Select option 1 from the menu to start thistest. The program displays the number of each cylinder it finds, counting down from 614 (for a 20MB hard disk) to 0. The seek is performed by the read/write heads simultaneously, so you see the cylinder numbers only once. If no errors occur, the menu reappears.

Write, Read Check

This check tests the ability of the hard disk drive to read and write data. The test writes to and reads from each sector of the innermost cylinder of the disk, using each head.

Note

This test destroys all data on the innermost cylinder of the selected hard disk drive. This cylinder is reserved for diagnostics, and is never used for storage by MS-DOS. Therefore, data created by MS-DOS is not destroyed.

Select option 2 from the menu to start this test. You see these messages:

The data on the highest physical cylinder may be destroyed by this check.

Enter Y to start this check. Enter N to return to the menu.

Press Y and then Enter to continue with the test. You do not see a cylinder count during the test. If no errors occur, the program returns to the menu.

If an error is reported, make a note of the code and message. Then use the Non-destructive surface analysis (option 4 on the HARD DISK FORMAT MENU) to check the condition of the hard disk. If this analysis shows no other problems with the disk, follow these steps:

1.Back up all the files on your hard disk with the BACKUP command, described in your MS-DOS Reference Manual.

Performing System Diagnostics

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