Dell Latitude XPi CD, Reference Manual

Page: 79 / 148

Running the Dell Diagnostics 4-9
The RAM Test Group, the Video Test Group, the Serial/
Infrared Ports Test Group, the Diskette Drives Test
Group, the Parallel Ports Test Group, the SCSI Devices
Test Group, and the Hard-Disk Drives (Non-SCSI) Test
Group allow you to designate limits. Whether you select
TEST LIMITS
for a highlighted test group (from the Main
menu) or a subtest (from the Subtest menu), you set the limits
for all the subtests in that test group. When you select
TEST
LIMITS
, a new screen appears and the Key Help area lists
keys to use with the new screen.
How you change a value for the limits of a test group or
subtest depends on the type of parameter associated with
it. Different keys are used to change values for different
types of parameters. For example, memory address limits
specified for the RAM Test Group are changed by typing
in numbers over the digits of a given limit or by pressing
the plus (+) or minus (–) key to increase or decrease the
given limit. In contrast, to set limits for the Serial Ports
Test Group, use the <
SPACEBAR
> to toggle between
YES
and
NO
.
After you are satisfied with the limits, return to the main
screen of the diagnostics by pressing the <
ESC
> key. The
values you selected under
TEST LIMITS
remain in effect until
you change them or exit the diagnostics. The values are reset
to their defaults when you restart the diagnostics.
About
ABOUT
in the Main menu displays information about the
highlighted test group, such as limits and parameters and
how to set them.
Key-Help
KEY-HELP
displays a list of key controls available for the
selected option.
Quit
Select
QUIT
from the Main menu to exit the diagnostics and
return to an MS-DOS prompt.
After you return to the operating system environment,
remove your diagnostics diskette from drive A and reboot the
computer by pressing <
CTRL
><
ALT
><
DEL
>.
T
ests in the Dell Diagnostics
The diagnostics is organized by components into test groups
and subtests within each test group. Each subtest is designed
to detect any errors that may interfere with the normal opera-
tion of a specific device of the computer.
NOTE: Any subtest requiring hardware not listed in the
System Configuration area appears to run, but the sub-
test concludes with a status message stating
Component
not available
.
Table 4-2 lists the diagnostic test groups, their subtests,
and comments concerning their use.
CAUTION: It is important that you quit the diag-
nostic program correctly because the program
writes data to the computer’s memory that can
cause problems unless properly cleared.