Frequently asked
questions:
TROUBLESHOOTING
Keyboard
E.g. “@”
displays double quotes.
This is
because your keyboard is currently set to a
1. Click on ‘Start’ then ‘Control Panel’
2. In the pick a category menu select ‘Date, Time,
Language and regional Options
3. In the pick a task option select ‘Add other
languages’
4. Within the languages tab select the ‘Details’ button
5. Select the ‘Add’ button
6. Change the input language option to ‘English UK’ then
press ‘OK’
7. Delete the
8. Explore the other tabs at the top of the window to
ensure all other options are set to English UK
9. Now select ‘OK’.
If an error message shows saying the keyboard cannot be removed, click
OK and it will take affect when you reboot
10. Reboot to ensure keyboard layout has taken effect
Screen Brightness
If your
screen is dim or off when you open your notebook while it is still powered on,
first check that the system hasn’t gone into standby mode or hibernate to save
power. Pressing the spacebar will return
the system from hibernate and the function key that shows a moon type icon will
return it from standby.
Should the
above not turn on the screen or it shows a very faint picture, it could be that
the small switch that detects whether the screen is up or down may be sticking.
Often this is because of dust or dirt in the mechanism. It can bee freed up by pressing it down or
lightly brushing it to remove any particles.
To conserve
battery life it is wise to dim the screen brightness as this accounts for a
significant percentage of your Notebook’s overall power requirement. Some
models do this automatically when away from mains power but for most it may be
necessary to do this manually.
For most,
simply holding the Fn/Function Key in the bottom left of the keyboard whilst
pressing the appropriate F key at the top of the keyboard. The key varies but
usually indicated by an outline of a ‘sun’ and an up and down arrow. Please
refer to the user manual if the key isn’t marked.
DVD Formats
There are
numerous DVD formats. Check your system to see what formats your drive will
support.
DVD-RAM
DVD-R
DVD-RW
DVD+R
DVD+RW
DVD-RAM
Current
Drive use 4.7GB discs
DVD-RAM
allows fully integrated OS-Level random read/write access similar to hard
drives as well as on-the-fly write verification. This standard is best for backups as the
format is designed to be written to, like a hard drive. The main drawback being
the format is limited read compatibility amongst DVD-ROM drives and standalone
DVD players. DVD-RAM read support with these units is increasing however,
partially because of the increasing popularity of home standalone DVD-RAM recorders
in home theatre systems.
DVD-R and DVD-RW
Both use
4.7GB discs
DVD-R is a
write once recordable format which gives good compatibility with both
standalone DVD players and DVD-ROM drives
DVD-RW media
uses rewriteable discs, which are rated for more than 1000 rewrites in ideal
situations. The majority of standalone DVD players will play video recorded on
DVD-RW discs, but the compatibility is not as high as with DVD-R.
DVD+R and DVD+RW
These discs
are very similar to DVD-R and DVD-RW in design, usage and compatibility.
DVD+RW, like
DVD-RW, are a rewriteable 4.7GB format, and overall it has a similar
functionality to DVD-RW. The level of compatibility of standard DVD+RW discs in
standalone DVD players is similar to that of DVD-RW. The rewritability is also
said to be similar to that of DVD-RW, allowing up to 1000 rewrites.
How come my 4.7GB disc isn’t really
4.7GB?
Like hard
drives, 1GB on a DVD recordable disc equals 1,000,000,000 bytes. In contrast, a
computer considers 1GB to be 1,073,741,824 bytes. Thus, a 4.7 GB disc is seen
by a computer as having approx 4.37GB but the number of bytes is the same.
Why is my system properties showing
that my cpu is running at a slower MHz than I have?
Tthe
reason why the system properties shows the cpu running at a slower MHz is
because of something called "cool & quiet", a setting found in
the bios.
Cool &
quiet slows down the processor when it's idle so that your processor runs
cooler. It automatically speeds up when needed (like if you start a game).
Try running
a stress test or bench. Load a programme to put a load on the processor and see
if it's still running slow.
If it is
just Cool 'n' Quiet, leave it enabled, it keeps the processor cooler, there is
not any noticeable lag when it starts to load any programmes.
Bluetooth
Upgrading to
service Pack 2 you may find the wireless function not operating. This is
because of a driver software conflict. Please follow the steps below:
1. Left click on start
2. Right click on my computer
3. Left click on properties from the extended menu, a
new window will appear
4. Left click on Hardware tab at the top of the window
5. Left click on the Device Manager Button
The list
that appears will display all devices that are recognized within the Windows
Operating System that require drivers.
6. Left click on Bluetooth to expand
7. Double click on the Bluetooth device then the
Microsoft Bluetooth enumerator
8. Click on the Drivers tab on the new window
9. Left click on update Driver
10. Ensure that on the first window the option ‘No not at
this time’ is selected then click next
11. On next screen select install from a list or a
specific location
12. Next window select ‘don’t search I will choose the
driver to install’
13. Next window select ‘have disc’ and ensure the
Bluetooth driver CD is inserted to the CD drive. Choose the driver from the
disc and click next to install the driver.
14. Once driver has been installed click finish and
restart the Notebook to put changes into effect.
How do I configure my notebook to an
existing wireless network?
For Windows
XP Pro, Home and media Centre Versions:
1. Double left click the wireless icon located in the
bottom right corner of the display
2. Under Network Task in the new window, left click on
‘Set up a wireless network from home or office’
3. A wizard for installing will appear, click Next on
the first screen
4. On next screen an SSID will need to be inputted. The
SSID is the ID associated to the wireless network. After this has been inputted
enter your network pass key or ensure that ‘automatically assign network key’
is selected
5. Left click on ‘Next’
6. On the next window ensure set up a network manually
is selected and click ‘Next’
7. On the final window to complete the wireless network
set up left click on ‘Finish’
8. The previous window will appear displaying the network;
once the wireless network is
found ensure it is highlighted and left click on connect. This will
establish a connection.
Users with
Service Pack 2 installed will have to go through a similar process but not
quite as straight forward. We recommend
that you upgrade to Service Pack 2 for ease of connection to wireless networks.
If your
system set up still seems to be having difficulty, run the Restore Disc to
reboot the system. If your laptop is not provided with a restore disc the
laptop may prompt you to create one or may be stored on the BIOS system.
If your
laptop is having problems in Windows* check the legitimacy of all added
software.
Problems
connecting to the web can occur through lack of viral protection and user
installed software.
CD/DVD
function can be set up with the ‘properties’.
Failure may not be the result of a fault.
My
LCD display has a bright/dark/coloured dot on the screen - Is it faulty?
The screen on TFT displays is made up of thousands of
tiny pixels. A 15" flat-screen with a resolution of 1024 x 768 for example
has 786423 pixels. Each pixel comprises three sub-pixels (red, green and blue)
so on the 15" above, there are almost 2.4 million dots in total. Behind
each pixel is a transistor. When a transistor fails it manifests itself as a
bright, dark or coloured
dot on the screen that stands out from the rest. Today's production techniques
unfortunately cannot
guarantee an absolutely fault-free screen display and
buyers should be aware of the possibility of imperfections (in the form of a
few isolated constantly lit or unlit pixels) before choosing to purchase a TFT
display. Due to this, there is indeed a commonly accepted 'tolerance level' by
which TFT’s may display such imperfections (or stuck pixels) without being
classified as faulty. As such, we can only take back displays as faulty for
refund/repair IF the number of stuck pixels exceeds the manufacturer's
guidelines. The number required for the monitor to be classed as faulty varies
between manufacturers but is usually above 3.
This is normal. Many laptops have integrated graphics chips which share
the RAM. For example, if you have 256MB of RAM on your laptop and the graphics
chip uses 64MB, then your laptop will show only 192MB.
Software packages not pre-installed can be found on the included CD
ROMs.
Virus Protection
You are
advised to patch your laptop with the latest Windows Service Packs and Critical
updates before going on to the Internet. You will need to download the
patches from another PC to apply them. We strongly recommend that you DO NOT go
onto the internet before applying these patches.
Can I upgrade
the Memory / Hard Drive on my PC / Laptop?
Yes, - please call our sales team to discuss your requirements and
arrange the installation.
Hard Drive
size: It is standard practice for laptop manufacturers to partition the hard
drive. For example your system may have a 30GB drive split between the C drive
(20GB) and the D drive (10GB). It is recommended that you load your
Applications onto C and reserve D for you data.
When to Contact us
If any or
all of the above fail contact your manufacturer helpline number. If your
manufacturer suspects the unit may be faulty, obtain a manufacturer reference
number and call us on 0871 750 2970.
Please note that we cannot accept the return of an item outside of the 7
day period, all faults must be reported to us within this time. After 7 days please contact the manufacturer
to arrange a direct replacement or repair, which will depend on the complexity
of the problem.
If your
goods have been damaged in transit it must be reported to us with 48 hours of
receipt. After this time we cannot
accept responsibility.
Warranty
Information
All PCs and Notebook come with a direct to manufacturer warranty. In
case of faults, please contact the manufacturer’s number below. For many
products, you can extend your warranty to up to three years. Please call our
Sales team on 0870 167 0818 to enquire about warranty extensions.
Contact Information – Laptops Direct
Laptops Direct / AcerNotebooks Unit 6,
Laptops
Direct Customer Services customerservices@laptopsdirect.co.uk
Web Sales: www.laptopsdirect.co.uk
/ www.acernotebooks.co.uk
Phone Sales: 0870
167 0818
Contact Information – Technical Help lines and Warranty
information
AOC Monitors 01932
269258
Acer
Laptops, Monitors and Desktops 0870
853 1000
Acer Technical Support – Email euro_mail@acer-euro.com
Compaq Laptops 0870
559 2000
Fujitsu Siemens Laptops 08705
359 752
Hewlett Packard Laptops 0207
512 5202
Hewlett
Packard Printers 0870
010 4320
IBM Laptops 01256
344500
JVC Laptops 0845 310 5998
Netgear 0870
112 1206
Samsung Laptops 0870
242 0303
Sony Laptops 0870
240 2408
Toshiba Laptops 0870
444 8936