Dell Inspiron 3500 Service Manual

System Overview 1-1
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The Dell® Inspiron™ 3500 is an expandable, multimedia portable computer 
that uses the Intel® Pentium® II Mobile microprocessors with MMX™ technol-
ogy. This chapter provides an overview of the components and subsystems of 
this computer. 
Model names for the Inspiron 3500 computer indicate the operating frequency 
of the microprocessor (233 for 233 MHz, 266 for 266 MHz or 300 for 300 
MHz), the size (X for 13.3-inch LCD or G for 14.1-inch LCD) of the...

1-2Dell Inspiron 3500 Portable Computer Service Manual
The following features contribute to the computers multimedia capability:
‡A standard CD-ROM or optional DVD-ROM drive and a diskette drive 
‡Integrated stereo speakers and microphone
‡Jacks for connecting external speakers, headphones, or an external micro-
phone to the computer
‡A 256-bit NeoMagic MagicMedia 256 AV graphics controller with an AGP, 
2.5 MB of video memory, and simultaneous display
The following features contribute to the computers...

System Overview 1-3
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display
speaker touch pad 
buttons (2)status lights (3) 
(on keyboard)LCD latch
keyboard
touch padpower button
options bay
battery bay display close/
suspend button
microphone
PC Card connectors (2)
audio jacks (3)
AC adapter connector
battery release latch
status lights (next 
to LCD latch)
connector cover
USB connector parallel connector
monitor connector infrared port
docking connectorPS/2 connector optional internal 
modem
lock...

1-4Dell Inspiron 3500 Portable Computer Service Manual
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Three status lights are located on the connector cover directly above the key-
board (see Figure 1-3):
‡Caps Lock: Solid green light when Caps Lock is on. Press  to 
turn this feature on or off.
‡Scroll Lock: Solid green light when Scroll Lock is on. Press  to 
turn this feature on or off.
‡Num Lock: Solid green light when Num Lock is on. Press  to 
turn this feature on or off. 
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Three...

System Overview 1-5
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Some devices located in the options bay (diskette drive, CD-ROM drive, 
DVD-ROM drive, or Zip drive) also have an activity light indicating when the 
device is being accessed.
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The battery charge gauge (see Figure 1-5) on the bottom of the battery has five 
status lights that indicate how much battery charge remains. Each light indi-
cates approximately 20 percent battery charge. Press the battery tester (a 
textured...

1-6Dell Inspiron 3500 Portable Computer Service Manual
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The power button controls power to the system. The computer receives power 
from either the AC adapter connected to an electrical outlet or from up to two 
batteries. If you use the AC adapter, constant power is available to the com-
puter. If you use one or two batteries, the system has integrated power 
management features that extend battery life by removing power from parts of 
the computer that are not being used.
Attach the AC...

System Overview 1-7
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Standby Time-Out conserves battery power by turning off various devices in 
the system, including the display, but leaves the computer ready to resume 
operations immediately. Use Standby Time-Out when you leave the com-
puter unattended for less than a few minutes. 
Standby Time-Out lets you determine how long the computer remains idle 
(no I/O activity) before activating standby mode to conserve battery power. 
Settings for this option are Disabled, 1 min., 2 min.,...

1-8Dell Inspiron 3500 Portable Computer Service Manual
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Table 1-1 lists the default interrupt assignments.
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IRQ0 Generated by the system timer
IRQ1 Generated by the keyboard controller to signal that the keyboard 
output buffer is full
IRQ2 Programmable interrupt controller
IRQ3 Used by the communications port or modem
IRQ4 Used by the communications port (COM1)
IRQ5 Used by the audio controller
IRQ6 Generated by...

System Overview 1-9
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Table 1-2 lists the technical specifications for the Inspiron 3500 computer.
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Microprocessor type  . . . . . .  Intel Pentium II Mobile microprocessor with 
MMX technology
Microprocessor speed . . . . .  233, 266, or 300 MHz 
Internal cache  . . . . . . . . . . .  32 KB (Pentium II microprocessor with MMX 
technology) 
External cache . . . . . . . . . . .  512-KB pipelined-burst SRAM
Math coprocessor  . . ....

1-10Dell Inspiron 3500 Portable Computer Service Manual
Memory access time/
clock frequency . . . . . . . . . . . 66 MHz
BIOS address. . . . . . . . . . . . . F000:0000
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Serial  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . one 9-pin connector; 16550-compatible, 16-
byte buffer
Parallel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . one 25-hole connector; normal (unidirectional), 
bidirectional, EPP 1.9, or ECP
Monitor  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . one 15-hole connector
PS/2 keyboard/mouse  . . . . . . one...