Advent 7064M Laptop

Specification

* To activate the wireless LAN card inside your computer press the WLAN button to the left of the power button.

** May have a Fujitsu MHT2040AT fitted instead.

Drivers

Your laptop should have a backup copy of all the drivers, you can find it by browsing to the c:\applications\drivers folder.

I'm fairly certain this laptop is a rebadged Averatec, possibly a 3300 series. Comparing the downloads available on the Averatec website the only difference I can see is the 3300 has a Ralink wireless card instead of the Intel one supplied in the Advent 7064m. Anyway you can check yourself by having a look at the Averatec website.

Memory Upgrades

This laptop has one memory slot which is accessed by removing the memory module cover underneath the laptop (see "Bottom of Laptop" image below).

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

Bottom of Laptop

1. CPU Cover
2. Memory Cover
3. Battery Release
4. Battery

Function Keys

Fn + F3 - Switches off the Display
Fn + F4 - Enter Standby mode
Fn + F5 - Toggle the display between LCD, CRT, LCD+CRT, TV
Fn + F6 - Decrease display brightness
Fn + F7 - Increase display brightness

In the Box

Disks Supplied

• Advent V4 Recovery CD
• Microsoft Works 8

Items Supplied

• Advent 7064M notebook
• LiteOn power supply. Output: 19V - 3.16A
• Mains power cable
• UK modem cable

Documentation Supplied

• Advent notebook manual
• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition "Start here" guide

Recovery Disc

Due to the nature of the recovery process you should not use FDISK or any other partition management software to delete the partition on your Advent computer. Doing so will prevent the recovery from functioning correctly. If the recovery asks for a second CD you will need to obtain an Update CD from Advent.

To recover your Advent PC you will need your Advent System Recovery CD.

• Insert System Recovery CD 1
• Restart your computer.
• Press R on the keyboard when prompted.
• The recovery will load and display a menu of options:
  • Non-destructive recovery: this option will restore Windows, supplied applications, and drivers. This option will not destroy your documents or programs. These will be backed up along with the registry. These are restored at the end of the recovery process.
  To access the recovery options below that erase all data from the computer, click the Advanced button.
  • System Recovery - No format: this will reinstall Windows, supplied applications and drivers. It will move your files to a folder called "My old disk structure". Any applications (except those supplied) will need to be reinstalled.
  • System Recovery - Quick format: this option will erase your hard drive including your personal files. Windows, supplied applications and drivers will be reinstalled.
• Select the Non-destructive recovery option and press Next.
• You will be informed about System Restore in Windows, click Yes.
• The recovery will begin. Once this is complete click Restart.

Additional information.

Press the ALT and D keys at the recovery menu to access a command prompt. This will allow access to C: drive. The command prompt will default to c:\minint\system32 where you can run a variety of tools including CHKDSK.EXE.

Reinstalling applications

From version 2.x of the recovery system onwards you can install applications from the c:\applications folder. Drivers can be installed from the c:\applications\drivers folder and utilities from the c:\applications\tools folder. You will still need to install Microsoft Works from the supplied CD.

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

Upsidedown Picture on Screen

When using the laptop the picture appears to be on its side or upsidedown. The Intel Extreme graphics driver has a rotate option which can cause this to happen. To set the screen back to normal hold down CTRL+ALT and press the Up Arrow key. To disable the feature go into Display Properties (right click on a blank part of the screen and select Properties), select the Settings tab, and click on Advanced. Select the "Intel Graphics Media Accelerator Driver" tab and then click on the Graphics Properties button. Finally select Display Settings, take the tick out of the "Enable Rotation" box, and then click on OK to disable the feature.

Realtek 8139 Network Card Not Connecting

Some machines fitted with a network card based on the Realtek 8139 chip will fail to send and receive data correctly. This can happen if the autodetect feature of the card is not detecting the connection properly. To get round this the connection speed of the card must be set manually

• Right-click upon the My Computer icon and select Properties.
• Select the Hardware tab and click on the Device Manager button.
• Click on the + next to Network Adapters.
• Select the entry for Realtek 8139 from the list and double click upon it.
• Select the Advanced tab.
• Select the entry for Link Speed / Duplex Mode.
• Change the Value setting from Auto to one that is appropriate for the connection (often 100 Full for a connection directly to another PC and 10 Full for a broadband connection).