Contents Chapter 1: Checking Out Your Notebook ............................... 1 Keyboard and LCD Panel ....................................................................... 2 System Status Indicators (LEDs)............................................................ 4 Back ......................................................................................................... 5 Right Side ................................................................................................ 6 Left Side................................................................................................... 6 Bottom ..................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2: Getting Started ...................................................... 9 Installing the battery pack ..................................................................... 10 Connecting the AC power..................................................................... 12 Starting up your notebook..................................................................... 14 Chapter 3: Using Your Notebook .......................................... 15 Using the keyboard................................................................................ 16 Function keys.................................................................................. 17 Special keys .................................................................................... 19 Pad lock keys.................................................................................. 19 Using the video system ......................................................................... 20 Setting up the composite video out port ....................................... 20 Setting up an external computer monitor ...................................... 21 Using the EZ Pad Plus Touchpad ......................................................... 23 Mouse and TouchPad action equivalents...................................... 24 Mouse wheel and rocker switch equivalents................................. 25 Changing touchpad properties....................................................... 25 Using an external mouse or keyboard ........................................... 26 Using the audio...................................................................................... 27 Adjusting the volume..................................................................... 27 Making an Audio Recording ......................................................... 28 Using disc media ................................................................................... 30 Playing an audio disc...................................................................... 31 Swapping drive modules....................................................................... 32 Using the diskette disk drive externally......................................... 34 Swapping hard disk drives .................................................................... 35 Using PC Cards ..................................................................................... 38 Using the IR port ................................................................................... 40 i Using the USB ports ............................................................................. 41 Using McAfee VirusScan..................................................................... 42 Updating McAfee VirusScan........................................................ 43 Chapter 4: Managing Power Use ..........................................45 Using the battery ................................................................................... Charging the battery pack.............................................................. Swapping the battery pack............................................................. Monitoring the battery status......................................................... Managing power ................................................................................... Windows 98 ................................................................................... Windows 95 and Windows NT .................................................... Modifying the power button mode................................................ Maximizing the battery life ........................................................... 46 46 47 49 51 51 55 56 56 Appendix A: Using the BIOS Setup Program .......................57 Introduction........................................................................................... 58 Using the BIOS Setup Utility........................................................ 58 Using the Power menu................................................................... 61 Appendix B: Solo Notebook Accessories ..............................63 Accessories ........................................................................................... 64 Appendix C: Contacting Gateway .........................................67 Contacting Gateway.............................................................................. 68 Calling Gateway ............................................................................ 68 Index .......................................................................................69 ii Using Your Gateway SoloTM 5150 Multimedia Notebook Chapter 1: Checking Out Your Notebook Keyboard and LCD Panel ....................................... 2 System Status Indicators (LEDs)............................ 4 Back.......................................................................... 5 Right Side................................................................. 6 Left Side................................................................... 6 Bottom...................................................................... 8 Keyboard and LCD Panel G A F B C D E Component A. System status indicators (LEDs) B. EZ PadTM Plus pointing device with scroll switch C. Mouse buttons and rocker switch for scrolling capability Icon Description LED lights that indicate the status of various system functions. See "System Status Indicators (LEDs)" on Page 4. Controls the cursor movement on the screen. Use the left mouse button for left-click functionality. Use the right mouse button for rightclick functionality. The rocker switch provides scrolling capability in software applications that support it. 2 Using Your Gateway SoloTM 5150 Multimedia Notebook Component D. Modular option bay Icon Description Accepts the following devices: CD-ROM drive, DVD drive, diskette drive, or LS-120 drive. The devices shipped with your system depend on your customized order. Provides high-quality stereo sound reproduction for software and audio CDs. Press to turn power ON or OFF. Can also be configured to Suspend/Resume mode. Backlit anti-glare screen. E. Built-in speakers F. Power button G. Color Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Chapter 1: Checking Out Your Notebook 3 System Status Indicators (LEDs) A B C D E F G Indicator A. Power indicator Description Indicates that the system is on. Green means the central processing unit on the system board (CPU) is being used. Flashing green means the system is in suspend mode. Yellow mean the CPU utilization is low. Red means a problem with the CPU. A red LED is highly unusual. If it remains red after restarting the system, contact technical support. Indicates that the hard drive is in use. Indicates that the device installed in the modular option bay is in use. Indicates that the caps lock is on. When the caps lock light is on, you type in all capital letters. Indicates that the pad lock is on. See "Pad lock keys" on Page 19. Indicates that the scroll lock is on. This indicator has four modes of indication: Green means the battery is fully charged. Yellow indicates the battery is charging. Red indicates a battery charging problem. No LED means the AC adapter is not connected. B. Hard drive C. Modular option bay access indicator D. Caps lock E. Pad lock F. Scroll lock G. Battery charge indicator 4 Using Your Gateway SoloTM 5150 Multimedia Notebook Back A B C D E F Port A. Power connector B. Parallel port (LPT1) Icon Description Connect the AC power adapter to this port. Connect a parallel port device such as a printer to this port. C. Docking port D. Serial port Connect a docking station to this port. Connect a serial device to this port. E. VGA port Connect a VGA monitor cable to this port. F. Composite video out Connect a cable from this port to a Video In connector on an external video device such as a TV or VCR to display the notebook screen on the external video device. Chapter 1: Checking Out Your Notebook 5 Right Side A BC Component A. Fast IR (Infrared) port Icon Description Supports an optional external infrared device such as a printer. B. Reset switch C. PS/2 port Restarts the notebook if necessary. Insert a paper clip to press switch. Connect a keyboard, mouse, numeric keypad, or other external device to this port. Left Side A B C D E FGH I Component A. USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports Icon Description Plug USB supported devices into these ports. 6 Using Your Gateway SoloTM 5150 Multimedia Notebook Component B. PC Card slots Icon Description Accepts two Type I or Type II PC Cards or one Type III PC Card. Install Type III PC Card in the bottom slot. Install one Zoomed Video card in either slot. Push in to eject the PC Card. If the button is in the stored position, fold it out and press to eject the PC Card. Attach Kensington lock into this slot. Connect an external microphone to this port to record audio. (1/8-inch/3.5 mm jack.) Connect an external audio input source (computer, stereo, VCR, etc.) to this port to record or play audio through the notebook speakers (1/8-inch/3.5 mm jack.) Connect amplified speakers to this port to play audio from the notebook (1/8-inch/3.5 mm jack.) Connect external speakers or headphones to this port. Supports small unamplified speakers. (1/8-inch/3.5 mm jack.) Adjust built-in speaker volume, external speaker, and headphone volume. Other port volume levels are controlled by multimedia software. C. PC Card eject buttons D. Kensington lock slot E. Mic in F. Line in G. Line out H. Speaker out/ Headphone jack I. Volume wheel Chapter 1: Checking Out Your Notebook 7 Bottom A B C D E Component A. Battery release latch B. Battery pack bay C. Modular option bay release latch D. Memory bay E. Hard drive bay Icon Description Slide the latch to release the battery pack from the battery pack bay. Slide a battery pack into bay for battery power and battery charging. Slide the latch to release the modular option device so it can be swapped. Open the memory bay cover to install/ remove SO-DIMM memory modules. Contains the hard drive assembly. 8 Using Your Gateway SoloTM 5150 Multimedia Notebook Chapter 2: Getting Started Installing the battery pack ..................................... 10 Connecting the AC power..................................... 12 Starting up your notebook..................................... 14 Installing the battery pack Your notebook is powered by a long-lasting battery, shipped to you partially charged. When you first get started, you may want to use the AC adapter to fully charge the battery and provide a constant supply of power while you are checking out some of the notebook features. If your battery is not installed, you need to install the battery pack and charge it. You can charge the battery: o o o Note: Battery life varies depending on configuration, power management settings, and features used. When you are using your notebook with the AC adapter When the system is attached to AC power and in standby or suspend mode When the system is attached to AC power and the system is turned off The notebook can run on a fully charged battery for approximately 3.5 hours. Use the battery gauge icon in the taskbar to track the available battery power. See "Monitoring the battery status" on Page 49 to learn more about tracking battery status. Battery life is affected by how much you use the system components such as the hard drive, CD-ROM drive, and LCD display, in addition to other components such as PC Cards. Other factors such as the power management settings also affect battery life. See Chapter 4, "Managing Power Use" for more information about power management and monitoring the battery status. 10 Using Your Gateway SoloTM 5150 Multimedia Notebook To install the battery pack 1. Turn the notebook over. 2. Place the battery pack into the battery bay, pushing downward until it snaps into place. Chapter 2: Getting Started 11 Caution! Replace the power cord if it becomes damaged. The replacement cord must be of the same type and voltage rating as the original cord. Connecting the AC power Your AC adapter comes in two parts: the power cord and the AC power adapter. To ...