Dell Inspiron 7000 - Diskette Drives Test Group; Subtests

Running the Dell Diagnostics 4-21
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The subtests in the Diskette Drives test group allow you to test diskette drives of all
capacities.
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Very often, a diskette drive problem may first appear to be a diskette problem. A box
of defective diskettes might produce faulty-drive error messages. The test results can
be confusing, so you should run the subtests in the Diskette Drives test group more
than once using diskettes from different sources.
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:

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.

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:

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.

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.