dell inspiron 8100 User Manual

Dell Inspiron 8100 
Dell™ Inspiron™ 8100 
A Tour of Your Computer
Power Conservation
Solving Problems
System Specifications
Reinstalling Software
System Setup Program
Ports and Connector Pin-Outs
Removing and Replacing Parts
Hints, Notices, and Cautions
HINT: A HINT indicates important information that helps you make better use of\
 
your computer. 
NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of 
data and tells you how to avoid the problem. 
 CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates a...

Dell Inspiron 8100 
Trademarks used in this text: Dell, Dell TravelLite, Inspiron, AccessDirect, and TrueMobile are 
trademarks of Dell Computer Corporation; Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks; GeForce2 Go is 
a trademark of NVIDIA Corporation; Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft 
Corporation.
Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer t\
o either the entities 
claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Computer Corporatio\
n...

A Tour of Your Computer : Dell Inspiron 8100 
Back to Contents Page 
A Tour of Your Computer 
Dell™ Inspiron™ 8100 
  Front View
  Left Side View
  Right Side View
  Back View
Front View
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A Tour of Your Computer : Dell Inspiron 8100 
 
Display Latch 
This latch keeps the display locked in place when the display is closed.\
Display 
The computer has a color LCD.
Device Status Lights 
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A Tour of Your Computer : Dell Inspiron 8100 
 
The lights below the display indicate the following: 
l     The light labeled  turns on when the computer is turned on and blinks when 
the computer is in standby mode. 
l     The light labeled  turns on when the computer reads data from or writes 
data to the hard drive. 
l     The light labeled  turns on steadily or blinks to indicate the battery charge 
status. Indicator states include: 
m     Off, which indicates that the computer is operating on an...

A Tour of Your Computer : Dell Inspiron 8100 
m     Solid orange, which indicates that the battery charge is critically low
NOTICE: To avoid data loss, never turn off the computer while the green light 
labeled 
 is flashing. 
Air Intake 
HINT: The computer turns on the fans only when the computer gets hot. They 
may run most of the time or very seldom, depending on your use of the 
computer. Because the fans spin at a high rate of speed, they may make a\
 
noise. This noise is normal and does not...

A Tour of Your Computer : Dell Inspiron 8100 
 
The green lights located above the keyboard indicate the following:
l     The light labeled turns on when you press to enable the numeric 
keypad. 
l     The light labeled turns on when you press to enable the 
uppercase letter function. 
l     The light labeled turns on when you press  to enable the scroll 
lock function. 
Track Stick 
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A Tour of Your Computer : Dell Inspiron 8100 
The track stick detects the pressure and movement of your finger for mov\
ing the 
cursor on the display and, along with the track stick buttons, provides \
full mouse 
functionality.
Touch Pad 
The touch pad detects the position of your finger over a touch-sensitive\
 area and 
provides the computer with full mouse functionality.
Battery Bay 
With a charged battery in this bay, you can use the computer without plu\
gging it in to 
an electrical outlet.
Media...

A Tour of Your Computer : Dell Inspiron 8100 
Microphone 
The internal microphone allows you to record voice audio.
Volume Control Buttons 
Increase or decrease the speaker volume with the volume control buttons.\
 You can 
also change the speaker volume using key combinations:
l     To increase the volume press, the  and the  keys. 
l     To decrease the volume, press the  and the  keys. 
l     To enable or disable (mute) the integrated stereo speakers or external\
 speakers, 
press both of the volume...

A Tour of Your Computer : Dell Inspiron 8100 
 
HINT: To launch the Dell Solution Center, the computer must be turned on and 
functioning properly. 
1 Press this button to launch the Dell Solution Center, where you can find\
 support 
and educational tools that Dell has installed on your computer.
2 Press this button to launch your default Internet browser.
3 Press this button to launch http://www.dell.com, or reprogram the button to 
launch a program of your choice.
4 Press this button to open your...