Dell OptiPlex E1 Troubleshooting Manual

Also see for OptiPlex E1: Documentation update Service manual Reference and installation guide Service manual Reference and installation guide

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Dell OptiPlex E1 Troubleshooting Manual Manual pdf 53 page image

Running the Dell Diagnostics 4-17subtests check the storage capability of a drive as well asthe hard-disk drive controller (which affects the ability toread from and write to the drive). The subtests are for allhard-disk drive types except for small computer systeminterface (SCSI) drives. To test SCSI drives, use the SCSIDevices Test Group.SubtestsThe five subtests in the Hard-Disk Drives (Non-SCSI)Test Group confirm the following drive functions:• Disk Controller TestChecks the internal microcode of the hard-disk drivecontroller• Forced Error-Correction-Code TestChecks the ability of the hard-disk drive to identifyand correct errors• Seek TestChecks the drive’s ability to search for a specifiedtrack on the drive and to position the read/writeheads of the drive to all tracks• Read TestPositions the read/write heads at each cylinder of thedrive for reading data and verifies that all tracks onthe drive can be read correctly• Write TestPositions the read/write heads at each cylinder of thedrive and verifies that all tracks on the drive can bewritten to correctlyWhy Run a Hard-Disk Drives Test?If you check your hard-disk drive to determine theamount of available space, your operating system willprobably report problem areas. Problem areas on hard-disk drives are common, because most hard-disk driveshave a small amount of space that is not usable. The hard-disk drive keeps a record of this space so that yourcomputer will not attempt to use it. Identification ofunusable disk space, unless it is an unusually largeamount (over five percent of the possible total), shouldnot be regarded as a cause for testing the hard-disk drive.These are the most common symptoms that might promptyou to test the hard-disk drive:• The hard-disk drive fails during the boot routine.• Seek errors are reported by the operating system orapplication programs.• An error message appears on the screen stating thatthe computer cannot read from or write to the hard-disk drive.• Data on the hard-disk drive is corrupted or lost; theseproblems may be intermittent. Once saved by a pro-gram, files cannot be properly recalled.I DE CD ROM Drives Test GroupThe subtests in the IDE CD ROM Drives Test Groupcheck the functionality of up to four IDE CD-ROMdrives connected to the primary and secondary IDE ports.Before conducting an IDE CD-ROM test, insert a CDwith audio and data tracks (such as a multimedia CD)into each CD-ROM drive.NOTES: All of the subtests except for the Audio OutputTest require a CD with data tracks. The Audio OutputTest requires a CD with audio tracks.If a CD-ROM drive is empty, or if it contains a CD thatdoes not have the required data or audio tracks (depend-ing on the subtest[s] being conducted), the subtest(s) willfail.SubtestsThe five subtests in the IDE CD ROM Drives Test Groupconfirm the following drive functions:• Drive Controller TestCauses the drive to execute its internal self-test.• Seek TestChecks the drive’s ability to search for each block onthe device.• Read TestPositions the read heads at each block of the devicefor reading data and verifies that all blocks on thedevice can be read correctly.