Troubleshooting Your System 107Troubleshooting Your SystemSafety First—For You and Your SystemTo perform certain procedures in this document, you must remove the system cover and work insidethe system. While working inside the system, do not attempt to service the system except asexplained in this guide and elsewhere in your system documentation.CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only performtroubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the onlineor telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not coveredby your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.Start-Up RoutineLook and listen during the system's start-up routine for the indications described in Table 4-1.Table 4-1. Start-Up Routine IndicationsLook/listen for: ActionA status or error message displayed on the front-panelLCD.See "LCD Status Messages" on page 16.An error message displayed on the monitor. See "System Messages" on page 23.Alert messages from the systems managementsoftware.See the systems management softwaredocumentation.The monitor's power indicator. See "Troubleshooting the Video Subsystem" onpage 109.The keyboard indicators. See "Troubleshooting the Keyboard" on page 109.The USB diskette drive activity indicator. See "Troubleshooting a USB Device" on page 111.The USB CD drive activity indicator. See "Troubleshooting a USB Device" on page 111.The diskette drive activity indicator. See "Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive" on page 118.The CD drive activity indicator. See "Troubleshooting an Optical Drive" on page 119.The hard-drive activity indicator. See "Troubleshooting a Hard Drive" on page 121.An unfamiliar constant scraping or grinding soundwhen you access a drive.See "Getting Help" on page 137.book.book Page 107 Tuesday, September 1, 2009 4:19 PM
