Running the System Diagnostics 147
Running the System Diagnostics
If you experience a problem with your system, run the diagnostics before 
calling for technical assistance. The purpose of the diagnostics is to test 
your system's hardware without requiring additional equipment or risking 
data loss. If you are unable to fix the problem yourself, service and support 
personnel can use diagnostics test results to help you solve the problem.
Using Online Diagnostics
To assess a system problem, first use the Online Diagnostics. Dell Online 
Diagnostics is a suite of diagnostic programs, or test modules, that include 
diagnostic tests on chassis and storage components such as hard drives, 
physical memory, communications and printer ports, NICs, CMOS, 
and more. If you are unable to identify the problem using the 
Online Diagnostics, then use the embedded system diagnostics.
The files required to run Online Diagnostics for systems running supported 
Microsoft
®
 Windows
®
 and Linux operating systems are available 
at support.dell.com. For information about using diagnostics, see the Dell 
Online Diagnostics User's Guide.
The embedded system diagnostics can be launched using Lifecycle 
Controller. For more information about using the controller, see Lifecycle 
Controller documentation on the Dell Support website at 
support.dell.com/manuals.
Embedded System Diagnostics Features
The embedded system diagnostics provides a series of menus and options for 
particular device groups or devices. The system diagnostics menus and 
options allow you to:
• Run tests individually or collectively
• Control the sequence of tests
• Repeat tests
• Display, print, or save test results
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