Dell Inspiron 3500 - Manual (Page 100)

4-18 Dell Inspiron 3500 Portable Computer Reference and Troubleshooting Guide
If the following symptoms still occur, run the appropriate test(s) as follows:
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If your display or external monitor shows a partially formed or distorted image,
run
all of the subtests in the Video test group.
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If the alignment of text or images is off, regardless of the program you are run-
ning, run the Text Mode Character Test, Text Mode Pages Test, and Graphics
Mode Test.
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If the color on the display or external monitor is intermittent or not displayed at all,
run the Text Mode Color Test, Color Palettes Test, and Solid Colors Test.
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If your display or external monitor malfunctions in one mode but works fine in
another (for example, text is displayed correctly, but graphics are not), run the
Text Mode Character Test, Text Mode Color Test, Text Mode Pages Test, and
Graphics Mode Test.
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The eight subtests in the Video test group confirm the following video functions:
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Video Memory Test
Checks the read/write capability of the video memory in various video modes.
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Video Hardware Test
Checks the cursor registers and the horizontal and vertical retrace bit registers in
the video controller.
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Text Mode Character Test
Checks the video subsystem’s ability to present data in text modes.
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Text Mode Color Test
Checks the video subsystem’s ability to present color in text modes.
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Text Mode Pages Test
Checks the video subsystem’s ability to map and present all available video pages
on the screen, one page at a time.
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Graphics Mode Test
Checks the video subsystem’s ability to present data and color in graphics
modes.
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Color Palettes Test
Checks the video subsystem’s ability to display all of the available colors.
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Solid Colors Test
Checks the video subsystem’s ability to show screens full of solid colors and
allows you to check for missing color pixels.
Many of these tests display characters or graphics on the screen for you to verify.
Samples of these screens are shown in Appendix B, “Diagnostic Video Tests.”