Advent 5490 Laptop

Specification

Drivers

Your laptop should have been supplied with a "Utility and Driver CD" which contains a backup copy of all the drivers.

The 5490 is basically a rebadged Gericom Webgine N340S8 (you should see this printed on the underside of the laptop) so you can download the drivers from Gericom's website.

You can download the service and user manuals for the Webgine N340S8 from the Acomp Website.

Upgrading the Memory

Many thanks to Tom Evans for the additional notes on how to remove the keyboard.

1. Ensure that the power is off, the unit is unplugged and the battery is removed.
2. Remove the keyboard by lifting the 3 small clips at the front of the keyboard with a small screwdriver. *
3. Lift the keyboard clear of the notebook, there is a ribbon cable attached to the keyboard so take care.
4. Now lift the metal keyboard protector from the case.
5. You now need to remove the metal cover in the middle of the case.
6. You now have access to the 2 memory slots.

* These consist of one located at approximately 2 cm from each end of the keyboard, and one additional one located in an odd, off centre position. This central one is the most difficult to find, as it lies approximately 1.5cm to the right of the right edge of the mouse pad... directly below he scroll lock indicator (but on the front of the keyboard). NOTE: You may also encounter a difficulty in that the key locks may not be accessible without first prying the keyboard from its metal backing (or at least in my case it was). I suspect that after slipping the keyboard in place, the very small spring loaded keys simply released and slipped between the keyboard base and it's metal backing.

Adding RAM is the most cost effective way to boost your computer's performance.

Bottom of Laptop

1. Fixing screw
2. Hard drive bay
3. CPU heatsink / fan grill
4. Fixing screw
5. CPU heatsink cover
6. Battery latches
7. Battery pack

Function Keys

FN + F1 - Hibernate
FN + F3 - Battery Low Warning Beep on/off
FN + F4 - Toggle the display between LCD, CRT, LCD+CRT
FN + F5 - Increase volume
FN + F6 - Decrease volume
FN + F7 - Increase brightness
FN + F8 - Decrease brightness
FN + Num Lock - Activate Numeric Keypad

Note - The Fn + F9/F10 contrast control keys don't work on the 5490 as it has a TFT display. These keys are only designed to work on older models using Dual Scan DSTN screens.

In the Box

Disks Supplied

• Advent recovery CD
• Driver utility CD ver. 0.9
• InterVideo WinDVD 2000 (serial key on CD sleeve)

Items Supplied

• Advent 5490 notebook
• Mains power adapter
• Mains power cable
• UK modem cable

Documentation Supplied

• Advent notebook user's manual
• Gettings started with Microsoft Windows Me
• Freeserve leaflet

Recovery

Warning: this process will erase all files from your computer. It is important that you save any personal files to disk before you begin.

A bootable recovery CD is supplied with these machines. To recover the system:-

• Insert CD (and floppy disk if supplied) into the drive.
• Reboot the PC.
• A warning message prompting you to backup data before proceeding.
• Press Y to continue.
• A final warning that all data will be erased is displayed.
• Press Y to continue.
• Finally a message "Remove CD-ROM when prompted" is displayed.
• Press Y to continue.
• The image file will load. Once complete you will be prompted to remove the CD and press CTRL + ALT + DEL to restart.

Useful Links

Repairs and Spares

All official service and support is handled by Knowhow (basically "The Tech Guys" under a new name), their website is http://www.knowhow.com/. If you laptop is covered under warranty then you need to contact them for repairs.

There are also plenty of other companies that do repairs or supply spare parts, here is a selection -

TechnoMart - http://www.techno-mart.co.uk
DriveMyLaptop (replacement drives) - http://www.drivemylaptop.co.uk
Laptop Solutions UK - http://www.laptopsolutionsuk.co.uk
PartMaster (spare parts) - http://www.partmaster.co.uk

FAQ

Blank screen or EMM386 error after recovery

Once the recovery has completed the screen goes blank or an EMM386 error message is dispalayed. This happens because the laptop is having problems displaying the message to remove the CD and restart. Simply remove the CD from the drive and restart the laptop, first time setup will begin as normal.

Replacing the CMOS Battery

The laptop takes a standard CR2025 battery. Access to the battery is from underneath the laptop. First remove the CPU exhaust cover flap, next remove the CPU exhaust itself. This should give you access to a gold coloured flap under which you'll find the battery. To help this make sense you can download the Webgine N340S8 (which the 5490 is based on) service manual from here - http://www.acomp.hu/pub/gericom/Notebook/Manuals/Service/Service%20Manuals/