Running the Dell Diagnostics
4-21
•
Read Test
Positions the read/write heads at each block of the
device for reading data and verifies that all tracks on
the device can be read correctly.
•
Write Test
Positions the read/write heads at each block of the
device and verifies that all tracks on the device can
be written to correctly.
•
Audio Output Test
Causes the drive to begin playing the first audio
track on an audio CD. (To determine if the test
passed, listen to the audio output of the drive.)
NOTE: The Audio Output Test does not run automat-
ically as part of the SCSI Devices test group; you
must select this subtest individually.
•
Eject Removable Media Test
Causes a CD-ROM drive to eject its CD, or a SCSI
tape drive to eject its tape cartridge.
•
Display Information Test
Displays information about the SCSI controller in an
expansion device, the resources allocated to the con-
troller, and a list of target devices attached to it.
N
etwork Interface Test Group
The subtests in the Network Interface test group verify
the basic operation of the network interface controller in
the Dell Latitude C/Port APR or C/Dock Expansion Sta-
tion. They test the controller’s internal functions,
including read and write access to its registers and inter-
nal transmit and receive (loopback) capability. These
tests run only if the computer is docked.
Why Run a Network Interface Test?
Running a subtest in the Network Interface test group
helps diagnose problems that may occur while using a
Dell Latitude CP computer in a network environment.
Most network failures are caused by one of the
following:
•
Poor network connections
•
Failure in the network controller
•
Interrupt conflict (the controller trying to use the
same IRQ line as another device)
•
Software configuration error
If a problem occurs while using the computer in a net-
work environment, the network connection should be
inspected. If the connection is good, run the Network
Interface test group to determine if the network
interface controller is functioning. If the test group is run
in a loop, it can be used to detect intermittent failures.
Subtests
The four subtests in the Network Interface test group
confirm the following functions:
•
Registers Test
Checks the interrupt generation capability of the
controller by writing patterns to the writable regis-
ters in the controller and by reading the patterns back
to verify whether they are accessible and able to
retain data.
•
Loopback Test
Places the controller into its various loopback modes
and tests its ability to transmit and receive data.
•
Shared RAM Test
Performs a memory test on controllers with memory-
mapped shared RAM. On controllers with first-in
first-out (FIFO) shared RAM, writes a data pattern to
all locations and reads the pattern back to verify the
operation. Some controllers do not support shared
RAM tests.
•
Display Information Test
Displays address and configuration information
about the network controller. This information
includes the network address used for communica-
tion on the local area network (LAN) and the
controller’s IRQ level. You can make sure there is
not an interrupt conflict by verifying that the IRQ
level is not being used by another device connected
to the system.
Summary of Contents for Latitude CP
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