Dell Dimension 900 Reference Guide - Page 51

Hard-Disk Drives, Running the Dell Diagnostics - recovery

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• Double-click the My Computer icon, and check to see if the drive is recognized by the system. Most of the common boot-sector viruses cause the optical drive to "disappear." Use virus-scanning software to check for and remove any viruses. If Dell installed Windows 98 or Windows Me on your system, you should already have virus-scanning software. • Clean the disc with a soft, lint-free cloth and isopropyl alcohol. • Try another optical media title. • Enter the system setup program as described in Appendix B, "System Setup Program," and verify that Device Detection Mode is set to Auto for the appropriate integrated drive electronics (IDE) drive option. • Run the appropriate tests in the IDE Devices device group as described in "Run- ning the Dell Diagnostics" found later in this chapter. Hard-Disk Drives If you have hard-disk drive problems, perform the following checks: • For Windows 98 and Windows Me, run the ScanDisk utility by clicking the Start button, pointing to Programs-> Accessories-> System Tools, and clicking ScanDisk. • For Windows NT, run the error-checking utility by opening the property sheet of the affected volume(s) and clicking Check Now in the Error-checking section of the Tools tab. • For Windows 2000, perform the following steps: 1. Double-click the My Computer icon located on the Windows desktop. 2. Click File, and then click Properties. 3. Click the Tools tab. 4. Under Error-checking, click Check Now. 5. Under Check disk options, click Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. 6. Click Start. • Run the appropriate tests in the IDE Devices device group as described in "Run- ning the Dell Diagnostics" found later in this chapter. • Check the settings for the Disk Drives option of the system setup program as described in Appendix B, "System Setup Program." Running the Dell Diagnostics Whenever a major component or device in your computer system does not function properly, run the Dell Diagnostics provided on the Dell Dimension ResourceCD to check your computer's hardware. If you find a problem you cannot solve by yourself, support.dell.com Basic Troubleshooting 3-9

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support.dell.com
Basic Troubleshooting
3-9
°
Double-click the
My
Computer
icon, and check to see if the drive is recognized
by the system. Most of the common boot-sector viruses cause the optical drive
to
“
disappear.
”
Use virus-scanning software to check for and remove any viruses.
If Dell installed Windows 98 or Windows Me on your system, you should already
have virus-scanning software.
°
Clean the disc with a soft, lint-free cloth and isopropyl alcohol.
°
Try another optical media title.
°
Enter the system setup program as described in Appendix B,
“
System Setup
Program,
”
and verify that
Device Detection Mode
is set to
Auto
for the appro-
priate integrated drive electronics (IDE) drive option.
°
Run the
appropriate tests in the
IDE Devices
device group as described in
“
Run-
ning the Dell Diagnostics
”
found later in this chapter.
Hard-Disk Drives
If you have hard-disk drive problems, perform the following checks:
°
For Windows 98 and Windows Me, run the
ScanDisk
utility by clicking the
Start
button, pointing to
Programs
—
> Accessories
—
> System
Tools
, and clicking
ScanDisk
.
°
For Windows NT, run the error-checking utility by opening the property sheet of
the affected volume(s) and clicking
Check
Now
in the
Error-checking
section of
the
Tools
tab.
°
For Windows 2000, perform the following steps:
1.
Double-click the
My Computer
icon located on the Windows desktop.
2.
Click
File
, and then click
Properties
.
3.
Click the
Tools
tab.
4.
Under
Error-checking
, click
Check Now
.
5.
Under
Check disk options
, click
Scan for and attempt recovery of bad
sectors
.
6.
Click
Start
.
°
Run the
appropriate tests in the
IDE Devices
device group
as described in
“
Run-
ning the Dell Diagnostics
”
found later in this chapter.
°
Check the settings for the
Disk Drives
option of the system setup program as
described in Appendix B,
“
System Setup Program.
”
Running the Dell Diagnostics
Whenever a major component or device in your computer system does not function
properly, run the Dell Diagnostics provided on the
Dell Dimension ResourceCD
to
check your computer's hardware. If you find a problem you cannot solve by yourself,