Software Diagnostic Tools - Dell Alienware Aurora R3 Manual

Software Diagnostic Tools

Pre-Boot System Assessment (PSA)
The computer runs the Pre-boot System Assessment (PSA), a series of initial tests
for the system board, keyboard, display, memory, hard drive, and so on.
To invoke PSA:
1. Turn on (or restart) your desktop.
2. When the Alienware logo appears, press <F12> immediately to access the
Boot Menu.
NOTE: If you wait too long and the operating system logo appears, continue
to wait until you see the Microsoft Windows desktop; then, shut down your
computer and try again.
3. Select Diagnostics from the menu and press <Enter>.
4. During the assessment, answer any questions that appear on the screen.
• If a failure is detected, the computer stops and beeps. To stop the
assessment and restart the computer, press <n>; to continue to the
next test, press <y>; to retest the component that failed, press <r>.
• If failures are detected during the Pre-boot System Assessment, write
down the error code(s) and contact Alienware (see "CONTACTING
ALIENWARE" on page 65).
If the PSA completes successfully, the following message appears on your
screen.
"Do you want to run the remaining memory tests? This will
take about 30 minutes or more. Do you want to continue?
(Recommended)."
Press <y> to continue if you are experiencing memory issue, otherwise press <n>
to finish PSA testing.
When you press <n>, the following message appears on the screen.
"Booting Dell Diagnostic Utility Partition. Press any key to
continue."
5. Select Exit to reboot your computer.
CHAPTER 5: TROUBLESHOOTING 47