Dell Latitude LM - Manual (Page 37)

Troubleshooting Your Computer 3-3
L
ook and Listen
Looking at and listening to your computer is important in
determining the source of a problem. Look and listen for
the indications described in Table 3-1.
If the problem is not resolved by looking and listening to
the computer, see the next subsection, “Setup Options.”
Table 3-1. Boot Routine Indications
Look for: Action
An error message See “Messages and Codes” found later in this chapter.
The power indicator If the computer’s power indicator does not come on, see “Troubleshooting a
Power Failure” found later in this chapter.
The keyboard indicators Press the < NUM LOCK > key, the < CAPS LOCK > key, and the < SCROLL LOCK > key to
toggle their respective indicators on and off in the status display panel. If the indicators
do not appear, run the Keyboard Test Group in the Dell diagnostics (for instructions, see
Chapter 4, “Running the Dell Diagnostics”).
The diskette-drive access indicator The diskette-drive access indicator should appear in the status display when
data is accessed on the diskette drive. You can test this indicator by inserting a
diskette into the drive, typing
dir a: at an MS-DOS prompt, and pressing
< ENTER >. If the diskette-drive access indicator does not appear, see “Troubleshooting
the Diskette Drive” found later in this chapter.
The CD-ROM/hard-disk drive
access indicator The CD-ROM/hard-disk drive access indicator should appear when data is
accessed on the CD-ROM drive or the hard-disk drive. You can test this indi-
cator by typing
dir c: at an MS-DOS prompt and pressing < ENTER >. If the
CD-ROM/hard-disk drive access indicator does not appear, see “Troubleshooting the
Hard-Disk Drive” or “Troubleshooting the CD-ROM Drive” found later in this chapter.
Listen for: Action
A series of beeps See “Messages and Codes” found later in this chapter.
An unfamiliar constant scraping or
grinding sound when a drive is
accessed Make sure the sound is not caused by the application program that is running.
The sound could be caused by a hardware malfunction. See Chapter 5, “Get-
ting Help,” for instructions on obtaining technical assistance from Dell.
The absence of a familiar sound When you turn on the computer, you can hear the hard-disk drive spin up, and
the computer tries to access the boot files from the hard-disk drive or the dis-
kette drive. Call Dell for technical assistance. (See Chapter 5, “Getting Help,”
for instructions.) Otherwise, see Chapter 4, “Running the Dell Diagnostics.”
NOTE: For the full name of an abbreviation or acronym used in this table, see the Glossary in the online System User’s Guide.