Diagnostic Tools Overview
Diagnostic Tools Overview
The following tools are available to help identify and resolve hardware-related
problems:
LEDs on the system board, power supplies, and Ethernet adapters
Diagnostic test programs
Power-on self-test (POST)
POST beep codes
Error messages
Troubleshooting charts
Option diskettes
Diagnostic LEDs
When a system error occurs, the relevant LEDs on the system board are lighted to
identify where the errors are (see “System Board LEDs” on page 168). When you
see the System Error LED illuminated on the operator LED (status) panel on the
front of the server, check the LEDs on the power supplies and at any Ethernet
adapters, then open the cover and see which LEDs are illuminated on the system
board.
Diagnostic Test Programs
The server diagnostics test programs are stored in nonvolatile random-access
memory (NVRAM) on the system board. These programs are the primary method
of testing the system board, memory, and other standard features of your Netfinity
5000 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 server diagnostic test programs can identify most problems associated with
major components of your server: the system board, Ethernet controller, video
controller, RAM, diskette drive, serial port, parallel port, keyboard, and mouse.
You can start the diagnostic test programs from the Startup panel, when the
message
Press F2 for Diagnostics
appears. Test options let you batch groups of
tests, specify test parameters (for example, which memory DIMM you want to test),
and specify the number of passes that you want to run (one through continuous).
You can also view the server configuration information from the Diagnostic Utility
menu. For example, you can view the interrupt request (IRQ) and direct memory
access (DMA) assignments, memory usage, device drivers, and so on.
Chapter 6. Solving Problems
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