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TROUBLESHOOTING Troubleshooting Without Diagnostics
This section describes some simple, preliminary tests and
guidelines for troubleshooting the computer.
Checklist For Solving Minor
Problems
If you encounter some minor problem with the computer or
software application, go through this checklist for possible solutions before running any
of the diagnostic utilities:
- Is the computer connected to a working power outlet?
- Is the computer turned on and the power light illuminated?
- Are all cables connected properly and seated?
- Are all of the necessary device drivers installed?
- Is the CONFIG.SYS file correct?
- Is the AUTOEXEC.BAT file (MS-DOS) or STARTUP.CMD
file correct?
- Was a nonbootable diskette loaded in the diskette drive at
power-up?
- Are all switch settings correct?
- Was Computer Setup run after installing options (memory,
disk drives, etc.)
and before installing industry standard architecture boards?
Click on a link below for quick checks and possible
solutions for problems related to these topics:
CD drive |
| Problem |
Probable
cause(s) |
Possible
solution |
| Cannot read compact disc |
CD is not
properly seated in the drive. |
Eject the CD,
press down on the CD firmly to correctly seat it in the drive, then reload. |
| CD has been
loaded upside down. |
Eject the CD,
turn it over, then reload. |
| CD may be dirty
or scratched. |
Clean the CD or
load another CD. |
| Cannot eject compact disc
(tray-load only) |
CD is not properly seated in the
drive. |
Turn off the computer, insert a
straightened paper clip into the emergency eject hole, then push firmly. Slowly pull the
tray out from the drive until the tray is fully extended, then remove the CD. |
| CD drive devices are not detected |
Power cycle
delay. |
After turning
the computer off, wait 30 seconds before turning the computer on again. |
| CD drive is not
connected properly. |
Open the
computer and check to see that the drive cable is connected properly. |
| Proper driver
is not loaded |
Restart the
system and make sure the CD drive drivers are loaded. |
DVD drive |
| Problem |
Probable
cause(s) |
Possible
solution |
| Cannot read DVD disk |
DVD or CD is
not properly seated in the drive. |
Eject the DVD
or CD, press down on the DVD or CD firmly to correctly seat it in the drive, then reload. |
| DVD or CD has
been loaded upside down. |
Eject the disk,
turn it over, then reload. |
| DVD or CD disk
may be dirty or scratched. |
Load another
DVD disk. |
| DVD does not work in the
DOS mode |
Proper drivers are not loaded. |
Restart the system and make sure
the DVD drive drivers are loaded. |
| Cannot
eject DVD disk |
The system is
in the Sleep mode. |
Press the Power
button to bring the system back to full power, then eject the DVD. |
| The DVD,
diskette, or hard drive was active when attempting to eject the DVD. |
Wait until all
drive activity ends (the CD/hard drive light and diskette drive light will go out), then
try to eject the DVD. |
| DVD disk is not
properly seated in the drive. |
Turn off the
computer, insert a straightened paper clip into the emergency eject hole, then push
firmly. Slowly pull the tray out from the drive until the tray is fully extended, then
remove the DVD disk. |
| DVD
drive devices are not detected |
DVD drive is not connected
properly. |
Open the computer and check to
see that the drive cable is connected properly. |
| Incorrect driver is installed. |
Ensure the correct driver is
installed in CONFIG.SYS. |
| Drive has been changed. |
Make sure the jumper setting is
set for "Slave." |
| Proper drivers are not loaded. |
Restart the system and make sure
the DVD drive drivers are loaded. |
Resolving
Hardware Conflicts
Hardware conflicts may occur when two or more peripheral
devices attempt to use the same hardware resources. Interrupts, I/O addresses, and DMA
channels are the most common hardware resources used by peripheral devices. For example,
the factory default settings for the MIDI port audio interface are:
| Base I/O address |
220H |
| MIDI Port Base I/O address |
330H |
| Interrupt |
IRQ 5 |
| 8-bit DMA |
Channel 1 |
When different peripheral devices use the same hardware
resources at the same time, the devices and/or the system may not function properly.
Although PCI devices are required to be capable of sharing IRQs with other PCI devices,
conflict may still arise at the software level. In this case, contact the vendor for
updated drivers.
You can resolve hardware conflicts by ensuring that no
devices are configured to use the same hardware resources. These resources can either be
dipswitch or jumper settings on the peripheral card or software configurable resources.
The Computer Setup selection of your Compaq Utilities
allows you to view and modify the settings for the peripheral devices which were factory
installed in your system. Refer to the User's Guide for the particular peripheral
cards you wish to install for information on how to view and select their settings.
To resolve hardware conflicts:
| 1 |
Change the hardware settings of
your audio card or other peripheral card in your system if the peripheral card is using
any settings used by the factory-installed devices. |
| 2 |
If you are unsure of the settings
of the peripheral cards, you can isolate the source of the problem by temporarily removing
all cards not maufactured by Compaq, or resetting the default settings and running Compaq Utilities. After that,
add the cards back one at a time until the card that is causing the conflict is found. |
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