Dell Inspiron 1521 Owner's Manual

Also see for Inspiron 1521: Service manual Quick setup Setting Up Your Computer Setting Up Your Computer Setting Up Your Computer

Contents

Dell Inspiron 1521 Owner's Manual Manual pdf 101 page image

Run the Video diagnostics tests —If no error message appears and you still have a display problem, but the display is not completely blank, run the Video device group in the Dell Diagnostics,then contact Dell (see Contacting Dell).See "Error Messages" —If an error message appears, see Error Messages.If only part of the display is readableConnect an external monitor —1. Shut down your computer and connect an external monitor to the computer.2. Turn on the computer and the monitor, and then adjust the monitor brightness and contrast controls.If the external monitor works, the computer display or video controller may be defective. Contact Dell (see Contacting Dell).DriversWhat Is a Driver?A driver is a program that controls a device such as a printer, mouse, or keyboard. All devices require a driver program.A driver acts like a translator between the device and any other programs that use the device. Each device has its own set of specialized commands that onlyits driver recognizes.Dell ships your computer to you with required drivers already installed—no further installation or configuration is needed.Many drivers, such as the keyboard driver, come with your Microsoft® Windows® operating system. You may need to install drivers if you:l Upgrade your operating system.l Reinstall your operating system.l Connect or install a new device.Identifying DriversIf you experience a problem with any device, identify whether the driver is the source of your problem and, if necessary, update the driver.1. Click Start , and right-click Computer.2. Click Properties® Device Manager.Scroll down the list of devices and check for an exclamation point (a circle with a [!]) next to the device name. If an exclamation point is next to the devicename, you may need to reinstall the driver or install a new driver (see Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities).Reinstalling Drivers and UtilitiesNOTICE: Your Drivers and Utilities media may contain drivers for operating systems that are not on your computer. Ensure that you are installingsoftware appropriate for your operating system.NOTE: The User Account Control window may appear. If you are an administrator on the computer, click Continue; otherwise, contact youradministrator to continue.NOTICE: The Dell Support website at support.dell.com and your Drivers and Utilities media provide approved drivers for Dell computers. If you installdrivers obtained from other sources, your computer might not work correctly.