A docking station gives your Dell laptop the ability to work more like a standard desktop by providing it with extra ports, such as for Ethernet cables, printers or external monitors. When you're ready to move the laptop to a different location, you can't simply remove the computer from the docking base. To avoid damage to the laptop or problems with your operating system, properly undock the laptop by pressing a series of buttons on the base.

  • A docking station gives your Dell laptop the ability to work more like a standard desktop by providing it with extra ports, such as for Ethernet cables, printers or external monitors.
  • To avoid damage to the laptop or problems with your operating system, properly undock the laptop by pressing a series of buttons on the base.

Save any files currently open on your computer, as undocking the laptop may cause you to lose any unsaved data. Close any currently open windows.

Press and hold the undock request button on the back right side of the Dell docking station. Wait for the green docking light to turn off and release the undock request button.

Press down the slide lock, located next to the undock request button, and slide it to the unlocked position. Press in the eject button above the slide lock. Pull the laptop off the docking base.

TIP

Some Dell docking models don't use an undocking request button, and instead have only an unlocking switch and an eject button. With these models you need only to slide over the unlocking switch, press the eject button and lift the laptop off the dock. Certain operating systems installed on Dell computers, such as Windows XP, include an option to undock the computer without pressing the undocking request button. Open the "Start" menu and click either "Eject PC" or "Undock Computer" if either option is present on the menu.