Acer 3020 Series User manual

Aspire 3020/5020 Series

User's Guide

Changes may be made periodically to the information in this publication without obligation

to notify any person of such revisions or changes. Such changes will be incorporated in new

editions of this manual or supplementary documents and publications. This company makes

no representations or warranties, either expressed or implied, with respect to the contents

hereof and specifically disclaims the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a

particular purpose.

Record the model number, serial number, purchase date, and place of purchase information in

the space provided below. The serial number and model number are recorded on the label

affixed to your computer. All correspondence concerning your unit should include the serial

number, model number, and purchase information.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in

any form or by any means, electronically, mechanically, by photocopy, recording, or otherwise,

without the prior written permission of Acer Incorporated.

Model number: __________________________________

Serial number: ___________________________________

Purchase date: ___________________________________

Place of purchase: ________________________________

Aspire 3020/5020 Series User's Guide

Original Issue: March 2005

Aspire 3020/5020 Series Notebook Computer

Acer and the Acer logo are registered trademarks of Acer Incorporated. Other companies'

product names or trademarks are used herein for identification purposes only and belong to

their respective companies.

iii

First things first

We would like to thank you for making the Aspire series of notebook

computers your choice for meeting your mobile computing needs.

Your guides

To help you use your Aspire, we have designed a set of guides:

Basic care and tips for using your computer

Turning your computer on and off

To turn on the computer, simply press and release the power button below the

LCD screen beside the launch keys. See "Front view" on page 1 for the location

of the power button.

To turn the power off, do any of the following:

• Use the Windows shutdown command

Click on Start, Turn Off Computer, then click on Turn Off.

First off, the Just for Starters... poster helps you get started with

setting up your computer.

The printed User's Guide introduces you to the basic features and

functions of your new computer. For more on how your computer

can help you to be more productive, please refer to the

AcerSystem User's Guide. This guide contains detailed

information on such subjects as system utilities, data recovery,

expansion options, and troubleshooting. In addition it contains

warranty information and the general regulations and safety

notices for your notebook. It is available in Portable Document

Format (PDF) and comes preloaded on your notebook. Follow

these steps to access it:

1 Click on Start, All Programs, AcerSystem.

2 Click on AcerSystem User's Guide.

Note: Viewing the file requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. If Adobe

Acrobat Reader is not installed on your computer, clicking on

AcerSystem User's Guide will run the Acrobat Reader setup

program first. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete

the installation. For instructions on how to use Adobe Acrobat

Reader, access the Help and Support menu.

iv

• Use the power button

Note: You can also use the power button to perform power

management functions. See "Moving around" on page 39 of the

AcerSystem User's Guide.

• Use the customized functions for power management

You can also shut down the computer by closing the display cover, or by

pressing the sleep hotkey <Fn> + <F4>. See "Moving around" on page 39

of the AcerSystem User's Guide.

Note: If you cannot power off the computer normally, press and

hold the power button for more than four seconds to shut down

the computer. If you turn off the computer and want to turn it on

again, wait at least two seconds before powering up.

Taking care of your computer

Your computer will serve you well if you take care of it.

• Do not expose the computer to direct sunlight. Do not place it near sources

of heat, such as a radiator.

• Do not expose the computer to temperatures below 0 ºC (32 ºF) or above

50 ºC (122 ºF).

• Do not subject the computer to magnetic fields.

• Do not expose the computer to rain or moisture.

• Do not spill water or any liquid on the computer.

• Do not subject the computer to heavy shock or vibration.

• Do not expose the computer to dust or dirt.

• Never place objects on top of the computer.

• Do not slam the computer display when you close it.

• Never place the computer on uneven surfaces.

Taking care of your AC adaptor

Here are some ways to take care of your AC adaptor:

• Do not connect the adaptor to any other device.

• Do not step on the power cord or place heavy objects on top of it.

Carefully route the power cord and any cables away from foot traffic.

• When unplugging the power cord, do not pull on the cord itself but pull

on the plug.

v

• The total ampere ratings of the equipment plugged in should not exceed

the ampere rating of the cord if you are using an extension cord. Also, the

total current rating of all equipment plugged into a single wall outlet

should not exceed the fuse rating.

Taking care of your battery pack

Here are some ways to take care of your battery pack:

• Use only batteries of the same kind as replacements. Turn the power off

before removing or replacing batteries.

• Do not tamper with batteries. Keep them away from children.

• Dispose of used batteries according to local regulations. Recycle if possible.

Cleaning and servicing

When cleaning the computer, follow these steps:

1 Turn off the computer and remove the battery pack.

2 Disconnect the AC adaptor.

3 Use a soft, moist cloth. Do not use liquid or aerosol cleaners.

If either of the following occurs:

• the computer has been dropped or the body has been damaged;

• the computer does not operate normally

please refer to "Frequently asked questions" on page 22.

Caution

Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the manufacturer could

void the user's authority, which is granted by the Federal Communications

Commission, to operate this computer.

Operation conditions

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the

following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference,

and (2) This device must accept any interference received, including

interference that may cause undesired operation.

Users are requested to follow the RF safety instructions for wireless option

devices that are included in the user's manual of each RF option device.

An improper installation or unauthorized use may cause harmful interference

to radio communications. Also, any tampering of the internal antenna will void

the FCC certification and your warranty.

To prevent radio interference to the licensed service, this device is intended to

be operated indoors, and installation outdoors is subject to licensing.

For more information about our products, services, and support information,

please visit our website: http://global.acer.com

.

First things first iii

Your guides iii

Basic care and tips for using your computer iii

Turning your computer on and off iii

Taking care of your computer iv

Taking care of your AC adaptor iv

Taking care of your battery pack v

Cleaning and servicing v

An Aspire tour 1

Front view 1

Closed front view 2

Left view 3

Right view 4

Rear view 4

Base view 5

Specifications 6

Indicators 9

Launch keys 10

Touchpad 11

Touchpad basics 11

Using the keyboard 13

Lock keys and embedded numeric keypad 13

Windows keys 14

Hotkeys 14

Special keys 16

Ejecting the optical (CD or DVD) drive tray 17

Using a computer security lock 18

Audio 18

Adjusting the volume 18

Using the system utilities 19

Acer eManager 19

Acer GridVista (dual-display compatible) 20

Launch Manager 21

Frequently asked questions 22

Requesting service 25

International Travelers Warranty (ITW) 25

Before you call 25

Contents

Acer Arcade (for selected models) 27

Arcade hotkeys 28

Finding and playing content 29

Settings 29

Arcade controls 29

Navigation controls 30

Player controls 30

Cinema 30

DVD settings 31

Album 32

Slideshow settings 33

Video 33

Playing a video file 33

Video authoring 34

Music 34

Burner 35

Copy — Back up your CD/DVD collection 35

Audio — Create your own greatest hits CDs 35

Data — Store files simply and easily 35

Video — Your world in pictures 35

TV 35

Instant replay 36

Recorded TV 36

Scheduling recordings 37

TV preview 37

Using TeleText functions 37

TV settings 37

Taking your notebook PC with you 39

Disconnecting from the desktop 39

Moving around 39

Preparing the computer 39

What to take to short meetings 40

What to take to long meetings 40

Taking the computer home 40

Preparing the computer 40

What to take with you 41

Special considerations 41

Setting up a home office 41

Traveling with the computer 41

Preparing the computer 41

What to take with you 42

Special considerations 42

Traveling internationally with the computer42

Preparing the computer 42

What to bring with you 42

Special considerations 43

Securing your computer 43

Using a computer security lock 43

Using passwords 43

Entering passwords 44

Setting passwords 44

Expanding through options 45

Connectivity options 45

Fax/data modem 45

Built-in network feature 46

Fast Infrared 46

Universal Serial Bus (USB) 47

IEEE 1394 port 47

PC Card slot 48

BIOS utility 49

Boot sequence 49

Enable disk-to-disk recovery 50

Password 50

Using software 50

Playing DVD movies 50

Power management 51

Acer eRecovery 52

Create backup 52

Restore from backup 53

Create factory default image CD 53

Re-install bundled software without CD 53

Change password 54

Troubleshooting 55

Troubleshooting tips 55

Error messages 55

Regulations and safety notices 57

ENERGY STAR guidelines compliance 57

FCC notice 57

Modem notices 59

Important safety instructions 62

1

English

An Aspire tour

After setting up your computer as illustrated in the Just for Starters... poster, let

us show you around your new Aspire computer.

Front view

# Item Description

1 Display screen Also called Liquid-Crystal Display (LCD), displays

computer output.

2 Power button Turns the computer on and off.

3 Microphone Internal microphone for sound recording.

4 Keyboard For entering data into your computer.

5 Touchpad Touch-sensitive pointing device which functions

like a computer mouse.

2

English

Closed front view

6 Click buttons

(left, center and right)

The left and right buttons function like the left

and right mouse buttons; the center button

serves as a 4-way scroll button.

7 Launch keys Buttons for launching frequently used programs.

See "Launch keys" on page 10 for more details.

8 Status indicators Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) that turn on and off

to show the status of the computer's functions

and components.

9 Palmrest Comfortable support area for your hands when

you use the computer.

# Icon Item Description

1 Speakers Left and right speakers deliver stereo

audio output.

2Bluetooth

communication

button/indicator

Press to enable/disable Bluetooth

function. Lights to indicate the status of

Bluetooth communications

(manufacturing option).

3 Wireless

communication

button/indicator

Press to enable/disable Wireless function.

Lights to indicate the status of wireless

LAN communications

(manufacturing option).

4 Line-in/mic-in jack Accepts input from external microphones.

5 Speaker-out/line-out/

headphone jack

Connects to audio line-out devices

(e.g., speakers, headphones).

6 Battery indicator Lights when the battery is being charged.

# Item Description

3

English

Left view

7 Power indicator Lights when the computer is on.

8 Latch Locks and releases the lid.

# Icon Item Description

1 Ventilation slots Enable the computer to stay cool,

even after prolonged use.

2 S-video/TV-out

port

Connects to a television or display

device with S-video input

(manufacturing option).

3 IEEE 1394 port Connects to IEEE 1394 devices

(manufacturing option).

4 3 USB 2.0 ports Connects to USB 2.0 devices

(e.g., USB mouse, USB camera).

5 Infrared port Interfaces with infrared devices like

infrared printer and IR-aware

computer (manufacturing option).

6 PC Card slot Accepts one Type II PC Card.

7 6-in-1 card reader Accepts an MS, MS PRO, MMC, SD,

SM, or xD-Picture card

(manufacturing option).

Note: Only one card can operate at

any given time.

8 PC Card slot eject

button

Ejects the PC Card from the slot.

# Icon Item Description

4

English

Right view

Note: The slot-load optical drive is only available on selected

models.

Rear view

# Item Description

1 Optical drive eject button Ejects the optical drive tray from the drive.

2 Optical disk access

indicator

LED that indicates when an optical disk is

being read or written.

3 Optical drive Internal optical drive; accepts CDs or DVDs

depending on the optical drive type.

# Icon Item Description

1 Security keylock Connects to a Kensington-compatible

computer security lock.

2 Power jack Connects to an AC adaptor.

3 Modem jack (RJ-11) Connects to a phone line.

4 Network jack Connects to an Ethernet 10/100/1000-

based network.

5 USB 2.0 port Connects to USB 2.0 devices (e.g., USB

mouse, USB camera).

5

English

Base view

6 External display port Connects to a display device

(e.g., external monitor, LCD projector).

7 Ventilation slots Enable the computer to stay cool, even

after prolonged use.

# Item Description

1 Wireless LAN bay Houses the computer's wireless LAN.

2 Battery lock Locks the battery in place.

3 Battery release

latch

Releases the battery for removal.

4 Battery bay Houses the computer's battery pack.

5 Cooling fan Helps keep the computer cool.

Note: Do not cover or obstruct the opening of the fan.

6 Memory and

hard disk bay

Houses the computer's main memory and hard disk

(secured by a screw).

# Icon Item Description

6

English

Specifications

Operating

system

Microsoft

®

Windows

®

XP Home Edition

Microsoft

®

Windows

®

XP Professional

Microsoft

®

Windows

®

XP Media Center Edition 2005

Microsoft

®

Windows

®

XP Professional x64 Edition

Microsoft

®

Windows

®

XP Home Edition N

Microsoft

®

Windows

®

XP Professional Edition N

Platform Aspire 3020 Series

• Mobile AMD Sempron

™

processor 2600+/3000+

or higher with 128 KB L2 cache, or

• Mobile AMD Sempron

™

processor 2800+/3100+

or higher with 256 KB L2 cache

Aspire 5020 Series

•AMD Turion

™

64 ML-28/ML-32 processor at

1.6/1.8 GHz or higher with 128 KB L1 cache and

512 KB L2 cache, or

•AMD Turion

™

64 ML-30/ML-34/ML-37/ML-40

processor at 1.6/1.8/2.0/2.2 GHz or higher with

128 KB L1 cache and 1 MB L2 cache

ATI RS480M and SB400 chipset

System memory 256/512 MB of DDR333 memory, upgradeable to 2 GB

using two soDIMM modules

Display and

graphics

Thin-Film Transistor (TFT) displaying at:

• 15" XGA (1024 x 768)

• 15" SXGA+ (1400 x1050)

• 15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800)

• 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050)

16.7 million colors

ATI MOBILITY

™

RADEON

®

X600 (for selected models), or

ATI MOBILITY

™

RADEON

®

X700 (for selected models)

Simultaneous LCD and CRT display

DualView

™

support

MPEG-2/DVD hardware-assisted capability

7

English

Storage

subsystem

One 40 GB or larger hard disk drive

Optical drive options:

• DVD-Super Multi double layer drive

• DVD-Dual double layer drive

• DVD/CD-RW combo drive

6-in-1 card reader

(MS/MS PRO/MMC/SD/SM/xD-Picture Card)

Dimension and

weight

363 (W) x 278 (D) x 24.0/32.9 (H) mm

(14.3 x 10.9 x 0.9/1.3 inches)

3.07 Kg (6.77 lbs.) for 15.4" LCD model

Power

subsystem

ACPI 1.0b power management standard: supports Standby

and Hibernation power-saving modes

60 W Li-ion battery pack

3.5-hour battery life

2.5-hour quick-charge; 3.5-hour charge-in-use

90 W AC adaptor

Input devices 88-/89-key keyboard

Touchpad with 4-way integrated scroll button

Six easy-launch buttons

Audio Audio system with two built-in speakers

MS-Sound compatible

Communication Modem: 56K ITU V.90/V.92 with PTT approval;

Wake-on-Ring ready

LAN: gigabit Ethernet (for selected models);

Wake-on-LAN ready

WLAN (manufacturing option): integrated 802.11b/g

dual-mode (for selected models), or 802.11a/b/g dual-band

tri-mode Wi-Fi CERTIFIED

™

WLAN solution (for selected

models); Acer SignalUp wireless technology support

WPAN (manufacturing option): integrated Bluetooth

®

Software Acer Launch Manager

Acer eManager (ePresentation/eRecovery/eSettings)

Acer GridVista

Acer System Recovery CD

Norton AntiVirus

™

Adobe

®

Reader

®

CyberLink

®

PowerDVD

™

NTI CD-Maker

™

8

English

Note: The specifications listed above are for reference only. The

exact configuration of your PC depends on the model purchased.

I/O interface Four USB 2.0 ports

IEEE 1394 port

Ethernet (RJ-45) port

Modem (RJ-11) port

External display (VGA) port

S-video/TV-out port

Microphone/line-in jack

Headphones/speaker/line-out port

Infrared (FIR) port

Type II PC Card slot

6-in-1 card reader

DC-in jack for AC adaptor

Security Kensington lock slot

BIOS user and supervisor passwords

Options and

accessories

256/512 MB and 1 GB

soDIMM memory

Li-ion battery pack

90 W AC adaptor

Environment Temperature:

• Operating: 5° C to 35° C

• Non-operating: -20° C to 65° C

Humidity (non-condensing):

• Operating: 20% to 80%

• Non-operating: 20% to 80%

System

compliance

Mobile PC 2001

ACPI 1.0b

DMI 2.0

Wi-Fi

®

Warranty One-year International Travelers Warranty (ITW)

9

English

Indicators

The computer has four easy-to-read status indicators on the upper-right above

the keyboard, and four on the front panel.

The power, battery, and wireless communication status indicators are visible

even when the LCD display is closed.

1. Charging: The light shows amber when the battery is charging.

2. Fully charged: The light shows green when in AC mode.

Icon Function Description

Caps Lock Lights up when Caps Lock is activated.

Num Lock Lights up when Num Lock is activated.

Media activity Indicates when the hard disk or optical drive is active.

Bluetooth Indicates the status of Bluetooth communication.

Wireless LAN Indicates the status of wireless LAN communication.

Power Lights up when the computer is on.

Battery Lights up when the battery is being charged.

10

English

Launch keys

Located at the upper-right, above the keyboard are four buttons. These buttons

are called launch keys. They are: mail, Web browser, Acer Empowering Key

" " and one user-programmable button.

Press " " to run the Acer eManager. Please see "Acer eManager" on page 19.

The mail and Web buttons are pre-set to email and Internet programs, but can

be reset by users. To set the Web browser, mail and programmable keys, run the

Acer Launch Manager. See "Launch Manager" on page 21.

Launch key Default application

Mail Email application (user-programmable)

Web browser Internet browser (user-programmable)

Acer eManager (user-programmable)

P

User-programmable

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