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Dell Inspiron 1545 Dell Technology Guide - Page 286

Access the Dell Support Center from the, Self Help, Assistance From Dell, Alerts, About Your System

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Accessing the Dell Support Center Access the Dell Support Center from the Start menu. icon on the taskbar or from the NOTE: If the Dell Support Center is not available from the Start menu, go to support.dell.com and download the software. The Dell Support Center application is customized for your computing environment. The icon in the taskbar functions differently when you click, doubleclick, or right-click the icon. Clicking the Dell Support Center Icon Click or right-click the icon to access: • Dell Support Center. • Dell Support Center Alerts. • Dell Support Center User Settings. • Learn more about the Dell Support Center. Double-Clicking the Dell Support Center Icon Double-click the icon to open the home page to access: • Self Help - Click to identify and fix problems with your computer. • Assistance From Dell - Click to contact Dell about your computer problems or order status. • Alerts - Click to view alerts from Dell for your computer. • About Your System - Click to access information and documentation for your computer. • Drivers & Downloads - Click to access drivers and downloads for your computer. • Dell Datasafe™ Online Backup - Click to access online backup and recovery service offered by Dell for your computer. • ContactUs - Click to access multiple options for contacting Dell. • Feedback - Click to provide your feedback for Dell Support Center application. 286 Troubleshooting

Section	Page
Contents	3
Finding Information	23
Start Button	23
Microsoft Windows Help and Support	24
Windows Vista®	25
Windows® XP	25
Control Panel	26
Information About Installed Hardware	26
Device Manager	26
Hardware Devices Installed on Your Computer	27
Programs Installed on Your Computer	28
Wireless Networking	28
Dell Support Website	29
Technical Support	29
Customer Service	30
Warranty Information	30
Dell Forums	31
Contact Us	31
BIOS (System Setup Program) Settings	31
Microsoft Windows Desktop	33
Overview	33
Taskbar	34
Overview	34
Displaying the Taskbar	35
Customizing the Taskbar	35
Displaying Hidden Icons From the Notification Area	35
Adding Icons in the Notification Area	35
Desktop Icons and Shortcuts	36
Deleting an Icon From the Desktop	36
Creating and Deleting Program Shortcuts on the Desktop	37
Shortcut Menus	38
Changing the Desktop Appearance	39
Windows Vista®	39
Windows® XP	40
Setting up a Screen Saver	41
Windows Vista	41
Windows XP	41
Start Button (Menu)	42
Overview	42
Customizing the Start Menu	43
Control Panel	44
Accessing and Using the Control Panel	45
Customizing Your Computer Settings	45
Managing Your Computer Performance	45
Monitors and Displays	47
Cleaning Your Computer’s Display Screen	47
Adjusting the Resolution of Your Display	48
Windows Vista®	49
Windows® XP	49
Troubleshooting	50
Choosing the Best Display Settings	50
Setting the Display Resolution for External LCD Monitors	50
Setting the Display for Multiple Monitors	51
Windows Vista	52
Windows XP	52
Using the Ambient Light Sensor in Bright or Low- Light Environments:	53
Cables and Connections	55
DisplayPort™ - Features and Benefits	56
NVIDIA SLI and ATI Crossfire Technologies	56
Navigation Devices (Mouse, Keyboard, Touch Pad)	57
Mouse	58
Controlling the Speed of the Mouse Buttons	58
Controlling the Speed of the Scroll Wheel	59
Cleaning a Non-Optical Mouse	59
Cleaning an Optical Mouse	60
Using a Bluetooth® -Enabled Wireless Mouse	60
Touch Pad	62
Circular Scrolling	62
Single Finger Zoom	63
Cleaning the Touch Pad	63
Using a Touch Pointer (Track Stick or Tablet PC Pen)	63
Turning the Touch Pointer On or Off From the Control Panel	63
Turning the Touch Pointer On or Off From the Taskbar	64
Using a USB Pointing Device (Mouse)	64
Troubleshooting a USB Pointing Device	64
Keyboard	65
Customizing Your Keyboard	66
Backlit Keyboard	66
Changing the Input Language of Your Keyboard	67
Using the Numeric Keypad on a Laptop Computer	68
General Keyboard Shortcuts	69
Printers-Settings and Drivers	71
Accessing Printer Information	71
Changing Printer Settings	72
For Windows Vista®	72
For Windows® XP	72
Setting up Printers	73
Adding a Printer	73
Setting the Default Printer	74
Sharing Printers on a Network	74
Installing a Printer Driver	75
Drives and Media	77
Freeing up Hard Drive Space	77
Shadow Storage	77
Reducing Hard Drive Space Used by Shadow Storage	78
Solid-State Drive (SSD)	78
Installing Drivers for Media Drives	79
Determining Whether a Device Driver is the Source of a Device Problem	79
Replacing a Driver With a Previous Version of the Driver	79
Using the Drivers and Utilities Media to Reinstall a Driver	80
Manually Reinstalling a Driver	80
Drive Problems	81
Optical Drive Problems	82
Hard Drive Problems	82
Working with RAID	83
RAID Level 0	83
RAID Level 1	84
RAID Level 0+1 Configuration	86
RAID Level 5 Configuration	87
Setting Your Computer to RAID-Enabled Mode	87
Configuring RAID	88
Shutting Down Your Computer	99
Windows Vista®	99
Windows® XP	99
Shutdown States	101
Microsoft® Windows Vista®	101
Windows® XP	101
Ending a Program That is not Responding	101
Ending a Process That is not Responding	103
Docking and Undocking Your Laptop Computer	104
Undocking Your Computer While it is Running- Hot Undocking	104
Undocking Without Shutting Down	104
Shutting Down Your Computer When it Fails to Shut Down Normally	105
Shutting Down a Stalled or \	105
Shutting Down a Computer When it Stops Responding and Displays a Solid Blue Screen	106
Starting Your Computer in Safe Mode	107
Restarting Your Computer After a Power Loss	108
Files and Folders	109
Navigating to Files	110
Selecting and Opening Files	111
Selecting a Group of Files	111
Selecting Several Random Files	111
Opening and Saving a File	112
Opening a Graphic Image (Picture or Art)	112
Finding Files	112
Searching for a File	112
Renaming Files	113
Printing Files	113
Deleting Files	113
Sharing Files	114
Windows Vista	114
Windows XP	115
Sharing Files With Password Protection.	115
Restricting Access to a File	115
Transferring Files and Settings to a New Computer	116
Transferring Files From a Computer Running Windows XP to a Computer Running Windows Vista	116
Transferring Files Between Computers Running Windows XP	117
Backing up Files	117
Windows Vista	117
Windows XP	118
Running Backup When the Settings Have Been Preconfigured	118
Running Backup With Hidden Drives	119
Restoring Files	119
Windows Vista	119
Windows XP	119
Managing Applications (Programs)	121
Installing Applications on Your Computer	121
Installing Applications From a CD or DVD With Microsoft® Windows®	121
Installing (Downloading) Applications From the Internet	121
Installing Applications From a Network	122
Windows Vista®	122
Windows® XP	122
Removing Applications From Your Computer	123
Windows Vista	123
Windows XP	123
Ending an Application When it Does not Respond	124
Maintenance Tasks (Enhance Performance and Ensure Security)	125
Performing Maintenance Tasks to Increase Computer Speed and Ensure Security	125
Cleaning Your Computer	126
Before You Start	126
Cleaning the Computer	126
Cleaning Optical Drives and Optical Drive Media	126
Managing Your Computer Performance	127
Windows Vista®	127
Windows® XP	128
Performance Tuning	129
System Setup Based Performance Tuning	129
Software Based Performance Tuning	129
NVIDIA Performance	129
NVIDIA Monitor	130
Cleaning Up Your Hard Drive	131
Defragmenting Your Hard Drive	132
Detecting and Repairing Disk Errors	133
Scanning for Viruses and Spyware	133
Power (Power Settings, Power Protection Devices, and Batteries)	135
Setting Power Options	135
Windows Vista®	135
Windows® XP	137
Power Protection Devices	140
Surge Protector	140
Power Line Conditioner	140
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)	141
Laptop Computer Batteries	141
Using Your Laptop Computer for the First Time	142
Preserving the Life of a Battery	142
Replacing a Battery	143
Checking the Battery Charge	143
Conserving Battery Power	145
Charging the Battery	145
Storing a Battery	146
US Department of Transportation (DOT) Notebook Battery Restrictions	146
Dell™ ControlPoint Power Manager	146
Networks (LAN, Wireless, Mobile Broadband)	149
Overview	149
Local Area Networks (LAN)	150
What You Need to Set up a LAN	151
Setting up a new LAN	151
Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN)	153
What you Need to set up a WLAN	153
Checking Your Wireless Network Card	154
Reinstalling Software and Drivers for Your Wireless Network Card	154
Setting up a new Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)	155
Ad Hoc Networks	158
Mobile Broadband (or Wireless Wide Area Network) Networks	159
Establishing a Mobile Broadband Network Connection	160
Checking Your Mobile Broadband Card	160
Connecting to a Mobile Broadband Network	160
Activating Mobile Broadband Service	160
Managing the Network With the Dell Mobile Broadband Card Utility	161
WiMAX	161
WPAN	162
Managing Your Network	162
Securing Your Network	162
Securing Your Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)	164
Ensuring Security When Using Public Wi-Fi Networks (Hotspots)	165
Locating Networks With the Dell Wi-Fi Catcher™ Network Locator	166
Scanning for a Wireless Network	167
Enabling the Network Locator	167
Managing Networked Computers With Intel® Active Management Technology	168
Accessing the Internet	171
Overview	171
What you Need to Connect to the Internet	171
Web Browsers for Viewing Internet Sites	172
Web Addresses	173
Setting up Your Internet Connection	173
Windows Vista®	173
Windows® XP	174
Troubleshooting Problems Connecting to the Internet	175
Web Browser Settings	175
Setting the Browser Home Page	175
Setting the Way the Browser Displays Web Pages	176
Saving Space by Setting the way the Browser Logs Viewing History	177
Increasing Computer Speed by Limiting the Number of Open Internet Windows	177
Using Accessibility Options for Visual Impairments	178
Internet Security and Privacy	178
Increasing Security for Your Computer While Accessing the Internet	178
Protecting Your Privacy While Accessing the Internet	179
Viruses	179
Firewalls	180
Spyware and Malware	182
Spam	183
Phishing Scams	183
Shopping Securely Over the Internet	183
Controlling Pop-ups	184
Controlling Unwanted Toolbars	185
Content Advisory/Parental Controls	185
Bookmarking Favorite Websites	185
Searching for Information on the Internet	186
Changing the Internet Communications Protocol (TCP/IP) Settings	187
Printing a Web Page	187
Freeing up Space and Protecting Your Computer	188
Clearing Browser History	188
Deleting Temporary Internet Files	188
Decreasing the Size of the Temporary Files Folder	188
Maintaining Privacy by Blocking and Deleting Cookies	189
E-mail	191
Setting up a new E-mail Account	191
Windows Vista®	192
Windows® XP	192
Managing and Organizing E-mail Messages	192
Windows Vista	192
Windows XP	194
Securing Your E-mail	194
Reducing Spam	195
Viruses and Phishing	196
Avoiding E-mail Attachments	197
Viewing E-mail Messages	197
Sending E-mail	197
Windows Vista	197
Windows XP	198
Creating a Contact Group (Mailing List)	198
Windows Vista	198
Windows XP	199
Backing Up E-mail Messages	200
Windows Vista	200
Windows XP	200
Multimedia (CDs/DVDs, 5.1 Audio, MP3s, TVs, Digital Cameras, and Projectors)	203
Overview	203
CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray Disc™ Media	204
Playing a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray Disc Media	204
Copying CD, DVD, or Blu-ray Disc Media	205
5.1 Audio	207
Setting up the 5.1 Audio Connections	207
Laptop Media Devices (MP3 Players)	208
Connecting a Laptop Media Device (MP3 Player) to Your Computer	208
Setting up the Laptop Media Device to Sync in Windows Media Player	208
Setting up the Laptop Media Device the First Time	209
Copying Audio and Video Files to Your Laptop Media Device	209
Playing Media Using the Dell Travel Remote	210
Adjusting the Volume on Your Computer	210
Enabling S/PDIF Digital Audio Through the Media Software	210
Enabling S/PDIF Digital Audio in the Windows Audio Driver	211
Setting up the Cyberlink (CL) Headphones	211
Using a Digital Camera With Your Computer	212
Using Windows Media Player	212
Connecting Your Computer to a TV and Adjusting Display Settings	215
Accessing a TV With Your Computer Using a TV Tuner Card	215
Connecting Your Computer to a TV or Audio Device	215
Determining What you Have and What you Need	217
Identifying the Connectors on Your Computer	217
Identifying the Connectors on Your TV	219
Determining the Combination of Cables and Adapters you Need	219
Physically Connecting Your Computer to a TV or Audio Device	222
Performing the Basic Connection Steps	224
Selecting the Correct Input Signal From the TV Menu	226
TV Menu Example	227
What to do If the TV Does not Recognize a Signal	228
Evaluating Suggested Connection Configurations	229
Enabling the Display View for the Computer and the TV	239
Verify the Connection to the TV	239
Verify the Input Signal for the TV	239
Set up the TV as a Display Device	239
Configure the Display Views	240
Dual Independent Display Mode	241
Swapping Primary and Secondary Displays	242
Switching the Display Image	242
Configuring Display Settings	242
Setting Display Resolution With the Windows Display Properties Menu	243
Accessing the Settings tab of the Display Properties Menu	244
Accessing Additional Functions With the Advanced Button	245
Accessing the Video Card Control Features	245
Getting Help for Video Display Resolution Problems	245
Adjusting Display Settings With the Vendor Video Card Control Panel	246
Windows Vista	246
Windows XP	246
Using the Wizards	247
Using a Video Card Wizard to Configure Display Settings	247
Using a TV Wizard to Configure Display Settings	248
Getting Help for Video Card Control Panels	249
Troubleshooting Display Settings	249
Where to Find Help	249
Resolving Common Problems	249
Security and Privacy	251
Protecting Your Computer-Using Administrator Rights, User Groups, and Passwords	251
Administrator Rights	251
User Groups	252
Passwords	253
Smart Cards	254
Fingerprint Readers	254
Facial Recognition Software	255
Using a Firewall to Secure Your Computer	255
Turning On Windows Firewall	255
Encrypting Files and Folders	256
Using Antivirus Software	256
Maintaining Security When Using a Public Wireless Network	256
Reducing the Risk of Getting Computer Viruses	257
Dealing With Cookies	258
Blocking all Cookies	258
Avoiding Spyware and Malware	259
Microsoft®Windows® XP Pro Remote Desktop	261
Enabling Remote Desktop on the Host Computer	261
Installing Remote Desktop Client Software	262
Calling From a Remote Location	262
Restoring Your Operating System	265
Using Microsoft® Windows® System Restore	265
Starting System Restore	266
Undoing the Last System Restore	266
Enabling System Restore	267
Using Dell™ PC Restore and Dell Factory Image Restore	267
Windows Vista: Dell Factory Image Restore	268
Using the Operating System Media	269
Before you Begin	269
Reinstalling Windows XP or Windows Vista	269
Troubleshooting	271
Troubleshooting Tools	272
Power Lights for Desktop Computers	273
Diagnostic Lights for Desktop Computers	274
Diagnostic Lights for Laptop Computers	275
System Messages for Desktop Computers	275
System Messages for Laptop Computers	276
Windows Hardware Troubleshooter	280
Running the Dell Diagnostics	281
Dell Support Center	285
Solving Problems	287
Battery Problems	287
Drive Problems	287
Optical Drive Problems	288
E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems	289
Error Messages	290
IEEE 1394 Device Problems	291
Keyboard Problems for External Keyboards	292
Lockups and Software Problems	292
Memory Problems	294
Mouse Problems	295
Network Problems	296
Power Problems	296
Printer Problems	298
Scanner Problems	299
Sound and Speaker Problems	299
Touch Pad or Mouse Problems for Laptop Computers	301
Video and Monitor Problems	302
Power Lights	304
Dell Technical Update Service	305
System Setup	307
Viewing System Settings With the System Setup Program	307
Entering the System Setup Program	308
Working With Options on the System Setup Program Screen	308
Changing the Boot Sequence	309
Performing a One-Time Boot	310
Changing Boot Sequence to a USB Device	310
Changing the BIOS Settings	310
Viewing the BIOS Settings	311
Upgrading the BIOS (Flashing the BIOS)	311
Ports	313
USB Port	313
IEEE 1394 Port	314
RS232 Serial Port	315
Parallel Port	316
eSATA Port	317
Modem	318
Ethernet Port	319
Keyboard and Mouse Port (PS2)	320
VGA Port	321
DVI-I Port	322
S-Video TV-Out Port	323
Component Video	324
Composite Video	325
HDMI Port	326
DisplayPort™	327
S/PDIF Port (Coaxial RCA)	328
S/PDIF Port (Toslink)	328
Audio Ports	329
Getting Help	331
Obtaining Assistance	331
Dell Support Service	332
Technical Support and Customer Service	332
DellConnect™	332
Online Services	333
AutoTech Service	334
Automated Order-Status Service	334
Problems With Your Order	334
Product Information	334
Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit	334
Before You Call	335
Contacting Dell	337