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Dell™ Dimension™ 5100
cover latch
Service Tag
release
CD or DVD eject button
CD or DVD activity light
FlexBay for optional
floppy drive or Media
Card Reader
microphone connector
headphone connector
diagnostic lights
hard-drive activity light
power button/
power activity light
USB 2.0 connectors (2)
power connector
sound connectors (integrated) (5)
VGA video connector (integrated)
network USB 2.0 connectors (5)
adapter
card slots for PCI Express x16 (1),
PCI (2), PCI Express x1 (1)
Model DCS
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Notes, Notices, and Cautions NOTE: A NOTE 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. ® ® If you purchased a Dell™ n Series computer, any references in this document to Microsoft Windows operating systems are not applicable. ____________________ Infor
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Contents Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 Setting Up and Using Your Computer Setting Up a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Printer Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Connecting a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Setting Up Your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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2 Solving Problems Troubleshooting Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Battery Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 CD and DVD drive problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Hard drive problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Error Messages . . .
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3 Troubleshooting Tools Diagnostic Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Dell Diagnostics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Dell Diagnostics Main Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 What Is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Identifying Drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Reinstalling Dr
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Drive Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Removing the Drive Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Removing the Drive-Panel Insert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Replacing the Drive-Panel Insert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Replacing the Drive Panel.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 IDE Drive Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . .
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5 Appendix Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Entering System Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 System Setup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Boot Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Clearing Forgotten Passwords . . . .
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8 Contents
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Finding Information NOTE: Additional documentation may be included with your computer, depending on your country. What Are You Looking For? Find It Here Warranty information Dell™ Product Information Guide Safety instructions Regulatory information Ergonomics information End User License Agreement How to set up my computer Setup Diagram Finding Information 9
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What Are You Looking For? Find It Here Service Tag and Express Service Code Service Tag and Microsoft Windows License Microsoft Windows License Label These labels are located on your computer. Use the Service Tag to identify your computer when you use support.dell.com or contact technical support. Enter the Express Service Code to direct your call when contacting technical support. The Express Service Code is not available in all countries. Latest drivers for my computer Dell Sup
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Setting Up and Using Your Computer Setting Up a Printer NOTICE: Complete the operating system setup before you connect a printer to the computer. See the documentation that came with the printer for setup information, including how to: Obtain and install updated drivers Connect the printer to the computer Load paper and install the toner or ink cartridge Contact the printer manufacturer for technical assistance Printer Cable Your printer connects to your computer with a USB cable. Your
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Connecting a Printer NOTE: You can connect USB devices while the computer is turned on. 1 Complete the operating system setup, if you have not already done so. 2 Install the printer driver if necessary. See the documentation that came with your printer. 3 Attach the USB printer cable to the USB connectors on the computer and the printer. The USB connectors fit only one way. USB connector on computer USB printer cable USB connector on printer Connecting to the Internet NOTE: ISPs and ISP offe
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If you are using a dial-up connection, connect a telephone line to the modem connector on your computer and to the telephone wall jack before you set up your Internet connection. If you are using a DSL or cable modem connection, contact your ISP for setup instructions. Setting Up Your Internet Connection To set up an AOL or MSN connection: 1 Save and close any open files, and exit any open programs. ® ® 2 Double-click the MSN Explorer or AOL icon on the Microsoft Windows desktop. 3 Follow the
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Playing CDs and DVDs 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. 1 Press the eject button on the front of the drive. 2 Place the disc, label side up, in the center of the tray. 3 Press the eject button or gently push in the tray. To format CDs for storing data, to create music CDs, or to copy CDs, see the CD software that came with your comp
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A DVD player includes the following basic buttons: Stop Restart the current chapter Play Fast forward Pause Fast reverse Advance a single frame while in pause mode Go to the next title or chapter Continuously play the current title or chapter Go to the previous title or chapter Eject For more information on playing CDs or DVDs, click Help on the CD or DVD player (if available). Adjusting the Volume NOTE: When the speakers are muted, you do not hear the CD or DVD playing. 1 Click the Start butto
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4 In the Display Properties window, click and drag the bar in Screen resolution to change the setting to 800 by 600 pixels. 5 Click the drop-down menu under Color quality, and then click Medium (16 bit). 6 Click OK. Copying CDs and DVDs NOTE: Please 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 instructio
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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 in
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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 refer to 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 yo
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xD-Picture Card and SmartMedia (SMC) CompactFlash Type I and II (CF I/II) and MicroDrive Card Memory Stick (MS/MS Pro) SecureDigital Card (SD)/ MultiMediaCard (MMC) To use the Media Card Reader: 1 Check the media or card to determine the proper orientation for insertion. 2 Slide the media or card into the appropriate slot until it is completely seated in the connector. If you encounter resistance, do not force the media or card. Check the card orientation and try again. Connecting Two Monit
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Connecting Two Monitors With VGA Connectors 1 Follow the procedures in "Before You Begin" on page 53. NOTE: If your computer has integrated video, do not connect either monitor to the integrated video connector. If the integrated video connector is covered by a cap, do not remove the cap to connect the monitor or the monitor will not function. 2 Connect one of the monitors to the VGA (blue) connector on the back of the computer. 3 Connect the other monitor to the optional DVI adapter and conn
