Running system diagnostics, Features of the system diagnostics, When to use the system diagnostics – Dell PowerEdge 2650 User Manual
Page 30: Starting system diagnostics
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Running System Diagnostics
Dell™ PowerEdge™ 2650 Systems Installation and Troubleshooting Guide
Features of the System Diagnostics
When to Use the System Diagnostics
Unlike many diagnostic programs, the system diagnostics helps you check the system's hardware without any additional equipment and without destroying
any data. By using the system diagnostics, you can have confidence in the system's operation. If you find a problem that you cannot solve by yourself, the
diagnostic tests can provide you with important information you will need when talking to a technical assistance representative.
Features of the System Diagnostics
The system diagnostics provides a series of menus and options from which you choose particular device groups or devices. You can also control the sequence
in which the tests are run. The diagnostic menus also have these helpful features:
l
Options that let you run tests individually or collectively
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An option that allows you to choose the number of times a test is repeated
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The ability to display or print test results or to save them in a file
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Options to temporarily suspend testing if an error is detected or to terminate testing when an adjustable error limit is reached
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Help messages that briefly describe each test and its parameters
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Status messages that inform you whether device group or device tests are completed successfully
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Error messages that appear if any problems are detected
When to Use the System Diagnostics
Whenever a major component or device in the system does not function properly, you may have a component failure. As long as the microprocessor and the
input and output components of the system (the monitor, keyboard, and diskette drive) are working, you can use system diagnostics. If you know what
component(s) you need to test, select the appropriate diagnostic device group(s) or subtest(s). If you are unsure about the scope of the problem, read the
remainder of the information in this section.
Starting System Diagnostics
You can run system diagnostics from either the utility partition on your hard drive or from a set of diskettes that you create from the
Dell OpenManage Server
Assistant CD.
To run the diagnostics from the utility partition, perform the following steps:
1.
Start the utility partition by pressing <F10> during POST.
2.
From the utility partition's main menu, select the Run System Diagnostics option from Run System Utilities. See "Utility Partition" in "Using the Dell
OpenManage Server Assistant CD" in the User's Guide for additional information about the utility partition.
To run the system diagnostics from the diskettes, perform the following steps:
1.
Create a set of diagnostics diskettes using the Dell OpenManage Server Assistant CD. See "Using the Dell OpenManage Server Assistant CD" in the
User's Guide for information on creating diskettes.
2.
Boot the system from the first diagnostics diskette.
If the system fails to boot, see "
Getting Help
."
When you start the system diagnostics, a message is displayed telling you that the diagnostics is loading. The Diagnostics menu appears. The menu allows
you to run all or specific diagnostic tests or to exit system diagnostics.
For a quick check of the system, select Test All Devices and then select Quick Tests. This option runs only the device tests that do not require user
interaction and that do not take a long time to run. Dell recommends that you choose this option first to increase the chance of tracing the source of the
problem quickly. To test a particular device, select Test One Device. For a complete check of the system, select Test All Devices and then select Extended
Tests.
NOTICE:
Use the system diagnostics to test only Dell systems. If you use this program with other systems, incorrect system responses or error
messages may result.
NOTE:
Before you read the rest of this section, start the system diagnostics so that you can see it on your monitor screen.