Dell Latitude LM - Manual (Page 42)

3-8 Dell Latitude LM Reference and Troubleshooting Guide
F
inding Software Solutions
Because most computers have several application pro-
grams installed in addition to the operating system,
isolating a software problem can be confusing. Software
errors can also appear to be hardware malfunctions at
first. Software problems can result from the following
circumstances:
• Improper installation or configuration of a program
• Input errors
• Device drivers that may conflict with certain appli-
cation programs
• Memory conflicts resulting from the use of
terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) programs, such as
device drivers
• Interrupt conflicts between devices
You can confirm that a computer problem is caused by
software by first running the System Set Test Group as
described in Chapter 4, “Running the Dell Diagnostics.”
If all tests in the test group complete successfully, the
error condition is most likely caused by software.
The following subsections provide some general guide-
lines for analyzing software problems. For detailed
troubleshooting information on a particular program, see
the online documentation that accompanied the software
or consult the support service for the software.
Installing and Configuring Software
When you obtain software, check it for viruses with
virus-scanning software before installing it on the com-
puter’s hard-disk drive. Viruses, which are pieces of code
that can replicate themselves, can quickly use all avail-
able system memory, damage and/or destroy data stored
on the hard-disk drive, and permanently affect the per-
formance of the programs they infect. Several
commercial virus-scanning programs are available for
purchase, and most bulletin board services (BBSs)
archive freely distributed virus-scanning programs that
you can download with a modem.
Before installing a program, read its documentation to
learn how the program works, what hardware it requires,
and what its defaults are. A program usually includes
installation instructions in its accompanying documenta-
tion and a software installation routine on its program
diskettes.
The software installation routine assists you in transfer-
ring the appropriate program files to the computer’s
hard-disk drive. Installation instructions may provide
details about how to configure the operating system to
successfully run the program. Always read the installa-
tion instructions before running a program’s installation
routine. If you are instructed to modify the start-up files,
see the documentation that accompanied the operating
system for instructions.
When you run the installation routine, be prepared to
respond to prompts for information about how the
computer’s operating system is configured, what type of
computer you have, and what peripherals are connected
to the computer.
Start-Up Files
Whenever you start or reboot the computer, the operating
system executes commands from its start-up files.
These files contain commands that automatically config-
ure the operating environment by setting system
parameters, starting memory-resident programs, and
loading device driver software. If you experience pro-
gram conflicts or memory error messages, check the
commands for memory-resident programs in the start-up
files of the operating system. (For information on
start-up files, see the documentation that came with the
operating system). If a program or peripheral does not
work correctly, check the product’s documentation to see
if you need to modify these files.
Expanded and Extended Memory
System memory can be expanded by installing matched
pairs of memory modules or by exchanging an installed
pair of memory modules for a pair of different capacity.
If you operate the computer with MS-DOS, the operating
system makes only 640 kilobytes (KB) (called conven-
tional memory) of the first 1 megabyte (MB) of system
memory available for use by programs. Some programs
require more than 640 KB of memory and, therefore,
cannot be run with conventional memory alone. Other
programs run much faster when they have more than
1 MB of memory to use.