Welcome to ThinkPad Basics

1
Welcome to ThinkPad Basics!
The Basics Care and Operation Using Outlook to
Keep Everything Organized Helpful Contacts
2
Your New IBM ThinkPad
IBM ThinkPad R31 Series 2656-NU4 (2002 model)
Intel Mobile Celeron 1.1 GHz (256KB Processor
Cache) 256 MB RAM 20 GB Hard Drive 13.3 XGA
(1024x768) TFT LCD Display Li-Ion battery
TrackPoint 3-Button Pointing Device Ultrabay
DVD/CD-RW (DVD Player and CD-ROM/Recorder)
10/100 Ethernet and 56K Modem Wireless 802.11b
Expansion Ports (2) USB, (1) Parallel, (1) XGA
Video Out, and (1) PC Card Operating System
Windows XP Professional
3
First time Registration
To register your computer, connect to the NMU
on-campus network via a network cable by plugging
into any orange data jack. Next, double-click
the NMU Network Connection desktop icon (it may
take a few minutes to receive a new IP address.)
Launch Internet Explorer for a one-time computer
registration and follow the instructions
provided. The registration activation may take
up to ten minutes to complete. Feel free to
browse the ACS website (www.acs.nmu.edu) while
registration is processing. After waiting ten to
fifteen minutes, close Internet Explorer,
double-click the NMU Network Connection desktop
icon and relaunch Internet Explorer to get full
access to Internet websites.
4
Student Responsibility
Repair costs (50 limit per work order) if the
computer damage was caused by misuse, accident,
modification, unsuitable physical or operating
environment, or improper maintenance by the user.
Students are responsible for the 500
deductible if their ThinkPad is lost or stolen
If a ThinkPad is lost or stolen contact Public
Safety at 227-2151
5
The following is NOT covered under warranty

• LCD panel cracked by applying excessive force or
  from being dropped

• Scratched (cosmetic) parts

• Cracked or broken plastic parts, broken latches,
  broken pins, or broken
• connectors caused by excessive force

• Damage caused by liquid spilled into the system

• Damage caused by improper insertion of PC Card
  or incompatible card

• Damage caused by foreign material in the HDD

• Diskette drive damage caused by the diskette
  drive cover being pressed
• or by the insertion of a diskette with
  multiple labels

• Damaged or bent diskette eject button

• CD-ROM drive damage caused by excessive force,
  shock, or from
• being dropped

• Fuses blown by attachment of a non-supported
  device

• Forgotten computer password (making the computer
  unusable)

6
ThinkPad Dos
Choose a quality padded carrying case that will
provide good protection for your ThinkPad.
Treat your computer like a precision piece of
electronic machinery. When installing the
CD-ROM or diskette drive into the UltraBay, make
sure the AC Adapter is disconnected from your
computer. Check the IBM Web pages at
http//www.pc.ibm.com/support periodically to get
current information about your computer.
7
ThinkPad Do Nots
Do not subject your computer to punishment, such
as dropping or bumping.
Do not place heavy objects on your computer, or
allow liquids into your computer, or use your
computer in or near water.
Do not disassemble your computer.
Do not scratch, twist, hit, or push the surface
of your computer display or pick up or hold your
computer by the display.
Do not use or store your computer where the
temperature is below 5 C or above 35 C (41 F
and 95 F).
Do not place more than one label on a diskette.
Multiple or loose labels can detach or tear and
then lodge in the drive.
Do not touch the lens on the CD-ROM tray. You
should hold the compact disc by the edges and not
touch its surface.
8
Connectivity
NMU ThinkPad includes an Ethernet connector and
Ethernet network cable. Plug into orange
data jacks located on campus!
Dial-in connection through built-in modem
Web based Computer Registration
(www-register.nmu.edu)
9
Connectivity
On-campus connections are the easiest and fastest
way to access network services. On-campus
connections include ResNet (dorms), offices,
computing labs, classrooms, and public net bars
via orange data jacks in the walls. Each time
you plug into any orange data jack, you must
double-click the NMU Connection desktop icon.
Off-campus connections are available through NMU
dial-in and other Internet Service Providers. To
connect to NMU using a dial-in connection, attach
a phone line to the ThinkPad built-in modem jack.
Next, double-click on the NMU Dial-in Connection
icon on the desktop. You will need to enter your
NMU ID and password (both in lowercase) to
successfully connect.
10
BE KIND TO YOUR LAPTOP Treat it with
respect, even if it locks up
SAVE YOUR WORK OFTEN Menu Bar File
Save Keyboard Ctrl S
ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR WORK Burn a CD or save to a
floppy
11
System Freeze or Lock-Up
If your computer locks up or freezes during
normal operation, first try pressing the
ctrl-alt-del keys simultaneously. The computer
should respond with an End Task dialog box.
Select End Task.
If your computer does not respond to the
ctrl-alt-del key command, push and hold the
ThinkPad power switch for at least 5 seconds and
release this reset the computer. Press the
power switch again normally to restart the
computer.
If the power switch reset step fails, disconnect
the power source and remove the battery. Replace
the battery and power connection and press the
power switch on to restart the computer.
If all of the above steps fail, return your
ThinkPad to the HelpDesk for service.
12
HELP!

• Using Start Menu Help
• Select Help under the Start menu. In Help, click
  one of the following tabs
• To browse through topics by category, click the
  Contents tab.
• To see a list of index entries, click the Index
  tab, and then either type a word or scroll
  through the list.
• To search for words or phrases that may be
  contained in a Help topic, click the Search tab.
• In the left frame of the Help window, click the
  topic, index entry, or phrase to display the
  corresponding topic in the right frame.

13
To start a program
Click Start, and then point to Programs. Go to
the program that you would like to run and click
on its name.
After you start a program, a button for that
program appears on the Taskbar at the bottom of
the computer screen To switch from one running
program to another, click its taskbar button
To open a file youve recently used Click Start,
and then point to Documents Click the document
you want to open.
14
My Computer
To see what's on your computer
Double-click the My Computer icon.
Double-click the icon of the drive you want to
see. Windows displays the files and folders
on the drive. Folders can contain
files, programs, and other folders. To open
a file or folder, or to start a program,
double-click it.
To see the hierarchy of folders on a disk drive
Click Start, point to Programs, and then
click Windows Explorer. Click a folder in
the left pane of the window to display its
contents in the right pane.
Click the plus signs to display the folders
within a folder.
15
My Computer
To move a file or folder In My Computer or
Windows Explorer, click the file or folder you
want to move. On the Edit menu, click Cut. Open
the folder where you want to put the file or
folder. On the Edit menu, click Paste.
Note To select more than one file or folder,
hold down the CTRL key, and then click the items
you want. You can also move a file or folder by
dragging it to the desired location.
16
My Documents
My Documents is a desktop folder that provides
you with a convenient place to store documents,
graphics, or other files. Note The location
for files in the My Documents folder is on the
Data (D) drive. It is always wise to save files
in the My documents folder so that the ThinkPad
can be updated with Option 2 on the restore CD
without erasing your documents. If you set file
preview options in Excel or PowerPoint, you can
select a file in My Documents and preview it in
the left pane of Windows Explorer when My
Documents is in Web view.
17
Printing
LOCAL PRINTING
If you purchase or already have a printer, it can
be attached to your ThinkPad by using a parallel
cable or a Universal Serial Bus (USB) printer
connection.
Open the My Computer icon and double-click
Printers... Add Printer. Follow the on-screen
instructions to complete the installation. If
your printer is not listed in the Windows printer
listing, click the Have Disk button and insert
printer software disks or download current
printer software from the manufacturer's web
site. For a list of printers and locations call
the HelpDesk.
To print most any document, simply click File,
then Print from you programs menu bar.
18
Printing
NETWORK PRINTING
Network, Lab, and other campus printers Once
your notebook is connected to the NMU network
with the Ethernet network wire, you may print to
the Academic Computing lab printers located in
the SuperLab, room LRC105. On your ThinkPad,
under My Computer... icon Printers folder, you
should see several printer icons. To change the
default printer, right-click on a different
printer icon and select Set as Default.
Printing to the LRCLAB Laser or LRCLAB Color
Laser printers will send documents to the
Academic Computing SuperLab laser printer
stations where you can use your Wildcat Express
Card to release the printouts.
19
Power Management
Preserving Battery Life
If your battery is brand new, cycle the battery
(fully charge, then fully discharge) three times.
This procedure is also recommended if you stored
the battery for a few months.
Do not charge the battery pack until ALL of its
power is used. Recharging a battery pack that is
not completely discharged can shorten battery
life.
Once you start charging the battery pack, do not
use it until it is fully charged.
Remove the battery pack and keep it in a cool
place if you will not be using the computer for a
long period of time.
20
Power Management
Managing power on your computer
Using Windows Power Options Control Panel, you
can reduce the power consumption of any number of
your computer devices or of your entire system.
You do this by choosing a power scheme, which is
a collection of settings that manages the power
usage by your computer. Note Your ThinkPad is
preset by IBM to use power scheme conservation,
especially when running on battery power only.
21
External Keyboard Mouse
You may wish to use an external keyboard and
PS/2 mouse with your ThinkPad. You must
First, purchase the Y-Adapter, external keyboard,
and PS/2 mouse from the NMU HelpDesk (227-2468)
helpdesk_at_nmu.edu or another source, however, be
certain they are for use with the IBM ThinkPad.
Even if you have your own keyboard, you will
have to get the Y-Adapter to make it work with
the ThinkPad.
Plug the keyboard / mouse into the correct
connections (one of the connections is marked for
mouse) on the Y-Adapter. Plug the end of the
Y-Adapter into the PS/2 serial port on the back
of your laptop. Restart the ThinkPad. Upon
restart, you'll find that the built-in ThinkPad
keyboard and TrackPoint mouse will function even
with the external keyboard and mouse connected.
22
Customize
You can easily customize the look of
your ThinkPad Right-click your Desktop, then
click on Properties. Or, click Start, Settings,
then Control Panel and click the Display
icon. The Display Properties menu will appear
with a number of tabs and options to choose
from. Once you make your choices and click OK,
the changes will appear on your screen.
23
KEEPING ORGANIZED WITH OUTLOOK
Microsoft Outlook
Email
Address Book
Calendar
Task Pad
Schedules
Reminders
24
Microsoft Outlook Email
25
Microsoft Outlook Address Book or Contacts
Lists all of the contacts you have in
alphabetical order.
To view a contact or make changes, simply
double- click the contact and make your changes.
Email address can be accessed easily when you are
composing a new email.
26
Microsoft Outlook Address Book or Contacts
Adding a new contact is easy. Click File, New
Contact (or CtrlN) and type in the
text boxes. When you have all the information
you need, click Save and Close. The window
will close and the new contact will appear in
the Contact list.
27
Microsoft Outlook Calendar
The Calendar lets you schedule all sorts of
items! The Calendar can be viewed in a number of
different ways View,Day View, Work Week
View, Week View, Month
28
Microsoft Outlook Calendar
To make a new appointment on your Calendar,
simply double click the day. In the Event
window, type in the informationyou wish to
include in the text boxes, including the start
and end times, then click Save and Close. The
appointment will appear on your Calendar in any
view you choose.
29
Microsoft Outlook Calendar
Depending on the view you choose, you may see a
small navigation calendar on the right side of
the window. Days containing appointments
are seen in bold. You may click on a date and
that day will appear in the center of the window.
30
Microsoft Outlook Task Pad
You may add a new task to the Task Pad.
Click File, New, Task, )or CtrlShiftK). A new
Task window will appear. Enter your information
and the task will appear in the Task list.
31
Microsoft Outlook Schedules
If you click the Recurrence button in any new
schedule or task event, the screen to the right
will appear. You may choose what type of
recurrence by clicking one of the boxes in the
pattern section, and you may specify how
long you want the recurrence to last in the
range section. This is an EXCELLENT way to
schedule all your classes for the semester,
including drop/add dates, sport events, and any
other events of importance to you.
Birthdays are a great way to utilize this
function!
32
Microsoft Outlook Reminders
In addition to scheduling recurring events, you
also have the option of setting audible
reminders for yourself. Paper due? Set a
reminder so you dont forget! Put a check in
the reminder box and select when you need to
be reminded of the task or event. NOTE You must
have Outlook running if you want the reminders to
work!!
33
Microsoft Outlook Options
You may change the way Outlook looks and operates
by clicking on Tools, then Options on the
Outlook menu bar. When you reach this window,
you may change Email Calendar Tasks
Contacts Notes
What are Notes? Little sticky notes that will
stay on your screen as long as Outlook is running!
34
REMINDER
Keep Microsoft Outlook open and running if you
want your reminders to work!
You may specify Outlook to open / run every time
you start your ThinkPad by following these
steps 1. Right-click a blank area on your Task
Bar, then click Properties 2. Click the Start
Menu Programs tab, then the Advanced button. A
new window will appear. 3. On the left
window, click the next to the Programs folder
a list will drop down. 4. On the right
window, click on the Outlook icon and drag it
into the StartUp folder in the left
window. 5. Close the window, then click OK on the
Task Bar Properties window. 6. Shut down and
restart your ThinkPad -- Outlook should open up
automatically! NOTE When you are using other
programs, Outlook will still be available on the
Task Bar.
35
Good Luck! ...and remember help is just a
call or click away!
Help Desk Phone [phone] Location LRC
105 Hours Monday - Friday 730am - 500pm
Closed Saturday Sunday
http//www.acs.nmu.edu/index.html
Public Safety at 227-2151