Gateway m305 User Manual

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Maintaining Your
Notebook
This chapter provides basic information about maintaining 
your notebook hardware and software. Read this chapter 
to learn how to:
■Care for your notebook
■Protect your notebook from viruses
■Manage hard drive space
■Back up files
■Clean your notebook 

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Caring for your notebook
To extend the life of your system:
■Be careful not to bump or drop your notebook, and do not put any objects 
on top of it. The case, although strong, is not made to support extra weight.
■When transporting your notebook, we recommend that you put it in a 
carrying case.
■Keep diskettes and your notebook away from magnetic fields. Magnetic 
fields can erase data on both diskettes and hard drives.
■Never turn off your...

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Use the following table to set up a regular maintenance schedule.
Maintenance task Monthly When needed See...
Check for viruses X Xpage 214
Manage hard drive space Xpage 217
Clean up hard drives X Xpage 218
Scan hard drive for errors X Xpage 219
Defragment hard drive X Xpage 221
Back up files X Xpage 223
Recalibrate the battery Xpage 152
Clean computer case Xpage 225
Clean keyboard Xpage 225
Clean computer screen Xpage 226
Clean mouse Xpage 226 

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Protecting your notebook from 
viruses
A virus is a program that attaches itself to a file on a computer, then spreads 
from one computer to another. Viruses can damage data or cause your notebook 
to malfunction. Some viruses go undetected for a period of time because they 
are activated on a certain date.
Protect your notebook from a virus by:
■Using the Norton® AntiVirus program to check files and programs that are 
on diskettes, attached to...

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To scan for viruses:
1Click Start, All Programs, Norton AntiVirus, then click Norton AntiVirus 2003. 
Norton AntiVirus opens.
2Click Scan for Viruses.
3Click the type of scan you want to make in the Scan for Viruses area, then 
under Actions, click 
Scan.
Scan for
viruses
Scan 

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To remove a virus:
1If Norton AntiVirus finds a virus, follow all on-screen instructions to 
remove the virus.
2Turn off your notebook and leave it off for at least 30 seconds.
3Turn on your notebook and rescan for the virus.
To update Norton AntiVirus:
1Make sure that you are connected to the Internet.
2Click Start, All Programs, Norton AntiVirus, then click LiveUpdate - Norton 
AntiVirus
. The LiveUpdate wizard opens.
3Follow the on-screen...

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Managing hard drive space
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Managing hard drive space
Windows provides several utilities you can use to manage your hard drive.
Checking hard drive space
To check hard drive space:
1In Windows XP, click Start, then click My Computer. The My Computer 
window opens.
- OR -
In Windows 2000, double-click the 
My Computer icon. The My Computer 
window opens.
2Right-click the drive that you want to check for available file space, then 
click 
Properties. Drive space information appears. 

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Using Disk Cleanup
Delete unnecessary files, such as temporary Windows files, to free hard drive 
space.
To use the WindowsDisk Cleanup program:
1In Windows XP, click Start, then click My Computer. The My Computer 
window opens.
- OR -
In Windows 2000, double-click the 
My Computer icon. The My Computer 
window opens.
2Right-click the hard drive that you want to delete files from, for example 
Local Disk (C:), then click 
Properties. The...

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4Make sure that the check box beside each file type you want to delete is 
selected. For more information about file types you can delete, read the 
descriptions in the Disk Cleanup dialog box.
5Click OK, then click Ye s.
Checking the hard drive for errors
The Error-checking program examines the hard drive for physical flaws and file 
and folder problems. This program corrects file and folder problems and marks 
flawed areas on the hard drive so Windows does...

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3Click the Tools tab.
4Click Check Now.
5Click the options you want to use, then click Start. For help, press F1. 
Windows checks the drive for errors. This process may take several minutes. 
After Windows has finished checking the drive for errors, it provides a 
summary of the problems that it found.
6Correct any problems that are found by following the on-screen 
instructions.
7Click OK.
Help and 
SupportFor more information about checking the...