IBM Netfinity 3000, User Handbook Manual

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Diagnostic tools overview
Diagnostic test programs
IBM provides programs that you can run to diagnose hardware and
some software problems. Several utility programs that provide
helpful information about your server are also included. One of
these programs provides the user interface for running these
diagnostic and utility programs.
The server diagnostic test programs are stored on the IBM Enhanced
Diagnostics CD that comes with your server. These programs are
the primary method of testing the system board, memory, and other
standard features of your Netfinity 3000 server. You can also use
them to test some external devices.
Also, if you cannot determine whether a problem is caused by the
hardware or by the software, you can run the test programs to
confirm that the hardware is working properly.
The IBM Enhanced Diagnostics programs will isolate your server
hardware from software that you have installed on your hard disk.
The programs run independently of the operating system, and must
be run either from CD or diskette. This method of testing is generally
used when other methods are not accessible or have not been
successful in isolating a problem suspected to be hardware related.
The server diagnostic test programs can identify most problems
associated with major components of your server: the system board,
Ethernet controller, video adapter or controller, random-access
memory (RAM), diskette drive, CD ROM drive, hard disk drive,
serial port, parallel port, keyboard, and mouse.
In addition to the server test programs, the IBM Enhanced Diagnostics
CD contains utility programs that provide information about your
server hardware, including the hardware configuration. This
information might be useful in helping to isolate problems related to
the operating system and device drivers.
The IBM Enhanced Diagnostics CD also contains additional diagnostic
programs for non-IBM devices.
Chapter 5. Solving problems
159