Dell Latitude C640 - Manual (Page 85)

Help
Category Description
Menu Provides descriptions of the main menu screen area, the Device Groups, and the
different diagnostic menus and commands and instructions on how to use them.
Keys Explains the functions of the all of the keystrokes that can be used in Dell
Diagnostics.
Device
Group Describes the test group that is presently highlighted in the Device Groups list on
the main menu screen. It also provides reasoning for using some tests.
Device Describes the function and purpose of the highlighted device in the Device Groups.
For example, the following information appears when you select the Device Help
category for Diskette in the Device Groups list:
Diskette
Drive A
The diskette disk drive device reads and writes data to and from diskettes.
Diskettes are flexible recording media, sometimes contained in hard shells.
Diskette recording capacities are small and access times are slow relative to
hard disk drives, but they provide a convenient means of storing and
transferring data.
Test Provides a thorough explanation of the test procedure of each highlighted test
group subtest. An example of the Diskette subtest floppy drive Seek Test is as
follows:
Diskette
Drive A - floppy drive Seek Test
This test verifies the drive's ability to position its read/write heads. The
test operates in two passes: first, seeking from the beginning to ending
cylinders inclusively, and second, seeking alternately from the beginning to
ending cylinders with convergence towards the middle.
Versions Lists the version numbers of the subtests that are used by the Dell Diagnostics.
Confirming the System Configuration Information
When you boot your computer from your Drivers and Utilities CD, the diagnostics checks your system
configuration information and displays it in the Device Groups area on the main screen.
The following sources supply this configuration information for the diagnostics:
The system configuration information settings (stored in NVRAM) that you selected while using the
system setup program