Quick Reference Guide
Table Of Contents
- Contents
- About This Reference
- Checking Out Your Computer
- Setting Up and Getting Started
- Working safely and comfortably
- Preparing power connections
- Connecting to a broadband modem or network
- Connecting a dial-up modem
- Starting your computer
- Turning off your computer
- Restarting (rebooting) your computer
- Using the keyboard
- Using the mouse
- Using optical drives
- Using the memory card reader
- Using the diskette drive
- Adjusting the volume
- Installing a printer, scanner, or other device
- Upgrading Your Computer
- Preventing static electricity discharge
- Opening and closing the case
- Replacing the optical disc drive
- Replacing the diskette drive
- Replacing the memory card reader
- Replacing the hard drive
- Installing memory
- Adding or replacing an expansion card
- Replacing the heat sink and processor
- Replacing the system battery
- Replacing the power supply
- Replacing the system board
- Maintaining Your Computer
- Troubleshooting
- Safety guidelines
- First steps
- Troubleshooting
- Add-in cards
- Audio
- CD or DVD drives
- Diskette drive
- The diskette drive is not recognized
- You cannot save a file to diskette or you see the message “disk is full or write-protected”
- You see an “Access Denied” or “Write protect” error message
- You see a “Disk is full” error message
- You see a “Non-system disk” or “Disk error” error message
- The diskette drive LED is lit continuously
- Display
- DVD drives
- Ethernet
- Expansion cards
- File management
- Floppy drive
- Hard drive
- Internet
- Keyboard
- Media Center
- Memory
- Memory card reader
- Modem (cable or DSL)
- Modem (dial-up)
- Your modem does not dial or does not connect
- You cannot connect to the Internet
- Your 56K modem does not connect at 56K
- Your fax communications program only sends and receives faxes at 14,400 bps when you have a 56K modem
- The modem is not recognized by your computer
- The modem is noisy when it dials and connects
- Monitor
- Mouse
- Networks
- Passwords
- Power
- Printer
- Sound
- Recovering your Windows Vista system
- Recovering pre-installed software and drivers
- Using Microsoft System Restore
- Recovering your system to its factory condition
- Recovering your system using the Windows DVD
- Recovering your Windows XP system
- Telephone support
- Legal Notices
- Index

CHAPTER 3: Setting Up and Getting Started
18
Starting your computer
To start your computer:
1 Connect the power, network, mouse, and keyboard
cables to your computer according to the setup poster.
2 Press the power button on the front of your computer.
If your computer does not turn on, check the power
cable connections.
3 If you are starting your computer for the first time,
follow the on-screen instructions to select the language
and time zone and to create your first user account.
4 Attach and turn on any USB or audio peripheral devices,
such as printers, scanners, and speakers. If you need to
attach a peripheral device to the parallel or serial ports,
turn off your computer first. See the documentation
that came with each device for its setup instructions.
5 To open your computer’s Start menu, click (Start).
From that menu, you can run programs and search for
files. For more information on using your computer’s
menus, see “Using Windows” and “Customizing
Windows” in your online User Guide.
Waking up your computer
When you have not used your computer for several minutes,
it may enter a power-saving mode called Sleep. While in Sleep
mode, the power indicator on the power button flashes.
If your computer is in Sleep mode, move the mouse, press a
key on the keyboard, or press the power button to “wake” it
up. If the computer remains in Sleep mode, press the power
button.
Important
Your computer has a variable-speed fan, which can run at
different speeds at times to ensure correct system cooling. You may
notice an increase in the fan noise when the fan is running at high speed
and a decrease in the fan noise when it switches to normal speed.
Tip
For more information about changing the power button mode, see the
“Customizing Windows” chapter in your online User Guide.
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