Dell Inspiron 3700 Troubleshooting Guide

							support.dell.comBasic Troubleshooting 3-33

Identification tests of the microprocessor, the video controller, the keyboard    
controller, and other key components

Basic input/output system (BIOS) configuration information temporarily saved in 
RAM
Do not be concerned if the
 Device Groups area does not list the names of all the 
components or devices you know are part of your computer. For example, you may 
not see a printer listed, although you know one is attached to your computer. Instead, 
the printer is listed as a parallel port. The computer recognizes the parallel port as 
LPT1, which is an address that tells the computer where to send outgoing information 
and where to look for incoming information. Because your printer is a parallel         
communications device, the computer recognizes the printer by its LPT1 address and 
identifies it as a parallel port. You can test your printer connection with the 
Pa ra ll e l  
Po rts tests.
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Six comprehensive, menu-driven, online Help categories provide instructions on how 
to use the program and explain each menu item, test group, subtest, and test and 
error result. To enter the 
Help menu, perform the following steps: 
1. H i g h l i g h t  
Select Devices to Test in the 
Diagnostics Menu.
2. Press .
3. Press .
The six 
Help menu categories are 
Menu, 
Keys, 
Device Group, 
Device, 
Te s t, and 
Versions. The online Help also provides detailed descriptions of the devices that you 
are testing. The 
Help categories are explained in the following subsections. 

The 
Menu Help categor y provides descriptions of the main menu screen area, the 
Device Groups, and the different diagnostic menus and commands and instructions 
on how to use them. 
*

The 
Keys Help category explains the functions of the all of the keystrokes that can be 
used in Dell Diagnostics.
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The 
Device Group Help category describes the test group that is presently           
highlighted in the 
Device Groups list on the main menu screen. It also provides      
reasoning for using some tests. 
						

							3-34 Dell Inspiron 3700 System Reference and Troubleshooting Guide
	
The Device Help categor y is the educational section of online Help. It describes the 
function and purpose of the highlighted device in the Device Groups. For example, 
the following information appears when you select the Device Help category 
forDiskette in the Device Groups list:
Diskette drive A:
The diskette disk drive device reads and writes data to and from 
diskettes. Diskettes are flexible recording media, sometimes 
contained in hard shells. Diskette recording capacities are 
small and access times are slow relative to hard disk drives, 
but they provide a convenient means of storing and transferring 
data.
! 
 
The Te s t Help categor y provides a thorough explanation of the test procedure of each 
presently highlighted test group subtest. An example of the Diskette subtest 
Diskette Drive Seek Test is as follows: 
Diskette drive A: - Diskette Drive Seek Test
This test verifies the drives ability to position its read/
write heads. The test operates in two passes: first, seeking 
from the beginning to ending cylinders inclusively, and second, 
seeking alternately from the beginning to ending cylinders with 
convergence towards the middle.
, 
 
    

The Versions Help category lists the version numbers of the subtests that are used 
by the Dell Diagnostics.  
						

							support.dell.comSystem Software Solutions 4-1
	





	

This chapter explains how to reinstall Dell device drivers and utilities on your Dell   
computer running the Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition operating system or the 
Microsoft Windows NT operating system. You may need to use this document under 
the following conditions:

You are reinstalling the version of the Windows operating system that came with 
your computer, and you need to reinstall the drivers and utilities that Dell 
provides.

You have a new hard-disk drive and you need to install all of the system software.


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Before you can store data on a hard-disk drive, you must partition and format the 
drive. Then you must assign logical drive letters to the partitions you created.
To partition and format the new hard-disk drive, and then assign logical drive letters to 
the partitions you created, perform the following steps.

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1. Partition the hard-disk drive using the partitioning software for your particular 
operating system.
When you set up the partition(s) on the hard-disk drive, set aside some disk 
space for the save-to-disk suspend (S2D) partition rather than allocating the   
entire hard-disk drive to your operating system. Use the following guidelines to       
determine the size of the S2D partition:

If you are using Windows 98 with a 16-bit file allocation table (FAT16), leave 4 
megabytes (MB) of storage space for an S2D partition. For a 32-bit file alloca-
tion table (FAT32), leave 8 MB. 
						

							4-2 Dell Inspiron 3700 System Reference and Troubleshooting Guide

For any operating system that uses a file system other than FAT16 or FAT32, 
including compressed file systems such as DriveSpace, use the following 
algorithm to determine the amount of disk space to reser ve for an S2D     
partition: 
Size of system memory + size of video memor y + 1 percent of size of      
system memory + 2 MB rounded up to the next cylinder
Examples:
32 MB + 4 MB + .36 MB + 2 MB = 38.36 MB (approximately 1.25 percent of 
a 3-GB drive)
256 MB + 6 MB + 2.62 MB + 2 MB = 266.62 MB (approximately 4.4 percent 
of a 4-GB drive)
2. Format the hard-disk drive and assign logical drive letters to the partitions you  
created according to the instructions provided with your operating system.
3. Restart the computer from a bootable diskette such as the Microsoft Boot Disk 
Windows 98 Series 
diskette.
4. Create the S2D partition. 
For instructions, see “Save-to-Disk Suspend Utility” found later in this chapter.
5. Follow the instructions found later in this chapter to install the appropriate device 
drivers.
6. Install your application programs on the hard-disk drive.
If you have trouble with the hard-disk drive, run the IDE Devices device         
group tests in the Dell Diagnostics. For instructions, see “Ru n ni n g t h e  D el l               
Diagnostics” in Chapter 3.
7. If you ever need to remove the S2D partition to free up storage space on the 
hard-disk drive, do so by using the rms2d.exe utility on the System Soft ware
 CD. 
See “Removing the Save-to-Disk Suspend Partition” found later in this chapter 
for instructions. When more space is available on the drive, you can also recreate 
the S2D partition using the mks2d.exe utility. See “Creating the Save-to-Disk 
Suspend Partition” found later in this chapter for instructions.

	
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You must install Windows 98 on the hard-disk drive, as described in the following 
steps, before you install any device drivers:
1. Insert the Microsoft Boot Disk Windows 98 Series
 diskette into the diskette 
drive.
2. Restart the computer. 
						

							support.dell.comSystem Software Solutions 4-3
3. When the 
Microsoft Windows 98 Startup menu appears, insert the Microsoft 
Windows 98 CD into the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
4. Select 
Start Windows 98 Setup from CD-ROM and press .
The Setup program runs ScanDisk to check your hard-disk drive. 
5. When the hard-disk drive check is completed, type 
x to exit ScanDisk.
6. Follow the prompts on your screen to continue with the installation.
7. When prompted to create a start-up diskette, remove the Microsoft Boot Disk 
Windows 98 Series diskette, and click 
Next>.
8. Label a blank, high-density diskette as instructed, insert the diskette into the    
diskette drive, and then click 
OK.
9. Follow the prompts on your screen to complete the installation.

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All of your computer’s drivers for Dell-installed devices are operative when you 
receive the computer no further installation or configuration is needed. However, if 
you ever need to reinstall any of these drivers, the driver files are provided on the 
System Soft ware CD. For instructions on reinstalling a particular driver, see the         
following subsection that corresponds to that driver.
Often device problems can be corrected by reinstalling the appropriate drivers. Also, 
hardware manufacturers frequently provide updated drivers that support feature 
enhancements or that correct problems. Obtain updated drivers for products          
purchased from Dell from the support section of the Dell World Wide Web site 
(
http://support.dell.com).

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To install the system software, you need the following items:

System Soft ware CD

CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive installed in the media bay of the computer

Microsoft Windows 98 CD

Microsoft Boot Disk Windows 98 Series diskette
NOTE: Verify that Windows 98 is already installed on the hard-disk drive before you 
install any device drivers. For instructions, see the preceding section, “Installing the 
Windows 98 Operating System.” 
						

							4-4 Dell Inspiron 3700 System Reference and Troubleshooting Guide
The following subsections describe the installation instructions for the drivers and  
utilities that are provided on the System Soft ware 
CD for use with a system running 
the Windows 98 Second Edition operating system.
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The video driver controls features such as video resolution and the color palette.
NOTE: If you need to use extended video modes, check the documentation that came 
with the application program to determine if the drivers are provided. If not, contact 
the software manufacturer to get the necessary drivers.
To install the video driver for Windows 98, perform the following steps:
1. Save your work in all open application programs, because you will need to restart 
your computer at the end of this procedure to complete the installation.
2. Insert the System Software
 CD into the CD-ROM drive.
3. Click the Start button, and then click Run.
The Run dialog box appears.
4. Type x:\drivers\win98\video\setup, where x
 is the drive letter of your 
CD-ROM drive, and click OK or press . 
5. Follow the instructions on your display.
6. After the files are copied to your hard-disk drive, click Finish to restart your 
computer.
After installing the video drivers and restarting your computer, perform the following 
steps to set the display parameters: 
1. C l i c k  t h e  Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. 
The Control Panel window appears. 
2. Double-click the Display icon. 
The Display Properties window appears.
3. Click the Settings tab. 
4. Change the Colors option from 256 colors to True Color (24 bit). 
5. Set the Screen area for your display to 1024 x 768.
6. Click Apply.  
						

							support.dell.comSystem Software Solutions 4-5
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The audio driver allows you to customize the sound features of your computer. To 
install the audio driver, perform the following steps: 
1. Save your work in all open application programs, because you will need to restart 
your computer at the end of this procedure to complete the installation.
2. Insert the System Software CD into the CD-ROM drive.
3. Click the 
Start button, and then click 
Run.
4. The 
Run dialog box appears.
5. Type 
x:\drivers\win98\audio\setup, where x is the drive letter of your 
CD-ROM drive, and click 
OK or press .
6. Follow the instructions on your display.
7. After the files are copied to your hard-disk drive, click 
Finish. 
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DualPoint integrated pointing device drivers and associated utilities allow you to use 
and customize the integrated touch pad, track stick, or an external mouse. To install 
these drivers, perform the following steps: 
1. Save your work in all open application programs, because you will need to restart 
your computer at the end of this procedure to complete the installation.
2. Click the 
Start button, point to 
Settings, and then click 
Control Panel.
3. Double-click 
Mouse.
The 
Mouse Properties window appears.
4. Click the 
General tab, and then click the 
Change button.
The 
Select Device window appears.
5. Click on 
Have Disk.
The 
Install From Disk window appears.
6. Insert the System Utilities CD into the drive.
7. Double click the 
setup.exe file in the 
x:\drivers\win98\CD-ROM	ouch folder, 
where x is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive.
8. The 
Select Device window appears. The 
Alps Touch Pad should be highlighted.
9. Click 
OK.
10. After the files are copied, the 
Name property should be 
Alps Touch Pad. 
						

							4-6 Dell Inspiron 3700 System Reference and Troubleshooting Guide
11. C l i c k  Close.
12. Restart your computer to activate the drivers.
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You must enable Microsoft infrared support for Windows 98 before you can install the 
infrared drivers. To enable Microsoft infrared support, perform the following steps: 
1. C l i c k  t h e  Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Add New Hardware icon.
The Add New Hardware Wizard appears.
3. Click Next to continue.
NOTE: If the infrared device is not listed, click 
No, and then click 
Next.
4. When the Add New Hardware Wizard asks to search for new hardware, click 
No and then click Next.
5. When the Hardware Types window appears, click Infrared and then click Next.
6. When the Add Infrared Device Wizard window appears, click Next.
7. To complete this portion of the installation, follow the instructions on your display.
8. To enable infrared support, shut down and reboot your computer.
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System utilities let you configure features such as the save-to-disk suspend file. To 
copy the system utilities to your hard-disk drive, perform the following steps.
NOTE: You can also run the system utilities directly from the System Software CD.
1. Insert the System Software
 CD into the CD-ROM drive.
2. Copy each of the utilities on the System Soft ware
 CD to the c:\dell director y on 
your hard-disk drive. The utilities have the following filenames: mks2d.exe, 
rm s2 d . exe, asset.com, and readme.s2d.
For more information on copying files, see the documentation that came with the 
operating system.
After you copy the utilities to your hard-disk drive, you must restart your computer in 
the MS-DOS mode to use the utilities.
See the readme.s2d file on the System Soft ware
 CD for more information on using 
the save to-disk suspend utilities. 
						

							support.dell.comSystem Software Solutions 4-7
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To install the advanced port replicator (APR), perform the following steps: 
1.If the computer has never been turned on, turn it on now while it is undocked and 
complete the operating system setup. Then go to step 2. 
If you have completed the operating system setup, turn on the computer, and 
then go to step 2. 
For setup instructions, see the Dell Inspiron Systems Setup Guide that came with 
the computer.
2. Dock the computer. 
For instructions, see your Advanced Port Replicator User’s Guide.
The operating system creates a hardware profile for the APR.
3. To load the appropriate drivers for use with the APR, follow the instructions on 
the display. When prompted, restart the computer.
4. Install the appropriate drivers to use with a network interface controller (NIC) in 
the APR. 
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The DVD decoder driver allows you to play DVD movies on the computer.
NOTE: When you are promoted to select a director y, Dell recommends using the 
default directory settings.
1. Insert the Software DVD Decoder CD into the DVD-ROM drive.
2. Click the 
Start button, and then click 
Run.
3. In the 
Run dialog box, type 
x:\setup.exe, where x is the DVD-ROM drive 
letter.
The DVD-ROM drive letter is usually D.
4. Click 
OK.
5. The 
We l co me window appears. Click 
Next>.
6. At the 
Choose Destination Location screen, click 
Next>.
7. At the 
Select Program Folder screen, click 
Next>.
8. At the 
Start Copying Files screen, click 
Next>.
9. At the 
Setup Complete screen, be sure that the 
Yes, I want to restart my 
computer now radio button is selected, and then click 
Finish.
The first time you play a DVD after installing this driver, you may be prompted to 
change the region setting. 
						

							4-8 Dell Inspiron 3700 System Reference and Troubleshooting Guide
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The Dell Inspiron system Help
 is available on the System Software 
CD. You can also 
access it from Dell’s support Web site (http://support.dell.com).

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To install the system Help
 from the System Soft ware 
CD, perform the following steps:
1. Insert the CD into the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
2. Double-click the My Computer icon, and then double-click the CD-ROM or 
DVD-ROM drive icon.
3. Double-click the Guide folder.
4. Right-click the popup.ocx file, and then click Copy.
NOTE: You must copy the 
popup.ocx file into the Windows registry; other wise, 
error messages may appear.
5. Double-click the My Computer icon, and then double-click the C: drive icon. 
6. Double-click the Windows folder, then double-click the System folder, and then 
right-click Paste.
7.Click Start, and then click Run.
8. Type regsvr32 popup.ocx and then press .
9. Click OK when a window indicates the file was successfully registered.
10. Double-click the My Computer icon, and then double-click the CD-ROM or 
DVD-ROM icon.
11. Double-click the Guide folder, and then double-click the appropriate language 
folder for the version of the Help
 you want to install
12. Right-click and hold 3700help and drag it to the Windows desktop.
13. Release the right mouse button.
14 . Le ft - c l i ck  Copy Here.
15. Double-click the 3700help icon to access the system Help
.
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To download the system Help
 from http://support.dell.com, perform the following 
steps:
1. C l i c k  Support Your Dell.