Dell Inspiron 3000 Service Manual

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____________________
Information in this manual is subject to change without notice.
Ó 1997-1998 Dell Computer Corporation. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Computer Corporation is strictly forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text: Dell and the DELL logo are registered trademarks and Inspiron is a trademark of Dell Computer Corporation; MS-DOS is a registered 
trademark of Microsoft Corporation; Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks...

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Contents
Chapter 1
System Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1-1
System Features  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Physical Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Status Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Keyboard Indicators  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

vi
Chapter 3
Beep Codes and Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
POST Beep Codes        . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3-1
System Error Messages  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3-2
Running the Dell Diagnostics      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3-4
Chapter 4
Removing and Replacing Parts  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Recommended...

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PC Card Cage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-54
Latch Assembly  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-55
Kensington Lock Plate  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-56
12.1-Inch LCD Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-57
12.1-Inch LCD Front Bezel  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

viii
Figure 4-16. Hard-Disk Drive Disassembly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4-29
Figure 4-17. Diskette Drive Disassembly  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4-30
Figure 4-18. CD-ROM/DVD-ROM Drive Disassembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4-31
Figure 4-19. Location Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4-32
Figure 4-20. Keyboard Removal  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4-33
Figure 4-21. Heat Sink...

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Tables
Table 1-1. Interrupt Assignments  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Table 1-2. Technical Specifications  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Table 3-1. POST Beep Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Table 3-2. System Error Messages  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Table 4-1. Factory Repair Parts and Assemblies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15 

Read This First
Warnings, Cautions, and Notes
Throughout this manual, there may be blocks of text printed in bold type or in 
italic type. These blocks are warnings, cautions, and notes, and they are used as 
follows:
NOTE: A NOTE provides helpful information about using the computer system.
A prerequisite for using this manual to service Dell portable computers is a
basic knowledge of IBM-compatible PCs and prior training in IBM-compatible
PC troubleshooting techniques. In addition to information...

System Overview 1-1
Chapter 1
System Overview
T
he Dell® Inspiron™ 3000 series is a family of expandable multimedia porta-
ble computers that use the Intel® Pentium® and Pentium II microprocessors 
with MMX
™ technology. This chapter provides an overview of the components 
and subsystems of these computers. 
The individual model names within the Inspiron 3000 series indicate the type 
and operating frequency of the microprocessor and the display used in the com-
puter. For example:
•The Inspiron 3000...

1-2 Dell Inspiron 3000 Series Service Manual
•A 12.1-inch active-matrix SVGA display on Inspiron 3200 D233ST and on 
the Inspiron 3000 M166ST, M200ST, and M233ST; a 13.3-inch active-
matrix XGA display on the Inspiron 3000 M233XT and M266XT, and the 
Inspiron 3200 D233XT and D266XT.
•40-WH lithium ion battery (eight cells).
•512-KB SRAM level-2 external cache and 32-KB internal cache. (The 
Inspiron 3000 M166ST has a 256-KB SRAM level-2 external cache.)
•NeoMagic 2160 video controller supporting all...