HINT: See the Tell Me
How help file for
information on standby
mode.
Check the power light—
When the power light is on, the computer has power. If the power light is off, press the power button.
Check the battery—
If you are using a battery to power your computer, the battery charge may be depleted. Connect the computer to an electrical outlet using the AC adapter, and turn on the computer.
Test the electrical outlet—
Ensure that the electrical outlet is working by testing it with another device, such as a lamp.
Check the AC adapter—
Be sure that the power cable is firmly inserted into the electrical outlet and the green light on the AC adapter is on.
Connect the computer directly to an electrical outlet—
Bypass power protection devices, power strips, and the extension cable to verify that the computer turns on.
Check for interference—
Electrical appliances on the same circuit or operating near the computer can cause interference. Other causes of interference: power extension cables, too many devices on a power strip, or multiple power strips connected to the same electrical outlet.
Adjust the power properties—
See the Tell Me How help file or search for the keyword standby in Windows Help.
Operating system not found—
Contact Dell for technical assistance. See "Contacting Dell" in the Dell Solutions Guide for the correct contact information.
Insert bootable media—
The operating system is trying to boot to a nonbootable floppy disk or CD. Insert a bootable floppy disk or CD.
Non-system disk error—
A floppy disk is in the floppy drive. Remove the floppy disk and restart the computer.
Check the power light—
When the power light is on, the computer has power. If the power light is off, press the power button.
Check the battery—
If you are using a battery to power your computer, the battery charge may be depleted. Connect the computer to an electrical outlet using the AC adapter, and turn on the computer.
Test the electrical outlet—
Ensure that the electrical outlet is working by testing it with another device, such as a lamp.
Check the AC adapter—
Be sure that the power cable is firmly inserted into the electrical outlet and the green light on the AC adapter is on.
Adjust the power properties—
Search for the keyword standby in Windows Help.
Adjust the brightness—
See the Tell Me How help file for instructions on adjusting the brightness.
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 cm (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.
Rotate the computer to face a different direction—
Eliminate sunlight glare, which can cause poor picture quality.
Restore the recommended settings—
Restore the original resolution and refresh rate settings. See the Tell Me How help file for instructions.
Adjust the Windows display settings
Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. (In Windows 2000, double-click Control Panel.)
Double-click the Display icon and then click the Settings tab.
Try different settings for Colors and Screen area.
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.
Check the volume control buttons—
Press <Fn><F5> to increase the volume, or press <Fn><F6> to decrease the volume.
HINT: The volume
control in some MP3
players overrides the
Windows volume setting.
If you have been listening
to MP3 songs, make sure
that you did not turn the
player volume down or off.
Verify the speaker cable connections—
Ensure that the speakers are connected as shown on the setup diagram supplied with the speakers.
Test the electrical outlet—
Ensure that the electrical outlet is working by testing it with another device, such as a lamp.
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 cm (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.
Verify the printer cable connections—
Ensure that the printer cable is connected (see "Connecting a Printer" in Chapter 1 of 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.
Ensure that the printer is turned on—
See the documentation supplied with the printer.
Verify that the printer is recognized by Windows
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.
Ensure that the Print to the following port: setting is LPT1 (Printer Port).
Reinstall the printer driver—
See "Installing the Printer Driver" in Chapter 1 of the Dell Solutions Guide.
Verify the printer cable connections—
Ensure that the printer cable is connected (see "Connecting a Printer" in Chapter 1 of 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.
Ensure that the printer is turned on—
See the documentation supplied with the printer.
Verify that the printer is recognized by Windows
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.
Ensure that the Print to the following port: setting is USB.
Reinstall the printer driver—See "Installing the Printer Driver" in Chapter 1 of the Dell Solutions Guide.
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.
Run the modem diagnostics—
Click the Start button, point to Programs—> Accessories—>Communications, and then click Dell Internal Modem Diagnostic Tool.
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.
Check the touch pad settings—
Click the Start button, point to Settings, click Control Panel (double-click Control Panel in Windows 2000), and then double-click the Mouse icon. Try adjusting the settings.
HINT: For information
on saving files to a floppy
disk, see the Tell Me How
help file.
Ensure that the external media bay is connected—
Check the external media bay cable and make sure that it is connected to the floppy drive and to the connector on the back of the computer.
Ensure that Windows recognizes the drive—
Double-click the MyComputer 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 illustration.
Test the drive with another floppy disk—
Insert another floppy disk to eliminate the possibility that the original floppy disk is defective.
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 the external media bay is connected—
Check the external media bay cable and make sure that it is connected to the CD drive and to the connector on the back of the computer.
Ensure that Windows recognizes the drive—
Double-click the MyComputer 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.
HINT: Because of
different worldwide file
types, not all DVD titles
work in all DVD drives.
Ensure that the external media bay is connected—
Check the external media bay cable and make sure that it is connected to the DVD drive and to the connector on the back of the computer.
Ensure that Windows recognizes the drive—
Double-click the MyComputer 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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
Select the program that you want to remove.
Click Add/Remove and follow the prompts on the screen.
See the program documentation for installation instructions.
Windows 2000:
Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then double-click Control Panel.
Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
Select the program that you want to remove.
Click Change/Remove and follow the prompts on the screen.
See the program documentation for installation instructions.
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.
Turn off call waiting (catch-phone)—
See your telephone directory for instructions on deactivating this feature. Then adjust the dial-up networking connection properties:
Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. (In Windows 2000, double-click Control Panel.)
Double-click the Modems icon.
In the Modems Properties window, click Dialing Properties.
Ensure that To disable call waiting, dial: is checked, and then select the proper code according to the information in your telephone directory.
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.
CAUTION: Perform this procedure only after you are certain that
it is safe to do so. If the computer is connected to an electrical
outlet, Dell recommends that you turn off AC power at the circuit
breaker before attempting to remove the power cables from the
electrical outlet. Use the utmost caution when removing wet
cables from a live power source.
Turn off the computer, disconnect the AC adapter from the computer,
and disconnect the AC adapter from the electrical outlet.
Turn off any attached external devices, and disconnect them from
their power sources and then from the computer.
Disconnect the external media bay.
Ground yourself by touching one of the metal connectors on the back
of the computer.
Remove the PC Card, and put it in a safe place to dry.
Remove the battery.
Wipe off the battery and put it in a safe place to dry.
Open the display, and place the computer right-side up across two
books or similar props to let air circulate all around it. Let the
computer dry for at least 24 hours in a dry area at room temperature.
NOTICE: Do not use artificial means, such as a hair dryer or a fan, to speed
up the drying process.
CAUTION: To help prevent electrical shock, verify that the
computer is thoroughly dry before continuing with the remainder
of this procedure.
Ground yourself by touching one of the metal connectors on the back
of the computer.
Turn on the computer and verify that it is working properly.
If the computer does not turn on, or if you cannot identify the damaged
components, contact Dell for technical assistance. See "Contacting Dell" in
the Dell Solutions Guide for information on contacting Dell.
Save and close any open files, exit any open application programs, and
shut down the computer.
Disconnect the AC adapter from the computer, and disconnect the
AC adapter from the electrical outlet.
Turn off any attached external devices, and disconnect them from
their power sources and then from the computer.
Remove and reinstall the battery.
Turn on the computer.
If the computer does not turn on, or if you cannot identify the damaged
components, call Dell for technical assistance. See "Contacting Dell" in the
Dell Solutions Guide for information on contacting Dell
Go to the Dell support website—
Go to http://support.dell.com for help with general usage, installation, and troubleshooting questions.
E-mail Dell—
Go to http://support.dell.com and then click E-Mail Dell in the Communicate list. Send an e-mail message to Dell about your problem; you can expect to receive an e-mail message from Dell within hours.
Contact Dell—
If you cannot solve your problem using the Dell support website or e-mail service, contact Dell for technical assistance. See "Contacting Dell" in the Dell Solutions Guide for information on contacting Dell.
