Problems At Initial System Startup
Problems that occur at initial start-up are usually caused by incorrect installation or configura-
tion. Hardware failure is a less frequent cause.
______ Are all cables correctly connected and secured?
______ Are the configuration settings correct in Setup?
______ Are all drivers properly installed?
______ Are all jumper and switch settings on add-in boards and peripheral devices configured
correctly? For the valid settings, see the documentation shipped with these devices.
Ensure that there are no conflicts; for example, an add-in board and on-board
peripheral sharing the same interrupt.
______ Are you using the supplied power supply?
______ Are add-in boards and the disk drive installed correctly?
______ Is there a keyboard attached?
______ Is a bootable diskette installed in drive A?
______ If the system has a hard disk is it properly formatted or defined?
______ Are all SO DIMMs installed correctly? Try reseating the SO DIMMs.
______ Is the operating system properly loaded? See the operating system documentation.
Problems After the System Has Been Running Correctly
After the system hardware and software have been running correctly, new problems often indi-
cate equipment failure. Go through the checklist below to see if the situation is one that may be
easily corrected. If the problem recurs after you have checked and corrected all of these items,
refer to the troubleshooting procedures (see Troubleshooting Procedure in this chapter).
______ If you are running the software from a diskette, try a new copy.
______ If you are running the software from a hard disk, try running it from a diskette. If the
software runs correctly, there may be a problem with the copy on the hard disk.
Reinstall the software on the hard disk and try again. Make sure all the necessary files
are installed.
______ Try clearing CMOS RAM and running Setup.
______ If the problems are intermittent, there may be a loose cable, dirt in the keyboard (if
keyboard input is incorrect), a marginal power supply, or other random component fail-
ures.
______ A transient voltage spike, power outage, or brownout may have occurred. Symptoms of
voltage spikes include a flickering video display, unexpected system reboots, and lack
of system response to user commands. Reload the software and try again.
______ Voltage spikes can occasionally cause the heads of the disk drive to contact the disk.
This can corrupt or destroy data files. If you are experiencing voltage spikes on the
power line, install a surge suppressor between the power outlet and the system power
cord.
______ Try reseating the SO DIMMs.
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