Acer Aspire EFL50 manual

Aspire 3600/5500 Series User's Guide[...]

Changes may be made peri odically to the i nformation in this publication without obligation to notify any pers on of such revi sions or change s. Such chang es will be inco rporat ed in n ew editions of this manual or supplementary documents and publ ications. This company makes no representati ons or warranties, ei ther expressed or im plied, wit[...]

iii First things first We would like to thank you for maki ng the Aspire series of noteboo k computer s your choi ce for mee ting you r mobile c omputi ng needs. Your guides To help you use your Aspire, we have desig ned a set of guides: Basic care and tips for us ing your computer Turning your computer on and off To turn on the computer, simply pr[...]

iv • Use the power button Note: You can also use the p ower button to perform power management functions. • Use the customized functi ons for power man agement You can also shut down the co mputer by closing th e display cover, or by pressing the sleep hotkey <Fn> + <F4> . Note: If you cannot power off the computer normally, press a[...]

v • The total ampere ratings of the eq uipment plugged in sh ould not exceed the ampere rating of the cord if you are using an extension cord. Also , the total current rating of a ll equipment plug ged into a single wall ou tlet should not exceed the fuse rating. Taking care of yo ur battery pack Here are some ways to take care of your battery pa[...]

First things first iii Your guides iii Basic care and tips for using your computer iii Turning your compute r on and off iii Taking care o f your computer iv Taking care of your AC adapter iv Taking car e of your battery pa ck v Cleaning and servicing v An Aspire t our 1 Front view 1 Closed front view 2 Left view 3 Right view 4 Rear view 4 Base vie[...]

Acer Arcade (for selected models) 27 Arcade hotkeys 28 Finding and playing content 29 Settings 29 Arcade controls 29 Navigation controls 30 Player con trols 30 Cinema 30 DVD settings 31 Album 32 Slideshow setting s 33 Video 33 Playing a video file 33 Video aut horing 34 Music 34 Burner 35 Copy — Back up your CD/DVD collection 35 Audio — Create [...]

Securing your computer 40 Using a computer security lock 40 Using passwords 40 Entering passwords 41 Setting passwords 41 Expanding through options 42 Connectivity options 42 Fax/data modem 42 Built-in network feature 43 Fast Infrared (selected models only) 43 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 44 IEEE 1394 port ( selected models only) 44 PC Card slot 45 B[...]

1 English An Aspire tour After setting up your comput er as illustrated in the Just for Starters... poster, let us show y ou around your new A spire co mpute r. Front view # Item Description 1 Display screen Also called Liquid-C rystal Display (LCD), displays comput er output. 2 Power button Turns the computer o n and off. 3 Easy-launch buttons But[...]

2 English Closed front view 5 Status indicators Light-Emitting Diode s (LEDs) that turn on and off to show the status of the co mputer's functions and components. 6 Palmrest Comfortable support area for your hands when you use the computer. 7 Click buttons (Left, center, and right) The left and right buttons function like the left and right mo[...]

3 English Left view 7 Battery indicator Lights up when the battery is being charged. # Icon Item Descripti on 1 External display port Connects to a display device (e.g., external monitor, LCD projector). 2 S-video out po rt Connects to a television or display device with S-vide o input. (selected models only) 3 Network jack Connects to an Ethernet [...]

4 English Right view Rear view 10 PC Card slot eject button Ejects the PC Card from the slot. # Icon Item Description 1 Optical drive eject button Ejects the optical drive tray from the drive. 2 LED indicator Lights up when the optica l drive is active. 3 Optical drive Internal optical drive; accepts CDs or DVDs depending on the optical drive type.[...]

5 English Base view 2 Power jack Connects to an AC adap ter. 3 USB 2.0 port Connects to USB 2.0 devices (e.g., USB mouse, U SB camera ). # Item Description 1 Battery bay Houses the co mputer's battery pack. 2 Battery lock Locks the battery in position. 3 Cooling fan Helps keep the compu ter cool. Note : Do not cover or obstruct the opening of [...]

6 English Specifications Operating system Micros oft ® Windows ® XP Home Edition (Service Pack 2) Platform Aspire 3600 Intel ® Pentium ® M processor 725 (2 MB L2 cache, 1.6 GHz, 400 MHz FSB) Intel ® Celeron ® M processor 350/360/370 or above (1 MB L2 cache, 1.3/1.4/1.5 GHz or above , 400 MHz FSB) Intel ® 910GML Express chipset Aspire 5500 In[...]

7 English Dimensions and weight 335 (W) x 240 (D) x 3 1.9/34.1 (H) mm (13.2 x 9.45 x 1.26/1.34 inches) 2.38 kg (5.25 lbs.) Power subsystem ACPI 1.0b power managemen t standard: supports Standby and Hibernation p ower-saving modes 53.6 W (6-cell) and 80.3 W (9-cel l) Li-ion battery packs (for Aspire 5500) • 3-hour battery life for m odels using AT[...]

8 English Note: The specifications listed above are for reference only. The exact confi gurati on of your P C depend s on the model purchased. I/O interface Three USB 2.0 ports IEEE 1394 port (depen ding on model) Ethernet (RJ-45) port Modem (RJ-11) port External display (VGA) port S-video/TV-out (NTSC/PAL) p ort (depending on model) Microphone/lin[...]

9 English Indicators The computer has three easy-to-read statu s indicators on th e upper-left above the keyboard, and four on the front panel. The power, battery, and wireless communi cation status indicators are visible even when the LCD disp lay is closed. 1. Chargi ng: The light shows amber when the b attery is charging. 2. Fully charged: The l[...]

10 English Easy-launch buttons Located at the upper-left, a bove the keyboard are four buttons . These buttons are called Easy-launch b uttons. They are: ma il, Web browser, Acer Empowering Key " " and one user-program mable button. Press " " to run the Acer eManager. Please see "Acer eMana ger" on page 19 . The mail a[...]

11 English Touchpad The built-in touchpad is a pointing device that senses movem ent on its surface. This means the cursor respon ds as you move your finger across the surface of the touchpad. The cen tral location on the palmrest provides op timum comfort and support. Touchpad basics The following items show you ho w to use the touchpad: • Move [...]

12 English Note: Keep your fingers dry and clean when using the tou chpad. Also keep the touchpad dry and clean . The touchpad is sensitive to finger movement; hence, the lighter the touch, the better the response. Tapping harder will no t increase the touchpad's responsiveness. Function Left button (1) Right button (4) Main t ouchpad (2) Cent[...]

13 English Using the keyboard The keyboard has full-sized keys and an embedded keypad, separate cursor keys, two Windows keys and 12 fu nction keys. Lock keys and embedded numeric keypad The keyboard has three lo ck keys which you can toggle on an d off. The embedded nu meric keypad function s like a desktop numeric keypad . It is indicated by smal[...]

14 English Windows keys The keyboard has two keys that perform Windows-specific func tions. Hotkeys The computer employs hotkeys or key combin ations to access most of the computer's controls l ike screen brightness, volum e output and the BIOS u tility. To activate hotkeys, press and hold the <Fn> key before pressing the other key in th[...]

15 English Hotkey Icon Functi on Description <Fn> + <F1> Hotkey help Displays help on hotkeys. <Fn> + <F2> Acer eSettings Launches Acer eSettings in Acer eManager. See "Acer eManager" o n page 19 . <Fn> + <F3> Acer ePower- Manageme nt Launches Acer e PowerManagement in Acer eManager. See "Acer eMan[...]

16 English Special keys You can locate the Euro symbol and th e US dollar sign at the upper-center and/or bottom-right of your keyboard. To type: The Euro symb ol 1 Open a text editor or wo rd processor. 2 Either directly press the < Euro> key at the bottom-right of the keyboard, or hold < Alt Gr> and then press the <5> key at the[...]

17 English Ejecting the optical (CD or DVD) drive tray To eject the optical drive tray when the comp uter is turned on, press the drive eject button. When the power is off, you can eject the dr ive tray by using the emergency eject hole (tray design drives only.) Using a computer security lock A security keylock notch, located o n the chassis of th[...]

18 English Audio The computer comes with 16-b it high-fidelity AC'97 stereo au dio, and dual stereo speakers. Adjusting the volume Adjusting the volume on the c omputer is as easy as pressing some buttons. See "Hotkeys" on page 14 for more information on ad j usting the speaker volume.[...]

19 English Using the system utilities Acer eManager The innovative Acer eManager software is designed fo r easy access to frequently used functio ns. Press " " to launch the Acer eManager user interface, which features five main settings: Acer ePowerManag ement, Acer eNetManagement, Acer ePresentation, Acer eRecovery and Acer eSe ttings. [...]

20 English Note: When recoverin g your system using a CD or Acer eRecovery, detach all peripherals, inclu ding your Acer ezDock, to ensure the best results. Acer GridVista (dual- display compatible) Note: This feature is only a vailable on certain models. To enable the dual monito r feature of your notebook, first ensure that th e second mo nitor i[...]

21 English 1 Run Acer GridVista and select you r preferred screen configuratio n for each display from the taskbar. 2 Drag and drop each window into th e appropri ate grid. 3 Enjoy the conven ience of a well-o rganized desktop. Note: Please ensure that the resolu tion setting of your s econd monitor is set to the manufa cturer's recommended va[...]

22 English Frequently asked questions The following is a list of possible situations that may arise during the use of your computer. Easy solutions are p rovided for each one. I pressed the power butto n and ope ned the display, b ut the computer does not start or boot- up. Look at the power indicator: • If it is not lit, no power is being supp l[...]

23 English No audio is heard from the computer. Check the following: • The volume may be muted. In W indows, look at the volume c ontrol (speaker) icon on the taskbar. If it is crossed-ou t, click on the icon a nd deselect the Mute option. • The volume level may be to o low. In Windows, look at the volu me control icon on the taskbar. You can a[...]

24 English • Make sure that the printer cable is conn ected securely to the computer's parallel port or a USB po rt and the corresponding port on the printer. I want to set up my location to use the internal modem. To properly use yo ur communication so ftware (e.g. HyperTerminal), you need to set up your location: 1 Click on Star t , Set ti[...]

25 English To start the recovery process: 1 Restart the system. 2 While the Acer logo is showing, press <Alt> + <F10> at the same time to enter the recovery process. 3 Refer to the on-screen instructio ns to perform system recovery. Important : This feature occupies 2 to 3 GB in a hid den partition on your hard drive. Requesting service[...]

26 English You are required to provide the following information: Name: _________ _________ __________ _________ ________ Address: ___ ___________ ________ ___________ _________ _ Telephone number: ____ ___________ ________ __________ Machine and model typ e: ___________ ___________ ______ Serial nu mber: ________ ________ ___________ _________ __ [...]

27 English Acer Arcade (for selected models) Acer Arcade is an integrated player fo r music, photo s, DVD movies and videos. To watch or listen, click a content button (e.g., Music, Video, etc.) on the Arcade home page. • Cinema — Watch DVDs or VCDs • Album — View photos stored o n your hard drive or remo vable media • Video — Watch and[...]

28 English Arcade hotkeys When running in the Windows en vironment, the key co mbinations listed belo w are available to control and fine-tune the features an d settings of Acer Arcade. Hotkey Function <Fn> + <F1> Online h elp menu <Fn> + <F3> Acer ePow erManagement with battery information <Fn> + <F5> Display to[...]

29 English Finding and playing content Clicking a butto n on the Arcade home pag e opens the correspondin g feature's home page. Th e content pages ha ve buttons on the left and a conten t browsing area on the right. If a button shows on e of several choices, such as sort order, the current setting is shown by a brightly colore d ball on the l[...]

30 English Navigation controls To return to the Arcade home pag e, click the Home button in the up per lef t corner of the window. To go up o ne folder level while searching for content, click Up one level . To return to a previous screen, click Return . The bu ttons in the upper right (minimize, maxim ize, and close) have standard PC b ehaviours. [...]

31 English DVD settings There are two types of DVD settings: "Video" and "Language." Click the appropri ate button to op en its settings page. Video The Video settings control the video output of DVDs/VCDs. Hardware acceleration takes advantage of the special p rocessing power of some graphics cards to reduce CPU loading when pl[...]

32 English Album Acer Arcade lets you view digital ph otos individually or as a slidesh ow, from any available drive on your com puter. Click the Album b utton on the Arcade Hom e page to show the Al bum main page. The content area on the right sho ws both individual pictures an d folders. Click on a folder to open it.[...]

33 English To view a slideshow, open the fo lder containing the pic tures you wish to view, then click Play slideshow . The slideshow is played full-scre en. Use the pop-up control panel to contro l the slideshow. To rotate a picture in full-screen, c lick Rotate right or Rotate left . You can also view a singl e picture by clickin g on it. This op[...]

34 English Video authoring Click the Video Authoring button to open the PowerProd ucer progra m, which allows you to finalize your dig ital video production s and burn them to disk . Before you produce yo ur movie using Powe rProducer, first gather (or create) its component parts: video clips, photos, and background music. You may collect raw foota[...]

35 English Burner NTI CD/DVD-Maker simplifies today's digital lifestyle b y providing an easy and complete solution for recording data, audio, p hotos or video. Now y ou can burn and share anythin g on CD/DVD — your data , music, photos or videos — faster and easier than ever before. Copy — Back up your CD /DVD collection Make backup cop[...]

36 English Taking your notebook PC with you This section gives you tips and hints to consider wh en moving around o r traveling with your co mputer. Disconnecting from the desktop Follow these steps to disconnect your computer from external accessor ies: 1 Save any open files. 2 Remove any media, flopp y disks or compact disks from the drive(s). 3 [...]

37 English Note: If the Sleep indicator is o f f, the computer has entered Hibernation mode and is turn ed of f. If the power indicator is off but the Sleep indicator is on, the computer has entered Sleep mode. In both cases, press and release the power button to turn the computer back on. Note th at the computer may enter Hibernat ion mode a fter [...]

38 English What to take with you Unless you have some items at home, take the fo llowing items with you: • AC adapter and power cord • The printed User's Guide Special considerations Follow these guidelines to pro tect your computer while travelin g to and from work: • Minimize the effects of temperature chang es by keeping the computer [...]

39 English What to take with you Take the following items with you: • AC adapter • Spare, fully-charged battery pack(s) • Additional printer driver files if you plan to use another printer Special considerations In addition to the guidelin es for taking the computer home, follow these guidelines to protect yo ur computer while traveling: • [...]

40 English Special considerations Follow the same special considerations as when traveling with the comput er. In addition, these tips are useful when travel ing internationally: • When traveling in another c ountry, check that th e local AC voltage and th e AC adapter power cord specification s are compatible. If not, purchase a power cord that [...]

41 English • Password on Boot secures your comp uter against unautho rized use. Combine the use of th is password with password checkpoints on bo ot-up and resume from Hibernat ion for maximum security. Important! Do not forget your Supervisor Password! If you forget your password, p lease get in touch with your deal er or an authorized service c[...]

42 English Expanding through options Your note book PC of fers you a co mplete mo bile comp uting ex perience. Connectivity options Ports allow you to connect peripheral de vices to your computer as you would with a desktop PC. For instru ctions on how to connect different external devices to the computer, read the fol lowing section. Fax/data mode[...]

43 English Built-in network feature The built-in network feature allows you to connect your computer to an Ethernet-based network. To use the network feature, connect an E thernet cable from the network jack on the chassis o f the computer to a network jack or hub on your network. Fast Infrared (selected models only) The computer's Fast Infrar[...]

44 English Universal Serial Bus (USB) The USB 2.0 port is a high-speed serial b us which allows you to con nect USB peripherals without taking up precious system resources. IEEE 1394 port (sele cted models only) The computer's IEEE 1394 port a llows you to connect to an IEEE 1394- compatible device like a video camera or digital camera. See yo[...]

45 English PC Card slot The Type II PC Card slot of the co mputer accepts PC Cards that enhan ce the usability and expand ability of the computer. These c ards should have a PC Card logo on th em. PC Cards (formerly PCMCIA) are ad d-on cards for portable computers, giving you expansion po ssibilities long afforded by desktop PCs. Pop ular PC Cards [...]

46 English Installing memory Follow these steps to install memory: 1 Turn off the computer, un plug the AC adapter (if connected) an d remove the battery pack. Then turn the computer over to access its base. 2 Remove the screws from the memory co ver; then lift up and remove the memory cover. 3 (a) Insert the memory module diag onally into the slot[...]

47 English Enable disk-to-disk recovery To enable disk-to-disk recovery ( hard disk recovery), activate the BIOS utility, then select Main from the categories listed at the top of the screen. Find D2D Recovery at the bottom of th e screen and use the <F5> and <F6> keys to set this value to Enabled . Password To set a password on boot, a[...]

48 English Note: To change the regio n code, insert a DVD movie of a different region into the DVD dr ive. P lea se re fer to the o nline help for more information. Power management This computer has a built-in power management unit that monitors system activity. System activity refers to any ac tivity involving one or more of the following devices[...]

49 English Acer eRecovery Acer eRecovery is a tool to quickly backup and restore the system. You can create and save a backup of the cu rrent sy stem configuration to hard d rive, CD or DVD. Acer eRecovery consists of the following functions: 1 Create backup 2 Restore from backup 3 Create factory default image CD 4 Re-install bundled so ftware with[...]

50 English Restore from backup You can restore backups previously created (as stated in the Create back up section) from hard drive , CD or DVD. 1 Boot to Windows XP. 2 Press <Alt> + <F10> to open the Acer eRecov ery utility. 3 Enter the password to proceed. The defa ult password is six zeros. 4 In the Acer eRecovery window, select Reco[...]

51 English 6 Select the desired driver/application an d follow the instructions on screen to re-install. At first launch, Acer eRecovery prepares all the needed software and may take few seconds to bring up th e software content window. Change password Acer eRecovery and Acer disk-to-disk recovery are protected by a password that can be changed b y[...]

52 English Troubleshooting This chapter shows you how to deal with common system problem s. Read it before calling a tech nician if a problem occurs. Solution s to more serious problems require op ening up the computer. Do not attempt to ope n the computer yourself; co ntact your dealer or autho rized service center for assistance. Troubleshooting [...]

53 English English If you still encounter problems after going through the corrective measures, please contact your dealer or an au thorized service center for assistance. Some problems may be solved using the B IOS utility.[...]

54 English Regulations and safety notices ENERGY STAR guidelines compliance As an ENERGY STAR partner, Acer Inc. has determined that this p roduct meets the ENERGY STAR guidelin es for energy efficiency. FCC notice This device has been tested a nd found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. The[...]

55 English English Operation conditions This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditio ns: (1) this device may not cause harmful i nterference, and (2) this device must accept any interference rece ived, including interference that may cause undesired operatio n. Notice: Canadian users This Cl[...]

56 English Modem notices Notice for USA This equipment complies with Part 68 of the FCC rules. Located on the modem is a label that contains, amon g other info rmation, the FCC Registration Number and Ringer Equivalence Num ber (REN) for this equipment. Upon request, yo u must provide this information to yo ur telephone company. If your telephone e[...]

57 English English List of applicable countries EU member states as of May 2004 are: Belg ium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Finland, Sweden, United King dom Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, P oland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slova k Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta. Usag e al[...]

58 English 4 Some parameters required for comp liance with Telecom's Telepermit requirements are dependent on the equipment (PC) associated with this device. In order to operate within th e limits for compliance with Telecom 's specifications, the associated equipme nt shall be set to ensure that automatic calls to different numbers ar e [...]

59 English English Important safety instructions Read these instructions carefully. Save them for future reference. 1 Follow all warnings and instruct ions marked on the product. 2 Unplug this product from th e wall outlet before cleaning. Do no t use liquid cleaners or aerosol c leaners. Use a water-moistened c loth for cleaning. 3 Do not use this[...]

60 English e If the pr oduct has bee n dropped or th e case has b een damag ed. f If the pr oduct exhi bits a dist inct chan ge in perf ormance, indica ting a need for service. 12 The notebook PC series uses lithium batteries. Replace the battery with the same type as the product's battery we recommend in the product specifica tio n list. Use [...]

61 English English LCD pixel statement The LCD unit is produced with high-precisio n manufacturing techniques. Nevertheless, some pixels may occasion ally misfire or appear as b lack or red dots. This has no effect on the re corded image and d o es not constitute a malfunction. Macrovision copyright protection notice This product incorpo rates copy[...]

62 English European Union (EU) This device complies with the essentia l requirem ents of the European Council Directives listed below: 73/23/EEC Low Voltage Directive • EN 60950 89/336/EEC Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC ) Directive • EN 55022 • EN 55024 • EN 61000-3-2/-3 99/5/EC Radio & Telecom munications Terminal Equip ment (R&[...]

63 English English The FCC RF safety requiremen t The radiated output power of the wirele ss LAN Mini PCI Card and Bluetoo th card is far below the FCC radio frequen cy exposure limits. Ne vertheless, the notebook PC series shal l be used in such a manner that the po tential for human contact during n ormal operation is minim ized as follows: 1 Use[...]

64 English 4 An improper installa tion or unauthorized use may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Also any tampering of the internal antenna will void the FCC certification and your warran ty. Canada - Low power license-exempt radio communication devices (RSS-210) a Common information Operation is subject to the fo llowing two cond[...]

65 English English Federal Communications Comission Declaration of Conformity This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference , and (2) This devic e must accept any interference received , including interference that may cause undesired oper[...]

66 English Declaration of Conformity for CE Ma rking Is in compliance with the e ssential requirements and other relevant p rovisions of the following EC directives. The product specifi ed above was tested co nforming to the ap plicable Rules under the most accurate measurement standard s possible, and all the necessary steps have been taken and ar[...]

67 English Index A AC adapter caring for iv audio 18 adjusting the volum e 18 trouble shootin g 23 B battery pack caring for v BIOS utility 46 brightness hotkeys 15 C caps lock 13 on indicator 9 care AC adapter iv battery pack v computer iv CD-ROM ejecting 17 ejecting manually 2 3 trouble shootin g 23 cleaning computer v computer bringing to meetin[...]

68 English N network 43 Notebook Manager hotkey 15 num lock 13 on indicator 9 numeric keypad embedded 13 P password 40 types 40 PC Card 45 ejecting 45 inserting 45 ports 42 printer trouble shootin g 23 problems 22 CD-ROM 23 display 22 keyboard 23 printer 23 startup 22 trouble shootin g 52 Q questions setting location for modem use 24 S safety CD or[...]