The following figures show the controls, lights, and other features on the
front panel of your computer. The drive door can open and fold against the
side of the computer. This allows fully unobstructed use of the externally
accessible drives. See "Opening the Drive Door."
Power button — controls the computer's AC input power. See the
following table for power button functions on computers running
Microsoft® Windows® or Windows NT®.
Computer Status
Power Button Function
Off
Press and release to turn the computer on.
On
Press and hold for more than 6 seconds to immediately turn the computer off.
NOTE: Using this method to turn off the computer may
result in loss of data. Use this method only if the computer
will not shut down normally.
On (Windows NT)
Press and release to attempt an orderly shutdown.
NOTE: This works only if the
Dell System Utilities are
loaded on the computer. Without the utilities, the computer
immediately turns off rather than performing an orderly
shut down.
Sleep state
Press and release to bring the computer out of the sleep state. For more information, see "Power Management."
Off
Press and release to turn the computer on.
Power light — illuminates in two colors and blinks or remains solid to
indicate different states.
Diskette-drive access light — illuminates when the drive is reading
data from, or writing data to, a diskette. Wait until this light turns off
before you remove a diskette from the drive.
Hard-drive access light — illuminates when a hard drive is reading data
from, or writing data to, the drive.
Diagnostic lights — a series of lights that can help you diagnose a
problem with your computer.
When you connect external devices to your computer's back panel, follow
these guidelines:
Check the documentation that accompanied the device for specific
installation and configuration instructions.
For example, you must connect most devices to a particular I/O port or connector to operate properly. Also, external devices like a printer usually require you to load device drivers before they will work.
When connecting a USB mouse or keyboard, ensure that you connect
to one of the Port 1 USB connectors on the back of the computer.
Always attach external devices while your computer is turned off. Then
turn on the computer before turning on any external devices, unless
the documentation for the device specifies otherwise.
NOTICE: Before disconnecting a device from the computer, wait 10 to 20
seconds after turning off the computer to avoid possible damage to the system
board.
