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Veriton 5500 series (Veriton 5500/Veriton 5500G) User’s guide...
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Serial Number: ___________________________________ Purchase Date: ___________________________________ Place of Purchase: ________________________________ Acer and the Acer Logo are registered trademarks of Acer Inc. Other company’s product names or trademarks are used herein for identification purposes only and belong to their respective companies.
Notices FCC notice This device has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.
Notice: Canadian users This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations. Important safety instructions Read these instructions carefully. Save these instructions for future reference. Follow all warnings and instructions marked on the product. Unplug this product from the wall outlet before cleaning. Do not use liquid cleaners or aerosol cleaners.
If the product has been exposed to rain or water If the product does not operate normally when the operating instructions are followed. Adjust only those controls that are covered by the operating instructions since improper adjustment of other controls may result in damage and will often require extensive work by a qualified technician to restore the product to normal condition.
Year 2000 compliance statement The Veriton 5500 series computer carries the "Hardware NSTL Tested Year 2000 Compliant" logo, which certifies that this model has been tested by NSTL using the YMark2000 test, and has been found to meet NSTL's standards for Year 2000 hardware compliance.
Notices FCC notice Important safety instructions Laser compliance statement Lithium battery statement Macrovision® statement Year 2000 compliance statement 1 First things first Package contents Taking care of your computer Important tips Cleaning and servicing Asking for technical assistance Accessing the user’s guide 2 System tour Features Performance...
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viii Adjusting your chair Positioning your computer Positioning your monitor Positioning your keyboard Positioning your mouse Connecting peripherals Connecting your mouse Connecting your keyboard Connecting a monitor Connecting the power cable Turning on your computer Turning off your computer Connecting options Connecting your printer Connecting the modem Connecting to the network...
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Reinstalling programs Recovering your system 6 Frequently asked questions FAQs Index...
Carefully unpack the carton and remove the contents. If any of the following items are missing or damaged, contact your dealer immediately: • Veriton 5500 series computer • Items contained in the accessory box • PS/2 or USB keyboard •...
Taking care of your computer Please read the safety instructions listed in this section. Following these instructions on the care and use of your new computer will help you maximize its durability. Important tips • Do not expose the computer to direct sunlight. Do not place it near sources of heat, such as a radiator.
If you want to replace or upgrade any of your computer's internal components Asking for technical assistance For technical assistance, contact your local dealer or distributor. You may also access the Acer Web site at (www.acer.com) for information on how and where to contact the service centers available in your area.
Help and Support Center. On the Help and Support Center home page, double-click the Veriton 5500 series Online icon. To access the user’s guide (for Windows 2000) Double-click on the Veriton 5500 series Online icon on your Windows desktop. 1 First things first...
Features Here are just a few of your computer’s many features: Performance ® • Intel Pentium 4 processor • System memory expandable to a maximum of 2GB using DDR (Double Data Rate) SDRAM DIMM modules Note: To capitalize on the system memory capacity mentioned above, you must use 1-GB memory modules which are not yet available in the market.
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• One parallel port • One VGA port • Six Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports (two on the front and four on the rear panel) • High-speed fax/data PCI modem (optional) • 10Base-T/100Base-TX network support with remote wake-up function 2 System tour...
Front panel Your computer’s front panel consists of the following: Label Icon Description Hard disk activity light-emitting diode (LED) System activity indicator Power indicator Power button CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/CD-RW Headphone/Earphone port Floppy drive LED 3.5-inch floppy drive Floppy drive eject button CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/CD-RW tray Stop/Eject button...
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Label Icon Description CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/CD-RW emergency eject hole CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/CD-RW LED Volume control 5.25-inch drive bay Headphone/Earphone port Front microphone-in port (see Note) USB ports Note: The system has two microphone-in jacks (front and rear). However, you can not use both of them at the same time. By default, your system enables the microphone-in jack in front and disables the one at the back.
Rear panel Your computer’s rear panel consists of the following: Label Icon Color Green Teal or Turquoise Burgundy Blue White Description Voltage selector switch PS/2 mouse port Power jack (for external speakers) Serial port Parallel/Printer port Monitor port Network port Keyhole...
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Label Icon Color Light blue Lime Pink Black Purple For information on how to connect the peripherals, see “Connecting peripherals” on page 29 and “Connecting options” on page 38. 2 System tour Description Modem line port Expansion slots Telephone port Audio-in/Line-in jack Audio-out/Line-out jack Microphone-in jack...
Keyboard Your computer comes with a USB keyboard. The keyboard has full- sized keys that include separate cursor keys, two Windows keys, and twelve function keys. For information on how to connect your USB keyboard, please see “Connecting peripherals” on page 29 Description Function keys Caps lock...
Function keys The function keys, F1 - F12, let you perform specific functions, depending on the application that uses them. Lock keys The keyboard has three lock keys which you can toggle on and off to switch between two functions. Lock key Caps Lock Num Lock...
Windows keys The keyboard has two keys that perform Windows-specific functions. Windows logo key Application key Cursor keys The cursor keys, also called the arrow keys, let you move the cursor around the screen. They serve the same function as the arrow keys on the numeric keypad when the Num Lock is toggled off.
Volume control/Mute knob The volume control/mute knob controls the speaker volume. Turn it clockwise or counterclockwise to adjust the volume. Press it to toggle between mute and sound. Multimedia keys Allow you to conveniently play, pause, stop, step forward, or step back a song or movie using your keyboard.
Icon Backward Internet/Suspend keys The Internet/Suspend keys consist of three buttons: Icon Email browser Suspend Programmable keys The programmable keys help you directly access a URL (Web site) or launch any program, files, or application in your system. The fifth key is set to launch the Windows Media Player.
Mouse Your computer comes with a USB mouse. The mouse has one ratchet wheel and two buttons: a right button and a left button. Quickly pressing and releasing the buttons is called clicking. Sometimes, you will need to do a double-click (clicking the same button twice quickly) or a right-click (clicking the right button quickly).
Disk drives Your computer comes with the following disk drives: 3.5-inch floppy drive Your computer’s 3.5-inch floppy drive supports 720-KB and 1.44-MB capacity diskettes. Floppy diskettes are compact, lightweight, and easy to carry around. Here are some tips on how to take care of your diskettes: •...
CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive Your computer may come with a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or a CD-RW drive. This drive is located on the front panel of your computer. The CD-ROM drive allows you to play different types of compact discs (CDs). The DVD-ROM drive allows you to play not only old CD-ROMs, CD-I discs, and video CDs, but new digital video discs (DVDs) as well.
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To insert a CD/DVD into your computer’s CD/DVD drive: Gently press the drive Stop/Eject button located on the front panel. When the disc tray slides open, place the CD or DVD gently on the tray. Make sure that the label or title side of the disc is facing upward.
2 System tour Hard disk Your computer is preinstalled with a high-capacity Enhanced-IDE (E-IDE) hard disk. Refer to “Replacing the hard disk” on page 62 for instructions on how to upgrade or replace your hard disk.
Arranging a comfortable work area Working safely begins with the arrangement of your work space and the proper use of equipment. For this reason, it is very important to take time and think about how you are going to arrange your work area.
Positioning your monitor Place your monitor at a comfortable viewing distance, usually 50 to 60 centimeters away. Adjust the display in such a way that the top of the screen is at or slightly below eye level. Positioning your keyboard The location of the keyboard is a very important factor to your posture.
Connecting peripherals Setting up your computer is easy. For the most part, you only have four things to connect: the mouse, the keyboard, the monitor, and the power cable. Note: The peripherals shown in the connections below are for your reference only. Actual device models may vary in select countries.
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3 Setting up your computer PS/2 mouse Plug the PS/2 mouse cable into the PS/2 mouse port (green port) located on the rear panel of your computer.
3 Setting up your computer Connecting your keyboard USB keyboard Plug your USB keyboard cable into any of the USB ports (black port) located on the front and rear panel of your computer.
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PS/2 keyboard Plug your PS/2 keyboard cable into the PS/2 keyboard port (purple port) located on the rear panel of your computer.
Connecting a monitor To connect a monitor, simply plug the CRT monitor cable into the monitor port (blue port) located on the rear panel of your computer. Note: Refer to the monitor manual for additonal instructions and information. 3 Setting up your computer...
Connecting the power cable Caution! Before you proceed, check the voltage range in your area. Make sure that it matches your computer’s voltage setting . If they don’t match, change your computer’s voltage setting according to your area’s voltage range. Set the voltage selector switch to the voltage range applicable to your area (a).
Turning on your computer After connecting the necessary peripherals and plugging in the power cable, you are now ready to turn the computer on and get to work. To turn on your computer: Turn on all peripherals connected to your computer such as the monitor, printer, fax, speakers, etc.
Turning off your computer To turn off your computer, follow the steps below. For Windows XP: On the Windows XP taskbar, click on the Start button, and click Turn Off Computer, then click Turn Off. Turn off all peripherals connected to your computer. For Windows 2000: On the Windows 2000 taskbar, click on the Start button, highlight Shut Down, select Shut down from the drop down window then...
Connecting options Connecting your printer Your computer supports parallel, serial and USB printers. To connect a parallel printer, plug the printer cable into the parallel port (burgundy port) located on the rear panel of your computer. Note: The printer shown below is for your reference only. Actual device model may vary in select countries.
Connecting the modem (optional) Set up your modem connection by plugging the telephone line and modem line into their corresponding ports on the rear panel of your computer.
Connecting to the network You can connect your computer to a Local Area Network (LAN) using a network cable. To do so, simply plug the network cable into the network port (white port) located on the rear panel of your computer.
Connecting multimedia devices You can connect multimedia devices such as microphone, earphone or headphone, external speakers, and audio line-in device. These devices will allow you to take advantage of your computer’s multimedia features. Note: The multimedia devices shown below are for your reference only.
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• earphones, headphones: connect to the Headphone-out port (lime port) located on the front panel of your computer Note: To adjust the volume of the headphones, click the Volume icon located on the taskbar at the bottom of your screen. When the volume control pops up, drag the Volume control lever to the desired level.
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• external speakers: connect to the Audio-out/Line-out jack (lime jack) and Speaker power jack panel of your computer • audio line-in device: connects to the Audio-in/Line-in jack (light blue jack) located on the rear panel of your computer located on the rear...
Connecting USB devices Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a serial bus design that is capable of cascading peripherals such as a digital camera, keyboard, mouse, joystick, scanner, printer and modem. With USB, complex cable connections can be eliminated. Your computer comes with six USB ports: two on the front and another four on the rear panel.
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Note: Some USB devices have a built-in USB port which allows you to connect or daisy-chain more USB devices.
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This chapter contains instructions on how to upgrade your computer and basic information about your system boards that you will find helpful when performing the upgrade process.
Installation precautions Before you install any computer component, we recommend that you read the following sections. These sections contain important ESD precautions along with preinstallation and post-installation instructions. ESD precautions Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage your processor, disk drives, expansion boards, and other components. Always observe the following precautions before you install a computer component: Do not remove a component from its protective packaging until you are ready to install it.
Post-installation instructions Observe the following after installing a computer component: See to it that all components are installed according to the step- by-step instructions in their respective sections. Replace any expansion board(s) or peripheral(s) that you removed earlier. Replace the computer cover. Connect the necessary cables and turn on your computer.
Opening your computer Caution! Before you proceed, make sure that you have turned off your computer and all peripherals connected to it. Read the “Preinstallation instructions” on page 49. You need to open your computer before you can install additional components.
To replace the computer cover Align the cover to the housing frame (1) and then push it in to slide it back into place (2). Secure the cover with the thumbscrews you removed earlier (3,4). 4 Upgrading your computer...
Internal components The figure below shows what your computer looks like once you remove the cover: Component Expansion slots Mainboard Metal brackets (hard disk drive frame) Power supply Hard disk frame CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive frame Note: The mainboard model shown in the figure above may not be exactly the same with the one found in your computer.
4 Upgrading your computer System boards Mainboard layout The mainboard becomes accessible once you open your computer. Refer to the section below for the corresponding mainboard layout of your Veriton 5500 series computer model.
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4 Upgrading your computer Veriton 5500G mainboard layout...
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Label Component Battery PS/2 mouse (upper) and keyboard (lower) ports USB ports COM 2 connector Game port Power connector Parallel (upper), serial (left) and monitor (right) ports FDD connector CN10 Network (upper) and USB (lower) ports CN11 Power connector (12V power) CN12 IDE 2 connector CN13...
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Label Component CN24 Power/Suspend LED connector CN25 Standard FPIO connector CN26 Power LED connector DIMM 1 DIMM sockets 1-2 DIMM 2 3-pin CPU fan connector 3-pin system fan connector 1-2 Clear CMOS 2-3 Normal SL1 to SL3 PCI slots 1 to 3 SLT1 AGP slot (for Veriton 5500G)
Audio board The audio board that came with your computer should look like the figure that follows. Label Description USB 1.1 connector CN2 and USB ports Standard Audio connector - connects to the CN16 of the mainboard USB connector - connects to the CN3 connector of the mainboard Microphone-in jack (front) Audio-out port...
Upgrading your computer Certain components of your computer are upgradeable such as the memory, the hard disk, the CPU and the expansion cards. You need to observe the “Installation precautions” on page 49 when installing or removing a computer component. However, for safety purposes, we do not recommend that you perform these upgrades yourself.
Locate the DDR DIMM socket on the mainboard. Press the holding clips on both sides of the DDR DIMM socket outward to release the DDR DIMM (1,2). Gently pull the DDR DIMM out of the socket (3). To install a DDR DIMM Locate the DDR DIMM socket on the mainboard.
Align the DDR DIMM with the socket (1). Press the DDR DIMM into the socket until the clips lock onto the DDR DIMM (2,3). Note: The DDR DIMM sockets are slotted to ensure proper installation. If you insert a DDR DIMM but it does not fit easily into the socket, you may have inserted it incorrectly.
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Lift up the metal bracket and pull it out (1,2). Detach all cables connected to the hard disk.
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Remove the four screws that hold the hard disk to the disk frame and detach the hard disk. Set the screws aside. Insert the new hard disk into the frame and secure it with four screws. Reattach all cables to the new hard disk. Note: Make sure that the other ends of the disk cables are securely connected to their corresponding connectors on the mainboard.
Reinstall the metal bracket frame to the housing. Replace the computer cover. Installing an expansion card To install an expansion card: Remove the computer cover. Locate an empty PCI slot on the mainboard. Remove the screw that holds the bracket to the computer. Save the screw.
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Pull out the bracket on the housing opposite the selected empty slot. Remove the expansion card from its protective packaging. Align the card in the empty bracket and then insert it into the slot. Make sure that the card is properly seated. 4 Upgrading your computer...
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Secure the card to your computer with a screw you removed earlier. Replace the computer cover. When you turn on the computer, BIOS automatically detects and assigns resources to the newly-installed devices.
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This chapter describes the applications that came with your computer.
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Your computer comes with the following applications: • Acrobat® Reader™ • LANDesk Client Manager (LDCM) • Norton AntiVirus • NTI CD-Maker • PowerDVD • BIOS utility All of the applications that came with your computer are very easy to use. However, if you need more help and information, you may refer to the online help documentation provided in each software application.
Acrobat Reader Acrobat Reader is a software that lets you view, navigate, browse and print Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files on all major computer platforms. Acrobat Reader can open your document across a broad range of hardware and software, and it will look exactly as you intended - with layout, fonts, links and images intact.
LDCM (optional) LANDesk Client Manager (LDCM) allows desktop management via the Web, standard network, or dial-up connections. It is compatible with the leading management specifications, such as Wired for Management 2.0, Desktop Management Interface (DMI) v2.0, and others. Your computer may be bundled with a LDCM installation CD. To install LDCM: Insert the LDCM installation CD into the CD or DVD drive.
Norton AntiVirus Norton AntiVirus is an anti-virus software which finds and repairs infected files, protects against viruses to keep your computer data safe and secure. It also scans incoming email attachments for viruses. It provides useful virus detection and repair facilities. To install Norton AntiVirus: Double-click the Norton AntiVirus icon on your Windows desktop.
NTI CD-Maker (for models with CD-RW) The NTI CD-Maker is a CD-Recording software which allows you to create and copy audio, data and videos to CD-RW discs. To run NTI CD-Maker: On the Windows taskbar, click on the Start button. highlight Programs and select NTI CD-Maker.
PowerDVD (for models with DVD) PowerDVD is a high-quality, pure software DVD player which brings high-quality movies and karaoke to your multimedia PC. You can play back high resolution DVD titles or MPEG-2 files with MPEG-2 video and Dolby Digital (AC-3) audio. PowerDVD provides a complete set of commands for navigation and advanced features such as multi-angle switching, multi-language and multi-subtitle selection, and parental control.
BIOS utility The BIOS utility is a hardware configuration program built into your computer's Basic Input/Output System (BIOS). Since most computers are already properly configured and optimized, there is no need to run this utility. However, if you encounter configuration problems and get the "Run Setup"...
Reinstalling programs If you uninstall one of the preinstalled programs and want to reinstall it, do the following: Make sure that the system is turned on. Insert the System CD into the CD or DVD drive. Select the application that you want to reinstall. Follow all onscreen instructions until you finish the installation.
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This chapter instructs you on how to deal with common system problems. Read it before calling a technician if a problem occurs. Solutions to more serious problems require opening up the computer. Do not attempt to open the computer by yourself. Contact your dealer or an authorized service center for assistance.
FAQs Acer is dedicated in bringing you a reliable and easy to maintain computer. However, we realize that some problems may arise unexpectedly. Below are possible questions that may arise during the use of your computer with corresponding easy troubleshooting solutions to the situation.
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Q: Nothing appears on the screen. A: Your computer’s power management function automatically blanks the screen to save power. Press any key to turn the display back on. If pressing a key does not work, you can restart your computer. If restarting your computer does not work, contact your dealer or the technical support center for support.
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Caution! If you reformat a diskette, you will loose all data on it. • Make sure the diskette or CD/DVD is properly inserted in the drive. • Check if the CD/DVD is clean and is not scratched. • Check your drive by using a good (i.e., undamaged) diskette or a good disc.
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