Troubleshooting A System Hard Lock; Unlocking A System Hard Lock; Troubleshooting Latitude Xt Hardware; Digitizer - Dell Latitude D Series Training

Troubleshooting a System Hard Lock
While a system hard lock often results from an issue with the operating system, devices may also cause
the failure. One symptom is a system not responding to any input even though the power LED is on and
solid green. Additionally, there may or may not be a display on the LCD.
Once you have identified a system lock, search for an applicable decision tree in DSN. This action cannot
be overstated, as often it provides key information and/or guidance necessary to solving the issue.
Search strings can include "system lock" or "system freeze."
Unlocking a System Hard Lock
Perform the following steps to unlock the system:
1. Press and hold the power button for 8 to 10 seconds.
2. Remove the battery and AC power.
3. Wait for 10 seconds.
4. Reconnect AC power.
5. Press the power button.
6. Check if you can access the BIOS by pressing the <F2> key. If you can access it, the fault can be
attributed to the hard drive or the operation system.
NOTE: If the system locks up again, it could be because the application or the operating system is
corrupted. This could require a re‐install. Alternately, if a hardware device is responsible, the
methodology that you could apply towards troubleshooting the issue would be the same as with a POST
failure. You can attempt to isolate or remove the offending component and test with known good
components, if applicable. With this category of failure, you should troubleshoot the most portable
devices, like the IDE devices.
Troubleshooting Latitude XT Hardware
Digitizer
The pen is the first component to be investigated in the event of a suspected problem with the digitizer.
Verify that the tip is in good shape (free of chips, excessive wear, etc.) by closely examining it. If there is
any doubt, you should exchange the tip for a new one or one that is known to be in good condition.
You should also verify that the touch capabilities are not affected. Switch to touch mode and see if the
problem still exists. If there are no symptoms present while in touch mode, the pen tip is the most likely
suspect. If the problem does persist in touch mode, run diagnostics and take the necessary steps
depending on the results.
Only the diagnostics built into the N‐trig Tablet Settings applet are valid for testing the digitizer. The 32‐
bit and PSA+ diagnostic routines do not test the functionality of the digitizer.
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