Ide (Ata/Atapi) Devices Test Group - Dell Inspiron 3500 Reference And Troubleshooting Manual

Another possible cause of diskette drive problems is human error—for example, typ-
ing a command in an incorrect form (usually called a syntax error). Be sure you have
entered the command properly.
When the diskette and command syntax are eliminated as causes, the following
symptoms usually suggest a drive problem and warrant running a subtest in the Dis-
kette Drives test group:
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An error message appears on the screen stating that the computer cannot read
from or write to a diskette.
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A diskette cannot be properly formatted, or format error messages appear on the
screen.
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Data on diskettes is corrupted or lost; these problems may be intermittent.
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The four diskette drive subtests available in the Diskette Drives test group confirm the
following drive functions:
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Change Line Test
Checks for bent pins on the diskette drive controller and for defective lines on the
diskette cable.
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Seek Test
Checks the drive's ability to search for a specified track on the diskette and to
position the read/write heads of the drive to all tracks.
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Read Test
Positions the read/write heads at each cylinder of the diskette and verifies that all
tracks on the diskette can be read correctly.
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Write Test
Positions the read/write heads at each cylinder of the diskette and verifies that all
tracks on the diskette can be written to correctly.
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The IDE (ATA/ATAPI) Devices test group checks the functionality of up to four devices
(two on each channel) of any capacity as well as the hard-disk drive controller.
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If you check your hard-disk drive to determine the amount of available space, your
operating system will probably report problem areas. Problem areas on hard-disk
drives are common, because most hard-disk drives have a small amount of space that
is not usable. The hard-disk drive keeps a record of this space so that the computer
will not attempt to use it. Identification of unusable disk space, unless it is an
Running the Dell Diagnostics 4-21