Dell Inspiron 7000 Dell Inspiron 7000 Reference and Troubleshooting Guide - Page 105

Parallel Port, System Devices

Get Dell Inspiron 7000 PDF manuals and user guides View all Dell Inspiron 7000 manuals
Add to My Manuals
Save this manual to your list of manuals

Page 105 highlights

When a port is faulty, it may not be immediately evident that the port, and not the device connected to the port, is faulty. Instead, the peripheral (such as a printer) might behave erratically or not operate at all. If the external device is not properly installed through software, it also may not function properly. Try operating the peripheral from different programs or through the operating system. If it still does not work, you can eliminate the software setup as the cause of the problem. Another possible cause for errors is a problem with the external device itself. Use the documentation that came with the peripheral to troubleshoot it and confirm that it is working properly. (Most printers have a self-test.) After you eliminate incorrect system configuration information settings, peripheral malfunctions, and software errors as potential causes of port problems, you can run the subtests in the Parallel Ports test group to check your hardware. Although the following symptoms can be caused by faulty peripherals or software errors, they might also suggest a port problem: If a peripheral works intermittently, or produces intermittent errors, the port may be faulty. If the computer displays an error message that is related to the external device connected to a port, but corrections to the device do not resolve the error, run the appropriate subtest in the Parallel Ports test group. If your software and the diagnostics do not recognize that you have a parallel port, you should check the Parallel Port option in the System Devices menu of the Setup program, and if necessary, run the appropriate subtest in the Parallel Ports test group. The four subtests in the Parallel Ports test group confirm the following port functions: Parallel Internal Test Checks several internal functions of the parallel port. Parallel External Interrupt Test Tests the parallel port's ability to generate interrupts from all possible sources, if an external loopback connector is available. Parallel Printer Pattern Test Tests whether the port(s) can retain data, print text on a printer, and generate interrupts. Running the Dell Diagnostics 4-25

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120
  • 121
  • 122
  • 123
  • 124
  • 125
  • 126
  • 127
  • 128
  • 129
  • 130
  • 131
  • 132
  • 133
  • 134
  • 135
  • 136
  • 137
  • 138
  • 139
  • 140
  • 141
  • 142
  • 143
  • 144
  • 145
  • 146
  • 147
  • 148
  • 149
  • 150
  • 151
  • 152
  • 153
  • 154
  • 155
  • 156
  • 157
  • 158
  • 159
  • 160
  • 161
Running the Dell Diagnostics
4-25
When a port is faulty, it may not be immediately evident that the port, and not the
device connected to the port, is faulty. Instead, the peripheral (such as a printer) might
behave erratically or not operate at all. If the external device is not properly installed
through software, it also may not function properly. Try operating the peripheral from
different programs or through the operating system. If it still does not work, you can
eliminate the software setup as the cause of the problem.
Another possible cause for errors is a problem with the external device itself. Use the
documentation that came with the peripheral to troubleshoot it and confirm that it is
working properly. (Most printers have a self-test.)
After you eliminate incorrect system configuration information settings, peripheral
malfunctions, and software errors as potential causes of port problems, you can run
the subtests in the Parallel Ports test group to check your hardware. Although the fol-
lowing symptoms can be caused by faulty peripherals or software errors, they might
also suggest a port problem:
²
If a peripheral works intermittently, or produces intermittent errors, the port may
be faulty.
²
If the computer displays an error message that is related to the external device
connected to a port, but corrections to the device do not resolve the error, run the
appropriate subtest in the Parallel Ports test group.
²
If your software and the diagnostics do not recognize that you have a parallel
port, you should check the
Parallel Port
option in the
System Devices
menu of
the Setup program, and if necessary, run the appropriate subtest in the Parallel
Ports test group.
6XEWHVWV
The four subtests in the Parallel Ports test group confirm the following port functions:
²
Parallel Internal Test
Checks several internal functions of the parallel port.
²
Parallel External Interrupt Test
Tests the parallel port’s ability to generate interrupts from all possible sources, if
an external loopback connector is available.
²
Parallel Printer Pattern Test
Tests whether the port(s) can retain data, print text on a printer, and generate
interrupts.