Dell Inspiron 3500 - Manual (Page 35)

Beep Codes and Error Messages 3-5
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Serial/Infrared Ports — Tests the serial communications port
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Parallel Ports — Tests the parallel communications port
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Audio — Tests the operation of the audio chip set
Before starting the Dell Diagnostics, you must configure the computer cor-
rectly. For more information, see “Before You Start Testing” in Chapter 4,
“Running the Dell Diagnostics,” of the
Reference and Troubleshooting Guide.
Follow these steps to start the diagnostics:
1. Install a CD-ROM drive in the options bay.
2. Turn off the computer.
3. Insert a copy of the Dell Diagnostics Diskette into the diskette drive, and
boot the computer.
Starting the diagnostics causes the Dell logo screen to appear, followed by a
message indicating that the diagnostics is loading. Before the diagnostics
loads, a program tests the portion of main memory (RAM) required for loading
the diagnostics. If a main memory error is detected, a message appears on the
screen telling you a memory module has failed.
If no errors are found in main memory, the diagnostics loads, and the
Diagnostics Menu appears. This menu lets you choose the following options
or exit to the MS-DOS
® prompt:
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Run All Tests — Runs all tests for a thorough test of the computer
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Run Quick Tests — Runs preselected tests to quickly locate a computer
failure or to indicate where further testing is needed to isolate a failure
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Run Specific Tests — Tests a particular area or subsystem of the
computer