Dell PowerEdge 2300 User Manual page 31

The utility partition is a bootable partition on the hard-disk drive that provides most of
the functions available on the Dell Server Assistant CD. Most of the application pro-
grams found on the CD are contained in the utility partition, occupying approximately
10 megabytes (MB) of space on the system's hard-disk drive. When invoked, the par-
tition boots and provides an executable environment for the partition's utilities. When
the partition is not invoked, it is designated as a non-DOS partition.
NOTE: The utility partition provides only limited DOS functionality and cannot be used
as a general-purpose DOS partition.
To start the utility partition, press the <Ctrl><Alt><F10> key during power-on self-test
(POST).
Like the Dell Server Assistant CD, the utility partition provides a menu-driven interface
from which you invoke the partition's utilities. Selections can be made using either a
keyboard or a mouse. Menu options and the associated help are displayed in the cur-
rently selected language (specified via a menu option).
As you move your cursor over an option in a menu, information about that option is
displayed at the bottom of the screen.
Click Back to return to the previous menu. Click Exit (or press <Alt><x>) to exit the
utility partition. Exiting the utility causes the system to reboot to the standard
operating-system boot partition.
Table 2-1 provides a generic list and explanation of the options on the utility partition
menu even when the Dell Server Assistant CD is not in the CD-ROM drive. The
options displayed on your system may vary depending on the configuration.
NOTE: Although most options are available from both the Dell Server Assistant CD
and the utility partition, some options, such as accessing online documentation, are
available only from the CD. The Run System Diagnostics option is only available from
the utility partition.
The system diagnostics can be run from the utility partition or from a diskette, but not
from the Dell Server Assistant CD. From the Utility Partition menu, select Run System
Utilities and then select Run System Diagnostics. To run the diagnostics from a dis-
kette, select the Create Diagnostics Diskette category from the Utility Partition menu.
Before running the diagnostics, insert a blank diskette in the diskette drive so the diag-
nostics programs can record critical messages and information as necessary. Use the
Create Blank Formatted Diskette option to create the formatted diskette. The system
hardware diagnostics are described in Chapter 5, "Running the Dell Diagnostics," of
the Installation and Troubleshooting Guide .
Using the Dell Server Assistant CD 2-7