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Dell™ Inspiron™ 4150
Owner’s Manual
www.dell.com | support.dell.com
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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 potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. Abbreviations and Acronyms For a complete list of abbreviations and acronyms, see the Tell Me How help file. To access the help file, see page 56. _______________
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Contents CAUTION: Safety Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 General Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Air Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 EMC Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 When Using Your Computer . . . .
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Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Setting Up Your Internet Connection Copying CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Using Easy CD Creator Basic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Using Blank CD-R Discs or Blank CD-RW Discs . . . . . . . . 36 Helpful Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 How to Copy a CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Turning Off the Compute
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Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Video and Display Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 If the display is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 If the display is difficult to read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 If only part of the display is readable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 If
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A solid blue screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Error messages appear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 E-Mail Problems If Your Computer Gets Wet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 If You Drop or Damage Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Resolving Other Technical Problems Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 What Is a
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Memory, Mini PCI Card, and Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Adding Memory Adding a Mini PCI Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Adding a Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 4 Appendix Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Dell Technical Support Policy (U.S. Only) . . . . 107 Definition of “Dell-Installed” Software and Peripherals Definitio
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8 Contents
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CAUTION: Safety Instructions Use the following safety guidelines to help ensure your own personal safety and to help protect your computer and working environment from potential damage. General • Do not attempt to service the computer yourself unless you are a trained service technician. Always follow installation instructions closely. • If you use an extension power cable with your AC adapter, ensure that the total ampere rating of the products plugged in to the extension power cable does no
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CAUTION: Safety Instructions (continued) • To help avoid the potential hazard of electric shock, do not connect or disconnect any cables or perform maintenance or reconfiguration of this product during an electrical storm. Do not use your computer during an electrical storm unless all cables have been disconnected and the computer is operating on battery power. • If your computer includes a modem, the cable used with the modem should be manufactured with a minimum wire size of 26 American wi
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CAUTION: Safety Instructions (continued) • If you are using a multiple-outlet power strip, use caution when plugging the AC adapter’s power cable into the power strip. Some power strips may allow you to insert the plug incorrectly. Incorrect insertion of the power plug could result in permanent damage to your computer, as well as risk of electric shock and/or fire. Ensure that the ground prong of the power plug is inserted into the mating ground contact of the power strip. Battery • Use only
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CAUTION: Safety Instructions (continued) Air Travel • Certain Federal Aviation Administration regulations and/or airline-specific restrictions may apply to the operation of your Dell computer while you are on board an aircraft. For example, such regulations/restrictions may prohibit the use of any personal electronic device (PED) that has the capacity for intentional transmission of radio frequency or other electromagnetic signals while on an aircraft. – In order to best comply with all such
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When Using Your Computer Observe the following safe-handling guidelines to prevent damage to your computer: • When setting up the computer for work, place it on a level surface. • When traveling, do not check the computer as baggage. You can put your computer through an X-ray security machine, but never put your computer through a metal detector. If you have the computer checked by hand, be sure to have a charged battery available in case you are asked to turn on the computer. • When travelin
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When Using Your Computer (continued) • Clean the display with a soft, clean cloth and water. Apply the water to the cloth; then stroke the cloth across the display in one direction, moving from the top of the display to the bottom. Remove moisture from the display quickly and keep the display dry. Long- term exposure to moisture can damage the display. Do not use a commercial window cleaner to clean your display. • If your computer gets wet or is damaged, follow the procedures described in "S
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When Using Your Computer (continued) 4 Ground yourself by touching the unpainted metal surface of the I/O panel on the back of the computer. While you work, periodically touch the I/O panel to dissipate any static electricity that might harm internal components. Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge Static electricity can harm electronic components inside your computer. To prevent static damage, discharge static electricity from your body before you touch any of your computer’s electron
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16 When Using Your Computer www.dell.com | support.dell.com
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1 SECTI O N 1 Setting Up and Using Your Computer A Tour of Your Computer Setting Up a Printer Transferring Information to a New Computer With ® Windows XP Setting Up a Home and Office Network With Windows XP Connecting to the Internet Copying CDs Turning Off the Computer About the Module Bay Swapping Devices While the Computer Is Turned Off Swapping Devices While the Computer Is Running Using the Floppy Drive as an External Device Enabling the Infrared Sensor Connecting a Television to the
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A Tour of Your Computer Front View display latch Dell AccessDirect button keyboard status lights power button air vent keyboard microphone touch pad/track stick buttons device status lights battery bay touch pad display latch button module bay 18 Setting Up and Using Your Computer www.dell.com | support.dell.com
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DISPLAY LATCH — Keeps the display closed. EYBOARD STATUS LIGHTS — The green lights located above the keyboard K indicate the following: Turns on when the numeric keypad is enabled 9 Turns on when the caps lock function is enabled A Turns on when the scroll lock function is enabled AIR VENT — The computer uses an internal fan to create airflow through the vents, which prevents the computer from overheating. CAUTION: Do not block, push objects into, or allow dust to HINT: The computer accumul
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DEVICE STATUS LIGHTS Turns on when you turn on the computer. Turns on when the computer reads or writes data. NOTICE: To avoid loss of data, never turn off the computer while the light is flashing. Turns on steadily or blinks when the computer is in a power management mode. It also blinks to indicate battery charge status. If the computer is connected to an electrical outlet, the light operates as follows: • Solid green: The battery is charging. • Flashing green: The battery is fully charg
