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Storage Devices | |
Touch Pad |
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PC Cards | |
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Embedded Numeric Keypad | |
External Monitor |
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External Keyboard, Keypad, or Mouse | ||
The media bay holds a second battery, a combination CD-ROM drive/diskette drive, a combination DVD-ROM drive/diskette drive, a combination DVD-ROM drive/LS-120 diskette drive, or an optional hard-disk drive.
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NOTE: All devices are removed and installed the same way. |
To remove a device from the media bay, perform the following steps:
Figure 1. Removing Devices From the Media Bay
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1 |
Latch release |
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2 |
Combo module or secondary battery |
| 3 | Latch lock (unlocked position) |
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NOTE: The computer's BIOS may not support hard-disk drives obtained from vendors other than Dell. Dell does not guarantee compatibility or provide support for hard-disk drives obtained from other sources. |
To install a hard-disk drive, perform the following steps.
| NOTICE: To prevent data loss, shut down your computer before removing or installing your hard-disk drive. Do not remove the hard-disk drive if the computer is in suspend mode or save-to-disk mode or if the hard-disk drive access indicator is lit. |
Figure 2. Removing a Battery
From the Media Bay
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1 |
Latch lock (unlocked position) |
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2 |
Battery |
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3 |
Latch release |
| NOTICE: When the hard-disk drive is not in the computer, protect the drive from exposure to static electricity by storing it in protective packaging. |
Figure
3. Removing the Hard-Disk Drive
| 1 | Hard-disk drive |
| 2 | Hinge |
| 3 | Captive screws (2) |
| NOTICE: While sliding the drive in, do not force it into place. |
You can connect speakers, a microphone,
headphones, and record/playback devices such as cassette players, CD players,
and VCRs to the audio connectors on the computer (see Figure 4). The connectors
are located directly under the PC Card slot. Dell recommends using amplified
speakers for the best sound.
Figure 4. Audio connectors
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1 |
Line-in jack |
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2 |
Microphone jack |
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3 |
Line-out jack |
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4 |
Volume control dial |
Connect headphones or speakers to the line-out jack on the left of the audio connectors. Connect a microphone to the microphone jack in the middle. Connect record/playback devices such as cassette players, CD players, and VCRs to the line-in jack on the right.
See your Microsoft® Windows® 98 documentation for the location of sound application programs such as mixers and volume control.
You can control
the sound coming from the external speakers and the computer's integrated speakers
with the volume control dial. You can also use the keyboard to adjust the volumes.
Press 
to lower the volume. Press
to increase the volume. Press
to enable or disable both the integrated and external speakers.
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NOTE: If no sound
comes from the speakers, make sure that the sound is not disabled. Press
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See Utilities and Drivers for Microsoft Windows 98 and Utilities and Drivers for Microsoft Windows NT® for information about reinstalling the audio drivers. The drivers are located on the Dell Inspiron 7500 System Software CD.
As you work, you may want to use
the embedded numeric keypad (see Figure 5) to enter numbers into a spreadsheet
or financial program. The embedded numeric keypad shares some of the keys on
the computer's keyboard. The embedded keypad numbers and symbols are marked
on the right of the keypad keys in blue.
Figure 5. Embedded Numeric Keypad
To activate the embedded numeric
keypad, press
To deactivate the embedded keypad,
press
When the embedded keypad is activated, the key combinations in Table 1 temporarily disable specific keypad keys.
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When Keypad Is Activated |
Function |
| <Fn><key> | Enables the lowercase letter or primary function of that specific key |
| <Fn><Shift><key> | Enables the uppercase letter or shift function of that specific key |
To use the embedded arrow keys, ensure that <Num Lock> is off. Press and hold <Fn> and the corresponding key displayed in Table 2.
Table 2. Deactivated Keypad Functions
| When Keypad Is Deactivated | Function |
| <Fn><j> | Performs the same function as pressing <End> |
| <Fn><7> | Performs the same function as pressing <Home> |
| <Fn><k> | Performs the same function as pressing the down-arrow key |
| <Fn><8> | Performs the same function as pressing the up-arrow key |
| <Fn><u> | Performs the same function as pressing the left-arrow key |
| <Fn><o> | Performs the same function as pressing the right-arrow key |
| <Fn><.> | Performs the same function as pressing <Delete> |
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NOTE: The embedded numeric keypad is automatically disabled if an external keyboard or keypad is connected to the computer. |
You can connect a keyboard with a standard connector to the Personal System/2 (PS/2) connector on the computer by using an adapter available from Dell. You can use the integrated keyboard even when an external keyboard is attached to the computer. You can also connect a Universal Serial Bus (USB) keyboard to the computer's USB connector.
Attach a PS/2
mouse to the PS/2-compatible connector on the computer (see Figure 6) or a USB-compatible
mouse to the USB connector. If you attach a USB mouse to the computer, you do
not need to reboot the computer in order to use the mouse. The touch pad device
drivers that Dell installed on your hard-disk drive work with a PS/2 mouse,
serial mouse, or USB mouse from Dell.
Figure 6. Attaching a PS/2 Mouse
If you did not receive your mouse from Dell, you may need to install device drivers separately to use the mouse. This software is usually included with mouse installation kits.
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NOTE: If you are using a PS/2 mouse that is not Microsoft-compatible and the mouse does not work properly, reboot the computer. If the mouse still does not work, install the drivers from the diskette that came with the mouse and reboot the computer. |
The PS/2-compatible touch pad detects the position of your finger over a touch-sensitive area and provides the computer full mouse functionality. The touch pad's two buttons correspond to the left and right buttons on a standard mouse.
To move the cursor, lightly slide your finger over the smooth sensor area. To select an object, gently tap once on the surface of the touch pad. To select and move (or drag) an object, position the cursor on the object and tap down-up-down on the touch pad. On the second down motion, leave your finger on the touch pad and move the selected object by sliding your finger across the surface. To double-click an object, position the cursor on the object and then tap twice.
To customize touch pad and cursor features, perform the following steps:
Dell has already installed the touch pad drivers for you.
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NOTE: Keep your fingers away from the touch pad while the computer is booting or loading the operating system. If you touch the touch pad at either time, the cursor will not move until you remove your finger from the touch pad surface. |
See Utilities and Drivers for Microsoft Windows 98 and Utilities and Drivers for Microsoft Windows NT for information about reinstalling touch pad/mouse drivers.
The computer has two slots (see Figure 7) into which up to two 3.3- or 5-volt (V) PC Cards that comply with the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) standard and Japanese Electronic Industry Development Association (JEIDA) Release 4.2 can be installed. Both PC Card slots support CardBUS technology. In addition, a zoomed video (ZV) port is available from the lower slot (slot 0). If you ordered an Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG)-2 decoder PC Card from Dell, install it in the lower PC slot for high-performance graphics.
Figure 7. PC Card Slots
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1 |
Top eject button |
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2 |
PC card |
The computer supports two Type I, two Type II, or one Type III PC Card, including such memory devices as static random-access memory (SRAM) cards that emulate diskettes, RAM cards, one-time programmable (OTP) ROM cards, and Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) cards that emulate integrated drive electronics (IDE) hard-disk drives. Also supported are input/output (I/O) cards such as modem communication cards, local area network (LAN) cards, wireless LAN cards, small computer system interface (SCSI) cards, and sound cards. You can also use extended PC Cards in the computer.
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NOTE: A PC Card is not a boot device. |
| NOTICE: Take extra precautions if you use extended PC Cards in the computer. Extended cards are longer versions of standard PC Cards. They fit into, and operate correctly with, the computer. However, they extend beyond the edge of the computer when installed. If something strikes the exposed end of an installed card, the card or the system board can be damaged. | |
| NOTICE: Because of space considerations, you may have trouble using two PC Cards in the computer if one of them is an extended card. Always install an extended card in the top PC Card connector. Always remove an extended PC Card before you pack the computer for traveling. |
The PC Card slot has two PC Card connectors and can hold up to two cards in one of the following configurations:
The type of card refers to its thickness, not its functionality. Because a Type III card is thicker than Type I and Type II cards, it takes up the entire PC Card slot, although it uses only one PC Card connector.
PC Cards are generally marked (with a triangle or an arrow) to indicate which end should be inserted into the slot. The cards are keyed to prevent incorrect insertion. If card orientation is not clear, see the documentation that came with the card.
You can install a PC Card while the computer is running. The PC Card is automatically detected. To install a PC Card, hold the card with its orientation symbol pointing into the slot and the top side of the card facing up. Insert the card into the slot, and press in firmly until the card is completely seated in the internal PC Card connector. If there is too much resistance when inserting the card, do not force the card. Check the card's orientation, and try again.
When a PC Card is being used, the PC Card access indicator appears in the status display panel. The computer recognizes most I/O cards and automatically loads the appropriate device driver. If you have older modem communications software that cannot use interrupt request (IRQ)8 or higher, you must disable the serial port or infrared port to use the software.
To remove a PC card from the top connector, press the top eject button twice (identified by an arrow pointing up). To remove a PC card from the bottom connector, press the bottom eject button twice (identified by an arrow pointing down). If you are removing a Type III card, press the bottom eject button twice.
The first time you press an eject button, the eject button itself pops out. The second time you press the eject button, the PC Card is released and extends slightly from the slot. Grasp the end of the card, and pull it completely from the slot.
See Utilities and Drivers for Microsoft Windows 98 and Utilities and Drivers for Microsoft Windows NT for information on installing utilities and drivers.
If you are using the Microsoft Windows 98 operating system, click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click the PC Card to open the PC Card Properties window. For more information, check the documentation that came with your operating system.
You can also double-click the PC Card icon on the Windows 98 desktop.
Use the 15-pin video connector to attach an external monitor to the computer. If you reconfigure your hardware, you may need pin number and signal information for the monitor connector. To connect an external monitor, perform the following steps.
NOTICE: Do not place the external monitor directly on top of your portable computer, even if it is closed. Doing so can crack the computer case, the display, or both.
Set the monitor on a monitor stand, desktop, or other level surface near the computer.
The video image can be displayed on an external monitor, on the computer's display, or on both simultaneously. To toggle between the three display modes, press <Fn><F8>.
If the external monitor is turned off when you boot the computer, and if the Video Display Device category is set to CRT Mode in the Main menu of the Setup program, the computer sends the video image to the external monitor. In this case, you do not see an image on either the computer's display or on the external monitor. To resolve this situation, turn on the external monitor or press <Fn><F8> to switch the video image to the computer's display.
Whether you are using an appropriately equipped multifrequency monitor only or an external monitor and the built-in display simultaneously, you can display up to 256 colors at a noninterlaced resolution of 1400 x 1050 pixels at a 32-bit color depth.
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NOTE: When the external monitor and built-in display are used simultaneously, the refresh rate is always 60 hertz (Hz). |