Dell 4100/180, 4100/200 manual System Set Test Group, Why Run a System Set Test?

•The computer periodically locks up (becomes un- usable and must be rebooted), especially at different places and times in different programs.

•You get parity errors (any error message that con- tains the word parity) at any time during operation. These errors are usually accompanied by a reference to an address—the location of the portion of memory where the error occurred—which you should record on a copy of the Diagnostics Checklist found in Appendix A.

•You receive the Memory ECC fault detected message from the Dell Hardware Instru- mentation Package (HIP) server management program. See Chapter 3, “Messages and Codes,” for more information on this program.

System Set Test Group

The subtests in the System Set Test Group check the computer’s basic system board components and verify their related functions.

Subtests

The subtests that constitute the System Set Test Group and the computer functions they confirm follow:

•CMOS Confidence Test

Checks the NVRAM for accessibility and reliability of data storage by performing a data pattern check and verifying the uniqueness of memory addresses.

•CMEM Confidence Test

Verifies the accessibility and reliability of the RAM on the Extended Industry-Standard Architecture (EISA) Configuration RAM chip, which stores the EISA hardware configuration information. On sys- tems without flash RAM, performs a data pattern and address uniqueness test.

•DMA Controller Test

Tests the direct memory access (DMA) controller and verifies the correct operation of its page and channel registers by writing patterns to the registers.

•Real-Time Clock Test

Confirms the functionality and accuracy of the com- puter’s real-time clock (RTC).

•System Timers Test

Checks the timers used by the microprocessor for event counting, frequency generation, and other functions. Only the functions that can be activated by software are tested.

•Interrupt Controller Test

Generates an interrupt on each interrupt request (IRQ) line to verify that devices using that line can communicate with the microprocessor and that the interrupt controllers send the correct memory addresses to the microprocessor.

•Reset Button Test

Confirms that the reset button works.

•System Speaker Test

Checks the functionality of the speaker by generat- ing eight tones.

•Coprocessor Calculation Test

Checks the use of different types of numbers and the math coprocessor’s ability to calculate correctly.

•Coprocessor Duty Cycle Test

Tests the math coprocessor’s ability to perform com- plex mathematical operations.

•Coprocessor Error Exception Test

Verifies the math coprocessor’s ability to handle errors and to send IRQs to the microprocessor.

•Multiprocessor Test

For systems with multiprocessors, confirms that the secondary microprocessor is operational.

Why Run a System Set Test?

The System Set subtests double-check many system board components, such as the computer’s input/output (I/O) circuitry, that are tested by other test groups or sub- tests in the diagnostics. You should run the System Set Test Group if you are having a problem and cannot iso- late the failure or malfunction to a particular system board component.

5-12 Dell PowerEdge 4100/180 and 4100/200 Systems Installation and Troubleshooting Guide