Dell Inspiron 3500 - Manual (Page 104)

4-22 Dell Inspiron 3500 Portable Computer Reference and Troubleshooting Guide
unusually large amount (over five percent of the possible total), should not be
regarded as a cause for testing the hard-disk drive.
If you encounter a problem while using an application on CD or DVD, the problem
could result from the disk or from the drive. When you encounter problems, first try
using a different CD or DVD. If the problem recurs, run the IDE (ATA/ATAPI) Devices
test group.
These are the most common symptoms that might prompt you to test the integrated
drive electronics (IDE) devices:
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The hard-disk drive fails during the boot routine.
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Seek errors are reported by the operating system or application programs.
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An error message appears on the screen stating that the computer cannot read
from or write to the hard-disk drive.
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Data on the hard-disk drive is corrupted or lost; these problems may be intermit-
tent. Once saved by a program, files cannot be properly recalled.
NOTES: Before conducting these tests on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drives, insert a disk
with audio and data tracks (such as a multimedia CD) into the drive. All of the subtests
except for the Audio Test require a CD or DVD with data tracks. The Audio Test
requires a CD or DVD with audio tracks.
If the drive is empty, or if it contains a disk that does not have the required data or
audio tracks (depending on the test that you are running), the tests will fail.
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The eight subtests in the IDE (ATA/ATAPI) Devices test group confirm the following
drive functions:
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Display Information
Displays information about the drives connected to your system.
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Self Diagnostics Test
Uses the drive’s internal test facility to determine that the drive is functioning
correctly.
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Seek Test
Checks the drive’s ability to search for a specified track on the drive and to posi-
tion the read/write heads of the drive to all tracks.
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Read Test
Positions the read/write heads at each cylinder of the drive and verifies that all
tracks on the drive can be read correctly.
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Verify Test
Similar to the Read Test, except that no data is written to the disk. Use this test
to quickly scan the disk.