Floppy Drive Problems; Problems Writing To A Cd-Rw Drive; Cd Drive Problems - Dell Precision 350 User Manual

Fill out the Diagnostics Checklist as you complete these checks.

Floppy drive problems

Ensure that Windows® recognizes the drive —
scan with your antivirus software to check for and remove viruses. Viruses can sometimes prevent Windows from recognizing the drive.
Test the drive —
Insert another disk to eliminate the possibility that the original floppy disk is defective.
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Insert a bootable floppy disk and reboot the computer.
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Ensure that the disk is not full or write-protected —
See the following illustration.
1 back of floppy disk
2 write-protected
3 not write-protected
Test the floppy drive light —
MS-DOS®
Insert a floppy disk, type dir a: at the DOS prompt, and press <Enter>.
Microsoft Windows operating systems
Insert a floppy disk, click the Start button, click My Computer, and then double-click the floppy drive icon.
Run the Dell Diagnostics — If any of the tests fail,
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.
CAUTION: Before you begin any of the procedures in this section, follow the safety instructions in the System Information Guide.
Remove and reinstall the floppy drive —
If the computer displays a drive error message, see

CD drive problems

NOTE: 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 —
Ensure that the volume is turned up by clicking the slidebar and dragging it up.
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Ensure that the sound is not muted by clicking any boxes that are checked.
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Test the drive with another CD —
Check the speakers and subwoofer —
Ensure that Windows recognizes the drive —
with your antivirus software to check for and remove viruses. Viruses can sometimes prevent Windows from recognizing the drive.
Clean the disc — Use a commercially available cleaning kit.

Problems writing to a CD-RW drive

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.
Click the Start button and click My Computer. If the floppy drive is not listed, perform a full
Ensure that the disk has available space and that it is not write-protected (locked).
contact Dell.
See "Removing a Floppy Drive" for information on performing this procedure.
"Error Messages" for an explanation.
Click the speaker icon in the lower-right corner of your screen.
Insert another CD to eliminate the possibility that the original CD is defective.
See "Sound and Speaker Problems."
Click the Start button and click My Computer. If the CD drive is not listed, perform a full scan