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®
NEC Versa VX Notebook Computer
VERSA VX
USER’S GUIDE
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Proprietary Notice and Liability Disclaimer The information disclosed in this document, including all designs and related materials, is the valuable property of NEC Computers Inc. (hereinafter “NECC”) and/or its licensors. NECC and/or its licensors, as appropriate, reserve all patent, copyright and other proprietary rights to this document, including all design, manufacturing, reproduction, use, and sales rights thereto, except to the extent said rights are expressly granted to others. The NECC
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Contents Using This Guide Text Conventions .................................................................................................................. x Related Documents................................................................................................................ x 1 Introducing the NEC Versa Before You Begin...............................................................................................................1-2 About Your NEC Versa VX Notebook ...............
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3 Using the BIOS Setup Utility Introducing BIOS Setup .................................................................................................... 3-2 Entering BIOS Setup ......................................................................................................... 3-2 BIOS Setup Main Menu ............................................................................................. 3-3 Looking at Screens ........................................................................
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NEC Customize Utility.......................................................................................................4-5 Using the NEC Customize Utility........................................................................4-6 HDPREPEZ Utility ............................................................................................................4-6 Using HDPREPEZ in Windows 98 or 95....................................................................4-6 Application and Driver CD ....
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Interface Cards............................................................................................................ 6-5 Other Cards................................................................................................................. 6-5 PC Card Slots ............................................................................................................. 6-5 Inserting a PC Card................................................................................................
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Multimedia Applications....................................................................................................9-6 10 Solving System Problems Problem Checklist ............................................................................................................10-2 Startup Problems ..............................................................................................................10-3 POST Error Messages ..............................................................
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Using This Guide ® The NEC Versa VX User’s Guide gives you the information you need to maximize the use of your NEC Versa notebook computer. Read this guide to familiarize yourself with the NEC Versa and its features. For specific information see ! Chapter 1, “Introducing the NEC Versa,” to acquaint yourself with system hardware. ! Chapter 2, “Getting Started,” for instructions on how to connect, power on, and care for your system. ! Chapter 3, “Using the BIOS Setup Utility,” for details about m
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! Appendix C, “Frequently Asked Questions,” (FAQs) for a look at questions that users commonly ask and the answers to those questions. Text Conventions To make this guide as easy as possible to use, text is set up as follows. ! Warnings, cautions, and notes have the following meanings: Warnings alert you to situations that could result in serious personal injury or loss of life. Cautions indicate situations that can damage the hardware or software. Note Notes give important information, etc. ! N
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1 Introducing the NEC Versa ! Before You Begin ! About Your NEC Versa VX Notebook ! Around the Front of the System Around the Back of the System ! ! Around the Left Side of the System ! Around the Right Side of the System ! Around the Bottom of the System ! About the Port Replicator
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Before You Begin Prolonged or improper use of a computer workstation may pose a risk of serious injury. To reduce your risk of injury, set up and use your computer in the manner described in Appendix A, Setting Up a Healthy Work Environment. After completing the steps in the quick setup sheet that comes with your computer, your NEC Versa VX system is ready to go! To get started, do the following: ! Read Appendix A, “Setting Up a Healthy Work Environment,” for guidelines that help you use your co
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About Your NEC Versa VX Notebook The NEC Versa VX notebook computer offers you a portable system filled with exciting resources for home, business or travel. Standard features include a powerful ® ® Intel Celeron™, Pentium II or Pentium III microprocessor that works together with the latest Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) architecture. In addition, your system provides a high-performance hard disk drive, diskette drive, and PC card support. Most models are equipped with a 24X CD-ROM driv
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Around the Front of the System The NEC Versa is compact with features on every side. First, look at the front of the system. The following sections describe front features, beginning with the liquid crystal display (LCD) panel. LCD Panel The NEC Versa VX comes with a color LCD panel that you can adjust for a comfortable viewing position. The LCD panel can be a 12.1-inch Super Video Graphics Array (SVGA) color display, or a 13.3/14.1-inch Extended Graphics Array (XGA). ! Power and Battery Chargin
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— Power LED — lets you know that power to the system is turned on. This LED is positioned so that you see the power state whether the LCD panel is opened or closed. – Lights green when the system is powered on using the AC adapter, battery, or auto adapter. – Lights green when on and has normal battery power. Lights yellow when on and low (8% to 4%) battery power. Lights amber when in Windows 95 Suspend mode or Windows 98 Standby mode and very low (3% or less) battery power. — Battery Charging L
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! CD Control Buttons — controls the CD-ROM drive (stop, reverse, play/pause, and fast forward). Available on some systems. ! Personal Code Buttons — sets a personal code for security. Available on some systems. ! Status LEDs — keeps you informed of your NEC Versa VX’s current operating status. Descriptions of the status icons appear in the following section. ! Email Button — accesses your email software. ! Internet Button — accesses the Internet. ! Power Button — powers on and off the system. No
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Status Icons The NEC Versa VX system uses status lights marked with icons to communicate system status. See the following figure and list for each icon’s meaning. Status LED icons A – Hard Drive Access D – Scroll Lock B – Diskette Drive Access E – Num Lock C – Caps Lock ! Hard Drive Access — lights when the NEC Versa VX accesses the hard disk drive, CD-ROM drive, or DVD-ROM drive. ! Diskette Drive Access — lights when the NEC Versa VX writes data to or retrieves data from the diskette drive.
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Keyboard Panel and Base Unit The NEC Versa VX keyboard panel and base unit contain the following features. The keyboard panel and base unit features are described after the figure. Keyboard panel A – Keyboard B – NEC VersaGlide Base unit A – Speakers D – Audio Ports B – IR Port E – Volume Control C – Microphone 1-8 Introducing the NEC Versa
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! Keyboard — standard QWERTY-key layout. (Models shipped outside of the U.S. are equipped with country-specific keyboard layouts.) The keyboard is equipped with many features. These include: — Function keys — Windows keys — Cursor control keys — Typewriter keys — Numeric keypad — Control keys. Key features and operations are described after the figure. Keyboard A – Function Keys D – Control Keys B – Numeric Keypad E – Cursor Control Keys C – Typewriter Keys ! Function Keys — Twelve function key
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Fn-Left Ctrl — Simulates pressing the right control key to support IBM 327X connections. Fn-F3 — Toggles the video mode between LCD only, CRT only, Simultaneous mode, and TV out. Fn-F4 — Sets standby power management mode on, in Windows 95. — In Windows 95, press any key to resume from Standby mode. — No function when Windows 98 configured for Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI). In Windows 98, Standby is equivalent to Windows 95 Suspend mode. To resume from Windows 98 Standby mode
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Windows keys — Use the following two keys to facilitate your work. — Shortcut/Application key – provides quick access to shortcut menus. (This key acts like a right mouse button.) — Floating Window key – displays the Start menu. ! Numeric Keypad — Pressing Num Lock on the keyboard activates the numeric keypad numbers and functions printed in blue on top of the keys. The keypad lets you type numbers and mathematical operands (+, –) as you would on a calculator. The keypad is ideal for entering lo
