Checking Inside Your Computer 6-1

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This chapter describes troubleshooting procedures for expansion cards, memory,
drives, and the system board. Some procedures re quire you to access the inside of
the computer and remove and reinstall components. Procedures are also included for
reseating the microprocessor and checking a wet or damaged computer.

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If an error message indicates an expansion-card problem or if an expansion card
seems to perform incorrectly or not at all, the problem could be a f a ul ty conn ec tion , a
conflict with software or other hardware, or a faulty expansion card. If software prob-
lems and conflicts have been eliminated, follow these general steps to troubleshoot
expansion cards:
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Figure 6-1 illustrates a correctly seated expansion card, and Figure 6-2 illustrates
incorrect expansion-card installations.
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The following subsections provide troubleshooting p rocedures for some specific
types of expansion cards.