NOTICE: Do not press down on the CD or DVD tray when you open or close it. Keep the tray closed when you are not using the drive.
NOTICE: Do not move the computer when you are playing CDs or DVDs.
Press the eject button on the front of the drive.
Pull out the tray.
1
CD/DVD tray
Place the disc, label side up, in the center of the tray and snap the disc onto the spindle.
NOTE: If you use a CD/DVD drive that shipped with another computer, you need to install the drivers and software necessary to play CDs or DVDs or write data. For more information, see the Drivers and Utilities CD (the Drivers and Utilities CD is optional and may not be available for your computer or in certain countries).
Push the tray back into the drive.
To format CDs for storing data, to create music CDs, or to copy CDs, see the CD software that came with your computer.
NOTE: Ensure that you follow all copyright laws when you create CDs.
Adjusting the Volume
NOTE: When the speakers are muted, you do not hear the CD or DVD playing.
Click the Start button, point to Programs® Accessories® Entertainment (or Multimedia), and then
click Volume Control.
In the Volume Control window, click and drag the bar in the Volume Control column and slide it up
or down to increase or decrease the volume.
For more information on volume control options, click Help in the Volume Control window.
The Volume Meter displays the current volume level, including mute, on your computer. Either click the icon in the taskbar and select or deselect Disable On Screen Volume Meter or press the volume control buttons to enable or disable the Volume Meter on the screen.
When the Volume Meter is enabled, adjust the volume with the volume control buttons or by pressing the following key combinations:
Press <Fn><PageUp> to increase the volume.
Press <Fn><PageDn> to decrease the volume.
Press <Fn><End> to mute the volume.
For more information about QuickSet, right-click the icon in the taskbar and click Help.
Adjusting the Picture
If an error message notifies you that the current resolution and color depth are using too much memory and preventing DVD playback, adjust the display properties.
Click the Start button and click Control Panel.
Under Pick a category, click Appearance and Themes.
Under Pick a task..., click Change the screen resolution.
In the Display Properties window, click and drag the bar in Screen resolution to reduce the screen
resolution setting.
Click the drop-down menu under Color quality, and then click Medium (16 bit).
Click OK to save the settings and close the window.
Copying CDs and DVDs
NOTE: Ensure that you observe all copyright laws when creating CDs or DVDs.
This section applies only to computers that have a CD-RW, DVD+/-RW, or CD-RW/DVD (combo) drive.
NOTE: The types of CD or DVD drives offered by Dell may vary by country.
The following instructions explain how to make an exact copy of a CD or DVD. You can also use Sonic DigitalMedia for other purposes, such as creating music CDs from audio files stored on your computer or backing up important data. For help, open Sonic DigitalMedia and then click the question mark icon in the upper-right corner of the window.
How to Copy a CD or DVD
NOTE: CD-RW/DVD combo drives cannot write to DVD media. If you have a CD-RW/DVD combo drive and you experience recording problems, check for available software patches on the Sonic support website at www.sonic.com.
The DVD-writable drives installed in Dell™ computers can write to and read DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW and DVD+R DL (dual layer) media, but cannot write to and may not read DVD-RAM or DVD-R DL media.
NOTE: Most commercial DVDs have copyright protection and cannot be copied using Sonic DigitalMedia.
Click the Start button, point to Programs®Sonic® DigitalMedia Projects, and then clickCopy.
Under the Copy tab, click Disc Copy.
To copy the CD or DVD:
If you have one CD or DVD drive, ensure that the settings are correct and click the Disc Copy button. The computer reads your source CD or DVD and copies the data to a temporary folder on your computer hard drive.
When prompted, insert a blank CD or DVD into the drive and click OK.
If you have two CD or DVD drives, select the drive into which you have inserted your source CD or DVD and click the DiscCopy button. The computer copies the data from the source CD or DVD to the blank CD or DVD.
Once you have finished copying the source CD or DVD, the CD or DVD that you have created automatically ejects.
Using Blank CDs and DVDs
CD-RW drives can write to CD recording media only (including high-speed CD-RW) while DVD-writable drives can write to both CD and DVD recording media.
Use blank CD-Rs to record music or permanently store data files. After creating a CD-R, you cannot write to that CD-R again (see the Sonic documentation for more information). Use blank CD-RWs to write to CDs or to erase, rewrite, or update data on CDs.
Blank DVD+/-Rs can be used to permanently store large amounts of information. After you create a DVD+/-R disc, you may not be able to write to that disc again if the disc is "finalized" or "closed" during the final stage of the disc creation process. Use blank DVD+/-RWs if you plan to erase, rewrite, or update information on that disc later.
CD-Writable Drives
Media Type
Read
Write
Rewritable
CD-R
Yes
Yes
No
CD-RW
Yes
Yes
Yes
DVD-Writable Drives
Media Type
Read
Write
Rewritable
CD-R
Yes
Yes
No
CD-RW
Yes
Yes
Yes
DVD+R
Yes
Yes
No
DVD-R
Yes
Yes
No
DVD+RW
Yes
Yes
Yes
DVD-RW
Yes
Yes
Yes
DVD+R DL
Yes
Yes
No
DVD-R DL
Maybe
No
No
DVD-RAM
Maybe
No
No
Helpful Tips
Use Microsoft® Windows® Explorer to drag and drop files to a CD-R or CD-RW only after you start Sonic DigitalMedia and open a DigitalMedia project.
Use CD-Rs to burn music CDs that you want to play in regular stereos. CD-RWs do not play in most home or car stereos.
You cannot create audio DVDs with Sonic DigitalMedia.
Music MP3 files can be played only on MP3 players or on computers that have MP3 software installed.
Commercially available DVD players used in home theater systems may not support all available DVD formats. For a list of formats supported by your DVD player, see the documentation provided with your DVD player or contact the manufacturer.
Do not burn a blank CD-R or CD-RW to its maximum capacity; for example, do not copy a 650-MB file to a blank 650-MB CD. The CD-RW drive needs 1–2 MB of the blank space to finalize the recording.
Use a blank CD-RW to practice CD recording until you are familiar with CD recording techniques. If you make a mistake, you can erase the data on the CD-RW and try again. You can also use blank CD-RWs to test music file projects before you record the project permanently to a blank CD-R.
See the Sonic website at www.sonic.com for additional information.
Connecting Your Computer to a TV or Audio Device
NOTE: Video and audio cables for connecting your computer to a TV or other audio device are not included with your computer and are not available in certain countries. If available in your country, cables may be purchased at most consumer electronics stores or from Dell.
Your computer has an S-video TV-out connector that, together with a standard S-video cable (available from Dell), enables you to connect the computer to a TV.
1
S-video TV-out connector
2
standard S-video cable connector
Your TV has either an S-video input connector or a composite video-input connector. Depending on what type of connector is available on your TV, you can use a commercially available S-video cable or composite video cable to connect your computer to your TV.
It is recommended that you connect video and audio cables to your computer in one of the following combinations.
NOTE: See the diagrams at the beginning of each subsection to help you determine which method of connection you should use.
S-video and standard audio
Composite video and standard audio
When you finish connecting the video and audio cables between your computer and your TV, you must enable your computer to work with the TV. See Enabling the Display Settings for a TV in Microsoft® Windows® XP to ensure that the computer recognizes and works properly with the TV.
S-Video and Standard Audio
1
standard S-video cable
2
standard audio cable
Turn off the computer and the TV and/or audio device that you want to connect.
NOTE: You can connect an S-video cable directly to the S-video TV-out connector on the computer (without the TV/digital audio adapter cable) if your TV or audio device supports S-video but not S/PDIF digital audio.
Plug one end of the S-video cable in to the S-video input connector on the computer.
Plug the other end of the S-video cable in to the S-video input connector on your TV.
Plug the single-connector end of the audio cable in to the headphone connector on your computer.
Plug the two RCA connectors on the other end of the audio cable in to the audio input connectors on
your TV or other audio device.
Turn on the TV and any audio device that you connected (if applicable), and then turn on the
computer.
