Dell™ Inspiron™ 7500
Advanced Port Replicator Setup
The Advanced Port Replicator (APR) integrates your Dell Inspiron computer quickly
and easily into a desktop environment. The first time you connect (or dock) the
computer to the APR, use the instructions in this document to configure the computer
to use the APR.
For complete information on using the APR, see the Port Replicator User's Guide that
came with your APR.
NOTE: Because the Microsoft ® Windows ® 98 operating system includes built-in support
for docking events, the steps to set up the APR are different for Windows 98 and
Microsoft Windows NT ®. Make sure you follow the procedure that corresponds to the
operating system installed on your computer.
Advanced Port Replicator Setup for Windows 98
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1. If the computer is on, shut down the operating system and power off the
computer.
2. Disconnect all external devices from the APR.
3. Insert the computer into the APR.
4. Turn on the computer.
The computer will automatically detect the network interface controller (NIC) and
begin the software installation.
5. At the "This wizard searches for new drivers for: Intel 8255x-based PCI Ethernet
Adapter (10/100)" screen, click "Next".
6. At the "What do you want Windows to do?" screen, click "Search for the best
driver for your device (Recommended)", and then click "Next".
7. Insert the Inspiron 7500 Advanced Port Replicator CD in the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM
drive.
8. When asked for the location of the driver, deselect "Floppy disk drives".
9. Click the "Specify a location:" box.
10. Type D:\W98_NIC (replace D: with the drive letter of your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM
drive), and then click "Next".
11. At the "What do you want to install?" screen, click "The updated driver
(Recommended) - Actiontec 82559-based Mini PCI Adapter (10/100)", and
then click "Next".
12. When Windows displays the message that it is ready to install the driver
from D:\W98_NIC\NET82557.INF (where D: is the drive letter of your CD-ROM or
DVD-ROM drive), click "Next".
13. Click "Finish" when Windows displays a message that the driver is installed.
14. Click "Yes" to restart the computer.
15. After the computer restarts, Windows will modify settings, create a Dock 1
configuration, and then display a "Setup is complete" message.
16. Click "OK".
17. If the Updated display settings message appears, click "OK" to restart your
computer. You may be prompted to restart the computer again. If so, click "OK".
18. If necessary, consult your Network Administrator for the steps to configure the
network adapter settings.
Advanced Port Replicator Setup for Windows NT
---------------------------------------------
If your computer is running Windows NT, you must install Softex Docking Services
software as described in the following procedure to set up your computer to use
the APR. Softex Docking Services enables Windows NT to automatically configure
the NIC when the computer is connected to the APR.
1. If the computer is docked, shutdown the computer and undock it.
2. Turn on the computer and log on to Windows NT as Administrator.
3. Insert the Inspiron 7500 Advanced Port Replicator CD in the CD-ROM drive.
4. Double-click the "My Computer" icon.
5. Double-click the CD-ROM drive icon.
6. Double-click the "NT4_Dock" folder.
7. Double-click the "Setup" icon and follow the instructions on the screen.
8. Restart Windows NT when instructed to do so, and log on as Administrator.
9. Disconnect all external devices from the APR.
10. Perform the following steps to dock the computer:
a. Place the computer in standby mode by pressing <Fn><Esc>.
b. When the green power indicator blinks slowly, indicating the computer is in
standby mode, insert the computer into the APR.
c. Press the power button to resume normal operation.
11. Perform the following steps to install the device driver for the NIC.
a. On the "Docking Device Not Configured" screen, click "Actiontec 82559-
based Mini PCI Adapter (10/100)".
b. Click "Install system provided driver for the selected device (recommended)".
c. Click "OK".
NOTE: If your computer is not configured for network operation, you must install
and configure networking before you can proceed with APR setup.
d. Type the network configuration information for your network (consult your
Network Administrator for this information), and then click "Reboot Now" to
reboot the computer.
12. When the computer restarts, log on as Administrator.
13. Ignore any network related error messages that appear.
14. When the "Device Configured" dialogue box appears (this may take several
minutes), click "Reboot Now" to complete the installation.
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Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 1999 Dell Computer Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, and Inspiron are trademarks of Dell Computer
Corporation; Microsoft, Windows, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the
entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Computer Corporation disclaims
any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.