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A good user manual
The rules should oblige the seller to give the purchaser an operating instrucion of Portsmith USB, along with an item. The lack of an instruction or false information given to customer shall constitute grounds to apply for a complaint because of nonconformity of goods with the contract. In accordance with the law, a customer can receive an instruction in non-paper form; lately graphic and electronic forms of the manuals, as well as instructional videos have been majorly used. A necessary precondition for this is the unmistakable, legible character of an instruction.
What is an instruction?
The term originates from the Latin word „instructio”, which means organizing. Therefore, in an instruction of Portsmith USB one could find a process description. An instruction's purpose is to teach, to ease the start-up and an item's use or performance of certain activities. An instruction is a compilation of information about an item/a service, it is a clue.
Unfortunately, only a few customers devote their time to read an instruction of Portsmith USB. A good user manual introduces us to a number of additional functionalities of the purchased item, and also helps us to avoid the formation of most of the defects.
What should a perfect user manual contain?
First and foremost, an user manual of Portsmith USB should contain:
- informations concerning technical data of Portsmith USB
- name of the manufacturer and a year of construction of the Portsmith USB item
- rules of operation, control and maintenance of the Portsmith USB item
- safety signs and mark certificates which confirm compatibility with appropriate standards
Why don't we read the manuals?
Usually it results from the lack of time and certainty about functionalities of purchased items. Unfortunately, networking and start-up of Portsmith USB alone are not enough. An instruction contains a number of clues concerning respective functionalities, safety rules, maintenance methods (what means should be used), eventual defects of Portsmith USB, and methods of problem resolution. Eventually, when one still can't find the answer to his problems, he will be directed to the Portsmith service. Lately animated manuals and instructional videos are quite popular among customers. These kinds of user manuals are effective; they assure that a customer will familiarize himself with the whole material, and won't skip complicated, technical information of Portsmith USB.
Why one should read the manuals?
It is mostly in the manuals where we will find the details concerning construction and possibility of the Portsmith USB item, and its use of respective accessory, as well as information concerning all the functions and facilities.
After a successful purchase of an item one should find a moment and get to know with every part of an instruction. Currently the manuals are carefully prearranged and translated, so they could be fully understood by its users. The manuals will serve as an informational aid.
Table of contents for the manual
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User Man ual P ortsmith Express/E xpress+[...]
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P ortsmith Expr ess P ortsmith Expr ess + User Manual[...]
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ii Second Edition – May 2000 The information in this document is subject to change without notice. This document refers to numerous hardware and software products b y their trade names. All other designations are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respecti v e companies. Copyright© 2000 Portsmith LLC. All rights reserved. Portsmith LLC[...]
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iii Contents ________________________________ P r o d u c tO v e r v i e w .................................................1 P a c k a g eC o n t e n t s ............................................. 1 S y s t e mR e q u i r e m e n t s ..........................................2 H a r d w a r eD e s c r i p t i o n................................[...]
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iv[...]
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1 Pr oduct Over view ________________________ Portsmith Express is a uni versal port replicator that easily connects multiple desktop peripherals to any laptop PC through a single USB connection. Portsmith Express features the ability to “hot dock” the peripherals. This means you can connect the peripherals to the desktop and use them without r[...]
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2 System Requir ements Make sure your laptop PC system meets the follo wing requirements: • One of the follo wing operating systems: – Microsoft W indows 98 – Microsoft W indows 98 Second Edition – Microsoft W indows 2000 • 32 MB of system memory • 1 MB of av ailable hard driv e space • One av ailable USB connection on the laptop PC H[...]
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3 Portsmith Express has a series of lights on the front of the unit. These lights are status indicators. Y ou can interpret the meaning of each status indicator light depending on whether the light is on, flashing, or off. Belo w is a key to the status indicators. Front Vie w Status Lights Condition Description Solid Flashing Portsmith Express is p[...]
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4 Installation ______________________________ Hardwar e Setup 1. Remov e the Portsmith Express unit from the packaging. 2. Place the Portsmith Express unit near the laptop PC. 3. Connect the mouse, key board, and Ethernet (only on Portsmith Express+ units) to the back of the unit. NO TE F or the smoothest setup, connect the other peripher als after[...]
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5 Softwar e Installation In order to successfully use the Portsmith Express hardware, you must install the companion software. The software includes dri vers for the Portsmith Express unit, and the Portsmith Express SoftDock Utility . (See “ Portsmith Express SoftDock Utility ” on page 8 for descriptions of all the SoftDock Utility features.) 1[...]
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6 Ethernet Setup (P ortsmith Express+) The Portsmith Express installation software will install def ault network settings. T o customize y our settings: 1. Go to your desktop and double click the My Computer icon. 2. Double-click Control P anel . 3. Double-click Network . NO TE The P ortsmith Express Ethernet will be displayed as P ortsmith Express[...]
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7 T o verify that the printer is set up and r eady to print from P ortsmith Express: 1. Go to your desktop and double-click the My Computer icon. 2. Double-click on Printer . 3 . R i g h t - c l i c ko nt h ed e s i r e dp r i n t e r . 4. Select Properties . 5. Select the Details tab . 6. V erify that printer port is “ LPTUSBn ” on the Details[...]
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8 P ortsmith Express SoftDock Utility __________ The SoftDock software program pro vides you with se veral features that simplify using or troubleshooting your Portsmith Express unit. The SoftDock utility was installed during the product installation. See “ Software Installation ” on page 5 for instructions on installing the utility . W ith the[...]
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9 V iew Peripheral and General I nf ormation Portsmith ’ s SoftDock Utility displays information about all peripheral de vices, whether they are docked or not. Y ou can modify and save the settings for the peripherals, as well as for the ov erall functionality of the Portsmith Express unit. Belo w are the steps you should follo w to vie w periphe[...]
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10 NO TE Items not listed in the table have no modif iable settings within P ortsmith Expr ess. Modifiable List Item Setting Options Portsmith Express profile name (at the top of the list) Rename – Use this setting to giv e each Portsmith Express unit a meaningful name. Display Serial Number – Aq u i c kw a yt or e t r i e v et h e serial numbe[...]
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11 Set Multiple Docking Prof iles Y ou can create a custom profile for e very Portsmith Express unit that you dock to. This feature is particularly helpful if you want to ha ve dif ferent settings for dif ferent Portsmith Express units. Each profile is user -configured and tracked separately in the software. T o create an additional docking pr of i[...]
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12 Customer Support ________________________ T roubleshooting The troubleshooting section provides you with se veral steps to resolve the most common issues with the Portsmith Express unit. After each step, verify that the Portsmith Express unit is working properly . If the unit is not working properly after the step is completed, then proceed to t[...]
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13 Problem 2: One of the Portsmith Expr ess ports/peripherals is not functioning properly . Upon docking, the status indicator lights on top of the Portsmith Express unit should turn on. If they do not, follo w the steps below . Step 1: • Check the desktop for any Portsmith Express error messages. Step 2: • Make sure that the peripheral is secu[...]
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14 T echnical Support For additional information, refer to the F A Q List in the Support Section at www .portsmith.com . If you need additional assistance, you can contact a T echnical Support specialist via e-mail at: support@portsmith.com . Please provide the follo wing information: NO TE Y ou can find the P ortsmith Expr ess serial number on the[...]
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15 Other Inf ormation ________________________ Hardwar e W arranty Portsmith LLC warrants this product against defects in materials and workmanship to the purchaser for a period of two (2) years from the date of shipment. This warranty is limited to a repair or replacement of the product. T o obtain warranty service, the purchaser must first call P[...]
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16 Softwar e W arranty Portsmith LLC warrants the media (the diskettes) on which the softw are is furnished to be free of defects in materials and workmanship under normal use for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of shipment. This warranty applies only to softw are products. The warranty for hardware products is described else where. Port[...]
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17 Softwar e License Agreement Important: Before installing the software, please carefully read this License Agreement. Installation indicates your acceptance of the terms and conditions of this License. If you do not agree with these terms and conditions, you should return the software, and your mone y will be refunded. License Agreement This lice[...]
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18 Regulatory Inf o rmation This equipment generates and uses radio frequency ener gy . If not installed and used according to the manufacturer's instructions, this equipment may cause interference with radio/TV reception. The Federal Communications Commission has established technical standards regarding radio frequenc y energy emitted by com[...]
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19 Index ___________________________________ A Attachable peripherals 1 C COM port 2, 7 Connection, troubleshooting 12 Contents, of Portsmith Express pack- age 1 Creating profiles 11 Customer support 12 D Description, of product 1 Docking 4 hot 1 multiple profiles 11 status 8 Drivers 4 E Eject button 8 Ethernet port 2 setup 6 G Graphic Product fron[...]
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20 O Options, SoftDock settings 9 Overview, of product 1 P Package contents 1 Path, software installation 5 Peripherals attachable 1 troubleshooting 13 Plug-n-Play device 6, 7 Ports, troubleshooting 13 Portsmith Express+ model 1, 2, 6 Printer setup 6 Product installation 4 Product overview 1 Profiles custom 11 renaming 11 R Regulatory information 1[...]
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Copyright © 2000 P ortsmith LLC P rinted in USA[...]