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Dell™ Inspiron™ 8500
Owner’s Manual
www.dell.com | support.dell.com
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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. Abbreviations and Acronyms For a complete list of abbreviations and acronyms, see the Tell Me How help file (see page 104). ____________________ Information in th
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Contents CAUTION: Safety Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 General Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Air Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 EMC Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 California Residents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 When U
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Modem and Internet Connection Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Transferring Information to a New Computer . . . . . . . . . . 36 Setting Up a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Printer Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Connecting a Parallel Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Connecting a USB Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Setting Up the Dock
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Removing and Installing Devices While the Computer Is Running . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 If the Device Screw Is Not Installed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 If the Device Screw Is Installed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 4 Using the Keyboard and Touchpad Numeric Keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 System Functions Bat
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Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 . . . . . . . . . 71 If you have a problem with integrated speakers If you have a problem with external speakers . . . . . . . . . . 71 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Copying CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Using Easy CD Creator Basic Using Blank CD-R Discs or Blank CD-RW Discs . . . . . . . . 73 Helpful Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 How to Copy a CD . .
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Video and Display Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 If the display is blank If the display is difficult to read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 If only part of the display is readable . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . 108 If you cannot save a file to a floppy drive
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® ® Reinstalling Microsoft Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Before You Reinstall Reinstalling Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Reinstalling Drivers and Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 8 Adding and Replacing Parts Adding Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Adding a Mini PCI Card Adding a Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Limited Warranty Terms for Dell-Branded Hardware Products (Canada Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 "Total Satisfaction" Return Policy (Canada Only) . . . . . . . . 178 Dell Software and Peripherals (Canada Only) . . . . . . . . . 178 1-Year End-User Manufacturer Guarantee (Latin America and the Caribbean Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 ® ® Intel Warranty Statement for Pentium and ® Celeron Processors Only (U.S. and Canada Only) . . . . . . . 181 Index . . . . . . . . .
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10 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 on page 111. If
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When Using Your Computer (continued) 4 Ground yourself by touching any unpainted metal surface 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 electronic components, suc
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18 When Using Your Computer www.dell.com | support.dell.com
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1 SECTI O N 1 A Tour of Your Computer Front View Left View Right View Back View Bottom View
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Front View display latch display keyboard status lights mute button power button volume control buttons device status lights track stick keyboard track stick/touch touch pad pad buttons display latch button speakers DISPLAY LATCH — Keeps the display closed. DISPLAY — For more information about your display, see the Tell Me How help file. To access the help file, see page 104. POWER BUTTON — Press the power button to turn on the computer or to enter or exit a power management mode. NOTIC
