dell inspiron 8100 User Manual

							Solving Problems : Dell Inspiron 8100 
Ensure that the speakers are turned on— See the setup 
diagram supplied with the speakers.
Adjust the speaker controls— Adjust the volume, bass, or treble 
controls to eliminate distortion.
Adjust the Windows volume control— Double-click the yellow 
speaker icon in the lower-right corner of your screen. Be sure that 
the volume is turned up and that the sound is not muted.
Test the speakers— Plug the speaker audio cable into the 
headphone connector on the side of the computer. Ensure that the 
headphone volume control is turned up. Play a music CD.
Run the speaker self-test— Some speaker systems have a self-
test button on the subwoofer. See the speaker documentation for 
self-test instructions. 
Move the subwoofer away from the computer or monitor— If 
your external speaker system includes a subwoofer, ensure that 
the subwoofer is at least 60 m (2 ft) away from the computer or 
external monitor.
Eliminate possible interference— Turn off nearby fans, 
fluorescent lights, or halogen lamps to check for interference.
Reinstall the sound (audio) driver— See 
Reinstalling Drivers 
and Utilities.
Printer Problems
If you cannot print to a parallel port printer 
Verify the printer cable connections— Ensure that the printer 
cable is connected (see Connecting a Printer in the Dell Solutions 
Guide that came with your computer).
Test the electrical outlet— Ensure that the electrical outlet is 
working by testing it with another device, such as a lamp.
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							Solving Problems : Dell Inspiron 8100 
Ensure that the printer is turned on— See the documentation 
supplied with the printer.
Verify that the printer is recognized by Windows— 1.  Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click  Printers. 
If the printer is listed, right-click the printer icon, click 
Properties, and then select the Details tab.
2.  Ensure that the Print to the following port: setting is LPT1  (Printer Port). 
Reinstall the printer driver— See Installing the Printer Driver 
in the Dell Solutions Guide that came with your computer.
If you cannot print to a USB printer 
Verify the printer cable connections— Ensure that the printer 
cable is connected correctly.
Test the electrical outlet— Ensure that the electrical outlet is 
working by testing it with another device, such as a lamp.
Ensure that the printer is turned on— See the documentation 
supplied with the printer.
Verify that the printer is recognized by Windows—  1.  Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click  Printers. 
If the printer is listed, right-click the printer icon, click 
Properties, and then select the Details tab.
2.  Ensure that the Print to the following port: setting is USB. 
Reinstall the printer driver— See Installing the Printer Driver 
in the Dell Solutions Guide that came with your computer.
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							Solving Problems : Dell Inspiron 8100 
Modem Problems
NOTICE: Connect the modem to an analog telephone wall jack only. Connecting 
the modem to a digital telephone network damages the modem. 
Check the telephone jack— Disconnect the telephone line from 
the modem and connect it to a telephone. Listen for a dial tone.
Connect the modem directly to the telephone wall jack— If 
you have other telephone devices sharing the line, such as an 
answering machine, fax machine, surge protector, or line splitter, 
then bypass them and connect the modem directly to the 
telephone wall jack with the telephone line.
Check the connection— Verify that the telephone line is 
connected to the modem.
Check the telephone line— Try using a different telephone line. 
If you are using a line that is 3 m (10 ft) or more in length, try a 
shorter one.
Verify that the modem is communicating with Windows—  1.  Click the Start button, point to Settings, and click Control  Panel. 
2.  In the Control Panel window, double-click Modems. 
If there are multiple entries for the same modem or modems 
listed that are not installed, delete the entries and restart the 
computer.
3.  Click the Diagnostics tab. 
4.  Click the COM port for your modem. 
5.  Click More Info to verify that the modem is communicating  with Windows. 
If all commands receive responses, the modem is operating 
properly.
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							Solving Problems : Dell Inspiron 8100 
Scanner Problems
Check the power cable connection— Ensure that the scanner 
power cable is firmly connected to a working electrical power 
source and that the scanner is turned on.
Check the scanner cable connection— Ensure that the scanner 
cable is firmly connected to the computer and to the scanner.
Unlock the scanner— Ensure that your scanner is unlocked if it 
has a locking tab or button.
Reinstall the scanner driver— See the scanner documentation 
for instructions.
Touch Pad Problems
Check the touch pad settings— Click the Start button, point to 
Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click the Mouse 
icon. Try adjusting the settings.
External Keyboard Problems
HINT: If you connect an external PS/2 keyboard or keypad to the computer, the \
numeric keypad on the integrated keyboard is disabled. If you connect an\
 
external USB keyboard or keypad to the computer, the numeric keypad rema\
ins 
enabled. 
Disconnect the keyboard cable— Shut down the computer. 
Disconnect the keyboard cable and check the cable connector for 
bent or broken pins.
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							Solving Problems : Dell Inspiron 8100 
Unexpected Characters
Disable the numeric keypad— Press the  key to 
disable the numeric keypad. Verify that the numbers lock light is 
not lit.
Drive Problems
HINT: For information on saving files to a floppy disk, see the Tell Me How help 
file. 
If you cannot save a file to a floppy disk 
Ensure that Windows recognizes the drive— Double-click the 
My Computer icon. If the floppy drive is not listed, perform a full 
scan with your antivirus software to check for and remove viruses. 
Viruses can sometimes prevent Windows from recognizing the 
drive.
Cannot save files to a floppy disk— Ensure that the floppy disk 
is not full or write-protected (locked). See the following figure.
Test the drive with another floppy disk— Insert another floppy 
disk to eliminate the possibility that the original floppy disk is 
defective.
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							Solving Problems : Dell Inspiron 8100 
 
If you cannot play a music CD or install a 
program from a CD 
HINT: High-speed CD drive vibration is normal and may cause noise. This noise \
does not indicate a defect in the drive or the CD. 
Ensure that Windows recognizes the drive— Double-click the 
My Computer icon. If the CD drive is not listed, perform a full 
scan with your antivirus software to check for and remove viruses. 
Viruses can sometimes prevent Windows from recognizing the 
drive.
Test the drive with another CD— Insert another CD to eliminate 
the possibility that the original CD is defective.
Clean the disc— See the 
Tell Me How help file for instructions.
Adjust the Windows volume control— Double-click the yellow 
speaker icon in the lower-right corner of your screen. Be sure that 
the volume is turned up and that the sound is not muted. 
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							Solving Problems : Dell Inspiron 8100 
If you have one CD in the fixed optical drive and one CD in 
the media bay drive— Identify which CD is not playing: 1.  Double-click the My Computer icon on your desktop. 
2.  Double-click the drive letter of the device the you are  verifying. 
If you cannot play a DVD movie 
HINT: Because of different worldwide file types, not all DVD titles work in al\
l 
DVD drives. 
Ensure that Windows recognizes the drive— Double-click the 
My Computer icon. If the DVD drive is not listed, perform a full 
scan with your antivirus software to check for and remove viruses. 
Viruses can sometimes prevent Windows from recognizing the 
drive.
Test the drive with another DVD— Insert another DVD to 
eliminate the possibility that the original DVD is defective.
Clean the disc— See the 
Tell Me How help file for instructions.
If the CD-RW drive stops writing 
HINT: If you must disable standby mode to write to a CD-RW drive, remember 
to enable standby mode again when you finish writing the CD. 
Disable standby mode in Windows before writing to a 
CD-RW disk— Search for the keyword standby in 
Windows Help.
Change the write speed to a slower rate— The CD-RW drive 
must receive a steady stream of data when writing. If the stream is 
interrupted, an error occurs. Closing all programs before writing to 
the CD-RW may also alleviate the problem.
If you have a hard drive problem 
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							Solving Problems : Dell Inspiron 8100 
Check the hard drive for errors— 
Windows Me:
Click the Start button, point to Programs—> Accessories—> 
System Tools, and then click ScanDisk.
Windows 2000:1.  Double-click the My Computer icon. 
2.  Right-click the Local Disk icon and then click Properties. 
3.  Click the Tools tab. 
4.  Click Check Now. 
Network Problems
Check the network cable connector— Ensure that the network 
cable connector is firmly connected to the connector on the 
computer and the network wall jack.
Check the network lights on the network connector— Green 
indicates that the network connection is active. If the status light is \
not green, try replacing the network cable. Amber indicates that 
the network card driver is loaded and the card is detecting activity.
Restart the computer— Try to log on to the network again.
Contact your network administrator— Verify that your network 
settings are correct and that the network is functioning.
Windows® Error Messages
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							Solving Problems : Dell Inspiron 8100 
x: is not accessible. The device is not ready— Insert a disk 
into the drive and try again.
A filename cannot contain any of the following characters:  
/ : * ?  < > |— Do not use these characters in filenames.
Not enough memory or resources. Close some programs and 
try again— You have too many programs open. Close all windows 
and open the program that you want to use.
The file being copied is too large for the destination drive— 
The file that you are trying to copy is too large to fit on the disk, or\
 
the disk is too full. Try copying the file to a different disk or use a \
larger capacity disk.
A required .DLL file was not found— The program that you are 
trying to open is missing an essential file. To remove and then 
reinstall the program:
Windows Me:1.  Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click  Control Panel. 
2.  Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. 
3.  Select the program that you want to remove. 
4.  Click Add/Remove and follow the prompts on the screen. 
5.  See the program documentation for installation instructions. 
Windows 2000: 1.  Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click  Control Panel. 
2.  Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. 
3.  Select the program that you want to remove. 
4.  Click Change/Remove and follow the prompts on the  screen. 
5.  See the program documentation for installation instructions. 
General Program Problems
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							Solving Problems : Dell Inspiron 8100 
A program crashes 
See the software documentation— Many software 
manufacturers maintain websites with information that may help 
you to solve the problem.
A program stops responding 
Press — In the Close Program window, 
select the program that is no longer responding. Then click End 
Task.
A solid blue screen appears 
Turn the computer off— If the computer does not respond to a 
keystroke or a proper shutdown, press the power button until the 
computer turns off. Press the power button again to restart the 
computer. The solid blue screen appears because you were not 
able to perform a proper Windows shutdown. ScanDisk will 
automatically run during the start-up process. Follow the 
instructions on the screen.
E-Mail Problems
Review Sending and Receiving E-mail— See Setting Up in 
the Dell Solutions Guide that came with your computer.
Ensure that you are connected to the Internet— With the 
Outlook Express e-mail program open, click File. If Work Offline 
has a check next to it, click the check to remove it and connect to 
the Internet.
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