Gateway 200stm User Manual

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Chapter 17: Troubleshooting
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Safety guidelines
While troubleshooting your notebook, follow these safety guidelines:

Never remove the memory bay cover while your notebook is turned on, 
while the battery is installed, and while the modem cable, network cable, 
and AC power adapter are connected.

Make sure that you are correctly grounded before accessing internal 
components. For more information about preventing damage from static 
electricity, see “Preventing static electricity...

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First steps
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First steps
If you have problems with your notebook, try these things first:

Make sure that the AC power adapter is connected to your notebook and 
an AC outlet and that the AC outlet is supplying power.

If you use a surge protector, make sure that it is turned on.

If a peripheral device (such as a keyboard or mouse) does not work, make 
sure that all connections are secure.

Make sure that your hard drive is not full.

If an error message appears on the screen, write...

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Troubleshooting
CD, DVD, or recordable CD drives
Your notebook does not recognize a disc or the drive

The disc may not be correctly seated in the tray. When you place a disc 
on the tray, make sure that you press the disc firmly onto the spindle so 
the retainers hold the disc in place.

The modular drive may not be completely inserted into the modular bay. 
Press the module into the bay, then try to access the disc again.

Make sure that the disc label is...

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Make sure that headphones are not plugged into the headphone jack. For 
the location of the headphone jack, see “Left side” on page 3.

If you are using powered speakers, make sure that they are plugged in and 
turned on.

Clean the CD. For more information, see “Cleaning CDs or DVDs” on 
page 254.

Your notebook may be experiencing some temporary memory problems. 
Shut down and restart your notebook.

Reinstall the audio device drivers. For more information, see...

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Cleaning CDs or DVDs
Wipe from the center to the edge, not around in a circle, using a product made 
especially for the purpose.
Device installation
You have computer problems after adding a new device
Sometimes a new device, such as a PC Card, can cause a system resource (IRQ) 
conflict. Check IRQ usage to determine if there is an IRQ conflict.
To check IRQ usage in Windows XP:
1Click Start, then click Control Panel. The Control Panel window opens. 
If...

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To check IRQ usage in Windows 2000:
1Click Start, Settings, then click Control Panel. The Control Panel 
window opens.
2Double-click the System icon, click the Hardware tab, then click 
Device Manager. The Device Manager window opens.
3Click View, then click Resources by type. Double-click Interrupt request 
(IRQ)
. All IRQs and their hardware assignments are displayed.
To free IRQ resources for the new device:
1In the Device Manager window, check the device list for a...

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Try a different diskette. Occasionally diskettes are flawed and cannot be 
read by the diskette drive.
You see a “Disk is full” error message

Delete unnecessary files on the diskette.

Try a different diskette. Occasionally diskettes are flawed and cannot be 
read by the diskette drive.

Run Error checking on the diskette. For more information, see “Checking 
the hard drive for errors” on page 219. If errors are detected and corrected, 
try using the...

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Move your notebook away from sources of electrical interference, such as 
televisions, unshielded speakers, microwaves, fluorescent lights, and metal 
beams or shelves.
The display has pixels that are always dark or too bright

This condition is normal and inherent in the TFT technology used in 
active-matrix LCD screens. Gateway’s inspection standards keep these to 
a minimum. If you feel these pixels are unacceptably numerous or dense 
on your display, contact...

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Empty the Recycle Bin by right-clicking the Recycle Bin icon, then clicking 
Empty Recycle Bin.

Save your files to a diskette or another drive. If the hard drive is full, copy 
any files not regularly used to diskettes or other backup media, then delete 
them from the hard drive.
You see a “Data error” message

This may be the result of a defective area on the hard drive. To fix hard 
drive problems, run the Error checking program. For more information,...

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Make sure that your notebook is connected to the telephone line and that 
the telephone line has a dial tone.

If you have the call waiting feature on your telephone line, make sure that 
it is disabled.

Make sure that you are not using a digital, rollover, or PBX line. These lines 
do not work with your modem.

Make sure that your account with your Internet service provider (ISP) is 
set up correctly. Contact your ISP technical support for help.

Make sure that you...