Dell 3000 manual Hard-Disk Drives Non-SCSI Test Group, Why Run a Diskette Drives Test?, Subtests

You must have a diskette-drive cable to perform the fol- lowing procedure. If you do not have a diskette-drive cable, you can order one from Dell. See Chapter 5, “Get- ting Help,” for information on contacting Dell.

Why Run a Diskette Drives Test?

Very often, a diskette drive problem may first appear to be a diskette problem. A box of defective diskettes might produce faulty-drive error messages. The test results can be confusing, so you should run the subtests in the Dis- kette Drives test group more than once using diskettes from different sources.

Another possible cause of diskette drive problems is human error—for example, typing a command in an incorrect form (usually called a syntax error). Be sure you have entered the command properly.

When the diskette and command syntax are eliminated as causes, the following symptoms usually suggest a drive problem and warrant running a subtest in the Diskette Drives test group:

•An error message appears on the screen stating that the computer cannot read from or write to a diskette.

•A diskette cannot be properly formatted, or format error messages appear on the screen.

•Data on diskettes is corrupted or lost; these problems may be intermittent.

Subtests

The four diskette drive subtests available in the Diskette Drives test group confirm the following drive functions:

•Change Line Test

Checks for bent pins on the diskette drive controller and for defective lines on the diskette cable

•Seek Test

Checks the drive’s ability to search for a specified track on the diskette and to position the read/write heads of the drive to all tracks

•Read Test

Positions the read/write heads at each cylinder of the diskette and verifies that all tracks on the diskette can be read correctly

•Write Test

Positions the read/write heads at each cylinder of the diskette and verifies that all tracks on the diskette can be written to correctly

Hard-Disk Drives (Non-SCSI) Test Group

The subtests in the Hard-Disk Drives (Non-SCSI) test group check the functionality of up to two hard-disk drives of any capacity. The subtests check the storage capability of a drive as well as the hard-disk drive con- troller (which affects the ability to read from and write to the drive).

Why Run a Hard-Disk Drives Test?

If you check your hard-disk drive to determine the amount of available space, your operating system will probably report problem areas. Problem areas on hard- disk drives are common, because most hard-disk drives have a small amount of space that is not usable. The hard-disk drive keeps a record of this space so that the computer will not attempt to use it. Identification of unusable disk space, unless it is an unusually large amount (over five percent of the possible total), should not be regarded as a cause for testing the hard-disk drive.

These are the most common symptoms that might prompt you to test the hard-disk drive:

•The hard-disk drive fails during the boot routine.

•Seek errors are reported by the operating system or application programs.

•An error message appears on the screen stating that the computer cannot read from or write to the hard- disk drive.

•Data on the hard-disk drive is corrupted or lost; these problems may be intermittent. Once saved by a pro- gram, files cannot be properly recalled.

4-16 Dell Inspiron 3000 Reference and Troubleshooting Guide