Gateway E-4100 Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Checking Out Your

Gateway Computer

■Identifying features

■Locating your computer serial number

■Locating the Microsoft Certificate of

Authenticity

■Locating the specifications for your

computer

■Purchasing accessories

Contents

Main Page i Contents 1G e t t i n g H e l p 2 Checking Out Your Gateway Computer 3G e t t i n g S t a r t e d ii 4 Using Drives and Ports 5 Maintaining Your Computer 6 Troubleshooting iii 7 Networking Your Computer Page Chapter 1 Getting Help 2 Help and Support To start Help and Support: Searching for a topic Using Y our C omputer guide To access the Using Your Computer guide: Page Chapter 2 Checking Out Your Gateway Computer 6 Micro Tow er Front Your computer includes the following components. Page 8 Back Your computer includes the following components: Using Your Computer 10 Mid Towe r Front Your computer includes the following components. 12 Back Your computer includes the following components: 14 Using Your Computer Page Page Page 19 Accessories Memory Printers Storage Devices Page Chapter 3 Getting Started 22 Working safely Reducing eye strain Setting up your computer desk and chair Setting up your computer and computer accessories Sitting at your computer 24 Avoiding discomfort and injury from repetitive strain Protecting from power source problems Checking the voltage selection To set the voltage selection switch: 26 Starting your computer To start your computer: 1 2 3 4 Waking up your computer Turning off your computer To turn off your computer: 1 2 Restarting (rebooting) your computer Using the keyboard Standard keyboard This keyboard is the basic model of keyboard available with your computer. Press these keys... To... F(Search utility), R(Run utility), and E(Explorer utility). Multifunction keyboard Special-function buttons 32 Adjusting the volume To adjust the overall volume level using hardware controls: Connecting the modem To connect the modem: 1 Connecting to a wired Ethernet network To connect to a wired Ethernet network: 1 2 Installing a printer, scanner, or other peripheral device Page Chapter 4 Using Drives and Ports Using the diskette drive Page 38 Using the Zip drive To use a Zip disk: 1 2 3 Using the memory card reader Memory card types Inserting a memory card To use a memory card: 1 2 To remove a memory card: Using the CD or DVD drive Identifying drive types 42 Inserting a CD or DVD To insert a CD or DVD: 1 2 3 Playing a CD Playing a DVD Creating CDs and DVDs Page Chapter 5 Maintaining Your Computer 46 Caring for your computer Updating Windows To run Windows Update: 1 2 3 Protecting your computer from viruses To scan for viruses: 1 Page To update Norton AntiVirus: 1 2 3 4 Cleaning your computer Cleaning the exterior 50 Cleaning the keyboard Cleaning the monitor Cleaning the mouse To clean your optical mouse: Page 52 Cleaning CDs or DVDs Restoring your system Preventing static electricity discharge Maintaining the Micro Tower case Opening the case Page Closing the case Installing memory Page Replacing the system battery Maintaining the Mid Tower case Opening the case Closing the case Page Page Installing memory Replacing the system battery Page Page 68 Safety guidelines First steps 69 Troubleshooting Add-in cards The computer does not recognize an add-in card Audio Battery 70 Audio CD does not produce sound A DVD movie will not play 71 Computer The computer will not start 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 DVD drives File management A file was accidentally deleted To restore deleted files: 1 2 Hard drive You see an Insufficient disk space err or messa ge You see a Data error mess age You see a Non-system disk o r disk error error message 74 Internet You cannot connect to the Internet You see an Unable to loca te ho st message and ar e unab le to br ow se the I ntern et Connecting to a Web site takes too long People are sending you e-mail messages, but you have not received any mail Keyboard The keyboard does not work A keyboard character keeps repeating or you see a keyboard stuck or key failure error message Liquid spilled in the keyboard Memory Memory card reader Drive letters for the memory card slots do not appea r in the My C omputer windo w Modem (dial-up) Your modem does not dial or does not connect To check the dialing properties: 77 You cannot connect to the Internet Your 56K modem does not connect at 56K The modem is not recognized by your computer 78 1 2 3 4 5 2 The modem is noisy when it dials and connects To turn down the modem volume: Monitor The screen resolution is not corre ct The computer is running but there is no picture The color is not uniform 80 Mouse The mouse does not work The mouse works erratically 81 Networks You cannot connect to your company network Passwords Your computer does not accept your password Power 1 2 3 You see a Printer queue is full error message To make sure that the printer is not set to work offline: 1 2 3 83 You see a Printer i s out of paper error message Sound You are not getting sound from the speakers Page Chapter 7 Networking Your Computer 86 Introduction to networking Using a network Sharing a single Internet connection Sharing drives Sharing peripheral devices Selecting a network connection Wireless Ethernet network Using a wireless Ethernet network 88 Wireless Ethernet speed and frequency Network Type Speed Frequency Advantages Disadvantages 89 Example access point router wireless Ethernet network 90 Equipment you need for an access point wireless Ethernet network 1 2 3 92 Wired Ethernet network Using a wired Ethernet network Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, or Gigabit Ethernet 93 Example router-based wired Ethernet network Equipment you need for a router-based wired Ethernet network 94 1 Creating an Ethernet network Installing Ethernet cards and drivers Making sure your broadband connection works Naming the computers and the workgroup To identify this computer on the network: 1 2 3 4 5 Configuring the TCP/IP protocol Terms you should know Using a DHCP server To use a DHCP server 3 4 5 Page Setting up a wireless Ethernet network Mounting the access point Configuring the access point To configure the Linksys wireless access point router with 4-port switch: 1 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Connecting to an access point network 1 3 4 102 Configuring computer settings for an a ccess poi nt 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 104 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Setting up a wired Ethernet network Setting up a network using a router Page 108 5 Configuring your router To configure the Linksys EtherFast Cable/DSL router: 1 2 3 Testing your netw ork 110 Sharing your resources Sharing an Internet connection To set up Internet Explorer on each computer on your Ethernet network: 1 2 Page Page Accessing the Internet To access the Internet from your computer: 1 2 Sharing drives and printers Sharing drives or folders To share drives or folders: 1 2 3 4 5 Un-sharing drives, folders, and files To un-share drives or folders: 1 Using the network 116 Viewing shared drives and folders To view shared drives and folders: 1 2 3 4 5 Mapping a network drive To map a network drive: Page 118 Connecting to hotspots 119 Troubleshooting Your Ethernet network Wired Ethernet network You cannot see the other computer s on your n etwork The computer does not recognize an add-in Ethernet card Your wired Ethernet network is r unning slow er than y ou expect Wireless Ethernet network You turned the wireless on, bu t it tak es a while to c onnect. Your connection on the network seems int ermitte nt. Your wireless Ethernet network is running slower than you expect To check the signal strength of your wireless Ethernet network: 3 Page Appendix A 124 Important safety information Setting up your system Care during use Replacement parts and accessories Regulatory compliance statements United States of America Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Unintentional emitter per FCC Part15 FCC declaration of conformity 126 Canada Industry Canada (IC) Unintentional emitter per ICES-003 Telecommunications per Industry Canada CS-03 (for products fitted with an IC-compliant modem) Laser safety statement 128 Notices All Rights Reserved Trademark Acknowledgments Index