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Running the System Diagnostics 165
Running the System Diagnostics
If you experience a problem with your system, run the diagnostics before
calling for technical assistance. The purpose of the diagnostics is to test
your system's hardware without requiring additional equipment or
risking data loss. If you are unable to fix the problem yourself, service
and support personnel can use diagnostics test results to help you
solve the problem.
Using Online Diagnostics
To assess a system problem, first use the online diagnostics. Online
Diagnostics is a suite of diagnostic programs, or test modules, that include
diagnostic tests on chassis and storage components such as hard drives,
physical memory, communications and printer ports, NICs, CMOS, and
more. If you are unable to identify the problem using the online diagnostics,
then use the embedded system diagnostics.
The files required to run the online diagnostics for systems running
supported Microsoft
®
Windows
®
and Linux
®
operating systems are
available at support.dell.com and on the CDs that came with your system.
For information about using diagnostics, see the Dell Online Diagnostics
User's Guide.
Embedded System Diagnostics Features
The system diagnostics provides a series of menus and options for
particular device groups or devices. The system diagnostics menus and
options allow you to:
• Run tests individually or collectively
• Control the sequence of tests
• Repeat tests
book.book Page 165 Wednesday, August 19, 2009 4:40 PM