Acer Travelmate 7730a Service Guide

							Chapter 1: System specifications33
Throttling 50%: On= 105° C; OFF=95° C
OS shut down at 110° C; H/W shut down at 110°C
Battery
Power supply
Power savings
172°F (78°C) 4100±100 37db
194°F (90°C) 4400±100 39.5db
ItemSpecification
Vendor Panasonic
Sanyo
Simplo
Sony
Battery Type Li-ion
Pack capacity  4000mAH–4800mAH
Number of battery cell 6 or 8
Package configuration • 3 cells in series, 2 series in parallel
• 4 cells in series, 2 series in parallel
Normal voltage 10.8V–14.8V
Charge voltage 12.3V–16.8V
ItemSpecification
Input rating 100–240V (under 50–60Hz)
Maximum input AC current 1.5mA
Inrush current  N/A
Efficiency 85%
ACPI modePower Management
Mech. Off (G3) All devices in the notebook are turned off completely.
Soft Off (G2/S5) OS initiated shutdown. All devices in the notebook are turned off 
completely.
Working (G0/S0) Individual devices such as the CPU and hard disc may be power managed in 
this state.
Suspend to RAM (S3) CPU set power down
VGA Suspend
PCMCIA Suspend
Audio Power Down
Hard Disk Power Down
CD-ROM Power Down
Super I/O Low Power mode
Save to Disk (S4) Also called Hibernation Mode. System saves all system states and data onto 
the disc prior to power off the whole system.
CPU TemperatureFan Speed (rpm)Acoustic Level (dBA) 
						

							34Chapter 1: System specifications 
						

							35
❑BIOS Setup Utility
❑BIOS Flash utility
❑Removing a password lock
System utilities
Chapter 2
TravelMate 7730/7730G 
						

							36Chapter 2: System utilities
BIOS Setup Utility
The BIOS Setup Utility is a hardware configuration program built into the notebook’s BIOS (Basic 
Input/Output System). The notebook was shipped already properly configured and optimized. 
However, if the user encounters configuration problems, you may need to run Setup. 
Note: Also see Chapter 4 “Troubleshooting” on page 135 and Chapter 5 
“Clearing password check and BIOS recovery” on page 158 when 
problems arise.
To run the BIOS Setup Utility:
1Turn on the notebook. You will see Press  to enter Setup at the bottom of 
the screen.
2Press F2. The BIOS Setup Utility opens.
Navigating the BIOS Setup Utility
There are six menu options in the BIOS Setup Utility: Information, Main, Advanced, Intel, 
Security, Boot, and Exit.
To use the BIOS Setup Utility:
❑To choose a menu, use the left ← and right → arrow keys.
❑To choose an item, use the up ↑ and down ↓ arrow keys.
❑To change the value of a parameter, press F5 or F6.
❑A plus sign (+) indicates the item has sub-items. Press Enter to expand this item.
❑Press Esc while you are in any of the menu options to go to the Exit menu. 
						

							Chapter 2: System utilities37
❑In any menu, you can load default settings by pressing F9. You can also press F10 to 
save any changes made and exit the BIOS Setup Utility.
Note: You can change the value of a parameter if it is enclosed in square 
brackets. Navigation keys for a particular menu are shown on the 
bottom of the screen. Help for parameters are found in the Item 
Specific Help part of the screen. Read this information carefully when 
making changes to parameter values. System information differs by 
model.
BIOS Setup Utility screens
Note: The screens shown in this section are for informational purposes 
only. Screen information varies by model, features ordered, and 
location.
Information screen
The Information screen displays a summary of your notebook hardware information.
ParameterDescription
CPU Type Shows the CPU type and speed.
CPU Speed Shows the CPU speed.
IDE0 Model Name Shows the model name of the Hard Disk Drive (HDD) installed on the 
primary IDE master.
IDE0 Serial Number Shows the serial number of the HDD installed on the primary IDE master.
IDE1 Model Name Shows the model name of the HDD installed on the secondary IDE master.
IDE1 Serial Number Shows the serial number of the HDD installed on the secondary IDE master.
ATAPI Model Name Shows the model name of the optical device installed in the notebook.
System BIOS Version Shows the version of the system BIOS.
VGA BIOS Version Shows the VGA firmware version of the system. 
						

							38Chapter 2: System utilities
Main screen
The Main screen allows the user to set the system time and date as well as enable and disable the 
boot option and recovery.
The table below describes the parameters found on this screen. Settings in 
boldface are the 
default and suggested parameter settings.
Serial Number Shows the notebook’s serial number.
Asset Tag Number Shows the notebook’s asset tag number.
Product Name Shows the notebook’s product name.
Manufacturer Name Shows the notebook’s manufacturer.
UUID Number Shows the notebook’s Universally Unique Identifier number. The UUID is an 
identifier standard used in software construction. It is standardized by the 
Open Software Foundation (OSF) as part of the Distributed Computing 
Environment (DCE).
ParameterDescription 
						

							Chapter 2: System utilities39
Note: Sub-items under each device will not be shown if the device control 
is set to Disabled or Auto. This is because the user is not allowed to 
control the settings in these cases.
ParameterDescriptionFormat/Option
System Time Sets the system time. The hours are 
displayed in a 24-hour format.Format: HH:MM:SS 
(hour:minute:second) System 
Time
System Date Sets the system date. Format MM/DD/YYYY (month/
day/year) System Date
Total Memory Size Shows the notebook’s memory size.
Video Memory Shows the VGA memory size. VGA 
Memory size= 256 or 512 MB
Quiet Boot Determines if the Acer logo will be 
displayed or not. Also determines if the 
Summary Screen is disabled or enabled.
Enabled: The Acer logo is displayed and 
the Summary Screen is not displayed.
Disabled: The Acer logo is not displayed, 
and the Summary Screen is displayed. Option: Enabled or Disabled
Power On DisplayXX 
Network Boot Enables or disables the system boot from 
LAN (remote server).Option: Enabled or Disabled
F12 Boot Menu Enables or disables the Boot Menu 
during POST.
Note: The default parameter is set to 
Disabled. If you want to change the boot 
device without entering the BIOS Setup 
Utility, set the parameter to Enabled. 
Press  during POST to enter the 
multi-boot menu. In this menu, the user 
can change the boot device without 
entering the BIOS Setup Utility.Option: Disabled or Enabled
D2D Recovery Enables or disables the D2D Recovery 
function. The function allows the user to 
create a hidden partition on the hard 
disc drive to store the operating system 
and other files used to restore the 
notebook to factory defaults.Option: Enabled or Disabled
SATA Mode Selection Controls the mode in which the SATA 
controller operates.Option: AHCI Mode or IDE 
Mode 
						

							40Chapter 2: System utilities
Advanced screen
The Advanced screen allows the user to configure the Alert Standard Format parameters.
The table below describes the parameters found on the ASF Configuration sub menu screen.
ParameterDescription
Minimum WatchDog Timeout Time for BIOS to stop the WatchDog timer after a reset has occurred.
BIOS Boot Timeout Time, in seconds, for BIOS to boot before the system is reset.
SO Boot Timeout Time, in seconds, for OS to boot before the system is reset.
Power-on wait time Maximum time, in seconds, for Alert Sending Device (ASD) to establish 
connection with its transport media. 
						

							Chapter 2: System utilities41
Security screen
The Security screen contains parameters that help safeguard and protect your notebook from 
unauthorized use.
Note: Refer to “Removing a password lock” on page 48 if you need to 
know how to remove a Hard Drive or BIOS Password.
The table below describes the parameters in this screen. Settings in boldface are the default and 
suggested parameter settings. 
						

							42Chapter 2: System utilities
.
Caution: When you are prompted to enter a password, you have three 
tries before the system halts. Don’t forget your password. If you 
forget your password, you may have to return your notebook to your 
dealer to reset it.
Setting a Password
Note: You must set a Supervisor password before you can set a User 
password.
To set the Supervisor password:
1Press ↑ or ↓ to highlight Set Supervisor Password, then press ENTER. The Set 
Supervisor Password
 box opens.
2Type a password in the Enter New Password field. The password length cannot 
exceed eight alphanumeric characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9). The password is not case 
sensitive.
3Retype the password in the Confirm New Password field.
Caution: Be very careful when typing your password because the 
characters do not appear on the screen.
4Press ENTER. After setting the password, the value of Supervisor Password changes 
to Set.
ParameterDescriptionOption
Supervisor Password Is Shows the setting of the Supervisor 
passwordClear or Set
User Password Is Shows the setting of the User password.Clear or Set
HDD Password Is Shows the setting of the hard disk 
password.Clear or Set
Set Supervisor Password Press Enter to set the supervisor password. 
When set, this password protects the BIOS 
Setup Utility from unauthorized access. The 
user cannot enter the Setup Utility without 
entering this password.
Set User Password Press Enter to set the user password. When 
a user password is set, this password 
protects the BIOS Setup Utility from 
unauthorized changes. The user can enter 
the Setup Utility only and does not have 
the right to change the value of any 
parameters.
If Password on Boot is enabled, the user 
must enter the user password each time the 
notebook is turned on or wakes from Sleep.
Set HDD Password Press Enter to set the HDD password.
Password on Boot Defines whether a password is required or 
not while the events defined in this group 
happened. The sub-options all require the 
Supervisor password for changes and 
should be grayed out if the User password 
was used to enter the Setup Utility.Disabled or Enabled