Chapter 3:

3

Power System

Using AC Power

The Notebook PC power is comprised of two parts, the power adapter and the battery power system. The power adapter converts

AC power from a wall outlet to the DC power required by the

Notebook PC. Your Notebook PC comes with a universal AC-DC adapter. That means that you may connect the power cord to any

100V-120V as well as 220V-240V outlets without setting switches or using power converters. Different countries may require that an adapter be used to connect the provided US-standard AC power cord to a different standard. Most hotels will provide universal outlets to support different power cords as well as voltages. It is always best to ask an experienced traveler about AC outlet voltages when bringing power adapters to another country.

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You can buy travel kits for the Notebook PC that includes power and modem adapters for almost every country.

WARNING! DO NOT connect the AC power cord to an AC outlet prior to connecting the DC plug to the Notebook PC. Doing so may damage the AC-DC adapter.

Notebook PC User Manual

IMPORTANT! Damage may occur if you use a different adapter to power the Notebook PC or use the Notebook PC’s adapter to power other electrical devices. If there is smoke, burning scent, or extreme heat coming from the AC-DC adapter, seek servicing.

Seek servicing if you suspect a faulty AC-DC adapter. You may damage both your battery pack(s) and the Notebook PC with a faulty AC-DC adapter.

This Notebook PC may come with either a two or three-prong plug depending on territory. If a three-prong plug is provided, you must use a grounded AC outlet or use a properly grounded adapter to ensure safe operation of the Notebook PC.

WARNING! THE POWER ADAPTER MAY BECOME WARM TO HOT

WHEN IN USE. BE SURE NOT TO COVER THE ADAPTER AND KEEP

IT AWAY FROM YOUR BODY.

Unplug the power adapter or switch off the AC outlet to minimize the power consumption when the Notebook PC is not in use.

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Using Battery Power

The Notebook PC is designed to work with a removable battery pack.

The battery pack consists of a set of battery cells housed together.

A fully charged pack will provide several hours of battery life, which can be further extended by using power management features through the BIOS setup. Additional battery packs are optional and

Your Notebook PC may or may not have its battery pack installed. If your Notebook PC does not have its battery pack installed, use the following procedures to install the battery pack.

IMPORTANT! Never attempt to remove the battery pack while the Notebook PC is turned ON, as this may result in the loss of working data.

To install the battery pack:

1

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To remove the battery pack:

1

2

IMPORTANT! Only use battery packs and power adapters supplied with this Notebook PC or specifically approved by the manufacturer or retailer for use with this model or else damage may occur to the Notebook PC.

1

Battery Care

The Notebook PC’s battery pack, like all rechargeable batteries, has a limit on the number times it can be recharged. The battery pack’s useful life will depend on your environment temperature, humidity, and how your Notebook PC is used. It is ideal that the battery be used in a temperature range between 10˚C and 35˚C (50˚F and

95˚F). You must also take into account that the Notebook PC’s internal temperature is higher than the outside temperature. Any temperatures above or below this range will shorten the life of the battery. But in any case, the battery pack’s usage time will eventually decrease and a new battery pack must be purchased from an authorized dealer for this Notebook PC. Because batteries also have a shelf life, it is not recommended to buy extras for storing.

WARNING! For safety reasons, DO NOT throw the battery in fire,

DO NOT short circuit the contacts, and DO NOT disassemble the battery. If there is any abnormal operation or damage to the battery pack caused by impact, turn OFF the Notebook PC and contact an authorized service center.

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Powering ON the Notebook PC

The Notebook PC’s power-ON message appears on the screen when you turn it ON. If necessary, you may adjust the brightness by using the hot keys. If you need to run the BIOS Setup to set or modify the system configuration, press [F2] upon bootup to enter the BIOS

Setup. Press [ESC] and you will be presented with a boot menu with selections to boot from your available drives.

Before bootup, the display panel flashes when the power is turned ON. This is part of the Notebook PC’s test routine and is not a problem with the display.

IMPORTANT! To protect the hard disk drive, always wait at least

5 seconds after turning OFF your Notebook PC before turning it back ON.

WARNING! DO NOT carry or cover a Notebook PC that is powered ON with any materials that will reduce air circulation such as a carrying bag.

The Power-On Self Test (POST)

When you turn ON the Notebook PC, it will first run through a series of software-controlled diagnostic tests called the Power-On

Self Test (POST). The software that controls the POST is installed as a permanent part of the Notebook PC’s architecture. The POST includes a record of the Notebook PC’s hardware configuration, which is used to make a diagnostic check of the system. This record is created by using the BIOS Setup program. If the POST discovers a difference between the record and the existing hardware, it will display a message on the screen prompting you to correct the conflict by running BIOS Setup. In most cases the record should be correct when you receive the Notebook PC. When the test is finished, you may get a message reporting “No operating system found” if the hard disk was not preloaded with an operating system. This indicates that the hard disk is correctly detected and ready for the installation of a new operating system.

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Self Monitoring and Reporting Technology

The S.M.A.R.T. (Self Monitoring and Reporting Technology) checks the hard disk drive during

POST and gives a warning message if the hard disk drive requires servicing. If any critical hard disk drive warning is given during bootup, backup your data immediately and run

Windows disk checking program.

To run Window’s disk checking program: click Windows > select Computer > right-click a hard disk drive icon > choose

Properties > click the Tools tab > click Check Now > click Start . You can also select “Scan ... sectors” for more effective scan and repair but the process will run slower.

IMPORTANT! If warnings are still given during bootup after running a software disk checking utility, you should take your

Notebook PC in for servicing. Continued use may result in data loss.

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Checking Battery Power

The battery system implements the Smart Battery standard under the Windows environment, which allows the battery to accurately report the amount of charge left in the battery. A fully-charged battery pack provides the Notebook PC a few hours of working power. But the actual figure varies depending on how you use the power saving features, your general work habits, the CPU, system memory size, and the size of the display panel.

Screen captures shown here are examples only and may not reflect what you see in your system.

You will be warned when battery power is low. If you continue to ignore the low battery warnings, the Notebook PC eventually enters suspend mode (Windows default uses STR).

Right-click the battery icon

Pointer over the battery icon without power adapter.

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Left-click the battery icon Pointer over the battery icon with power adapter.

WARNING! Suspend-to-RAM (STR) does not last long when the battery power is depleted. STR is not the same as power OFF.

STR requires a small amount of power and will fail and lose data if no power is available due to complete battery depletion or no power supply (e.g. removing both the power adapter and battery pack).

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Charging the Battery Pack

Before you use your Notebook PC on the road, you will have to charge the battery pack. The battery pack begins to charge as soon as the Notebook PC is connected to external power using the power adapter. Fully charge the battery pack before using it for the first time. A new battery pack must completely charge before the

Notebook PC is disconnected from external power. It takes a few hours to fully charge the battery when the Notebook PC is turned

OFF and may take twice the time when the Notebook PC is turned

ON. The battery status indicator on the Notebook PC turns OFF when the battery pack is charged.

The battery starts charging when the charge remaining in the battery drops below 95%. This prevents the battery from charging frequently. Minimizing the recharge cycles helps prolong battery life.

The battery stops charging if the temperature is too high or the battery voltage is too high.

WARNING! DO NOT leave the battery pack discharged. The battery pack will discharge over time. If not using a battery pack, it must continued to be charged every three months to extend recovery capacity or else it may fail to charge in the future.

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Power Options

The power switch turns ON and

OFF the Notebook PC or putting the Notebook PC into sleep or hibernation modes. Actual behavior of the power switch can be customized in Windows

Control Panel “Power Options.”

For other options, such as “Switch

User, Restart, Sleep, or Shut Down,” click the arrowhead next to the lock icon.

Restarting or Rebooting

After making changes to your operating system, you may be prompted to restart the system. Some installation processes will provide a dialog box to allow restart. To restart the system manually, choose Restart .

IMPORTANT! To protect the hard drive, wait at least 5 seconds after turning OFF your Notebook PC before turning it back ON.

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Emergency Shutdown

In case your operating system cannot properly turn OFF or restart, there is an additional way to shutdown your Notebook PC:

Hold the power button over 4 seconds.

IMPORTANT! DO NOT use emergency shutdown while data is being written; doing so can result in loss or destruction of your data.

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Power Management Modes

The Notebook PC has a number of automatic or adjustable power saving features that you can use to maximize battery life and lower

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). You can control some of these features through the Power menu in the BIOS Setup. ACPI power management settings are made through the operating system.

The power management features are designed to save as much electricity as possible by putting components into a low power consumption mode as often as possible but also allow full operation on demand.

Sleep and Hibernate

Power management settings can be found in the Windows

> Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options . In

Power Options , you can define

Sleep/Hibernate or Shut Down for closing the display panel or pressing the power button. Sleep and Hibernate saves power when your Notebook PC is not in use by turning OFF certain components. When you resume your work, your last status (such as a document scrolled down half way or email typed half way) will reappear as if you never left. Shut Down will close all applications and ask if you want to save your work if any are not saved.

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Sleep is the same as Suspend-to-

RAM (STR). This function stores your current data and status in

RAM while many components are turned OFF. Because RAM is volatile, it requires power to keep (refresh) the data. Click the Windows button and the arrowhead next to the lock icon to see this option. You can also use the keyboard shortcut [ Fn F1 ] to activate this mode. Recover by pressing any keyboard key except

[Fn].

Hibernate is the same as Suspend-to-Disk (STD) and stores your current data and status on the hard disk drive. By doing this, RAM does not have to be periodically refreshed and power consumption is greatly reduced but not completely eliminated because certain wake-up components like LAN needs to remain powered. Hibernate saves more power compared to Sleep . Click the Windows button and the arrowhead next to the lock icon to see this option. Recover by pressing the power button. (NOTE: The power indicator will be

OFF in this mode.)

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Thermal Power Control

There are three power control methods for controlling the Notebook

PC’s thermal state. These power control cannot be configured by the user and should be known in case the Notebook PC should enter these states. The following temperatures represent the chassis temperature (not CPU).

• The fan turns ON for active cooling when the temperature reaches the safe upper limit.

• The CPU decreases speed for passive cooling when the temperature exceeds the safe upper limit.

• The system shut down for critical cooling when temperature exceeds the maximum safe upper limit.

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Special Keyboard Functions

Colored Hot Keys

The following defines the colored hot keys on the Notebook PC’s keyboard. The colored commands can only be accessed by first pressing and holding the function key while pressing a key with a colored command.

The Hot Key locations on the function keys may vary depending on model but the functions should remain the same. Follow the icons instead of the function keys.

“Z Z ” Icon (F1): Places the Notebook PC in suspend mode

(either Save-to-RAM or Save-to-Disk depending on sleep button setting in power management setup).

Radio Tower (F2): Wireless Models Only: Toggles the internal wireless LAN or Bluetooth (on selected models)

ON or OFF with an on-screen-display. When enabled, the corresponding wireless indicator will light. Windows software settings are necessary to use the wireless LAN or Bluetooth.

Sun Down Icon (F5): Decreases the display brightness

Sun Up Icon (F6): Increases the display brightness

LCD Icon (F7): Toggles the display panel ON and OFF. (On certain models; stretches the screen area to fill the entire display when using low resolution modes.)

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LCD/Monitor Icons (F8): Toggles between the Notebook

PC’s LCD display and an external monitor in this series:

LCD Only -> CRT Only (External Monitor) -> LCD + CRT

Clone -> LCD + CRT Extend. (This function does not work in 256 Colors, select High Color in Display Property

Settings.) NOTE: Must connect an external monitor

“before” booting up.

Crossed-out Touchpad (F9) : Toggles the built-in touchpad LOCKED (disabled) and UNLOCKED (enabled).

Locking the touchpad will prevent you from accidentally moving the pointer while typing and is best used with an external pointing device such as a mouse. NOTE: Selected models have an indicator between the touchpad buttons will light when the touchpad is UNLOCKED (enabled) and not light when the touchpad is LOCKED (disabled).

CD Skip to Previous Track (Rewind) (F10): During CD play, skips to the previous audio track/movie chapter..

CD Play/Pause (F11): During CD stop, begins CD play.

During CD play, pauses CD play.

CD Skip to Next Track (Fast Forward) (F12): During CD play, skips to the next audio track/movie chapter.

Fn+C: Toggles “Splendid Video Intelligent Technology” function ON and OFF. This allows switching between different display color enhancement modes in order to improve contrast, brightness, skin tone, and color saturation for red, green, and blue independently. You can see the current mode through the onscreen display

(OSD).

Fn+V: Toggles “Life Frame” software application.

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Power4Gear Hybrid (Fn+Space Bar): This key toggles power savings between various power saving modes.

The power saving modes control many aspects of the

Notebook PC to maximize performance versus battery time. Applying or removing the power adapter will automatically switch the system between AC mode and battery mode. You can see the current mode through the on-screen display (OSD).

Microsoft Windows Keys

There are two special Windows keys on the keyboard as described below.

The key with the Windows Logo activates the Start menu located at the bottom left of the Windows desktop.

The other key, that looks like a Windows menu with a small pointer, activates the properties menu and is equivalent to pressing the right mouse button on a

Windows object.

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Switches and Status Indicators

Switches

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Music Now/ Power4Gear Hybrid Key

When your Notebook PC is powered OFF, pressing this key will launch a multimedia player application without entering

Windows.

When your Notebook PC is powered ON, the Power4Gear Hybrid key toggles power savings between various power saving modes. The power saving modes control many aspects of the

Notebook PC to maximize performance versus battery time.

Applying or removing the power adapter will automatically switch the system between AC mode and battery mode. The selected mode is shown on the display.

Power Switch

The power switch turns ON and OFF the Notebook PC or putting the Notebook PC into sleep or hibernation modes. Actual behavior of the power switch can be customized in Windows

Control Panel “Power Options.”

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Status Indicators

Power Indicator

The power indicator lights when the Notebook PC is turned ON and blinks slowly when the Notebook PC is in the Suspend-to-

RAM (Sleep) mode. This indicator is OFF when the Notebook PC is turned OFF or in the Suspend-to-Disk (Hibernation) mode.

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Battery Charge Indicator (dual-color)

The dual-color battery charge indicator shows the status of the battery’s power as follows:

Green ON : Battery power is between 95% and 100% (with AC power).

Orange ON : Battery power is less than 95% (with AC power).

Orange Blinking : Battery power is less than 10% (without AC power).

Off : Battery power is between 10% and 100% (without AC power).

Drive Activity Indicator

Indicates that the Notebook PC is accessing one or more storage device(s) such as the hard disk. The light flashes proportional to the access time.

Bluetooth / Wireless Indicator

This is only applicable on models with internal Bluetooth (BT) and built-in wireless LAN. This indicator will light to show that the Notebook PC’s built-in Bluetooth (BT) function is activated.

When the built-in wireless LAN is enabled, this indicator will also light. (Windows software settings are necessary.)

Capital Lock Indicator

Indicates that capital lock [Caps Lock] is activated when lighted.

Capital lock allows some of the keyboard letters to type using capitalized letters (e.g. A, B, C). When the capital lock light is OFF, the typed letters will be in the lower case form (e.g. a,b,c).

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