154 Solving Problems
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•If you hear an unfamiliar scraping or grinding sound when a drive is
accessed, there could be a hardware malfunction. Contact Dell for
technical assistance.
•When you turn on the computer, you can hear drive activity during
the boot routine. If your computer does not boot, contact Dell for
technical assistance.
•If you are trying to copy data to the diskette, ensure that i t is not write-
protected.
•Try a different diskette in the drive. If the new diskette works, the
original one may be defective.
•Test the diskette drive access light by using one of the following
methods:
–Using MS-DOS
®, insert a diskette into the drive, type dir a: at
the prompt, and press <Enter>.
– Using Microsoft Windows, insert a diskette into the drive, open
My Computer from the desktop, and double-click the diskette
drive icon.
•Check the settings in system setup.
•Clean the drive using a commercially available cleaning kit.
NOTICE: Do not attempt to clean drive heads with a swab. You may
accidentally misalign the heads, rendering the drive inoperable.
If the problem still exists after you complete the basic checks, fill out the
Diagnostics Checklist as you perform the following steps.
CAUTION: Before you perform this procedure, see "Safety First—
For You and Your Computer."
NOTICE: Before disconnecting a device from the computer, wait 10 to 20
seconds after disconnecting the computer from its electrical outlet. Before
removing a component from the system board, verify that the standby power
light on the system board has turned off. T o locate this light, see "System Board
Components" or the interior service label.
1Run the Diskette device group in the Dell Diagnostics.
Did any of the tests fail?
Yes. Contact Dell for technical assistance.