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Docking station
Most docking stations allow a user to connect their laptop computer to a dockingstation and get the added support of other peripherals such as other drives.
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Yes it should if you are running Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8. You just connect to the unit using a spare USB port on your laptop and a plug-plug USB cable. It has it's own power so you'll need a mains socket. This means you can unplug your laptop and leave any devices charging on the docking station USBs. Your laptop should auto-instal the station. I believe there is a table/support available which combines with this unit. There a varying prices for this unit so look around.
Good Luck
A docking station is an extension or addition of ports for a laptop computer. Once the portable computer is docked, you can access the docking station's ports, such as PS/2 or USB 2.0 ports, through your computer. Some docking stations have monitors that you can connect your computer to, placing your video on an external screen so you can turn off your computer's monitor and conserve some of your computer's energy. All Dell docking stations will have the same general troubleshooting steps.
Plug your laptop's power adapter into the docking station and dock your laptop onto/into the docking station. If there is no power going to your laptop from the docking station but it works when the power adapter is plugged into the wall, the docking station is bad and needs to be replaced. Plug your power adapter into the docking station and dock your laptop onto/into the docking station. If power goes on but your computer doesn't recognizes accessories such as a USB mouse--plugged into the docking station, try a different port on the station. If it works in a different port, the previous USB port is burned out. Plug your power adapter into the docking station and dock your laptop onto/into the docking station. If power is going through the docking station but no accessories are being recognized, you might have a corrupted docking profile. Undock the computer and dock it again once it has fully started up to reset the docking profile. Plug your power adapter into the docking station and dock your laptop onto/into the docking station. If you have an external monitor and it is not working, completely close the lid on the laptop so the image will move to the external monitor. Plug your power adapter into the docking station and dock your laptop onto/into the docking station. If power is going through the docking station but no accessories are being recognized and resetting the docking profile fails, update all drivers through Dell's support website and then re-dock the computer. Some of the software that runs the hardware may have become corrupted. Hope this helps
When powering on the D630 from the Docking Station, press F2 to go into Setup. Scroll down to the Docking Section, and check the Dock device info for the status. If it shows undocked, then try changing the below settings to: Hot Undock, Enabled Silent, and Universal Connect Enabled. Save these settings. Make sure you update your BIOS to A16 from http://support.dell.com under drivers and downloads section. If still not recognized after this, check the dock port on the D630 for obstructions or burn markings on the pins. try cleaning with rubbing alcohol and qtip swab. I have seen a few cases like this and ultimately the motherboard was the issue and needed to be replaced.
Remove Any Docking Stations or Port Replicators From the Computer Note: Docking stations and port replicators are optional equipment. If you are unsure if you have a docking solution attached to your computer, refer to Table 1 and Table 2 for examples. To remove the docking station or port replicator, perform the following steps: Shut down the computer. Remove the docking station: Universal Docking Stations: Disconnect the docking station's USB cable from the computer. D/Port or D/Dock: Remove any cable locks from the security slot on the right side of the docking station. Move the slide lock forward to the unlocked position. Press the Eject button and lift the computer from the docking station. C/Port II or C/Dock II: Remove any cable locks from the security slot on the left side of the docking station. Pull the locking lever forward until it stops to eject the computer, then slide the computer out of the docking station. Dell manufactures the following docking stations and port replicators (Table 1): D-series DocksC-series DocksSpecialty Docks D/PortLatitude? C/Port IIMedia Bases D/DockLatitude? C/Dock IIInspiron? Advanced Port Replicator Table 1: Dell Docking Stations (Click an image to enlarge it) Universal docking solutions are also available from third-party manufacturers including, but not limited to, the products below (Table 2): TargusKensingtonBelkin Table 2: Universal Docking Solutions (Click an image to enlarge it) Disconnect All Peripherals from the Computer Remove all external connections from the computer. This includes but is not limited to the following devices: docking station or advanced port replicator keyboard mouse speakers or microphone printers scanners USB or 1394 devices palm pilots zip drives secondary battery Plug the AC Power Adapter into the Laptop Computer Remove the battery from the computer. Connect the AC adapter directly to the computer Verify That the AC Power Adapter Has a Solid Green or Blue Light Verify the AC power adapter displays a solid green or blue light. Older Latitude? C Series laptop computer AC adapters may not have a light. The new E series power adapter indicator light is either a blue ring or a blue dot and is located at the tip, on the DC connector, not on the power brick itself (Figure 1). Figure 1: E Series Power Adapter Indicator Light Location Numbers reference image above: E Series Power Adapter Indicator - Blue Ring E Series Power Adapter Indicator - Blue Dot D series power adapters have a green lights located on the power brick (Figure2). Figure 2: D Series Powed Adapter Indicator Light Location Numbers reference image above: D Series Power Adapter Power Brick D Series Power Adapter Power Indicator Light Shut Down the System If the computer currently is turned ON, running on the battery, shut down the system: 1 Click Start. 2 Click Shutdown. 3 Choose Shutdown from the menu. 4 Click OK. 5 Allow the system to power off. Plug the AC Adapter into a Known-Good Wall Outlet Verify the wall outlet is known-good by testing it with another device, such as a lamp. Confirm there are no power strips, surge protectors, or uninterruptible power supplies (UPS devices) connected to the power cable. UPS devices provide temporary power for a computer when there is no electricity available from the wall socket, such as during a power outage. Plug the power cable into the known-good wall outlet. Power up the system. Replace the MiniPCI Door, Rubber Feet, and System Motherboard
When you install the drivers, are you installing them while the laptop is conected to the docking station? If so, try installing with docking first. Then after installation, shut down your computer. Dock the comptuer, then start the computer back up. If you get a blue screen, go into your bios and make sure that your USB setting is set to High Speed.
Please make sure that the docking station is plugged into your notebook before booting up, there is an issue that all expresscard docks share with plugging the docking station in while the notebook is powered on. If there is a switch located on the Expresscard On-Pre-boot support Off-Post-boot support (Default) This switch is used to determine how the dock is recognized in the system at boot up stage. Certain notebooks will detect the dock and not work properly during a pre-boot mode (ie. trying to boot up on the external VGA device, not the internal VGA of the Notebook). This was observed in notebooks (Fujitsu, some Sony and Toshiba models) that use a BIOS developed by Phoenix Technologies. If you experience such issue, please turn the switch from the default "OFF" position to "ON". You will only need to set it once.
unplug everything from the docking station, and press and hold the power button for about 15 seconds. Afterwards, plug in only the power and the monitor to the docking station and dock the laptop (make sure the laptop is turned off before docking and turn on after docking). If you still have issues it could still be hardware or software at this point. If you do not have issues, plug in one thing at a time to the docking station (mouse, keyboard, ect.) and restart the laptop each time until the problem starts again. this is how you will know if a device in the DS is causing the issue. if your monitor is vga (port on back of docking station where monitor is plugged into is blue) try plugging it directly into the laptop. also try plugging in the keyboard and mouse directly into the laptop (if they are usb) and anything else you may have plugged into the DS. This will be a better way of testing your devices. If all devices work fine, i would say that it could be more of a hardware issue with your DS.
Try going into your BIOS and setting the hard drive from your Docking
Station as the primary boot device (1st on the list), then your laptop
hard drive
the older pc probably needs a usb 2.0 port to run docking station. the manual on the docking station should tell you. you may need to install a usb 2.0 pci card in your older computer for it to work.
You need to check the plug that plugs into the laptop to determine that you don't have a faulty lead or plug. Test it with a multimeter and wriggle the plug to see if the voltage reading remains steady. If it doesn't then it could be the lead and this is easily repaired.
You may be able to borrow an adapter to test your laptop's connector.
If you determine the fault is with the laptop then problem is most likely the connector socket on the laptop, it most likely need re-soldering onto the motherboard, or needs to be replaced. This requires the laptop to be dismantled completely.
A docking station would solve your problem because the docking station has its own power connector and you plug the existing power adapter into the docking station.
My HP is connected to a docking station, the other advantage is that the docking station has several more ports than the laptop which is useful.
Assume the docking station is powered. I have seen funny behaviour with my docking station. Sure way for it all to work is, everything off, fit to docking station, turn on with power button on docking station. Ensure network cable plugged before this.
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