning Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Computer, Keyboard, and Monitor . . . . . . . . . 179

Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Floppy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

CDs and DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Dell Technical Support Policy (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . 180

Definition of "Dell-Installed" Software

and Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Definition of "Third-Party" Software

and Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

FCC Notice (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

FCC Class B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Obtaining Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Technical Support and Customer Service . . . . . 183

DellConnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Online Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

AutoTech Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Automated Order-Status Service . . . . . . . . . 185

book.book Page 9 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

10 Contents

Problems With Your Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Product Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit . . . . . 186

Before You Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Contacting Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

book.book Page 10 Friday, April 4, 2008 12:10 PM

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