Dell Inspiron 3500 - Manual (Page 52)

3-6 Dell Inspiron 3500 Portable Computer Reference and Troubleshooting Guide
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Looking at and listening to your computer is important in determining the source of a
problem. Look and listen for the indications described in Table 3-1.
If the problem is still not resolved, see the next subsection, “Setup Options.”
NOTE: Before you begin any of the troubleshooting procedures, make sure the
Quiet Boot option is set to Disabled in the Main menu of the Setup program. See
Chapter 2, “Customizing System Features,” for information on using the Setup
program.
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An error message See “Messages and Codes” found later in this chapter.
The power indicator If the computer’s power status LED does not come on, see “Troubleshooting a
Power Failure” found later in this chapter.
The keyboard indicators Press the <Num Lock> key, the <Caps Lock> key, and the <Scroll Lock> key to
toggle their respective indicator LEDs. If the indicator LEDs do not light up, run
the Keyboard test group in the Dell Diagnostics (for instructions, see Chapter 4,
“Running the Dell Diagnostics”).
The diskette-drive access
indicator The diskette-drive access indicator should light up when data is accessed on
the diskette drive. You can test this indicator by inserting a diskette into the
drive, typing
dir a: at an MS-DOS prompt, and pressing <Enter>. If the dis-
kette-drive access indicator does not light up, see “Troubleshooting the Dis-
kette Drive” found later in this chapter.
The CD-ROM/hard-disk
drive access indicator The CD-ROM/hard-disk drive access indicator should light up when data is
accessed on the CD-ROM drive or the hard-disk drive. You can test this indica-
tor by typing
dir c: at an MS-DOS prompt and pressing <Enter>. If the
CD-ROM/hard-disk drive access indicator does not light up, see “Troubleshoot-
ing the Hard-Disk Drive” or “Troubleshooting the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Drive”
found later in this chapter.
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A series of beeps See “Messages and Codes” found later in this chapter.
An unfamiliar constant
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 also be caused by a hardware malfunction. See Chapter 5,
“Getting Help,” for instructions on obtaining technical assistance from Dell.
The absence of a familiar
sound When you turn on the computer, you can hear the hard-disk drive spin up, and
the computer tries to access the boot files from the hard-disk drive or the dis-
kette drive. If your computer does not boot, call Dell for technical assistance.
(See Chapter 5, “Getting Help,” for instructions.) Otherwise, see Chapter 4,
“Running the Dell Diagnostics.”
NOTE: For the full name of an abbreviation or acronym used in this table, see the Glossary in the System User’s Guide.