Dell Dimension 8300 Operation & User’s Manual

Dell™ Dimension™ 8300 Series floppy drive light* hard drive light power button Service Tag headphone connector USB 2.0 connectors (2) voltage selection switch power connector parallel connector keyboard connector USB 2.0 connectors (6) line-out connector microphone connector line-in connector mouse connector video connector serial connector network adapter CD or DVD activity light CD or DVD dri ...

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer. NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. Abbreviations and Acronyms For a complete list of abbreviations and acronyms, see the Tell Me How help file. To access help fi ...

SAFETY: General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 SAFETY: When Using Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 SAFETY: When Working Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . . 10 SAFETY: Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge . . . . . 11 SAFETY: Ergonomic Computing Habits . . ...

Turning Off Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 2 Solving Problems Finding Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Finding Help Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Battery Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . ...

Power Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Scanner Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Sound and Speaker Problems . . . . . . . . . . . ...

Front View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Back View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Reattaching the Front Door and Hinge Arms . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Reattaching the Hinge Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...

Standard Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Viewing Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 System Setup Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Boot Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...

Use the following safety guidelines to help ensure your own personal safety and to help protect your computer and working environment from potential damage. SAFETY: General • Do not attempt to service the computer yourself unless you are a trained service technician. Always follow installation instructions closely. • To help prevent electric shock, plug the computer and device power cables into properl ...

SAFETY: When Using Your Computer As you use your computer, observe the following safe-handling guidelines. CAUTION: Do not operate your computer with any cover(s) (including computer covers, bezels, filler brackets, front-panel inserts, and so on) removed. • Your computer is equipped with one of the following: – A fixed-voltage power supply — Computers with a fixed-vol ...

• When you disconnect a cable, pull on its connector or on its strain-relief loop, not on the cable itself. Some cables have a connector with locking tabs; if you are disconnecting this type of cable, press in on the locking tabs before disconnecting the cable. As you pull connectors apart, keep them evenly aligned to avoid bending any connector pins. Also, before ...

13 Finding Information for Your Computer What are you looking for? Find It Here • A diagnostic program for my computer • Drivers for my computer • My computer documentation • My device documentation ResourceCD Documentation and drivers are already installed on your computer when shipped from Dell. You can use the CD to reinstall drivers (see page 62), run the Dell Diagnostics (see page 58), or access your docum ...

w w w. d e l l . c o m | s u p p o r t . d e l l . c o m • Tips on using Windows • How to clean my computer • How to use my mouse and keyboard Tell Me How Help File 1 Click the Start button and click Help and Support. 2 Click User and system guides and click User’s guides. 3 Click Tell Me How. • Express Service Code and Service Tag • Microsoft® Windows® License Label Express Ser vice Code and Product ...

15 • How to reinstall my operating system Operating System CD After you reinstall your operating system using the Operating System Reinstallation CD, use the ResourceCD to reinstall drivers for the devices that came with your computer. The product key for your operating system is located on your computer. What are you looking for? Find It Here ...

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Your Computer Setting Up a Printer Transferring Information to a New Computer Setting Up a Home and Office Network Connecting to the Internet Copying CDs and DVDs Hyper-Threading Turning Off Your Computer ...

w w w. d e l l . c o m | s u p p o r t . d e l l . c o m Setting Up a Printer NOTICE: Complete the operating system setup before you connect a printer to the computer. See the documentation that came with the printer for setup information, including how to: • Obtain and install updated drivers. • Connect the printer to the computer. • Load paper and install the toner or ink cartridge. • Contact the printer m ...

19 3 Attach the parallel printer cable to the parallel connector on the computer and tighten the two screws. Attach the cable to the connector on the printer and snap the two clips into the two notches. 4 Turn on the printer and then turn on the computer. If the Add New Hardware Wizard window appears, click Cancel. 5 Install the printer driver if necessary. See the documentation that came with your printer. Connecting a U ...

w w w. d e l l . c o m | s u p p o r t . d e l l . c o m 3 Attach the USB printer cable to the USB connectors on the computer and the printer. The USB connectors fit only one way. Transferring Information to a New Computer The Microsoft® Windows® XP operating system provides a Files and Settings Transfer wizard to move data from the source computer to the new computer. You can move data such as: • E-mails • Too ...