Alienware m5550 manual

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Referenc e 1 Notic e The information in this user’s m anual is subject to c hange w ithout notic e. THE MANUFACTURER OR RE SELLER SHALL NO T BE LIABLE FOR ERRORS OR OMIS SIONS C ONT AINED IN THIS MANUAL AND SHALL NO T BE LIABLE FOR ANY C ONS EQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHICH MA Y RESUL T FROM THE PERFORMANCE OR USE OF T[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Referenc e 2 T ABLE OF C ONTENTS PREFAC E Symbol s and C onventions Protecting Y our Computer - A void Abus ive Handling and Adverse Environments Chapter Summaries 1. GETTING TO KNOW THE BASICS Performanc e Feature s (10) Sy stem at a Gl ance (12) T op V iew (12) Front and R ear Views (15) Side V iews (17 ) Bott[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 3 2. BIOS SETUP AND SEC URITY Entering the BIOS Setup Screen (33) Leav ing the BIOS Setup Scr een (33) BIOS Action Keys (33) Modifying the BIOS Settin gs (34) Main Setup (34) Boot Setup (34 ) Security Setup (36) Power Setup (37) Exit Setup (37) 3. BA TTERY PO WER & POWER MANAGEMENT The Battery Pac[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 4 4. UPGRADING YOUR C OMPUTER Upgra ding the Hard Disk Drive (57) Upgra ding the Sys tem Memory (60) Inst alling a memory module (DIMM) int o the system (6 1) Adding a Mini-PCI Type Wireless LAN Card (Option al Devic e) (63) Inst alling a Mini PCI C ard to the S ystem (6 4 ) 5. TROUBLE SHOOTING First [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 5 Pref ace Usin g Thi s Manual This U ser’s Manual contain s gener al inform ation about the hardw are and software setup, troub leshooting, and tec hnical spec ifications of the notebook computer . Symbol s and C onventions The follow ing conventions and symbols are u sed in this m anual: • When[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 6 Protecting Y our Comp uter - Avoid Ab usive Handlin g and Adverse Environments Fo llow ing the a dvic e be low wil l h elp en sure tha t you ge t the mo st o ut o f your inv es tme nt. Y our computer w ill serve you well if you t ake g ood care of it. • Do not expose the c omputer to direct sun li[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 7 When cleanin g the comput er, o bserve these step s: 1. Power off the comput er and remove the batt ery pack. 2. Disc onnect the AC adapter. 3. Us e a so ft cl oth d amp ene d w ith w ater . Do not us e liq uid or ae ro so l cl ea ner s. C ontact y our dealer or see your service t ec hnician if any [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 8 Chapt er Summ aries The follow ing is a summary of the av ailable c hapters and appendic es in this manual. Chapter 1: Getting t o Know the Ba sics In this c hapter, you will l earn the bas ic operations and fe atures of your comp uter. It gives you a gener al under standing of the components of you[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 9 CHAP TER ONE GETTING TO KNO W THE BASICS This c hapter introduc es the fe atures and components of the computer. m5550-04-2007-techref.indd 9 4/6/2007 12:29:45 PM[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 10 Perform ance F eatur es High Performanc e Proce ssor with C alistog a Chipset The notebook PC is equip ped with a powerful Mobile Intel Core 2 Duo proc essor. T ogether with the lat est C alistoga c hipset and tec hnologies, the system offers advanc ed PC performance. Advanc ed Graphic Engine The P[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 11 The built-in 4-in-1 c ard reader lets you ac ces s many of the portab le media formats (SD Card, MMC Card, MS Card, and MS Pro Card). Ethernet P ort The system pro vides a built-in 10/100/1000M bps Ethernet network adapter for high bandwidth network connection. Firewire (IEEE1394 / 1394a) and USB2.[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 12 Sy stem At A Glanc e T op View 1. L CD Latc h The L CD latc hes loc k / un loc k the L CD panel. 2. L CD Displ ay The panel is where the system content is displ ayed. m5550-04-2007-techref.indd 12 4/6/2007 12:29:45 PM[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 13 3. Key board The key board is used to enter dat a. It ha s an embedded numeric k eypad and cursor control keys. (See K eyboard Section for details.) 4. T ouc h Pad The touc h pad is a built-in pointin g devic e with function s simi lar to a mouse. 5. Built-in Mic rophone The built-in micr ophone re[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 14 Note: When the sys tem power i s initially turned on, the Scrol l-lock, C ap-lock, and Numeric k eypad LED indic ators w ill light up momentarily to indicate the s tart of the Power -On sequence. 10. Si lent Mode Butt on Press ing the k ey enab les the sy stem to lower its power us age; therefor e [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 15 Fr ont and R ear View W arning: Do not pl ace an y heavy objects on the t op of the notebook. This may d amage the displ ay 1. Wir eless On/Off Sw itch Use the swit c h to dis able or enab le the W ireless function. 2. Power Jac k (DC -in) The DC -out jack of the AC Adapter connects here and powers[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 16 5. V entilation Gril l The fan gril l is where air is exc hanged to dis sipate the internal he at . Do not b lock this airway . 6. Ken sington Loc k K ey Hole A Ken sington-type security lock latc hes to this k eyhole for anti-theft purposes. m5550-04-2007-techref.indd 16 4/6/2007 12:29:46 PM[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 17 Side Views W arning: Do not pl ace an y heavy objects on the t op of y our notebook. This m ay damag e the displ ay 1. Audio V olume Dial Use the v olume dial t o control the loudness of the speak ers. 2. St ereo Head phone / S PDIF-out Jac k The stereo hea dphone jac k (3.5-mm diameter) i s where [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 18 5. USB2.0 Port (x2) The Universal Serial Bus (USB2.0-compliant) port allows you to c onnect a wide variety of devic es to your c omputer at a rate of up to 480 Mbp s. Thi s port conforms to the latest USB2.0 plug-and-play s tandards. 6. DVI-I P or t The DVI-I video output port is for c onnecting th[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 19 12. ExpressC ard Slot The slot is where ExpressCar d (T ype 54) is inserted. ExpressC ard T ype 54 allows insertion of 54mm and 34mm card s. ExpressC ard integrates both the PCI-Express bus tec hnology and USB2.0 stand ards. m5550-04-2007-techref.indd 19 4/6/2007 12:29:46 PM[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 20 Bottom View 1. Battery Pac k and Battery Latc h The battery pac k is a built-in pow er source f or the notebook. Slide the battery latc h to relea se the battery pac k. 2. Hard Disk Drive C over The system’s hard di sk drive is loc ated under the cover . The HDD can be up graded to a larger c apa[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 21 m5550-04-2007-techref.indd 21 4/6/2007 12:29:46 PM[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 22 3. S ystem Dev ice C over The system’s proc essor with c ooler assembly , wireles s LAN module, and DDR memory module are loc ated under the c ase c over . Y ou may ins tall the WLAN module and the system memory c an be upgraded t o a larger c apacity. (See Ch apter 4 for instructions on a memory[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 23 AC Adapter 1. DC -out C onnector The DC -out connector doc ks t o the power jac k (DC -in) on the computer . 2. Adapter The adapter c onverts alternatin g current into c onstant DC voltage f or the computer . 3. AC Plug The AC p lug plugs int o the AC w all outl et. W arning: Mak e sure y ou are us[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 24 LED St atus Indic ator The LED St atus Indicator di splay s the operatin g statu s of your notebook. When a certain fu nction is en abled, an LED w ill light up. The follo wing section desc ribes its indication. Sy stem & Po wer Statu s Indic ators LED Graphic Symbol Indication Blue light indic[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 25 K eyboar d Fe atur es Function K eys (Quic k Key s) Graphic Symbol Action Sys tem C ontrol Fn + F1 Enters Suspend Mode. Fn + F3 Audio Mute on or off . Fn + F4 Change s Dis play Mode: L CD-only, CR T-only and L CD&CRT . Fn + F5 T urns S peak er V olume up. Fn + F6 T urns S peak er V olume down. [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 26 Window s K eys Y our keyboard also h as two Windows keys: 1. St ar t K ey This k ey allows you to pull up the Windows Start Menu at the bottom of the taskbar . 2. Applic ation Menu K ey This k ey brings up the popup menu for the ap plication, s imilar to a clic k of the right mouse button. Embedded[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 27 T ouch P ad The built-in t ouch p ad, whic h is a P S/2-compatib le pointing devic e, senses movement on its surfac e. As you mov e your fing er tip on the surfac e of the pad, the cur sor responds acc ordingly. The follow ing items teac h you how to use the touc h pad: 1. Move y our finger acros[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 28 Graphics Subsy stem Y our computer uses a high-perform ance 15.4-inc h (non-wide) active matrix TFT p anel with high resolution and mu lti-million c olors f or comfortabl e view ing. The A TI Mobility M54-P video gr aphics ac celerator , which is Microsoft DirectX 9 c ompatible, performs graphics r[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 29 Audio Subsy stem Y our computer’s audio sub system i s Sound Bla ster Pro-c ompatible. Adjusting the V olume Manually T o increase the volume, press F n+ F5. T o decrease the volume, press F n+F6. Adjusting the Audio V olume in Windo ws 1. Clic k the spe aker symbol in the ta sk tray in Windows. [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 30 T o ch ange the modem setting, do the f ollow ing: 1. Go to [Start > Settings > C ontrol Panel] and doub le-click on the Modem Settings ic on. Y ou will see a similar di alog box. 2. Clic k on the pu ll-down menu and select the country where it is applicab le. Clic k on OK to exit. m5550-04-2[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 31 CHAP TER TWO BIOS S ETUP AND SE CURITY FEA TURE In this c hapter, you will l earn how to enter the BIO S Set up Menu and manipul ate various hardwar e control settings. Y ou will also learn how to use the built -in security feat ures. m5550-04-2007-techref.indd 31 4/6/2007 12:29:47 PM[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 32 The Set up Utility i s a hardw are configur ation program bui lt into y our comput er’s BIOS (Bas ic Input/Output S ystem). It run s and maint ains a variety of hardwar e functions. It is a menu-driven software, whic h allows y ou to easily configure and c hange the settings. The BIOS cont ains[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 33 Entering the BIOS Set up Sc reen First t urn on the power . When the BIOS per forms the PO ST (Power-On Self T est), press the F2 key quic kly t o activate the Phoenix BIOS Setup Utility. Note: Y ou may need to pr ess the F2 k ey fairly quic kly . Once the system begin s to load Windows, you ma y h[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 34 Item Selections / Sub-menu Description Quick Boot Disab led Enabl ed C ertain tests ar e skipped during boot-up, theref ore the system boots up fas ter. Quiet Boot Disab led Enabl ed When Enabl ed, the system will display the OEM logo inst ead of the POST mess ages. When Disab led, the system w ill[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 35 Item Selections / Sub-menu Description 1st Boot D evic e Remov able Dev . CD/DVD Hard Drive Realtek Boot Agent Disab led Se t t he t ype o f dev ice f or th e 1 st d riv e BI OS att em pt s to bo ot f rom . If Re alt ek Bo ot Ag en t i s se lec ted , th e sy ste m wi ll at te mpt to l oa d th e b o[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 36 Usin g Pas sword Protection T wo levels of pa ssword prot ection are avail able. The BIOS prov ides both a Supervisor and a User pas sword. If you dec ide to activate both pa sswords, the S upervisor passw ord must be set first. The passw ords activ ate two different levels of protection: 1. The s[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 37 Item Selections / Sub-menu Description Long B attery Life Mode Disab led Enabl ed When Enabl ed, maximum batt ery life can be ac hieved. The proc essor performance i s lowered. Power B utton Mode On/Off Suspend [On/Off]: When the power b utton is pressed, the sy stem is turned off . [Suspend]: When[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 38 CHAP TER THREE BA TTERY POWER & PO WER MANAGEMENT In this c hapter, you will l earn the fund amentals of power management and how to use it to ac hieve longer battery life. m5550-04-2007-techref.indd 38 4/6/2007 12:29:48 PM[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 39 In this c hapter, you will l earn how to oper ate your not ebook on batter y pow er, how to handle and m aintain the battery pac k, and learn about the sys tem’s power s aving feat ures. The TF T display , central processor , and hard disk drive are the major hardw are subsy stems th at con sume [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 40 W arning: Do not expo se battery pac ks t o temperatur es below 0 degr ees C elsius (32 degrees F) or abo ve 60 degrees C (140 degrees F). This may adversely affect the battery pac k. Note: Pres s Fn+F3 to t urn off the battery warnin g beep. m5550-04-2007-techref.indd 40 4/6/2007 12:29:48 PM[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 41 Inst alling and R emov ing the Batt er y P ack T o Remove the B attery Pac k: 1. Plac e the notebook bottom-side up on a flat and secured s urface. 2. Push the l atc h and pull the battery’s hard c ase away from the not ebook. m5550-04-2007-techref.indd 41 4/6/2007 12:29:48 PM[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 42 T o Instal l the Batt ery Pac k: 1. Plac e the notebook bottom-side up on a flat and secured s urface. 2. Caref ully insert the battery pac k into the battery c ompar tment of the notebook. Charging the B atter y and Ch arging Time T o ch arge the battery whil e the battery pac k is in the noteboo[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 43 Pr olonging the B attery’s Life and U sag e C ycle s There are things you can do t o prolong the use of the batter y . • Use the AC adapter wherever an AC wall outlet is available. This wil l ensur e uninterrupted c omputing. Purc hase an additional batter y pac k. • Store the battery pac k a[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 44 Usin g Windo ws P ower Options Windows Power M anagement provide s bas ic power s aving feature s. In the Window s Power Option s Properties [Start > Settings > C ontrol Panel > P ower Options] dialogue box, you ma y enter time-out values for the displ ay and h ard disk drive. Windows Powe[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 45 In this dialog bo x, you can m anually set the L CD and hard drive’s time-out values in the Plugged In c olumn and in the Ru nning On Batteries column. L ower time-out values will save more battery power . Note: Also c onsult the Windo ws user guide for mor e information on how to u se Windows po[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 46 Suspend Mode Standby Suspend The system autom atically enters this mode after a period of inactiv ity , which i s set in the Power Schemes di alog box. In Standby mode, har dware devic es, such a s the displ ay panel and hard di sk, are turned off t o conserve energy . Hibernate Suspend In this mod[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 47 Power B utton Action The notebook PC’s power button c an be set to turn off the system or activate the suspend mode. Go to [Start > Settings > C ontrol Panel > Power Options] and clic k on the Advanc ed tab. In the pull-down menu, sel ect how you wi sh the power button to w ork. Note: Th[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 48 Low B attery W arning Y ou can define when and how the system w arns you of its low-battery condition. Go t o the Alarms t ab in the Power Options Properties bo x. If you w ish to hear audib le beeps, clic k on the Alarm Action b utton and put a c heck on Sound Al arm. Note: C onsult the W indows [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 49 Power M enu Quic k Acc ess Inste ad of m aking spec ific selections in the Power Option s Properties bo x, you can quic kly and e asi ly specify whic h pre-set power sav ing function you des ire by clic king on the Battery icon at the lower right-hand corner of the task bar. (If you do not see a b[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 50 Windows’ P ower Plans Windows V ist a The power man agement c ontrol panel in W indows V ista, kno wn as P ower Plan s, is designed to pr ovide the user w ith an easy -to-use interfac e. The Power Pl ans tab can be found in the Po wer Options Properties panel th at is acc essible via the C ontrol[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 51 Note: Also c onsult the Windo ws user guide for mor e information on how to u se Windows power man agement f unctions. Note: The actual di alogue box may appe ar slightly different than the one shown above. m5550-04-2007-techref.indd 51 4/6/2007 12:29:50 PM[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 52 Suspend Mode Windows V ist a Standby Suspend The system autom atically enters this mode after a period of inactiv ity , which i s set in the Power Schemes di alog box. In Standby mode, har dware devic es, such a s the displ ay panel and hard di sk, are turned off t o conserve energy . Hibernate Sus[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 53 Power B utton Action The notebook PC’s power button c an be set to turn off the system or activate the suspend mode. Go to [Start > C ontrol Panel] and clic k on the batt ery options under the mo bile section and clic k on “Choose what the power button s do” on the side bar . In the pull-d[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 54 Low B attery W arning Y ou can define when and how the system w arns you of its low-battery condition. Clic k the “Ch ange pl an settings” underne ath the currently active P ower Plan in the Power Option s Properties bo x. Next, click on “Change adv ance pow er settings” and go the the bat[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 55 Power M enu Quic k Acc ess Inste ad of m aking spec ific selections in the Power Option s Properties bo x, you can quic kly and e asi ly specify whic h pre-set power sav ing function you des ire by clic king on the Battery icon at the lower right-hand corner of the task bar. (If you do not see a b[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 56 CHAP TER FOUR UPGRADING Y OUR C OMPUTER In this c hapter, you will l earn how to upgr ade the DRAM and hard disk drive, and how to inst all the option al wir eless LAN mini PCI. m5550-04-2007-techref.indd 56 4/6/2007 12:29:51 PM[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 57 W arning: W e strongly rec ommend that you send your notebook back to your de aler or agent f or the specific ation upgrading. When you upgr ade your system, p lease t urn off the power and disc onnect the LAN and Modem cab le first for your safety . After the system upgr ade, please scr ew all t[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 58 Upgra ding the Hard Disk Drive T o replac e the hard disk drive, do the following: 1. T urn OFF the computer . Unhook the AC cord and all c ables/devic es attac hed to the notebook. R emove the battery . 2. Plac e your h and on a larg e metal ob ject momentari ly to dis ch arge any static electrici[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 59 6. Push the HDD module to the right and sep arate it fr om the connector . Lif t the module awa y from the ba y . 7. L oc at e an d r em ov e 4 Sc rew C ’s f r om th e H DD m odu le . R em ov e t he met al c as e. 8. Re-attac h the metal c over to the new h ard drive and tighten 4 Screw C’s. No[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 60 Upgra ding the Sy stem Memory Many app lication s wil l gener ally ru n fa ster when the comp uter’s dyn amic memory capac ity is increa sed. The c omputer provides two DDR2 memory sock ets, located underneath the System Dev ice C over . Y ou can incre ase the amount of memory by replac ing the e[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 61 Inst alling a memory module (DIMM) int o the system T o instal l the DIMM, do the fol lowing: 1. Power OFF the notebook. Unplug the AC cord and all c ables/devic es attac hed to the notebook. Remove the batt ery. 2. Plac e your h and on a larg e metal ob ject momentari ly to dis ch arge any static [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 62 5. If y ou need to remov e an old DIMM from the soc ket, press out on the lat che s located on both edg es of the sock et at the same time. The DIMM should pop up to an angle of 30 degrees (see di agram below). Pu ll the DIMM modul e out of the memory sock et. Store awa y the DIMM for fut ure use. [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 63 Adding a Mini-PCI T ype Wir eless LAN Card (Optional Device) Y our computer comes with a uni que Mini PCI Card soc ket, whic h is located next to the DRAM sock et and underneath the WLAN Module C over. The sock et allow s the computer t o add uni que featur es suc h as wirele ss LAN (IEEE802.11x). [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 64 Inst alling a Mini PCI C ard into the S ystem T o install a new Mini PCI card, do the follow ing: 1. Follo w the steps in the previous section, Inst alling a memory module (DIMM) into the system, t o acc ess the Mini PCI Sock et. 2. The mini PCI card w ill only fit in one dir ection. Align the sma[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 65 3. Locate 2 antenn a cable s with c onnectors. Snap the cab le onto the gol den connector on the Mini PCI Wirele ss LAN c ard. (Note: The connector s are f airly small! This may tak e some maneuvering. Y ou may want to connect the antenna cabl es befor e inserting the wireles s c ard into the soc k[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 66 CHAP TER FIVE TROUBLESHOO TING In this c hapter, you will l earn how to solv e common har dware and software pr oblems. m5550-04-2007-techref.indd 66 4/6/2007 12:29:52 PM[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 67 Y our computer has been fully test ed and complies with the sys tem specific ations before shipping. Ho wever , incorrect operations and/or mishandling m ay c ause problems. This c hapter prov ides a refer ence for identifying and c orrecting common hardw are and software prob lems th at y ou may [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 68 Audio Pr obl ems No speak er output • T urn up the volume dial loc ated at the left edge of the computer . See Chapter 1 for its loc ation. • Software v olume contr ol is turned down in Micr osoft Sound Sys tem or is muted. Double-clic k the s peak er icon on the lower right corner of the task [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 69 Har d Disk Pr oblems The hard di sk drive does not work or is not rec ognizable If y ou had jus t performed a hard di sk upgrade, m ake sur e the hard drive connector i s not loo se and the hard disk drive is also c orrectly seated. Remo ve it and reinsert it firmly , and then restart y our PC. (R[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 70 The hard di sk takes longer to rea d a file If y ou have been us ing the drive for a period, the files may be fragmented. Go to [Start > Progr ams > Ac ce ssories > System T ools > Disk Defragmenter] to perform a disk defragmentation. This operation may take a while. Interrupt reques [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 71 Optica l Drive Pr obl ems The optical drive does not work • T r y rebootin g the system. • The disk is damag ed or files are not readable. • After you h ave inserted a CD-ROM disk, it may t ake a moment before y ou can acc ess its c ontent. The drive does not read any di sks • The CD may n[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 72 Disp lay Pro blems The displ ay panel i s bl ank when the sy stem is turned on • Mak e sure the comp uter is not in the St andby or Hibern ate suspend mode s. The displ ay is turned off to con serve energy in these modes. The screen i s difficult to read • The displ ay reso lution should be se[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 73 K eyboar d and Mouse Pro blems The built-in t ouc h pad performs err atical ly • Mak e sure there is no exc ess perspir ation or humidity on y our hand when using the t ouch p ad. Keep the s urface of the touc h pad cle an and dry. • Do not rest your palm or wrist on the surfac e of the touc h [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 74 CMOS Batt ery Pro blem A mess age “CMOS Chec ksum F ailure” dis play s during the booting proc ess or the time (cloc k) resets when booting - • T r y to re boot the syst em. • If the mess age “CMOS Chec ksum Failur e” appears during the booting proc edure even after rebooting, it may in[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 75 Modem Probl ems The built-in modem doe s not r espond Make s ure the modem driver is loaded properly . Go to [Start > Settings > C ontrol Panel > Phone and Modem Options] and go to Modems tab . Mak e sure SmartLink 56K V oice Modem or Uniw ill V .92 Modem is li sted. Otherwise, c lick the [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 76 Network Adapt er / Ethernet Pr oblems The Ethernet ad apter does not work • Go to [Start > Settings > C ontrol Panel > Sys tem > Hardware > D evic e Manager]. Double-clic k on Network Adapters and c heck if Realt ek RTL8510EX Family Fas t Ethernet NIC appears as one of the adapters[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 77 PC C ard / PCMCIA Pr oblems Note: Some sy stems may not have the PC C ard Slot option. PC C ards do not function • Mak e sure y ou have properly instal led the driver for the c ard. • C onsult the card’s manual or c ontact the vendor for troub leshooting. The PC c ard cannot be r ecogniz ed ?[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 78 Perform ance Pr oblems The comput er becomes hot • In a 35 o C en vironment, c ertain areas of the c omputer’s bac k c ase are expected to re ac h 50 degrees. • Mak e sure the air vents are not b lock ed. • If the f an does not seem t o be working at high temperatur e (50 degrees C elsius a[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 79 Firew ire (IEEE1394) and USB2.0 Pr obl ems The USB devic e does not work • Windows NT 4.0 does not support USB protoc ols. • Check the settings in the Windows C ontrol P anel. • Mak e sure y ou have ins talled the nec essary devic e drivers. • C ontact the dev ice vendor for addition al sup[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 80 APPENDIX A PRODUCT SPE CIFICA TIONS m5550-04-2007-techref.indd 80 4/6/2007 12:29:53 PM[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 81 Proc essor and C ore Logic • M o bi l e I n t el P en ti um C o r e 2 D uo ( Na p a ) D ua l C o r e, u p to 2 . 3 3 G H z , 2 M B L 2 c ac he , 667MHz FSB or • Mobile Int el Pentium M (Napa) Single Cor e, up to 1.83GHz, 2MB L2 cac he, 667MHz FSB • Intel C alistoga 945PM + ICH7-M c hipset wit[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 82 Modem Intel (ICH7M) inte grated Modem C ontroller with MDC card, AC97 V2.2 Modem support V .92 / V .90 / K56flex f or download dat a speed up to 56Kbps. V .34, V .17, V .29 protocol s upported Wirele ss LAN Intel PRO/W ireless 3945ABG, MiniCar d Interfac e IEEE802.11 A&B&G LAN / Ethernet R[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 83 Key board & T ouc h pad 88-key QWER TY key board with embedded numeric keyp ad and Windo ws k eys, 19.05mm Pitc h Built-in T ouch Pad w ith Disab le / Enable T ouch P ad button Express Card (New C ard) & Multiple C ard Reader Genesys GL817E (Card Rea der) Single Slot, 34mm and 54mm type sup[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 84 BIOS Phoenix PnP BIOS Power On Self T est DRAM auto-detection, auto-s izing L2 Cac he auto-detection Hard disk type auto-detection APM 1.2 (Advanc ed Power M anagement) & ACPI 2.0 (Advanc ed Configuration P ower Interfac e) T wo Level Pas sword Protection s 32bit ac cess, Ultra DMA, PIO5 Mode [...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 85 APPENDIX B AGENCY RE GULA TORY NO TICES m5550-04-2007-techref.indd 85 4/6/2007 12:29:54 PM[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 86 Federal Commu nication s C ommiss ion Notice This equipment has been tested and f ound to c omply with the limits for a C las s B digital dev ice, p ursuant to P art 15 of the FC C Rul es. The se limits are des igned to prov ide rea sonable pr otection agains t harmfu l interferenc e in a residenti[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 87 European Notic e Products with the C E Marking comp ly with both the EMC Directive (89/336/EEC) and the Low V oltage Dir ective (73/23/EEC) and R&T TE Directive (1999/5/EC) i ssued by the C ommiss ion of the Europe an C ommunity . C omplianc e with these directiv es implies conformity to the fo[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 88 Pow er C or d Requir ement The power c ord supplied w ith the AC a dapter should m atc h the plug and v oltage requirements for your local are a. Regul atory approv al for the AC adapter has been obtained us ing the power c ord for the loc al area. Ho wever , if y ou travel t o a different area and[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 89 Other C ountries The cord set fittings mu st bear the c er tification m ark of the agency respons ible for evaluation in a specific country. Ac ceptab le agencie s are: BSI (UK) OVE (Australi a) CEBE C (B elgium) SEMK O (Sweden) FIMK O (Finland) DEMK O (Denmark) NEMK O (Norway) SETI (Finl and) E[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 90 T elephone Lines Requir ement The appropriate uti lization of a 26A WG telephone line c ord on the unit. CAUTION: Alwa ys di sconnect all t elephone lines from the w all outl et before servicing or dis assemb ling this equipment. CAUTION: T o reduce the ri sk of fire, use on ly a No. 26AW G or lar[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 91 Laser Safety The optical driv e used with thi s comp uter is c er tified as a C lass 1 laser dev ice acc ording to the U.S. Department of Health and Hum an Servic es (DHHS) Radi ation Performanc e Standard and Intern ational St andards IE C 825 / IE C 825-1 (EN60825 / EN60825-1). The dev ice i s n[...]

Alienwar e Area-51 m5550 T ec hnical Refer ence 92 gebr aucht er Batterien nac h Angaben des Hers tellers. Der Arbeitspl atzbezog ene Sc halldruc kpegel nac h DIN 45 635 betragt 70dB (A) oder weniger . Zum Netz ansc hlua dieses Gerate s ist eine geprufte Leitung zu verwenden. Fur einen Nennstrom bi s 6A und einem Gerateg ewic ht groBer 3kg is t ein[...]