Dell Dimension 8250 - Manual (Page 35)

CD drive problems
Problems writing to a CD-RW drive
DVD drive problems
Hard drive problems
E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems
NOTICE: Do not attempt to clean drive heads with a swab. You may accidentally misalign the heads, which can render the drive inoperable.
Clean the drive — Use a commercially available cleaning kit.
HINT: High-speed CD drive vibration is normal and may cause noise. This does not indicate a defect in the drive or the CD.
Adjust the Windows volume control — Click the speaker icon in the lower-right corner of your screen.
l Ensure that the volume is turned up by clicking the slidebar and dragging it up.
l Ensure that the sound is not muted by clicking any boxes that are checked.
Test the drive with another CD — Insert another CD to eliminate the possibility that the original CD is defective.
Check the speakers and subwoofer — See " Sound and Speaker Problems ."
Ensure that Windows recognizes the drive — Click the Start button and click My Computer. If the CD drive is not listed, perform a full scan
with your antivirus software to check for and remove viruses. Viruses can sometimes prevent Windows from recognizing the drive.
Clean the disc — See the Tell Me How help file for instructions on cleaning your CDs.To access help files, see " Finding Help Information ."
Close other programs — The CD-RW drive must receive a steady stream of data when writing. If the stream is interrupted, an error occurs.
Try closing all programs before writing to the CD-RW.
Turn off Standby mode in Windows before writing to a CD-RW disc — For information on power conservation modes, see the Tell Me How
help file or search for the keyword standby in Windows Help. To access help files, see " Finding Help Information ."
HINT: Because of different regions worldwide and different disc formats, not all DVD titles work in all DVD drives.
Test the drive with another DVD — Insert another DVD to eliminate the possibility that the original DVD is defective.
Ensure that Windows recognizes the drive — Click the Start button and click My Computer. If the DVD drive is not listed, perform a full scan
with your antivirus software to check for and remove viruses. Viruses can sometimes prevent Windows from recognizing the drive.
Clean the disc — See the Tell Me How help file for instructions on cleaning your DVDs. To access help files, see " Finding Help Information ."
Check for interrupt request conflicts — See " Resolving Software and Hardware Incompatibilities ."
Run Check Disk —
1. Click the Start button and click My Computer.
2. Right-click the drive letter (local disk) that you want to scan for errors, and then click Properties.
3. Click the Tools tab.
4. Under Error-checking, click Check Now.
5. Click Start.
HINT: Connect the modem to an analog telephone jack only. The modem does not operate while it is connected to a digital telephone network.
Check the telephone line connection — Verify that the telephone line is connected to the jack on the modem. (The jack has either a green
label or a connector-shaped icon next to it.) Ensure that you hear a click when you insert the telephone line connector into the modem.