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Dell™ Dimension™ 8400 Series
CD or DVD activity light
CD or DVD drive eject button
floppy drive eject button*
floppy drive light*
USB 2.0
hard drive light
connectors (2)
power button
headphone connector
*On computers with a
Service Tag
floppy drive.
power connector
parallel connector
voltage selection switch
diagnostic lights
serial connector
mouse connector
keyboard connector
surround connector
center/LFE connector
line-in connector
line-out connector
network adapter
microphone connector
DVI
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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. ____________________ Info
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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 USB Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Connecting a Parallel Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Standby Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Hibernate Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Power Options Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Hyper-Threading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 2 Solving Problems Troubleshooting Tips. . . . . . .
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Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 No sound from speakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 No sound from headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Video and Monitor Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 If the screen is blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 If the screen is difficult to read. . . . . . .
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Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 System Board Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 DDR2 Memory Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Addressing Memory With 4-GB Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Installing Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Removing Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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5 Appendix Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Entering System Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 System Setup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Boot Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Clearing Forgotten Passwords . . . .
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8 Contents
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Finding Information 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 either a USB c
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USB connector on computer USB printer cable USB connector on printer Connecting a Parallel Printer 1 Complete the operating system setup, if you have not already done so. 2 Turn off the computer (see page 59). NOTICE: For best results, use a 3-m (10-ft) or shorter parallel cable. 3 Attach the parallel printer cable to the parallel connector on the computer and tighten the two screws. Attach the cable to the connector on the printer and snap the two clips into the two notches. 12 Setting Up
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parallel connector on computer connector on printer screws (2) clips (2) parallel printer cable notches (2) 4 Turn on the printer and then turn on the computer. If the Add New Hardware Wizard window appears, click Cancel. 5 Install the printer driver if necessary. See the documentation that came with your printer. Connecting to the Internet NOTE: ISPs and ISP offerings vary by country. To connect to the Internet, you need a modem or network connection and an Internet service provider (ISP),
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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 instructions on the screen to complete the setup. If you do not have an MSN Explorer or AOL icon on your desktop or if you want to set up an Internet connection with a different ISP: 1 Save and close any open files, and exit any open programs. 2 Click the Start button an
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Playing CDs or 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 compu
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Stop. Go to the previous track. Eject. Go to the next track. 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 a
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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. 1 Click the Start button and click Control Panel. 2 Under Pick a category, click Appearance and Themes. 3 Under Pick a task..., click Change the screen resolution. 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 men
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4 To copy the CD or DVD: If you have one CD or DVD drive, ensure that the settings are correct and click Copy. The computer reads your source CD or DVD and copies it to a temporary folder on your computer hard drive. When prompted, insert a blank CD or DVD into the CD or DVD 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 Copy. The computer copies the data on the CD or DVD to the blank CD or DVD. Once you
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Connecting Two Monitors CAUTION: Before you begin any of the procedures in this section, follow the safety instructions located in the Product Information Guide. NOTE: If you are connecting two monitors that have VGA connectors, you must have the optional DVI adapter. If you are connecting two flat-panel monitors, at least one of them must have a VGA connector. If you are connecting a TV, you may connect only one monitor (VGA or DVI) in addition to the TV. If you purchased a graphics card t
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Connecting One Monitor With a VGA connector and One Monitor With a DVI Connector 1 Follow the procedures in "Before You Begin" on page 59. 2 Connect the VGA connector on the monitor to the VGA (blue) connector on the back of the computer. 3 Connect the DVI connector on the other monitor to the DVI (white) connector on the back of the computer. Connecting a TV NOTE: To connect a TV to your computer, you must purchase an S-video cable, which is available at most consumer electronics stores. An
