Dell Inspiron 3700 Troubleshooting Guide

							support.dell.comIntroduction 1-9

External keyboards and a numeric keypad

External monitors

External pointing devices

External speakers, headphones, and microphones

Printers

Hard-disk drives

Second hard-disk drive for the media bay

DVD-ROM drives

SuperDisk LS-120 drives

AC adapter

PC Cards

32-, 64-, 128-, 192-, and 256-MB memor y modules

Carr ying case
To order any of these options or upgrades, call Dell. For instructions, see Chapter 5, 
“Getting Help”, or the “Contacting Dell” section of the system Help.
 

	
If at any time you do not understand a procedure described in this guide, or if your 
computer does not perform as expected, Dell provides a number of tools to help you. 
For more information, see Chapter 5, “Getting Help.” 
						

							1-10 Dell Inspiron 3700 System Reference and Troubleshooting Guide 
						

							support.dell.comOptions and Upgrades 2-1
	

	
	

This chapter describes the installation procedures for the options and upgrades      
available from Dell for your computer.
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The AC adapter converts AC power to the DC power required by the computer. The 
AC adapter kit includes two cables: the AC adapter cable and an AC power cable    
(see Figure 2-1).
You can connect the AC adapter with your computer either turned on or off.
The AC adapter works with electrical outlets worldwide. However, power connectors 
vary among countries. Before you use AC power in a foreign countr y, you may need to 
obtain a new power cable designed for use in that country.
NOTE: If you are running your computer on AC power with a batter y installed, the AC 
adapter charges the batter y (if needed) and then maintains the batter ys charge.

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To connect the AC adapter, perform the following steps:
1. Connect the AC adapter power cable to the AC adapter (see Figure 2-1).
2. Plug the AC adapter power cable into an electrical outlet.
3. Plug the AC adapter cable into the AC adapter connector on the computer.
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You can use the media bay to install one of the following devices:

Diskette drive

CD-ROM drive

DV D - RO M
NOTE: Because the Microsoft Windows NT operating system does not support 
DVD technology, the DVD-ROM drive is available only on computers that use the 
Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition operating system. If you choose to install 
Windows NT on a computer that originally came with a DVD-ROM drive, the 
DVD-ROM drive will function as a CD-ROM drive.

SuperDisk LS-120 drive

Zip drive

Second battery

Second hard-disk drive
When you receive your computer, a diskette drive is installed in the media bay.
AC  p owe r 
cable AC adapter AC adapter 
cable
AC adapter
connector 
						

							support.dell.comOptions and Upgrades 2-3

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To change a device in the media bay, perform the following steps:
1. Verify that the 
Diskette Reconfig option in the System Setup program is set to 
Any Time.
2. Save and close any open files, exit any open application programs, and shut down 
the computer.
3. If the computer is docked, undock it. 
For instructions, see your Advanced Port Replicator User’s Guide.

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4. If your computer does not have Softex Docking Ser vices or Softex BayManager, 
go to step 6. Other wise, continue to step 5.
5. If your computer is running Microsoft Windows NT with Softex Docking Ser vices 
installed or if your computer is running Windows 98 with Softex BayManager 
installed, perform the following steps:
a. Double-click the 
Docking Services or 
BayManager icon in the Windows 
system tray on the taskbar. The 
Softex BayManager window appears for 
Windows 98. The 
Docking Services window appears for Windows NT.
b. Click the 
Remove/Swap button.
6. If the media bay contains a device, remove the device as follows (see Figure 2-2):
a. Close the computer display and turn the computer over. 
b. Slide the media bay latch toward the unlock icon.
c. Keep holding the media bay latch with one hand while pulling the device out 
of the bay with the other hand.
d. Release the media bay latch after the device is removed. 
						

							2-4 Dell Inspiron 3700 System Reference and Troubleshooting Guide

	
 

!
7. Slide the new device firmly into the media bay.
You should hear a click when the device is fully seated. 
NOTE: Softex BayManager and Docking Services do not report a second battery 
installed in the media bay on the 
Storage Devices tab.
8. If your computer is running Microsoft Windows NT with Softex Docking Ser vices 
or Windows 98 with Softex BayManager, click OK. Then click OK again to close 
the Softex window.
9. If you turned off the computer or put the computer into standby mode or       
save-to-disk suspend mode, press the power button to resume normal operation.
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Your computer may be using Windows 98 with Softex BayManager software or 
Windows NT with Softex Docking Services software. This software allows you to  
hot-swap devices such as diskette drives, hard-disk drives, SuperDisk LS-120 drives, 
CD-ROM drives, DVD-ROM drives, and Zip drives to and from your computer’s media 
bay. Hot-swapping capability allows you to remove and replace a device while the 
computer is on. You do not have to shut down or restart the computer for the device 
to be recognized. 
For the latest information on these ser vices and their use, and to view the Softex  
software user’s guides, see the following World Wide Web sites on the Internet:

http://www.dell.com/products/notebook/latitude/win98.htm

http://www.dell.com/products/notebook/latitude/NT40.htm 
device in
media bay
media bay 
latch unlock icon  
						

							support.dell.comOptions and Upgrades 2-5
If you are removing a device from the media bay and installing a battery, refer to 
“Installing a Second Battery” found later in this chapter.

		)


Your computer comes with a lithium-ion battery installed in the battery bay. The      
battery provides power to your computer when AC power is not available.
   
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NOTE: You can also install a second battery in the media bay. If the computer already 
contains a battery in the battery bay and you are installing a second battery, see 
“Installing a Second Battery” found later in this chapter.
To install a battery in the battery bay, perform the following steps:
1. Save and close any open files, exit any open application programs, and shut down 
the computer.
2. If the computer is docked, undock it. 
For instructions, see your Advanced Port Replicator User’s Guide.

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3. If the media bay contains a battery, go to step 5. Other wise, continue to step 4.
4. If the only battery in the computer is in the battery bay and that is the battery you 
want to replace, connect the computer to an electrical outlet and then preserve 
your data in one of the following ways:

Use standby mode.
Place the computer in standy mode by pressing  (or  on an external keyboard if the 
External Hot Key option is 
enabled in the System Setup program). Then shut down the computer.

Use save-to-disk suspend mode.
Place the computer in save-to-disk suspend mode by pressing     
(or  on a French keyboard). When the green power indicator turns 
off, continue to step 5. 
						

							2-6 Dell Inspiron 3700 System Reference and Troubleshooting Guide
5. Remove the batter y from the batter y bay:
a. Close the computer display and turn the computer over (see Figure 2-3).
b. Slide the batter y bay latch toward the Unlock icon. Keep holding the latch 
with one hand while pulling the batter y out of the bay with the other hand 
(see Figure 2-4).
c. Release the latch after you remove the batter y.
d. Slide the new battery firmly into the battery bay. You should hear a click 
when the batter y is fully seated.

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6. If you put the computer into standby or save-to-disk suspend mode, press the 
power button to resume normal operation.
battery 
bay latch 
batter y bay media 
bay latch
media baybottom of 
computer
batter y
batter y bay 
latchunlock icon  
						

							support.dell.comOptions and Upgrades 2-7
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To install a battery in the media bay, perform the following steps:
1. Save and close any open files, exit any open application programs, and shut down 
the computer.
2. If the computer is docked, undock it. 
For instructions, see your Advanced Port Replicator User’s Guide.
3. If your computer does not have Softex Docking Ser vices or Softex BayManager 
software, go to step 5. Other wise, continue to step 4.
4. If your computer is running Windows NT with Softex Docking Services installed 
or if your computer is running Windows 98 with Softex BayManager installed, 
perform the following steps:
a. Double-click the 
Docking Services or 
BayManager icon in the Windows 
system tray on the taskbar. The 
Softex BayManager window appears for 
Windows 98. The 
Docking Services window appears for Windows NT. 
b. Click the 
Remove/Swap button. 
5. Preser ve your data in one of the following ways and then go to step 6:

Place the computer in standby mode by pressing  (or  on an external keyboard if the 
External Hot Key option is 
enabled in the System Setup program).

Place the computer in save-to-disk suspend mode by pressing  (or 
 on a French keyboard). When the green power indicator turns off, 
continue to step 6.
6. Remove any device that may be installed in the media bay (see Figure 2-5):
a. Close the computer display and turn the computer over.
b. Slide the media bay latch toward the unlock icon to release the device in the 
bay.
c. Hold the latch in the unlock position while pulling the device out of the bay.
d. Release the latch after you remove the device.
e. Slide the new battery firmly into the battery bay. You should hear a click 
when the batter y is fully seated. 
						

							2-8 Dell Inspiron 3700 System Reference and Troubleshooting Guide

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!
NOTE: Softex BayManager and Docking Services do not report a second battery 
installed in the media bay on the 
Storage Devices tab.
7. If your computer is running Windows NT with Softex Docking Services or       
Windows 98 with Softex BayManager, click OK. Then click OK to close the      
Softex window.
8. If you put the computer into standby, save-to-disk suspend mode, or shut down 
mode, press the power button to resume normal operation.
The first time you install a second hard-disk drive in the media bay, you must format 
that drive. For instructions, see the documentation that came with the device.


	
	

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Your computer has a TV-out S-video connector for connecting a television to the   
computer. To connect a television, perform the following steps:
1. Save and close any open files, exit any open application programs, and shut down 
the computer.
2. If the television has an S-video cable, plug the cable directly into the computer    
at the TV-out S-video connector. If the television has only a composite cable        
connector, connect the composite TV-out adapter cable that came with your   
computer to the TV-out S-video connector on the computer (see Figure 2-6), and 
then connect the other end of the adapter cable to the televisions composite 
cable.
NOTE: If your television did not come with a composite video cable, you can    
purchase one from a local electronics store.
device in
media bay
media bay 
latch unlock icon