Running the System Diagnostics
If you experience a problem with your system, run the diagnostics before calling for technical assistance. The purpose of the diagnostics is to test your system's hardware without requiring additional equipment or risking data loss. If you are unable to fix the problem yourself, service and support personnel can use diagnostics test results to help you solve the problem.
Using Online Diagnostics
To assess a system problem, first use the Online Diagnostics. Dell Online Diagnostics is a suite of diagnostic programs, or test modules, that include diagnostic tests on chassis and storage components such as hard drives, physical memory, communications and printer ports, NICs, CMOS,
and more. If you are unable to identify the problem using the Online Diagnostics, then use the embedded system diagnostics.
The files required to run Online Diagnostics for systems running supported Microsoft® Windows® and Linux operating systems are available
at support.dell.com and on the DVDs that came with your system. For information about using diagnostics, see the Dell Online Diagnostics User's Guide.
The embedded system diagnostics can be launched using Lifecycle Controller. For more information about using the controller, see Lifecycle Controller documentation on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com/manuals.
Embedded System Diagnostics Features
The embedded system diagnostics provides a series of menus and options for particular device groups or devices. The system diagnostics menus and options allow you to:
•Run tests individually or collectively
•Control the sequence of tests
•Repeat tests
