Dell Inspiron 3000 Reference And Troubleshooting Manual

Also see for Inspiron 3200: Installing Utilities and Drivers Service manual User guide Specifications

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Dell Inspiron 3000 Reference And Troubleshooting Manual Manual pdf 46 page image

3-4 Dell Inspiron 3000 Reference and Troubleshooting GuideSetup OptionsYou can easily correct certain system problems by verify-ing the settings for setup options. When you boot thecomputer, it compares the system configuration informa-tion with the current hardware configuration. If thecomputer’s hardware configuration doesn’t match theinformation recorded by the system setup options, anerror message may appear on the display.To fix this problem, correct the appropriate options in theSetup program. See Chapter 2, “Customizing SystemFeatures,” for detailed information about the Setup pro-gram and its options.Table 3-1. Boot Routine IndicationsLook for: ActionAn error message See “Messages and Codes” found later in this chapter.The power indicator If the computer’s power indicator does not come on, see “Troubleshooting aPower Failure” found later in this chapter.The keyboard indicators Press the key, the key, and the keyto toggle their respective indicators on and off in the status display panel. Ifthe indicators do not appear, run the Keyboard test group in the Dell Diagnos-tics (for instructions, see Chapter 4, “Running the Dell Diagnostics”).The diskette-drive access indicator The diskette-drive access indicator should appear in the status display whendata is accessed on the diskette drive. You can test this indicator by inserting adiskette into the drive, typing dir a: at an MS-DOS prompt, and pressing. If the diskette-drive access indicator does not appear, see “Trouble-shooting the Diskette Drive” found later in this chapter.The CD-ROM/hard-disk driveaccess indicatorThe CD-ROM/hard-disk drive access indicator should appear when data isaccessed on the CD-ROM drive or the hard-disk drive. You can test this indi-cator by typing dir c: at an MS-DOS prompt and pressing . If theCD-ROM/hard-disk drive access indicator does not appear, see “Trouble-shooting the Hard-Disk Drive” or “Troubleshooting the CD-ROM Drive”found later in this chapter.Listen for: ActionA series of beeps See “Messages and Codes” found later in this chapter.An unfamiliar constant scraping orgrinding sound when a drive isaccessedMake 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, andthe 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 online System User’s Guide.55899BK1.BK : 55899c31.fm Page 4 Wednesday, February 4, 1998 1:20 PM