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48 Solving Problems
www.dell.com | support.dell.com
Error Messages
CAUTION: Before you begin any of the procedures in this section, follow the safety instructions in the
Product Information Guide.
If the message is not listed, see the documentation for the operating system or the program that
was running when the message appeared.
SCAN THE COMPUTER FOR SPYWARE — If you are experiencing slow computer performance, you
frequently receive pop-up advertisements, or you are having problems connecting to the Internet, your
computer might be infected with spyware. Use an antivirus program that includes anti-spyware
protection (your program may require an upgrade) to scan the computer and remove spyware. For more
information, go to support.dell.com and search for the keyword spyware.
BAD COMMAND OR FILE NAME — Ensure that you have spelled the command correctly, put spaces in
the proper place, and used the correct pathname.
CD DRIVE CONTROLLER FAILURE — The CD drive does not respond to commands from the computer.
See page 45.
DATA ERROR — The hard drive cannot read the data. See page 45.
THE FILE BEING COPIED IS TOO LARGE FOR THE DESTINATION DRIVE — The file that you are trying
to copy is too large to fit on the disk, or the disk is too full. Try copying the file to a different disk or use
a larger capacity disk.
A FILENAME CANNOT CONTAIN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS: \ / : * ? “ < > | — Do not
use these characters in filenames.
INSERT BOOTABLE MEDIA — The operating system is trying to boot to a nonbootable CD.
Insert a bootable CD.
NOT ENOUGH MEMORY OR RESOURCES. EXIT SOME PROGRAMS AND TRY AGAIN — You have too
many programs open. Close all windows and open the program that you want to use.
OPERATING SYSTEM NOT FOUND — Reinstall the hard drive, see page 39. If the problem persists,
contact Dell, see page 92.