The basic troubleshooting procedures can help you diagnose a system problem. These procedures can often reveal the source of a problem or indicate the correct starting point for servicing the system. See your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for more detailed instructions for troubleshooting your system.
Perform the following procedures in the order presented.
NOTE: While your system can be run headless (without a keyboard. mouse, and
monitor), some of the following diagnostic procedures will require that you have a
keyboard, mouse, and monitor connected to your system.
When you first contact a user who has a problem, ask the user to describe the problem and the conditions under which it occurs. After the user describes the problem, perform the following steps:
Ask the user to back up any data on the hard drive if the system's condition permits.
See the documentation provided with the operating system or applications software
for information about backing up data.
Ask the user to try to duplicate the problem by repeating the operations he or she was
performing at the time the problem occurred.
Improperly set switches and controls and loose or improperly connected cables are the most likely source of problems for the system, monitor, or other peripherals (such as a keyboard, mouse, or other external equipment). A quick check of all the switches, controls, and cable connections can easily solve these problems.
To perform the external visual inspection, perform the following steps:
Inspect the status indicators that can signify component malfunction.
Turn off the system, the monitor (if attached), and all peripherals.
Verify that all power cables are properly connected to the system, the monitor and
peripherals, and their power sources.
Inspect connections to any attached devices including network cables, keyboard,
monitor, mouse (if used), or keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) switch (if used), as well as
any devices attached to the serial port.
Inspect all external monitor controls for any obvious damage or improper settings (if
used). For proper settings of the video monitor controls, see the documentation for
the monitor.
Inspect the keyboard (if used) to ensure that no keys are sticking. If keys are sticking, it
may be necessary to replace the keyboard.
Inspect the exterior of the system, including all controls and indicators, and all user-
accessible data storage devices for any signs of physical damage.
CAUTION: The power supplies in this system produce high voltages and energy hazards, which can cause bodily harm. Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the system cover and access any of the components inside the system. See the System Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer, and protecting against electrostatic discharge.
After you have performed an external visual inspection, boot the system and, while the boot routine is running, observe the system for any indications of problems.
NOTE: Most of the steps in this procedure require observation of system functions and
indications, some of which can occur simultaneously. It may be necessary to reboot
the system several times to complete all of these steps.
NOTE: You can run the system diagnostics from a set of diskettes you create by
downloading the system diagnostics from the Dell Support website at
support.dell.com.
To observe problem indications during the boot routine, perform the following steps:
If the system is off, turn on all peripherals and the system.
Check the power-supply indicators.
Is the red fault indicator lit?
Yes. Troubleshoot the system power supply (see your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide).
No. Proceed to step 3.
Watch the <Num Lock>, <Caps Lock>, and <Scroll Lock> indicators on the
upper-right corner of the keyboard. After all three indicators flash momentarily, and
following a long pause (approximately 30 seconds), the <Num Lock> indicator
should light up and remain on (unless the Num Lock option is set to off in the System
Setup Program).
Do these indicators flash on and off within approximately 10 seconds after the boot routine starts?
Yes. Proceed to step 4.
No. Replace the keyboard with a known working keyboard. If the problem persist, troubleshoot the system power supply. If the troubleshooting procedure indicates that the system power supply is operational, troubleshoot the memory and look for displayed codes on the 5 LEDs on the system board (see "System Board LED Codes").
During the boot routine, observe the system for any of the following indications:
Beep codes — A beep code is a series of beeps that indicates an error condition. See "System Beep Codes."
System error messages — These messages can indicate problems or provide status information. If a system error message appears, see "System Messages."
System board LED codes — These indicators display a series of 5 lit or flashing LEDs, and can only be observed when the system cover is removed (see "System Board LED Codes").
Diskette-drive and hard drive access indicators — These indicators light up in response to data being transferred to or from the drives. If either if these indicators fails to light up during the boot routine, troubleshoot the diskette drive or hard drive subsystem, as appropriate.
Insert a copy of the diagnostics diskette into the diskette drive, and reboot the system.
NOTICE: Before you proceed with the internal visual inspection described in this section,
ensure that the user has saved all open files and exited all open application programs, if possible.
A simple visual inspection of a system's interior hardware can often lead to the source of a problem, such as a loose expansion card, cable connector, or mounting screw. When you perform the visual inspection, see "Jumpers and Connectors" to locate components referenced in the inspection procedure.
CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the system cover and access any of the components inside the system. See your System Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer, and protecting against electrostatic discharge.
CAUTION: The microprocessor and heat-sink assembly can get extremely hot during system operations. Be sure that it has had sufficient time to cool before touching it.
CAUTION: When handling the microprocessor and heat-sink assembly, take care to avoid sharp edges on the heat sink.
Verify that the memory modules, expansion cards, and microprocessors are fully seated
in their sockets or connectors.
To remove and reseat microprocessors, perform the steps described in "Microprocessors."
To remove and reseat a memory module, perform the steps described in "Memory Modules."
To remove and reseat an expansion card, perform the steps described in "Expansion Cards."
Verify that all jumpers are set correctly (see Figure 5-2).
Check all cable connectors inside the system to verify that they are firmly attached to
their appropriate connectors.
You can run system diagnostics from the utility partition on your hard drive or from a set of diskettes that you create using the Dell OpenManage Server Assistant CD or by downloading the system diagnostics from the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.
NOTICE: Use the system diagnostics to test only your system. Using this program with other
systems may cause invalid results or error messages. In addition, use only the program that
came with your system (or an updated version of that program).
Create a set of diagnostics diskettes from the Dell OpenManage Server Assistant CD.
See "Using the Dell OpenManage Server Assistant CD" in your User's Guide for
information on creating the diskettes.
Insert the first diagnostics diskette.
Reboot the system.
When you start the system diagnostics, a message is displayed stating that the diagnostics are initializing. Next, the Diagnostics menu appears. The menu allows you to run all or specific diagnostics tests or to exit the system diagnostics.
NOTE: Before you read the rest of this section, start the system diagnostics so that
you can see the utility on your screen.
For a quick check of the system, select Test All Devices and then select Quick Tests. This option runs only the device tests that do not require user interaction and that do not take a long time to run. Dell recommends that you choose this option first to increase the chance of tracing the source of the problem quickly. To test a particular device, select Test One Device. For a complete check of the system, select Test All Devices and then select Extended Tests.
To check a particular area of the system, choose Advanced Testing. When you select Advanced Testing, the main screen of the diagnostics appears. This screen includes a listing of the various device groups in the system and the system's service tag.
To view data on test results, select Information and Results. Select Program Options to view the program options screen, which lets you set various test parameters.
By selecting the Device Configuration option, you can see an overview of the devices in the system.
Selecting Exit to MS-DOS exits the diagnostics and returns to the Diagnostics menu.
To select an option from the Diagnostics menu, highlight the option and press <Enter>, or press the key that corresponds to the highlighted letter in the option you choose.
When you select Advanced Testing from the Diagnostics menu, the main screen of the diagnostics appears.
Information on the main screen of the diagnostics is presented in the following areas:
Two lines at the top of the main screen identify the diagnostics, the version number, and the system service tag.
On the left side of the screen, Device Groups lists the diagnostic device groups in the order they will run if you select All under the Run Tests submenu. Press the up- or down-arrow key to highlight a device group.
On the right side of the screen, Devices for Highlighted Group lists the specific devices within a particular test group.
Two lines at the bottom of the screen make up the menu area. The first line lists the menu options you can select; press the left- or right-arrow key to highlight an option. The second line gives information about the highlighted option.
The Device Groups menu at the bottom of the screen provides options that enable you to select and run specific diagnostic tests from the diagnostics main screen. Press the left- and right-arrow keys to select the options on the menu. As you move from one menu option to another, a brief explanation of the highlighted option appears on the bottom line of the screen.
If you want more information about a device group or device, highlight the Help option and press <Enter>. After you read the information, press <Esc> to return to the previous screen.
One — Runs all the devices within the highlighted device group.
All — Runs all of the tests in all of the device group tests (device group tests are run in the same order that they are listed).
Select — Runs only the selected device groups or the devices that you selected within the device groups.
Options — Provides a set of global parameters that allow you control over how the device group tests or device tests are run and how results are reported.
Results — Displays the results of the tests.
Errors — Displays errors detected during the tests.
Help — Displays a series of help options, including Menu, Keys, Device Group, Device, Test, and Versions.
Most of the device groups consist of several devices. Use the Devices option to select individual devices within the device group(s).
When you select Devices, the following options are displayed: Run Tests, Tests, Select, Parameters, and Help. Table 2-1 lists all of the possible values for each option.
Displays seven options: One, All, Select, Options, Results, Errors, and Help.
Tests
Allows you to select individual devices to tailor the testing process to your particular needs. You can choose one or more devices from the list. When you choose Tests, four options are displayed: Run Tests, Select, Parameters, and Help.
Select
Allows you to choose one or more devices from a particular device group. Three options are displayed: One, All, and Help.
The Select option in the Device Groups menu allows you to choose one or more devices from a particular device group. Three options are displayed: One, All, and Help.
