Advent 3215 PC

* According to Advent the graphics card memory is 64MB but some owners have reported it as 128MB.

Case Disassembly

To open your computer you must first remove the 3 thumbscrews from the back, the CPU vent can be removed by releasing the 4 plastic retaining clips. Next, slide the case backwards then lift away from the main unit.

The front bezel has 6 retaining clips, 3 located on each side of the case. Release these clips then pull the bezel away with the hand grip underneath. Note: the bezel is connected to a very short power cable. Exercise caution when removing.

Drivers

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

Motherboard Information

• CPU Support: Socket 478. Bus/clock speed: 533MHz / 400MHz
• System Memory: 2 DDR DIMMs. Supports DDR333. Max. 2GB
• Chipset:
  • SiS 651
  • AGP 4x
  • Onboard video embedded in SiS 730D chipset
  • Onboard C-Media CMI9738/4CH AC'97 audio
• Form Factor: microATX - 244 mm x 220 mm

Note - You can download the motherboard manual in pdf format from here - l4s5mg310eng.pdf

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

In the Box

Disks Supplied

• System recovery CD ROM CD 100793
• Microsoft Works 7.0

Items Supplied

• Advent base unit
• Base unit stand
• Advent USB keyboard
• Advent optical USB mouse
• Advent branded stereo speakers
• UK mains power cable
• UK modem cable

Documentation Supplied

• Quick installation guide
• Advent user's guide
• Microsoft Windows XP start here guide

Recovery Disc

Replacement recovery discs can be ordered from a company called "The Tech Guys". More information is available on their website - http://support.thetechguys.com//recoverymedia/.

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

• Place the CD into the DVD drive and 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.
  • 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 you should eject the CD and click Restart.

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.

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 E:\i386\system32 where you can run a variety of tools including CHKDSK.EXE.

Pressing CTRL + BACKSPACE at the ‘Press R to display system recovery options’ will display the manufacturers hidden menu. This menu contains a number of tools to delete or recreate the partitions on the hard disk drive.

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.