dell inspiron 8100 User Manual

							Dell Inspiron 8100 
Dell™ Inspiron™ 8100 
A Tour of Your Computer
Power Conservation
Solving Problems
System Specifications
Reinstalling Software
System Setup Program
Ports and Connector Pin-Outs
Removing and Replacing Parts
Hints, Notices, and Cautions
HINT: A HINT 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. 
Abbreviations and Acronyms
For a complete list of abbreviations and acronyms, see the Tell Me How help file (click 
the Start button on the Microsoft® Windows® desktop, point to Programs—> 
Users Guides, and click Tell Me How). 
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							Dell Inspiron 8100 
Trademarks used in this text: Dell, Dell TravelLite, Inspiron, AccessDirect, and TrueMobile are 
trademarks of Dell Computer Corporation; Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks; GeForce2 Go is 
a trademark of NVIDIA Corporation; Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft 
Corporation.
Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer t\
o either the entities 
claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Computer Corporatio\
n disclaims any proprietary 
interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.
This product incorporates copyright protection technology that is protec\
ted by method claims of certain 
U.S. patents and other intellectual property rights owned by Macrovision\
 Corporation and other rights 
owners. Use of this copyright protection technology must be authorized b\
y Macrovision Corporation, 
and is intended for home and other limited viewing uses only unless othe\
rwise authorized by 
Macrovision Corporation. Reverse engineering or disassembly is prohibite\
d.
August 2001
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							A Tour of Your Computer : Dell Inspiron 8100 
Back to Contents Page 
A Tour of Your Computer 
Dell™ Inspiron™ 8100 
  Front View
  Left Side View
  Right Side View
  Back View
Front View
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							A Tour of Your Computer : Dell Inspiron 8100 
 
Display Latch 
This latch keeps the display locked in place when the display is closed.\
Display 
The computer has a color LCD.
Device Status Lights 
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							A Tour of Your Computer : Dell Inspiron 8100 
 
The lights below the display indicate the following: 
l     The light labeled  turns on when the computer is turned on and blinks when 
the computer is in standby mode. 
l     The light labeled  turns on when the computer reads data from or writes 
data to the hard drive. 
l     The light labeled  turns on steadily or blinks to indicate the battery charge 
status. Indicator states include: 
m     Off, which indicates that the computer is operating on an adequately 
charged battery or that the computer is turned off
m     Flashing green, which indicates that the battery is fully charged
m     Solid green, which indicates that the battery is charging
m     Flashing orange, which indicates that the battery charge is low
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							A Tour of Your Computer : Dell Inspiron 8100 
m     Solid orange, which indicates that the battery charge is critically low
NOTICE: To avoid data loss, never turn off the computer while the green light 
labeled 
 is flashing. 
Air Intake 
HINT: The computer turns on the fans only when the computer gets hot. They 
may run most of the time or very seldom, depending on your use of the 
computer. Because the fans spin at a high rate of speed, they may make a\
 
noise. This noise is normal and does not indicate a problem with the fan\
s or the 
computer. 
The fans work with the air intakes to prevent the computer from overheat\
ing. When 
the computer gets hot, the small internal fans turn on and draw air thro\
ugh the air 
intakes to cool the computer. Hot air is expelled through the 
fan exhausts.
  CAUTION: Do not push objects into or block the air intakes. Doing so 
can cause fire or damage the interior components. Keep the openings 
free from dust and other foreign particles. 
Keyboard Status Lights 
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The green lights located above the keyboard indicate the following:
l     The light labeled turns on when you press to enable the numeric 
keypad. 
l     The light labeled turns on when you press to enable the 
uppercase letter function. 
l     The light labeled turns on when you press  to enable the scroll 
lock function. 
Track Stick 
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The track stick detects the pressure and movement of your finger for mov\
ing the 
cursor on the display and, along with the track stick buttons, provides \
full mouse 
functionality.
Touch Pad 
The touch pad detects the position of your finger over a touch-sensitive\
 area and 
provides the computer with full mouse functionality.
Battery Bay 
With a charged battery in this bay, you can use the computer without plu\
gging it in to 
an electrical outlet.
Media Bay 
You can install devices such as a CD drive, DVD drive, CD-RW and CD-R dr\
ive, second 
battery, or Dell TravelLite™ travel module in the media bay.
Touch Pad/Track Stick Buttons 
These buttons correspond to the left and right buttons on a standard mou\
se.
Keyboard 
The keyboard includes a numeric keypad as well as the Microsoft® Wind\
ows® logo 
key that supports the Windows operating systems.
Power Button 
HINT: To turn off your computer, perform a Windows shutdown. 
Press the power button to turn on the computer or to initiate standby mo\
de.
If the computer stops responding, press and hold the power button until \
the computer 
turns off completely (this may take several seconds).
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Microphone 
The internal microphone allows you to record voice audio.
Volume Control Buttons 
Increase or decrease the speaker volume with the volume control buttons.\
 You can 
also change the speaker volume using key combinations:
l     To increase the volume press, the  and the  keys. 
l     To decrease the volume, press the  and the  keys. 
l     To enable or disable (mute) the integrated stereo speakers or external\
 speakers, 
press both of the volume control buttons simultaneously. 
HINT: If no sound comes from the speakers, press  and  and check 
the volume control buttons to make sure that the sound is not disabled. \
When you mute music, the computer may take a moment to respond.
Dell™ AccessDirect™ Buttons 
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HINT: To launch the Dell Solution Center, the computer must be turned on and 
functioning properly. 
1 Press this button to launch the Dell Solution Center, where you can find\
 support 
and educational tools that Dell has installed on your computer.
2 Press this button to launch your default Internet browser.
3 Press this button to launch http://www.dell.com, or reprogram the button to 
launch a program of your choice.
4 Press this button to open your default e-mail program, or reprogram the \
button to 
launch a program of your choice.
You can also reprogram the button scheme to control CD or DVD player fun\
ctions.
Left Side View
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