Dell Inspiron 3700 Reference Manual page 3

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Power Management Settings: Dell™ Inspiron™ 3700 System Reference
Experimenting With Power Conservation • Using Key Combinations • Closing the Display • Suspend Mode • Standby Mode • Save-to-Disk
Suspend Mode • Power Management Properties for Microsoft Windows 98 • Power Management Properties for Microsoft Windows NT
Experimenting With Power Conservation
In general, the lower the value you set for each power conservation feature, the longer the battery's charge lasts. On the other hand, setting high
values tends to optimize the computer's performance.
To evaluate the way that different settings affect how long you can operate the computer on battery power versus the relative efficiency of how the
software performs, experiment as follows:
Use the computer with all the options set at their default values.
l
Use the computer with all the options disabled or set to Off.
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Use the computer with all the options set to their minimum or maximum values.
l
NOTE: For Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI)-compliant systems, power management settings are controlled from
the Power Management Properties window in the Control Panel. In other systems, power management settings are controlled from
the System Setup program.
Using Key Combinations
Table 1 identifies the power management key combinations.
NOTE: To use key combinations on an external keyboard, enable the External Hot Key option in the System Setup program, and
press <Scroll Lock> instead of <Fn>.
Table 1. Key Combinations to Activate/Deactivate Features
Feature
Turn off display
Turn off hard-disk drive
Standby mode
Sleep mode (ACPI-compliant systems)
Standby mode (Microsoft® Windows®
98 systems)
S2D
* These key combinations may not function with the ACPI if the settings have not been activated with the Power Management Properties
window in the Control Panel.
Closing the Display
One way to conserve power on the computer is to close the display when the computer is not in use. When you close the display and an external
Activate/Deactivate
To activate, press <Fn><d>.*
To deactivate, move the cursor or press a key on the integrated or external keyboard. (If nothing
happens, the computer may be in standby mode. Press the power button to resume normal
operation.)
To activate, press <Fn><h>.*
Automatically deactivates when the hard-disk drive is accessed.
NOTE: If a modular hard-disk drive is installed in the media bay, you cannot turn off the hard-disk
drive by pressing <Fn><h>.
To activate, press <Fn><Esc>.
To deactivate, press the power button.
To activate, press <Fn><a>. (On a French keyboard, press <Fn><q>.)*
To deactivate, press the power button.