Alienware Aurora ALX manual

ALIENWARE ALX DE SKT OP MANUAL The cont ents herein are s ubject t o c hang e without notice. ©1996-2006 A lienware C orporation. A ll ri ghts reserved. Repr oduction of this manua l in any manner w ithout the prior writt en permis sion of Alienw are C orporation i s strictly pr ohibit ed. T r ademark s used in thi s m anual: Alienw are, Alienlc e[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 2 C ONTENTS Introduction, 5 Chapter 1 Sy stem Pr eparation and Set up, 7 When y our C omputer Fir st Arriv es, 8 Loc ation and Po sitioning of Y our C omp uter , 8 Getting to Know Y our C omput er , 9 Front I/O P orts and Fe atures, 10 Re ar Ports and Fe ature s, 11 Ac c ess ing S yst em Drives, 13 C onnecting Monit o[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 3 Us ing Digital Fla sh Media, 32 C onnecting t o the Internet, 32 C onnecting t o a Home Network, 32 Pow er Manag ement, 3 3 Chapter 3 Inst allin g Additional or Rep lac ement C omponents, 35 Remo ving the Side P anel, 36 Inst allin g Expans ion C ards, 37 Inst allin g a PCI Express x16 Video C ard, 37 Inst allin g a[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 4 Monitor , 56 Mouse, 57 Pow er , 57 Printer , 58 Speak ers, 58 Expans ion Cards, 59 Game C ontroll ers, 59 Appendix A Microsoft Critic al Updat es, 61 Appendix B General And Electric al Safety Prec autions, 63 Appendix C T erms And C onditions Agreement, 65 Appendix D Limited Product W arranty; Discl aimer Of W arran[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 5 INTRODUCTION Dear V alued Alienwar e Cu stomer , W elcome to the Alienw are f amily . W e are thrilled to include you among the grow ing number of s avvy computer u sers who h ave c hosen to purc hase a product rec ognized for its award winning c ombination of quality and innovation. B ecause we are h ardcor e compu[...]

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Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 7 CHAP TER 1: S Y STEM PREP ARA TION AND SETUP[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 8 CHAP TER 1: SY STEM PREP ARA TION AND S ETUP When Y our C omputer First Arrives Befor e setting up y our comput er or components, pl ease in spect all it ems for an y phys ical damage that may hav e occ urred during shipment. Report any damag ed items t o customer servic e within 5 days of rec eiving the shipment. S[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 9 Getting to Kno w Y our C omput er This section of Chapt er One prov ides es sential information about your new c omputer to f amiliariz e you w ith its various features and get y ou up and running quic kly . Front I/O P or ts and Fe ature s Pow er Button Pres s the power b utton onc e to turn on your c omputer . The[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 10 FireWir e (IEEE1394) C onnect high-speed FireW ire (also known a s IEEE1394) devic es suc h as digit al camc orders and extern al h ard disk drives. Line In C onnect audio devic es s uc h as a s tereo microphone, MP3 p lay er, or an y other audio sourc e usin g a 1/8” mini-jac k. Line Out C onnect stereo he adpho[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 11 Re ar Por ts and F eatur es V entilation - Do not bloc k Power s upply sw itch I - On / O - Off Left and right panel relea se latc hes Power soc ket V entilation - Do not bloc k Rear I/O ports DVI di splay port 2 DVI di splay port 1 S- Video por t 1 DVI di splay port 4 (optional) DVI di splay port 3 (optional) S- V[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 12 Pow er Supply Sw itc h M ak e su re t h e p o w er s up p l y s w i t c h i s i n th e on p os it io n be fo r e p o w er in g on yo ur c om pu t e r . Pow er Soc ket Pl ug the po we r c or d int o th e po wer cor d so ck et and plu g th e o ther en d in to a gr oun ded po we r ou tl et, a g ro u nde d po wer stri [...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 13 D VI Disp lay Por t 3 (Option al) If your c omputer is configured with two gr aphics car ds and you woul d lik e to use more than two monit ors, connect your third monitor to thi s por t. For detail ed information on connectin g monitors t o your c omputer, see C onnecting Monitors in this chapt er. Note: This por[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 14 C onnecting Monitors In addition to CR T and L CD displa ys, y our system also supports the use of multiple monitors. It can also be outp ut to a TV with an availab le S- Video input. T o connect multipl e monitors, a D VI-to- VGA adapter m ay be nec essary . For more information on mu ltiple monitors, see C onnect[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 15 C onnecting an Analog Monitor An analog monitor c an be connected to your c omputer the s ame way a digital monit or can be c onnected; however , y ou wil l need a D VI-to-VGA a dapter in order to a dapt your comp uter’s D VI displa y port to an analog c onnection. C onnecting Multipl e Monitors Up to two monit o[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 16 C onnecting a T V A TV with an avail able S- Video input can be connected u sing an S-V ideo cable. These cab les can be pur c hased at home electronics ret ailers. For more inf ormation about your T V’s avail able video inputs, ref er to the telev is ion’s manual. T o connect a TV to y our comp uter: 1. C onne[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 17 C onnecting to an NVIDIA® SLI™ Graphics C onfiguration SLI-enab led graphic s pro vides hardw are support for one D VI-I monitor or one VGA monitor us ing a D VI-to- VGA adapter . The fol lowing sho ws how t o connect your di splay t o an SLI graphics configuration: C onfig uri ng an SLI G r ap hi c s C onfi[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 18 Enab ling Multip le Monitors with NVIDIA Ba sed Graphic s Use the nV iew Displ ay Settin gs c ontrol panel t o enabl e multiple monitor s. A c c e s s i n g nV ie w Di sp l ay Se tt i n gs f ro m t h e W i n d o ws C o nt ro l P an el From the W indows® t ask bar: 1. C lick the St ar t button (Windo ws® logo) 2. [...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 19 C onnecting to an A TI Cros sFire™ Graphics C onfiguration Cr ossFire-en abled graphics provides hardw are support for one D VI-I monitor or one VGA monitor us ing a D VI-to- VGA adapter . The fol lowing sho ws how t o connect your di splay t o a Cr ossFire gr aphics configur ation: DVI C onnector DVI C onnecto[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 20 C onfiguring a Cr ossFir e Graphic s C onfiguration w ith Multipl e Disp lay s Disp lay support is only av ailable through the C rossFire™ Inter connect cab le when Cr ossFire™ i s active. Thi s arrangement ensures the highe st pos sible performanc e. When Cr ossFire i s active other displ ay devic es connect[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 21 Enab ling Multip le Monitors with A TI Ba sed Graphics Use the Di spla ys M anager of the Cataly st ™ C ontrol C enter software to en able mu ltiple monitors. The Displa ys M anager i s availab le in both Stand ard and Advanc ed views of the C atalys t ™ C ontrol C enter software. Launc hing C atalyst ™ C ont[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 22 T o Enable a Secondary Di spl ay D evic e C lic k the Wizar d button and fol low the instructions to enab le C lone Mode. Note: A sec ondary displ ay devic e can be a flat panel displ ay, CR T monitor, TV , or V CR. T o Enable a Secondary Di spl ay D evic e 1. Open C atalyst C ontrol C enter in Advanc ed mode. 2. [...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 23 Sound Bl ast er X -Fi Serie s Sound Bl aster X-Fi series sou nd cards do not feature an on boar d Game/MIDI port; inst ead, thi s c ard feat ures an AD_LINK port . Sou nd Blaster X -Fi sound c ard outputs ar e detail ed below from left t o right: Sound Bl aster X-Fi Inputs / Outp uts AD_LINK AD_LINK C onnector C on[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 24 C onnecting K eyboar ds and Mic e C onnecting a K eyboard 1. L ocate the (p urple) PS/2 port at the bac k of the comput er . 2. Properly orient the keybo ard’s P S/2 connector w ith this port and gently push unti l the c onnector is fully inser ted. Do not for c e the connect or into the port. If you are u nable [...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 25 For further information, p lea se refer to your printer’s documentation. C onnecting a Print er C onnecting a Plug and Play Printer If your printer sup ports plug and play , Windows V ista wi ll det ect it and att empt to inst all the printer automatic ally . In some cases, Windows may require a driv er for the p[...]

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Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 27 CHAP TER 2: USING Y OUR SY STEM[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 28 CHAP TER 2: USING Y OUR S YSTEM C onnecting USB Devic es Plug the USB devic e into an availab le USB port on y our comput er. Windows Vist a wil l detect the dev ic e and attempt to in stall the ap propriate driver aut omatic ally . In some ca ses, W indows may require a driver. This driver i s located on the softw[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 29 CD-R/W Writer A CD-RW drive c an read CD-ROM, CD-R and CD-R W media. It c an also rec ord to CD-R or CD-RW media. It c annot re ad any type of D VD media or write to any type of D VD-RW medi a. D VD-ROM Rea der A D VD-ROM drive can r ead CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-R W and D VD media. Some can r ead D VD-RW media. D VD-ROM Re[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 30 Y ou can ea sily identify and distingui sh the optical drives install ed in y our comput er by looking f or the below logos on the front of eac h drive. These logos are used to indicate eac h drive’s res pective cap abilities and media comp atibility . Play ing a DVD T o pl ay a D VD u s in g C yb er Li nk P ow e[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 31 W riting a CD or D VD T o wr i t e a CD o r D VD : C lic k Start (Windo ws® Log o) > All Programs > Nero 7 Es sentials > Nero StartSmart Essenti als Select the type of CD or D VD you w ish to creat e from the menu. Fol low the Nero Expre ss E ssentials on-screen instruction s. C op yi ng a C D o r D VD : [...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 32 Us ing Digit al Fl ash Medi a (Optional Media R eader / Writer) Insert a supported media c ard into the c orrect media slot in the digit al flash media rea der / writer . W ind ow s wi ll r e ad t he m ed ia an d pr es en t a w in do w c on t ai ni n g th e me di a c ar d’s c on te nts . C onnecting to the Inter[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 33 Pow er Manag ement T o customize your computer’s power settings: 1. C lick St ar t (Windows® L ogo) > C ontrol P anel . 2. C lick ‘Cl assic V iew’ from the task panel. 3. Doub le-clic k on the ‘P ower Options’ icon. 4. Select a power plan from the option s show . T o customiz e specific settings, cli[...]

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Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 35 CHAP TER 3: INST ALLING ADDITIONAL OR REPLA CEMENT C OMPONENTS[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 36 CHAP TER 3: INST ALLING ADDITIONAL OR REPLA CEMENT C OMPONENTS This c hapter pro vides inform ation about ins tallin g, unin stal ling, and repl acing sy stem components. Refer t o the tec hnical refer ence pr ovided on your system’s Windo ws D esktop for more inform ation about y our system’s exp ansion s lots[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 37 Ins ta llin g Expans ion Car ds Inst alling a PCI Expres s x16 Video C ard Done properly , instal ling a v ideo card is a simple pr oce ss. T o begin, ensure th at any previou s v ideo card drivers have been u ninst alled. After Window s ha s complet ed unin stal ling the v ideo card’s drivers, restart the c ompu[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 38 Inst alling PCI Expr ess x16 video cards in a dual card c onfiguration Graphic s C ard Bridge Pow er C onnectors (2) Dual-PCI Expres s Graphic s C ards Inst alling a PCI Expr ess x16 video card in a s ingle c ard c onfiguration PCI Expres s x16 car d PCI Expres s x16 car d slot Securing T ab[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 39 Inst all the new video c ard by c arefully in ser ting it into the motherboard’s PCI-E X16 slot. Gen tly ap ply pr es sur e ev enl y acr os s t he l ength of th e v ideo ca rd u nti l i t i s f ull y se ate d i n th e P CI-E X1 6 sl ot. I f yo ur m oth erbo ard’ s P CI -E X1 6 s lot fe atu re s a n i nte gr ate[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 40 Inst alling PCI Expr ess card s Us ing a Phillip s screwdriver , remove the c ard’s fa stening sc rew and k eep it s afely where it w ill not be lost; y ou wil l need it t o secure the new c ard. C areful ly remove the car d from its PCI slot. Inst all the new PCI card b y carefu lly in ser ting it into the s ame[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 41 Hard Disk Drives 1. Di sconnect the drive’s S A T A power cabl e. 2. Di sconnect the drive’s S A T A data cab le. 3. R emove the drive b y pulling its release t abs t ogether and sliding it out of the drive c age. 4. R emove the drive r ails from the drive. 5. Chec k the new drive’s document ation to be sure [...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 42 CD-RW , DVD/CD-RW , or DVD±R/W Drives 1. Di sconnect the drive’s Molex power cab le. 2. Di sconnect the drive’s A T A data cab le. 3. G ent ly pu ll ou twa rd o n t he d riv e r el ea se cl ip l oc ate d o n th e s ide of th e opt ica l drive c age and pul l the drive forward and out of the drive bay . 4. Slid[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 43 Remo ving a M emory Module Pres s outwar d on the retention clip s at eac h end of the module. This wi ll r elea se the module from the memory soc ket. Inst alling a Memory Module 1. P re ss ou twa rd on the r eten tion c lip s at ea ch end of th e emp ty mem ory s oc ke t. 2. Orient the memor y module so that any [...]

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Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 45 CHAP TER 4: S Y STEM RE C O VERY[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 46 CHAP TER 4: SY STEM RE C OVERY AlienRe spawn 1.0 Ba sed on a unique im age of your personal sy stem hard drive cr eated b y Alienw are tec hnicians, AlienR espa wn enabl es a quic k and conv enient re storation of your syst em to the c ondition in whic h it wa s shipped. The A lienResp awn kit includes the Boot CD [...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 47 9. O nc e t he Alie nRe spa wn p ro c ess h a s com ple te d you r s yst em w il l h ave b een rest ored to original factory stat us. Remo ve and saf ely stor e y our AlienRe spawn Im age D VD in a secure location and res tart y our system. 10. Y our system w ill now res tart into its origin al factory c onfigurat[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 48 Rec overy Disc In order to st art the reco ver y proc ess, you w ill need to m ake s ure y ou have the Alienw are Rec overy Disc and M aster CD . The Alien ware Ma ster CD contain s drivers original ly ins tall ed on your c omputer. Y ou can also do wnload driv ers and softwar e from www .alienware. com . Performin[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 49 CHAP TER 5: TROUBLE SHOO TING[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 50 CHAP TER 5: TROUBLESHOO TING When trouble shooting y our comp uter , plea se remember the follow ing saf ety guidelines: • Befor e touc hing any of the c omputer’s internal components, touc h an unpaint ed portion of the ch assi s. Doing so wil l safely disc harge an y static electricity , whic h could dam age [...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 51 Softwar e Diagnostic T ools Bac kup and g eneral Mainten ance • Alwa ys b ac kup your important dat a and keep copie s of your oper ating syste m an d s oftw are saf e. D on’t fo rg et to n ote the Ser ial num ber s i f yo u ar e st orin g th em outs ide of the ir o rig ina l ca ses - e .g . in a CD W al let. ?[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 52 Answ ers to C ommon Pr oblems CD-ROM, D VD-ROM, CD-RW , DVD±RW or Blu-Ray Drive The comp uter does not rec ognize the di sc or driv e: • Chec k to see if the disc is properly in ser ted into the drive with the l abel fac ing up. • T r y another di sc. • Shut down and r estart the c omputer. • C lean the di[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 53 • Shut down and r estart your c omputer . • C lean the Di sc. • Rein stal l the D VD or Blu-Ray pla ybac k softw are prov ided with your sy stem. • T r y another di sc. Some discs m ay have c onflict with the drive if the encodin g on the DVD or Blu-R ay di sc does not matc h the encoding rec ognized by th[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 54 Error: “Non-sy stem di sk or disk error”: • Eject the di sk from the disk ette drive and then pres s ENTER. • The hard driv e is not recognized. • Chec k that the IDE or SA T A contro llers are properly enab led in the BIOS setup utility . T o acc ess the BIO S setup utility , rest art your c omputer and [...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 55 W ebs ite c onnection is s low Internet perform anc e can be aff ected by the follow ing factors: • The condition of the telephone or network cab les being used. • Th e c ond itio n o f t he netw ork eq uipm ent at y our IS P . • The graphic s or multimedia on w eb page s. • Multipl e browsers, do wnload s,[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 56 Memory Memory errors detected on st ar t up: • Chec k memor y modules for correct se ating and orientation. Rese at the memory modules if applic able. • C omputers us ing a dual-c hannel memory configur ation require that memory modules be inst alled in pair s. If y ou require ass ist anc e, ple ase c ontact A[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 57 Disp lay ed text is dim, blurry , or other wise diffic ult t o rea d: • Adjust the brightnes s and c ontras t c ontrols. • Chang e disp lay settings. • Move the monit or away from device s that may be c ausing el ectrical interferenc e suc h as telev isions, u nshielded spe akers, fluores cent lights and me[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 58 Print er The printer wi ll not t urn on: • Chec k that the power c ord is properly connected to a wal l outlet. • Chec k that the wal l outlet is working properly b y testing it with another devic e suc h a s a rad io o r l amp th at y ou kn ow w ork s. If the w all ou tl et is not wo rki ng , pl ea se c ont ac[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 59 Expan sion C ar ds The comp uter does not rec ognize a PCI or AGP c omponent: • Chec k that the c ables are properly connect ed to the PCI or AGP component by the devic e that require s it, suc h as a monitor t o a video c ard. • Chec k that the c ables are not damag ed or that the pin s are not bent or br oken[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 60[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 61 APPENDIX A: MICRO SOF T CRITICAL UPDA TES Y our new Alienware sy stem was updated w ith the lates t avai labl e Microsoft Windows Update s at the time of shipping in order to ensur e the highest po ssib le level of sy stem stab ility , security , and performanc e; however , due to the frequency with whic h Microsof[...]

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Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 63 APPENDIX B: GENERAL AND ELECTRICAL S AFET Y PRE CAUTIONS C omputer Setup • Re ad all instruction s mark ed on the product and in the document ation before operating your c omputer. • Ret ain all s afety and operating in structions. • Never use thi s product near wat er or a heat sour ce. • Only set -up the [...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 64 When Y ou Shou ld C ontact Alienw are • The power c ord or plug i s dam aged. • The comp uter ha s ha d liquid spil led into it. • The comp uter wa s dropped or the c ase was damaged. • Normal operation of the c omputer does not occ ur when the operating instruction s are f ollow ed. Repl acement C omponent[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 65 APPENDIX C: TERMS AND C ONDITIONS AGREEMENT Plea se v isit http://www.alienware. com/terms/ to v iew the terms and condition s agreement. W e recommend th at you print a c opy and file it with y our invoice f or future referenc e.[...]

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Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 67 APPENDIX D: LIMITED PRODUCT WARRANT Y: DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIE S; AND LIMIT A TION OF LIABILIT Y Limited Product W arranty Plea se v isit http://www.alienware. com/warranty/ t o view the Limit ed Product W arranty , Disc laimer of Warr anties and Limit ation of Liabi lity . Obtainin g W arranty Ser vice Plea se con[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 68 Sy stems R eturned to A lienwar e for Rep air If the T echnic al S upport represent ative determines that your system mus t c ome bac k to Alienw are for rep air, you will be issued an RMA number . Be sure to fol low all of the return in structions completely as al l systems arriving at Alienwar e without a valid R[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 69 Repl acing a Defectiv e C omponent If a T echnic al S upport represent ative determines that a c omponent is def ective, y ou wil l be i ssued an RMA number . All c omponents arriving at A lienware w ithout a valid RMA number wil l be ref used and returned t o sender. The two options f or returning defective c ompo[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 70 The carrier’s shipping document must be printed cle arly and include: 1. The RMA number next to your name 2. T otal declared value (Insuranc e 3. Pac kage w eight 4. Y our return a ddres s C ontact Alienw are to sc hedule a pic kup. Y ou will have up to five bus iness day s to ship the defective c omponent(s) ba[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 71 30-day Money B ac k Guarantee In addition to the s tandard w arranty , Alienwar e offers a 30-d ay money bac k guar antee on every syst em. If y ou are not sati sfied with y our system, y ou may return it within 30 day s for a ref und. The refund wil l only be i ssued for the amou nt of the sal e and wil l not inc[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 72 APPENDIX E: C ONT ACTING ALIENWARE Sales Our sal es te am is avail able Monday thr ough Friday , to meet all your comp uter sal es needs. They spec ialize in mak ing sure you get exactly the c omputer y ou want. ALX Sales T oll-Free Sales in the US and C anada: 1-888-ALIENALX (254-3625) Sales Email: ALXsal es@alien[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 73 T echnic al Support W e have compi led an exten sive Knowl edge Ba se of Frequently Ask ed Questions and their Solutions. Y ou are able to se arch b y k ey words, c ategorie s or both. It i s likely that you w ill find the inform ation needed here. This ar ea is open and does not require warr anty c over age. Go t[...]

Alienw are ALX D esktop Manual 74 APPENDIX F: IMPOR T ANT INFORMA TION • PLEASE B ACKUP ANY D A T A Y OU HA VE BEFORE INITIA TING A SY STEM REC O VERY OR SENDING Y OUR S Y STEM IN FOR REP AIR OR UPGRADES. • PLEASE RET AIN ALL BOXES THA T WERE ORIGINALL Y SHIPPED TO Y OU IN CASE Y OU NEED T O RETURN ANY MERCHANDIS E. • PLEASE C ONT ACT OUR SUP[...]