Observing The Boot Routine - Dell Inspiron 3500 Service Manual

2-4 Dell Inspiron Portable Computer 3500 Service Manual
15. Turn on any attached peripherals and then the computer.
Does the problem recur?
Yes . Go to the next section, "Observing the Boot Routine."
No . No further steps are necessary.
After you perform a visual inspection as described in the previous section, boot
the computer from a diagnostics diskette and, while the boot routine is run-
ning, observe the computer for any indications of problems.
NOTE: To prevent possible damage to the original diagnostics diskette, always
use a backup copy of the diagnostics diskette when servicing a user's com-
puter. Dell recommends that users make copies of the Dell Diagnostics
Diskette. For instructions, see "Before You Start Testing" in Chapter 4, "Run-
ning the Dell Diagnostics," of the Dell Inspiron 3500 Portable Computer
Reference and Troubleshooting Guide.
To observe the boot routine, follow these steps:
1. Turn off the computer and any attached peripherals.
2. Insert a diagnostics diskette into the diskette drive. Turn on all peripherals
and then the computer.
3. Observe the indicators at the front of the keyboard. Depending on how the
computer is configured, after various indicators flash momentarily in the
status display panel, some indicators should light up and remain on.
Do these indicators light up within seconds after the boot routine starts?
Yes. Go to step 4.
No. Troubleshoot the power subsystem.
4. While the boot routine is running, observe the computer for any of the fol-
lowing conditions:
Diskette-drive and hard-disk drive access indicator activity
These indicators light in response to data being transferred to or from
the drives. If either of these indicators fails to light during the boot routine,
troubleshoot the diskette drive or hard-disk drive subsystem, as
appropriate.
Beep codes
A beep code is a series of beeps that indicates an error condition. If the
computer emits a beep code, refer to Table 3-1.
NOTE: The computer beeps once shortly after the system boots. This
beep is normal and not part of a beep code.