Dell 4100/200 Finding Software Solutions, Installing and Configuring Software, Using Software

Chapter 4

Finding Software Solutions

Because most computers have several application pro- grams installed in addition to the operating system, isolating a software problem can be confusing. Software errors can also appear to be hardware malfunctions at first. Software problems can result from the following circumstances:

•Improper installation or configuration of a program

•Input errors

•Device drivers that may conflict with certain appli- cation programs

•Interrupt conflicts between devices

You can confirm that a computer problem is caused by software by running the System Set Test Group as described in Chapter 5, “Running the System Diagnos- tics.” If all tests in the test group complete successfully, the error condition is most likely caused by software.

This chapter provides some general guidelines for ana- lyzing software problems. For detailed troubleshooting information on a particular program, see the documenta- tion that accompanied the software or consult the support service for the software.

Installing and Configuring Software

The user should check newly acquired programs and files for viruses with virus-scanning software before installing the programs on the computer’s hard-disk drive. Viruses, which are pieces of code that can replicate themselves, can quickly use all available system memory, damage and/or destroy data stored on the hard-disk drive, and permanently affect the performance of the programs they infect. Several commercial virus-scanning programs are

available for purchase, and most bulletin board services (BBSs) archive freely distributed virus-scanning pro- grams that you can download with a modem.

Before installing a program, the user should read its documentation to learn how the program works, what hardware it requires, and what its defaults are. A program usually includes installation instructions in its accompa- nying documentation and a software installation routine on its program diskettes.

The software installation routine assists users in transfer- ring the appropriate program files to the computer’s hard-disk drive. Installation instructions may provide details about how to configure the operating system to successfully run the program. Users should always read the installation instructions before running a program’s installation routine.

When users run the installation routine, they should be prepared to respond to prompts for information about how the computer’s operating system is configured, what type of computer they have, and what peripherals are connected to the computer.

Using Software

The following subsections discuss errors that can occur as a result of software operation or configuration.

Error Messages

Error messages can be produced by an application pro- gram, the operating system, or the computer. Chapter 3, “Messages and Codes,” discusses the error messages that are generated by the system. If you receive an error mes- sage that is not listed in Chapter 3, check the operating system or application program documentation.

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