Troubleshooting FAQ

This section of the manual is designed to help you with problems that you may encounter with your personal computer. To efficiently troubleshoot your system, treat each problem individually. This is to ensure an accurate diagnosis of the problem in case a problem has multiple causes.

Some of the most common things to check when you encounter problems while using your system are listed below.

1. The power switch of each peripheral device is turned on.
   
2. All cables and power cords are tightly connected.
   
3. The electrical outlet to which your peripheral devices are connected is working. Test the outlet by plugging in a lamp or other electrical device.
   
4. The monitor is turned on.
   
5. The display brightness and contrast controls are adjusted properly.
   
6. All add-in boards in the expansion slots are seated securely.
   
7. Any add-in board you have installed is designed for your system and is set up correctly.
   

Monitor/Display

If the display screen remains dark after the system is turned on:

1. Make sure that the monitor's power switch is on.
   
2. Check that one end of the monitor's power cord is properly attached to the monitor and the other end is plugged into a working AC outlet. If necessary, try another outlet
   
3. Check that the video input cable is properly attached to the monitor and the system's display adapter.
   
4. Adjust the brightness of the display by turning the monitor's brightness control knob.
   

The picture seems to be constantly moving.

1. The monitor has lost its vertical sync. Adjust the monitor's vertical sync.
   
2. Move away any objects, such as another monitor or fan, that may be creating a magnetic field around the display.
   
3. Make sure your video card's output frequencies are supported by this monitor
   

The screen seems to be constantly wavering.

1. If the monitor is close to another monitor, the adjacent monitor may need to be turned off. Fluorescent lights adjacent to the monitor may also cause screen wavering.

Power Supply

When the computer is turned on, nothing happens.

1. Check that one end of the AC power cord is plugged into a live outlet and the other end properly plugged into the back of the system.
   
2. Make sure that the voltage selection switch on the back panel is set for the correct type of voltage you are using.
   
3. The power cord may have a "short" or "open". Inspect the cord and install a new one if necessary.
   

Floppy Drive

The computer cannot access the floppy drive.

1. The floppy diskette may not be formatted. Format the diskette and try again.
   
2. The diskette may be write-protected. Use a diskette that is not write-protected.
   
3. You may be writing to the wrong drive. Check the path statement to make sure you are writing to the targeted drive.
   
4. There is not enough space left on the diskette. Use another diskette with adequate storage space.
   

Hard disk failure

1. Make sure the correct drive type for the hard disk drive has been entered in the BIOS.
   
2. If the system is configured with two hard drives, make sure the bootable (first) hard drive is configured as Master and the second hard drive is configured as Slave. The master hard drive must have an active/bootable partition.

Excessively long formatting period

1. If your hard drive takes an excessively long period of time to format, it is likely a cable connection problem. However; if your hard drive has a large capacity, it will take a longer time to format.

Parallel Port

The parallel printer doesn't respond when you try to print.

1. Make sure that your printer is turned on and that the printer is on-line.
   
2. Make sure your software is configured for the right type of printer attached,
   
3. Verify that the onboard LPT ports I/O address and IRQ settings are configured correctly.
   
4. Verify that the attached device works by attaching it to a parallel port that is working and configured correctly. If it works, the printer can be assumed to be in good condition. If the printer remains inoperative, replace the printer cable and try again.
   

Serial Port

The serial device (modem, printer) doesn't output anything or is outputting garbled characters.

1. Make sure that the serial device's power is turned on and that the device is on-line.
   
2. Verify that the device is plugged into the correct serial port on the rear of the computer.
   
3. Verify that the attached serial device works by attaching it to a serial port that is working and configured correctly. If the serial device does not work, either the cable or the serial device has a problem. If the serial device works, the problem may be due to the onboard I/O or the address setting.
   
4. Make sure the COM settings and I/O address are configured correctly
   

Keyboard

Nothing happens when a key on the keyboard was pressed.

1. Make sure the keyboard is properly connected.
   
2. Make sure there are no objects resting on the keyboard and that no keys are pressed during the booting process.
   

Mainboard

1. Make sure the add-in card is seated securely in the expansion slot. If the add-in card is loose, power off the system, re-install the card and power up the system.
   
2. Check the jumper settings to ensure that the jumpers are properly set.
   
3. Verify that all memory modules are seated securely into the memory sockets.
   
4. Make sure the memory modules are in the correct locations.
   
5. If the board fails to function, place the board on a flat surface and seat all socketed components. Gently press each component into the socket.
   
6. If you made changes to the BIOS settings, re-enter setup and load the BIOS defaults.