Dell NM176 owner manual When to Use the System Diagnostics, Running the System Diagnostics

•View status messages that inform you if tests are completed successfully.

•View error messages that inform you of problems encountered during testing.

When to Use the System Diagnostics

If a major component or device in the system does not operate properly, component failure may be indicated. As long as the microprocessor and the system's input/output devices (monitor, keyboard, and diskette drive) are functioning, you can use the system diagnostics to help identify the problem.

Running the System Diagnostics

The system diagnostics can be run either from the utility partition on your hard drive or from removable bootable media. You can create this media using the CDs that came with your system or from the diagnostic utility that you can download from support.dell.com.

NOTICE: Use the system diagnostics to test only your system. Using this program with other systems may cause invalid results or error messages. In addition, use only the program that came with your system (or an updated version of that program).

From the Utility Partition

1As the system boots, press <F10> during POST.

2From the utility partition main menu under Run System Utilities, select Run System Diagnostics.

From Removable Bootable Media

You can create a bootable diagnostic partition on a recordable CD, a USB flash drive, or on diskettes using the CDs that came with your system, or the diagnostic utility that you can download from support.dell.com.

1Insert a recordable CD, USB flash drive, or writable diskette into your system.

2Run the self-extracting diagnostic utility package from the diagnostic CD that came with your system or the file you downloaded from support.dell.com.

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Running the System Diagnostics