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58 Advanced Troubleshooting
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Dell Diagnostics
CAUTION: Before you begin any of the procedures in this section, follow the safety instructions
located in the Product Information Guide.
When to Use the Dell Diagnostics
If you experience a problem with your computer, perform the checks in "Solving Problems" on
page 39 and run the Dell Diagnostics before you contact Dell for technical assistance.
NOTICE: The Dell Diagnostics works only on Dell™ computers.
Start the Dell Diagnostics from either your hard drive (see "Dell Diagnostics" on page 58) or
from the Dell ResourceCD.
Starting the Dell Diagnostics From Your Hard Drive
1
Turn on (or restart) your computer.
2
When the DELL™ logo appears, press <F12> immediately.
NOTE: If you see a message stating that no diagnostics utility partition has been found, run the Dell
Diagnostics from your ResourceCD
(see "Starting the Dell Diagnostics From the ResourceCD" on
page 58).
If you wait too long and the operating system logo appears, continue to wait until you see the
Microsoft
®
Windows
®
desktop. Then shut down your computer (see "Turning Off Your
Computer" on page 69) and try again.
3
When the boot device list appears, highlight
Boot to Utility Partition
and press <Enter>.
4
When the Dell Diagnostics
Main Menu
appears, select the test you want to run (see "Dell
Diagnostics Main Menu" on page 59).
Starting the Dell Diagnostics From the ResourceCD
1
Insert the ResourceCD.
2
Shut down and restart the computer (see "Turning Off Your Computer" on page 69).
When the DELL logo appears, press <F12> immediately.
If you wait too long and the Windows logo appears, continue to wait until you see the
Windows desktop. Then shut down your computer (see "Turning Off Your Computer" on
page 69) and try again.
NOTE: The next steps change the boot sequence for one time only. On the next start-up, the computer
boots according to the devices specified in system setup.
3
When the boot device list appears, highlight
IDE CD-ROM Device
and press <Enter>.
4
Select the
IDE CD-ROM Device
option from the CD boot menu.
5
Select the
Boot from CD-ROM
option from the menu that appears.