Dell Inspiron 3500 Service Manual page 16

1-6 Dell Inspiron 3500 Portable Computer Service Manual
The power button controls power to the system. The computer receives power
from either the AC adapter connected to an electrical outlet or from up to two
batteries. If you use the AC adapter, constant power is available to the com-
puter. If you use one or two batteries, the system has integrated power
management features that extend battery life by removing power from parts of
the computer that are not being used.
Attach the AC power adapter to the computer, whenever possible, to conserve
battery power. When the AC adapter is attached, the battery is charged while
the computer uses AC power.
The Power Menu of the Setup program has power conservation features. To
open the Main Menu of the Setup program, press <F2> during the boot pro-
cess. When activated, each power conservation feature turns off or slows
down one or more functions while the computer is idle.
NOTE: The power management settings of the Windows 98 operating system
take precedence over the settings described here. For more information see
"Using the Microsoft Windows 98 Operating System to Conserve Battery
Power," in the System User's Guide.
The power management mode has four settings:
Select Customized (the default) to control the power-saving time-outs
individually.
Select Disabled to turn off power management.
Select Max. Performance to conserve power but allow greatest system
performance. When this setting is selected, the Standby Time-Out option
is set automatically to 4 minutes, and the Suspend Time-Out option is dis-
abled. The CPU Throttling Mode option is set automatically to Off.
Select Max. Power Savings to conserve the greatest amount of system
power. When this setting is selected, the Standby Time-Out option is set
automatically to 1 minute, and the Suspend Time-Out option is set auto-
matically to 5 minutes. The CPU Throttling Mode option is set
automatically to On.
CPU Throttling Mode allows the computer to slow down the microprocessor
automatically if it is not being used. The settings for this option are as follows:
On — Allows the computer to slow down the microprocessor when it is
inactive
Off (the default) — Keeps the microprocessor running at its normal operat-
ing speed regardless of microprocessor inactivity
To increase battery operating time, set the CPU Throttling Mode option to
On.