Dell Inspiron 3500 - Manual (Page 152)

External Keyboard, Keypad, or Mouse
You can connect a keyboard with a standard PS/2 connector to the PS/2 connector on the computer, or a USB-compatible keyboard to the USB
connector.
You can attach an external numeric keypad to the PS/2 connector on the computer, or a USB-compatible keypad to the USB connector.
You can attach a PS/2-compatible mouse to the PS/2 connector on the computer, or a USB-compatible mouse to the USB connector.
The touch pad device drivers that Dell installed on your hard-disk drive work with a PS/2 mouse, serial mouse, or USB mouse from Dell. If you did
not receive your mouse from Dell, you must install device drivers separately to use the mouse. This software is usually included with mouse
installation kits.
Power Management
How to Conserve Battery Power
You automatically conserve battery power each time you attach an AC power source to the computer. When the AC adapter is attached, the
battery or batteries, if installed, are being charged while the computer runs from AC power. The life expectancy of your battery is determined
largely by the number of charges it receives, so use an AC power source to run the computer if one is available.
Use the Windows 98 Power Management Properties window to adjust the way the computer uses battery power. Options in the window slow or
stop some internal devices when the computer is idle.
Take advantage of the computer's power management modes, set in the Windows 98 Power Management Properties window, when you leave
the computer unattended for long periods of time. Standby, Turn Off Monitor, and Turn Off Hard Drive allow you to maximize power
conservation when your work is interrupted.
When the computer is using battery power, remove PC Cards that you are not using.
Experiment with power conservation features to achieve the optimum power conservation for your work environment.
Using Microsoft Windows 98 to Conserve Battery Power
Complete the following steps in Windows 98 to access the Power Management Properties window and set the power management features:
1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and click Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Power Management Properties icon.
The Power Management Properties window contains the following tabs:
l
Power Schemes allows you to select one of three power mode settings.
l Alarms allows you to set the Low battery and Critical battery alarms to alert you when the system battery falls below a certain
percentage. When you received your computer, the Low battery and Critical battery alarms check boxes were not checked.
Dell recommends that you do not select these options.
l Power Meter allows you to view the percentage of battery life remaining when your system is operating on battery power. If your
system is operating on AC power, the system displays a message.
l Advanced allows you to display the Power Meter on the Windows 98 taskbar and to display a password prompt when the
computer resumes from Standby mode.
3. Select the appropriate settings for the power management features you want.
Experimenting With Power Conservation
In general, the lower the value you set for each time-out option, the longer your battery's charge lasts. On the other hand, setting high time-out
values tends to optimize the computer's performance. For best results, experiment with the following conservation methods:
l
Use the computer with all the options set to their defaults.
l Use the computer with all the time-out options disabled or set to Off.
l Use the computer with all the time-out options set to their minimum values.
Evaluate the way that the different time-out settings affect how long you can operate the computer on battery power versus the relative efficiency of
how your software performs.
NOTE: You can still use the built-in keyboard when an external keyboard or external keypad is attached to the computer.
NOTE: Before connecting or disconnecting a serial mouse or PS/2 mouse, it is recommended that you turn off your computer.
NOTE: You can also set power management modes in the Setup program's Power menu. However, the Windows 98 power management
settings always override the power management selections chosen in the Setup program.
NOTE: You might have to trade some of the computer's performance for increased battery operating time. For example, if you turn off the
hard-disk drive, you may experience a delay the next time the computer tries to access the drive.