Dell Precision M40 - Manual (Page 71)

No. Go to step 11.
11. Call Dell for technical assistance.
Hard Drive Problems
During POST, the
computer checks the
hard drive, comparing its
characteristics with the
system configuration
information. (The light
blinks as the computer
performs this check.)
Basic Checks:
l If you hear an unfamiliar scraping or grinding sound when a drive is accessed, make sure the sound is not
caused by the application program that is running. The sound could be caused by a hardware malfunction. See
"
Help Overview " for instructions on obtaining technical assistance from Dell.
l
When you turn on the computer, you can hear floppy or hard drive activity during the boot routine. If your
computer does not boot, call Dell for technical assistance. (See "
Help Overview " for instructions.) Otherwise,
see the " Dell Diagnostics ."
l Test the drive indicator by typing dir x: at an MS-DOS prompt, where x is the drive letter, and pressing
<Enter>.
l Run the Check Disk (or ScanDisk) utility. To do this, double-click the My Computer icon (or click the Start
button, and then click My Computer), right-click the hard drive, click Properties, click the Tools tab, click
Check Now, and click Start.
l Run the IDE Devices device group as described in " Dell Diagnostics ."
If the problem still exists after you complete the basic checks, fill out the Diagnostics Checklist as you perform the
following steps:
1. Shut down the computer.
2. Reboot the computer. Does the
light blink during the boot routine, and does the drive boot the operating
system?
Yes. If a message appears on the display, see " Understanding Error Messages ," for an explanation of the
message and possible corrective actions. Then go to step 7.
No. Go to step 3.
3. Insert a bootable floppy disk into drive A and reboot the computer.
4. Type c: and press <Enter>. Then type dir and press <Enter>. Does MS-DOS display the root directory
contents for drive C?
Yes. Go to step 6.
No. Go to step 5.
5. If your hard drive has more than one logical drive, type x:(where x is the CD-ROM or DVD drive) and press
<Enter>. Then type dir and press <Enter>. Does MS-DOS display the root directory contents for the CD-ROM
and DVD drive?
Yes. You may have a corrupted boot sector or file allocation table (FAT) on drive C. Go to step 9.
No. Go to step 8.
6. Rename your autoexec.bat and config.sys files, remove the operating system floppy disk from drive A, and
reboot the computer. Does the operating system load now?
Yes. You have an error in your autoexec.bat or config.sys file. Use a text editor to examine the contents
of these files and locate the error. For information on the correct syntax for commands in these files, see
the documentation that accompanied your operating system.
No. Go to step 7.
7. Insert your ResourceCD and reboot the computer. Then run the IDE Devices device group. Does your drive
pass all the tests?
Yes. Go to step 8.
No. Go to step 9.
8. Replace your ResourceCD with the operating system CD, and reboot the computer. Does the operating system
load now?
Yes. The hard drive may contain a corrupted operating system or it may have bad sectors. Reinstall the
operating system as described in the documentation that came with it. If reinstalling the operating system
does not correct the problem, go to step 9.
No. Go to step 9.
9. Call Dell for technical assistance.