EPSON EQUITY LT-286 (01) PDF Document

Follow these steps to connect the AC adapter:

1. Make sure the computer’s power switch (located on the back panel of the computer) is turned off.
2. Insert the round end of the adapter cable into the connector marked AC ADAPTER on the back panel of the computer.
3. Connect the computer’s power cord to the adapter’s input socket.
4. Plug the other end of the power cord into a grounded, 120-volt, AC wall outlet.

Note: The AC adapter cable has been designed to prevent it from being accidentally disconnected from the computer. To unplug the AC adapter, grasp the cable with your thumb on the flat part of the connector, then pull it away from the computer. Do not try to unplug the adapter by pulling on the cord.

The EPSON EQUITY LT-286 contains a rechargeable nickel cadmium (NiCad) battery pack. You need to recharge the battery pack at the following times:

• Before using the computer for the first time
• If the battery has not been used for a long time
• If the Power/Speed indicator light starts flashing

To recharge the battery, connect the AC adapter to the computer and to an electrical outlet. You can charge the battery whether the computer is on or off. For the maximum charge, leave the AC adapter connected for 12 hours. It is best to charge the battery for at least eight hours.

To connect a printer to the computer, you need an IBM-compatible printer cable. Follow these steps:

1. Place the printer next to your computer.
2. Before you connect the printer, make sure the power switches on the computer and printer are off.
3. Open the computer’s interface cover.
4. One end of the printer cable has a 25-pin, D-shaped male connector. Connect this end to the parallel connector on the back panel of the computer. If the plug has retaining screws, tighten them by hand or with a screwdriver.
5. Connect the other end of the cable to the printer. To secure the cable, squeeze the clips at each side of the printer connector and push them into place.
6. Plug the printer’s power cable into an electrical outlet.
7. Before starting your computer, be sure to set DIP switch 1 on the back panel to the off position. This tells your computer that a printer is connected to the parallel interface.

The DIP switches above the keyboard are numbered 1 through 4. To access these switches, lift the panel above the keyboard by pressing inward on both sides of the cover as you lift it up. The system functions controlled by the keyboard DIP switches are listed below.

*Default settings

Switch 1, LCD reverse or normal: Tells your computer whether to display text on the screen in normal or reverse mode. In normal mode, black characters are displayed on a white background. In reverse mode, white characters are displayed on a black background.

Switches 2 and 3, gray-scale mode: These switches select one of four available gray-scale modes. Mode 0 displays black and white. Modes 1 and 2 display various shades of gray.

Switch 4, LCD or monitor selection: Tells the computer whether to display text and graphics on the LCD screen or on a color monitor. If you have connected a color monitor, set this switch to off. Otherwise, leave it on.

The second set of DIP switches is located near the middle of the back panel. These switches are numbered 1 through 6. To access these switches, open the back panel of the computer. The DIP switches on the back panel should be changed only while the computer is turned off.

*Default settings

To turn on your computer, follow these steps:

1. Turn on any peripheral devices, such as a printer, an external diskette drive, or a color monitor.
2. Make sure your computer’s hard disk switch, located on the back panel, is turned on. It is best to leave this switch on at all times.
3. If you have not done so already, insert the Startup/Operating 1 diskette (if booting from floppy).
4. Turn on the computer by pressing the power switch on the back panel.

Note: Always wait at least five seconds after you switch off the power before switching it back on.

Use the switches on the right side of the screen to adjust the screen’s contrast and brightness.

• Contrast Switch: Determines how bright the characters appear against the background. To increase the contrast, move the switch up. To decrease it, move the switch down.
• Brightness Switch: Determines the backlighting brightness. To make the backlighting brighter, move the brightness switch up. To decrease the backlighting, move the switch down.

To copy your system diskettes, you need three blank, 720KB, double-sided, double-density, 3 1/2-inch diskettes. Follow these steps:

1. Write-protect your original system diskettes.
2. Insert the Startup/Operating 1 diskette in the diskette drive if it is not there already.
3. Type DISKCOPY and press Enter.
4. Drive A already contains the diskette you want to copy (the source diskette), so just press any key.
5. When prompted, remove the Startup/Operating 1 diskette from drive A and insert the blank diskette (the target diskette) in the drive. Then press any key.
6. Swap diskettes as prompted by MS-DOS until the copy is complete.
7. When the copy is complete, you see the prompt “Copy another diskette (Y/N)?”. Press Y to copy the Operating 2 and Reference diskettes using the same procedure.

1. Insert your working copy of the Reference diskette in drive A.
2. Turn on or reset the computer. Press Enter twice to respond to the date and time prompts. The setup program loads automatically and displays the Reference diskette’s operation menu.
3. Press 1 to select Setup and then press Enter. The setup main menu appears on the screen.
4. To select an option on this menu, use the up and down arrow keys to highlight the option. Then press Enter.

You can change the period of time the computer waits before darkening the screen to any value between 30 seconds and five minutes, in half-minute increments.

1. Run the Setup Program.
2. Highlight Backlight period on the setup program’s main menu, then press Enter.
3. Press the + key to increase the backlight period or the – key to decrease it.
4. To disable automatic screen darkening, keep pressing the + key until the display reads No time limit.
5. Highlight SAVE SETTINGS and press Enter.

Creating a Primary Partition:

1. Make sure the computer is turned off and the HDD POWER switch on the back is on.
2. Insert your working copy of the Startup/Operating 1 diskette into the diskette drive and turn on the computer.
3. At the A> prompt, type FDISK and press Enter.
4. Press 1 to select “Create DOS Partition” and press Enter.
5. Press 1 to select “Create Primary DOS partition” and press Enter.
6. Press Y to use the maximum size for a DOS partition and make it active, then press Enter.
7. Press any key to restart the system.

Creating an Extended Partition (for 40MB drives):

1. Insert the Startup/Operating 1 diskette and type FDISK at the A> prompt.
2. Press 1 to select “Create DOS Partition”.
3. Press 2 to select “Create Extended DOS Partition”.
4. Press Enter to accept the partition size.
5. Press ESC to return to FDISK Options.
6. Select “Create Logical DOS Drive(s)” and press Enter to accept the logical drive size.
7. Press ESC to restart the system.

Formatting the Primary Partition (Drive C):

1. Insert your working copy of the Startup/Operating 1 diskette into the diskette drive.
2. At the A> prompt, type: SELECT A: C:\DOS 001 US and press Enter.
3. Press Y to continue.
4. Press Y again to proceed with formatting.
5. When complete, enter a volume label if desired.

Formatting the Extended Partition (Drive D):

1. Insert the Startup/Operating 1 diskette.
2. At the A> prompt, type: FORMAT D: and press Enter.
3. Press Y and Enter to begin formatting.

• Power/Speed: On whenever the computer is on. Green indicates 12 MHz speed; orange indicates 8 MHz. Flashing indicates low battery charge.
• HDD (Hard Disk Drive): On when the computer is reading from or writing to the hard disk.
• FDD (Floppy Disk Drive): On when the computer is reading from or writing to the diskette drive.
• Num Lock, Caps Lock, Scroll Lock: Indicate whether the corresponding key functions are enabled.

WARNING: Do not turn off your computer when either the HDD LED or the FDD LED is illuminated.

The EPSON EQUITY LT-286 can operate at two execution speeds: 8 MHz and 12 MHz. To change the speed, move the CPU SPEED switch located above the keyboard.

WARNING: Do not change the execution speed while you are running a program. Always complete your current operation and exit the program first.

You can turn off the hard disk to conserve battery charge when running without the AC adapter.

Turning Off Before Starting:

1. Turn off the HDD POWER switch on the back panel.
2. Insert a working copy of your Startup/Operating 1 diskette in drive A.
3. Turn on the computer. When the error message 1780 - Disk 0 failure appears, press F1 to continue.

Turning Off After Starting:

1. Start the computer with the hard disk on.
2. At the MS-DOS C> prompt, type A: and press Enter to log onto drive A.
3. Load any necessary programs from the hard disk or copy files to drive A.
4. Turn off the HDD POWER switch.
5. Continue running your application from drive A.

There are three ways to reset the computer, listed in order of power:

1. Ctrl-Alt-Del: Hold down Ctrl and Alt while pressing the Del key. The screen goes blank and MS-DOS reloads.
2. RESET Button: Press the RESET button located above the left side of the keyboard. Use this if the keyboard does not respond.
3. Power Switch: Remove any diskette, turn off all peripherals, then turn off the computer. Wait five seconds, then switch the power back on.

WARNING: Do not reset the computer to exit a program unless necessary, as you may lose unsaved data.

Formatting a 1.44MB Diskette:

1. Log onto drive C or the directory containing FORMAT.COM.
2. Type FORMAT A: and press Enter.
3. Insert the new diskette into drive A when prompted and press Enter.
4. When formatting is complete, enter a volume label if desired, or press Enter for none.

Formatting a 720KB Diskette:

1. Log onto drive C.
2. Type FORMAT A: /N:9 /T:80 and press Enter.
3. Insert the diskette into drive A when prompted and press Enter.

If you use memory-resident programs, the backlighting may not turn on after automatically turning off. To prevent this:

Use the Epson LIGHTON utility (on your Reference diskette). First load your memory-resident program, then enter the command LIGHTON and press Enter. Alternatively, run the Setup Program and set the Backlight period to No time limit.

1. Check that the Power/Speed light above the keyboard is on. If not, remove any diskettes and turn off the power. Wait five seconds, then turn it back on.
2. If the light still does not come on, turn off the power. Check that the AC adapter is securely connected to the computer and outlet, and that the green LED on the adapter is on. Turn the power back on.
3. Check that your electrical outlet is working by plugging a lamp into it.
4. If it still won’t start, contact your Epson dealer.

1. Use the contrast switch and brightness switch to adjust the screen.
2. Press any key to restore the display if the backlight has turned off automatically.
3. Check that DIP switch 4 above the keyboard is ON (to select LCD) and DIP switch 5 on the back panel is ON.
4. If running on battery, check if the Power/Speed LED is off or flickering. If so, recharge the battery.

1. Insert the Reference diskette in drive A.
2. Turn on or reset the computer. Press Enter to respond to DATE and TIME prompts.
3. From the OPERATION MENU, press 2 to select System diagnostics and press Enter.
4. The screen displays the DEVICE LIST. If correct, press Y. If not, press N to modify.
5. Select a device to test from the list by typing its number and pressing Enter.
6. Choose to run the test one time or multiple times.

Note: If an error occurs, an error code and message are displayed. You can print the message if a printer is connected.