session 14.doc

8/13/2019 session 14.doc

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UNIT - 5

DIAGNOSTIC TESTS AND TOOLS

STRUCTURE

5.0 Introduction

5.1 Objectives

5.2 Diagnostic software

5.3 Power-On-Self-ests

5.! "ird-#art$ diagnostics

5.5 Dis% diagnostics

5.& Data 'ecover$ utilities

5.( S"areware and #ublic-do)ain diagnostics

5.* Software tools

5.+ Su))ar$

5.10 ,uestions

5.0 INTRODUCTION

Diagnostic software #rovides t"e wa$ t"roug" w"ic" $ou can ea)ine $our

s$ste) "ardware and t"e wa$ $our co)#onents are wor%ing.

It usuall$ co)es wit" $our co)#uter and is vitall$ i)#ortant to $ou an$ ti)e $our

co)#uter )alfunctions or $ou begin t"e #rocess of u#grading a s$ste)

co)#onent or adding a new device. /ven w"en $ou atte)#t a si)#le #rocedure

suc" as adding a new ada#ter card or begin t"e so)eti)es tedious #rocess oftroubles"ooting a "ardware #roble) t"at causes a s$ste) cras" or loc%u# w"en

$ou are wor%ing $ou need to %now )ore about $our s$ste) t"an $ou can learn

fro) t"e #ac%ing list sent wit" t"e s$ste). "is unit describes two levels of

diagnostic software POS and general-#ur#ose included wit" $our co)#uter or


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available fro) $our co)#uter )anufacturer. "e unit also e)#"asis on t"e effect

of virus and its #revention.

5.1 OBJECTIVES

t t"e end of t"is unit $ou will be able to

nderstand w"at a diagnostic software is

4a)e t"e t$#es of diagnostic software

Describe t"e i)#ortance of POS

nderstand t"e conce#t of t"ird-#art$ diagnosis

/#lain data recover$ )ec"anis)

I)#ortance of software tools

Define co)#uter virus state different t$#es of co)#uter viruses

nderstand t"e need of anti-virus

5.2 DIAGNOSTIC SOFTWARE

Several t$#es of diagnostic software are available for P-co)#atible s$ste)s."is software so)e of w"ic" is included wit" t"e s$ste) w"en #urc"ased

assists users in identif$ing )an$ #roble)s t"at can occur wit" a co)#uter6s

co)#onents. In )an$ cases t"ese #rogra)s can do )ost of t"e wor% in

deter)ining w"ic" P co)#onent is defective. "ere are t"ree #rogra)s t"at

can "el# $ou locate a #roble). "e diagnostic #rogra)s include t"e following7

POS - "e Power-On Self est o#erates w"enever an$ P is #owered

u# switc"ed on.

8anufacturer su##lied diagnostics software - 8an$ of t"e larger

)anufacturers--es#eciall$ "ig"-end na)e-brand )anufacturers suc" as

I98 o)#a: ;ewlett Pac%ard and ot"ers--)a%e s#ecial diagnostics


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software t"at is e#ressl$ designed for t"eir s$ste)s. "is )anufacturer-

s#ecific software nor)all$ consists of a suite of tests t"at t"oroug"l$

ea)ines t"e s$ste). "ese diagnostics can be downloaded fro) t"eir

electronic bulletin boards or it )a$ "ave to be #urc"ased fro) t"e

)anufacturer. In so)e cases t"e diagnostics are installed on a s#ecial

#artition on t"e "ard drive and can be accessed during bootu#.

fter-)ar%et diagnostics software or t"ird-#art$ diagnostic #ac%age- "ere

are a nu)ber of )anufacturers )a%ing general #ur#ose diagnostics

software for P-co)#atible s$ste)s. "is includes utilities--S$)antec6s

4orton tilities 8icrosco#e b$ 8icro 2000 ,a-Plus b$ Diagsoft P-

ec"nician b$


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"e POS tests nor)all$ #rovide t"ree t$#es of out#ut )essages7 audio codes

dis#la$-screen )essages and "eadeci)al nu)eric codes to an I>O #ort

address.

POST AUDIO ERROR CODES

POS audio error codes usuall$ are audio codes consisting of a nu)ber of

bee#s t"at identif$ t"e fault$ co)#onent. If $our co)#uter is functioning nor)all$

$ou "ear one s"ort bee# w"en t"e s$ste) starts u#. If a #roble) is detected a

different nu)ber of bee#s sound--so)eti)es in a co)bination of s"ort and long

bee#s. "ese 9IOS-de#endent codes can var$ a)ong different 9IOS

)anufacturers. able 5.1 lists t"e bee# codes for I98 s$ste)s and t"e #roble)indicated b$ eac" series of bee#s.

Ta!" 5.1 IB# POST A$%&' E' C'%" a*% I*%&+a,"% P'!"

A$%&' C'%" S'$*% P'!" (Fa$!, D'a&*)

1 s"ort bee# . 4or)al POS-s$ste) O?

2 s"ort bee#s .. POS error-error code

4o bee# Power su##l$ s$ste) board

ontinuous bee# @@@@@@@@@@@@@ Power su##l$ s$ste) board

'e#eating s"ort bee#s ...... Power su##l$ s$ste) board

One long one s"ort bee# -. S$ste) board

One long two s"ort bee#s -.. Dis#la$ ada#ter 8D A

One long t"ree s"ort bee#s -... /n"anced Ara#"ics da#ter /A

"ree long bee#s - - - 32(0 %e$board card

. B s"ort bee#- B long bee#

POST VISUAL ERROR CODES

On t"e C PS>2 and )ost co)#atibles t"e POS also dis#la$s on t"e

s$ste) )onitor t"e test of s$ste) )e)or$. "e last nu)ber dis#la$ed is t"e

a)ount of )e)or$ t"at tested #ro#erl$. or ea)#le a )odern s$ste) )ig"t

dis#la$ t"e following7 32(&* ?9 O?


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In )ost cases t"e nu)ber dis#la$ed b$ t"e )e)or$ test s"ould agree wit" t"e

total a)ount of )e)or$ installed on $our s$ste) )ot"erboard including

conventional and etended )e)or$. So)e s$ste)s dis#la$ a slig"tl$ lower total

because t"e$ deduct all or #art of t"e 3*!? of 8 ##er 8e)or$ rea fro)

t"e count.

"e '8 on an e#anded )e)or$ card is not tested b$ t"e POS and does not

count in t"e nu)bers re#orted. ;owever if $ou are using an e#anded )e)or$

driver suc" as /883*&./C/ or ,uarterdec%6s ,/88 to configure etended

)e)or$ installed on t"e )ot"erboard as e#anded t"e POS eecutes before

t"is driver is loaded so t"at all installed )e)or$ is counted.

If t"e POS )e)or$ test sto#s s"ort of t"e e#ected total t"e nu)ber dis#la$ed

often indicates "ow far into s$ste) )e)or$ a )e)or$ error lies. "is nu)ber

alone is a valuable troubles"ooting aid. If an error is detected during t"e POS

#rocedures an error )essage is dis#la$ed on-screen. "ese )essages usuall$

are in t"e for) of a nu)eric code several digits long= for ea)#le 1(+0-Dis% 0

/rror. "e infor)ation in t"e "ardware-)aintenance service )anual identifies t"e

)alfunctioning co)#onent.

IO PORT POST CODES

t t"e beginning of eac" POS t"e 9IOS sends test codes to a s#ecial I>O #ort

address. "ese POS codes can be read onl$ b$ a s#ecial ada#ter card #lugged

into one of t"e s$ste) slots.


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"ese cards originall$ were designed to be used b$ t"e s$ste) )anufacturers

for burn-in testing of t"e )ot"erboard during s$ste) )anufacturing wit"out t"e

need for a video dis#la$ ada#ter or dis#la$.

Several co)#anies now )a%e t"ese cards available to tec"nicians. 8icro 2000

ED' 8icrodevices Data De#ot ltra-C ,uarterdec% and rinitec" are just a few

)anufacturers of t"ese POS cards.

5./ THIRD-PART DIAGNOSIS

large nu)ber of general-#ur#ose diagnostics #rogra)s or t"ird-#art$

diagnostics #rogra)s are available for P-co)#atible s$ste)s. S#ecific#rogra)s are available to test )e)or$ flo##$ drives "ard dis%s video boards

and )ost ot"er areas of t"e s$ste). ;owever t"ese #rogra)s test all t$#es of

)e)or$ including conventional base )e)or$ etended )e)or$ and

e#anded )e)or$. ailures can usuall$ be identified down to t"e individual c"i#

or SI88 ban% and bit level.

8an$ #roducts )ade to tailor )ore towards end users lac% t"e accurac$

features and ca#abilities needed b$ tec"nicall$ #roficient #eo#le w"o are serious

about troubles"ooting. 8ost of t"e better diagnostics on t"e )ar%et offer several

advantages over t"e I98 diagnostics. "e$ usuall$ are better at deter)ining

w"ere a #roble) lies wit"in a s$ste) es#eciall$ in I98-co)#atible s$ste)s.

8an$ of t"ese #rogra)s can be run in a batc" )ode w"ic" enables a series of

tests to be run fro) t"e co))and line wit"out o#erator intervention. Fou t"en

can set u# auto)ated test suites w"ic" can be es#eciall$ useful in burning in a

s$ste) or eecuting t"e sa)e tests on )an$ s$ste)s.

So)e ea)#les include

A#ID&a


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8I )erican 8egatrends Inc. )a%es t"e )ost #o#ular P 'O8 9IOS

software in use toda$. "e 8I 9IOS can be found on t"e )ajorit$ of newer I98

co)#atible s$ste)s t"at are currentl$ being sold. 8IDiag as t"e #rogra) is

called "as nu)erous features and en"ance)ents not found in t"e si)#ler 'O8

version. 8IDiag is a co)#re"ensive general #ur#ose diagnostic t"at is

designed for an$ I98 co)#atible s$ste) not just t"ose wit" an 8I 'O8 9IOS.

C"+4&, P'

ouc"stone Software or#oration6s "ec%it #roducts offer an ecellent suite of

testing ca#abilities including tests of t"e s$ste) P= conventional etended

and e#anded )e)or$= "ard and flo##$ drives= and video card and )onitorincluding G/S-Standard cards and )onitors )ouse and %e$board. Several

versions of t"e "ec%it #roduct are available suc" as "ec%it Pro "ec%it Pro

nal$st "ec%it Plus.

#ICROSCOPE

8icrosco#e b$ 8icro 2000 is a full-featured general #ur#ose diagnostic #rogra)for I98 co)#atible s$ste)s. It "as )an$ features and ca#abilities t"at can be

ver$ "el#ful in troubles"ooting or diagnosing "ardware #roble)s.

NORTON UTILITIES DIAGNOSTICS

"e 4orton Diagnostics 4DIAS co)es wit" t"e 4orton tilities w"ic" is a

collection of s$ste) data safeguarding troubles"ooting testing and re#airing

utilities 4DIAS #robabl$ is one of t"e best values in diagnostic #rogra)s. It

includes ot"er utilities suc" as S#eedis% Dis% Doctor and alibrate. "ese

t"ree "ard drive utilities basicall$ re#resent t"e state of t"e art in "ard drive

diagnostics and software-level re#air.


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4DIAS adds diagnostic ca#abilities w"ic" includes co)#re"ensive infor)ation

about t"e overall "ardware configuration of t"e s$ste)--t"e P s$ste) 9IOS

)at" co#rocessor video ada#ter %e$board and )ouse t$#e "ard and flo##$

drive t$#es a)ount of installed )e)or$ including etended and e#anded bus

t$#e IS /IS or 8 and t"e nu)ber of serial and #arallel #orts.

4DIAS t"oroug"l$ tests t"e )ajor s$ste) co)#onents and enables $ou to

c"ec% )inor details suc" as t"e 4u)Hoc% a#sHoc% and ScrollHoc% H/Ds on

$our %e$board.

4DIAS also #rovides an on-screen grid $ou can use to center t"e i)age on

$our )onitor and test for various %inds of distortion t"at )a$ indicate a fault$)onitor.

5.5 DIS DIAGNOSTICS

ll t"e general-#ur#ose diagnostics #rogra)s can test bot" flo##$ and "ard dis%

drives. ;owever because t"ese #rogra)s are general-#ur#ose in nature t"e

drive tests are not alwa$s as co)#lete as one would li%e. or t"is reason t"ere

are a nu)ber of s#ecific #rogra)s designed e#ressl$ for #erfor)ing diagnostics

and servicing on dis% drives. So)e of t"e dis% diagnostic and testing #rogra)s

available in on t"e )ar%et are given below7

DRIVE PROBE

8an$ #rogra)s on t"e )ar%et evaluate t"e condition of flo##$ dis% drives b$

using a dis% created or for)atted on t"e sa)e drive. #rogra) t"at uses t"istec"ni:ue cannot )a%e a #ro#er evaluation of a dis% drive6s align)ent.

s#eciall$-created dis% #roduced b$ a tested and calibrated )ac"ine is re:uired.

"is t$#e of dis% can be used as a reference standard b$ w"ic" to judge a drive.

ccurite t"e #ri)ar$ )anufacturer of suc" reference standard flo##$ dis%s "el#s


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s#ecif$ flo##$ dis% industr$ standards. ccurite #roduces t"e following t"ree )ain

t$#es of reference standard dis%s used for testing drive function and align)ent7

Digital Diagnostic Dis% DDD

nalog lign)ent Dis% D

;ig"-'esolution Diagnostic Dis% ;'D

DIS #ANAGER

Dis% 8anager b$ Ontrac% stands toda$ as t"e )ost co)#re"ensive and ca#able

"ard dis% test and for)at utilit$ available. "is #rogra) wor%s wit" #racticall$

ever$ "ard dis% and controller on t"e )ar%et including t"e newer SSI and ID/

t$#es.

5.6 DATA RECOVER UTILITIES

"ere are several #rogra)s designed for data recover$ rat"er t"an just "ardware

troubles"ooting and re#air. "ese data recover$ #rogra)s can troubles"oot and

re#air dis% for)atting structures boot sectors file allocation tables directories

as well as files and file structures database files s#reads"eet files and so on.

"e 4orton tilities b$ S$)antec stands as #er"a#s t"e #re)ier data recover$

#ac%age on t"e )ar%et toda$. "is #ac%age is ver$ co)#re"ensive and will

auto)aticall$ re#air )ost t$#es of dis% #roble)s. It "as a fantastic Dis% /ditor

#rogra) ca#able of editing dis%s at t"e sector level.

"e 4orton tilities version *.0 and above #rovides auto)atic recover$ facilit$

for data. It is done t"roug" so)e useful )odules li%e Dis% Doctor and alibrate.

oget"er t"ese two utilities #rovide e"austive testing of t"e data structures and

sectors of a "ard drive.


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Dis% Doctor wor%s wit" bot" "ard dis%s and flo##ies and tests t"e ca#abilit$ of

t"e drive to wor% wit" t"e s$ste) in w"ic" it is installed including t"e drive6s boot

sector file allocation tables file structure and data areas.

alibrate w"ic" is used for t"e )ost intensive testing of t"e data area of a drive

also tests t"e "ard drive controller electronics. It can be used to #erfor) dee#-

#attern testing of ID/ SSI and S-50&>!12-interface drives writing literall$

)illions of b$tes of data to ever$ sector of t"e drive to see w"et"er it can #ro#erl$

retain data= )oving data if t"e sector w"ere it is stored is flawed= and )ar%ing t"e

sector as bad in t"e .

5.7 SHAREWARE AND PUBLIC-DO#AIN DIAGNOSTICS

8an$ ecellent #ublic-do)ain diagnostic #rogra)s are available including

#rogra)s for diagnosing #roble)s wit" )e)or$ "ard dis%s flo##$ dis%s

)onitors and video ada#ters as well as virtuall$ an$ ot"er #art of t"e s$ste).

"ese #rogra)s are ecellent for users w"o do not #erfor) fre:uent

troubles"ooting or w"o are on a budget.

5.8 SOFTWARE TOOLS

"ese are #rogra)s w"ic" are re:uired to deal wit" P #roble)s. "is tool %it

generall$ include:DOS boot dis%s bac%u# software anti-virus #rogra)s and

diagnostic utilities.

UTILITIES DIS

S)all tet editor - /D E/ S/D etc.

"ec% configuration DOSI4O DOS8P I4OPHS etc

Dis% cleaning utilit$ H/4

DOS DIS


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bootable DOS dis% containing 7

9?P.O8 O4IA.SFS O4'F.SFS D/9A.O8 DIS?.O8

O'8.O8 ?/F9.O8 SFS.O8 '/SO'/.O8 etc.

DIS UTILITIES

4ortan tilities ;Dest P tools and test drives

DIAGNOSTICS

"ec%It 9SI diagnostics

ANTI-VIRUS

nti-virus #rotects $our co)#uter fro) viruses b$ scanning $our co)#uterJs

)e)or$ and dis% drives. nti-virus offers two )et"ods of detecting co)#uter

viruses 7

1. D","+, scans for viruses and dis#la$s infor)ation about eac" virus it finds.

"is )et"od does not auto)aticall$ re)ove viruses fro) $our co)#uter.

2. D","+, a*% C!"a* Scans for viruses and re)oves an$ t"at it finds.

So)e ea)#les of anti-virus include 7 8cfee S4 4/S4 H/4 etc.

WHAT ARE CO#PUTER VIRUSES 9

o)#uter viruses are #rogra)s designed to re#licate and s#read in t"e s$ste)

wit"out indicating t"at t"e$ eist. "e$ can #roduce a variet$ of s$)#to)s on

$our co)#uter. So)e viruses )ulti#l$ wit"out causing obvious c"anges. So)e

can issue rando) sounds or greet $ou wit" une#ected screen )essages. 8ore

"ar)ful is t"at t"e$ can da)age files and "ard dis%s.

o)#uter viruses can be classified b$ "ow t"e$ infect s$ste)s 7

B'', "+,' :&$ t"e boot sector is t"e #ortion of a "ard dis% t"at controls

"ow $our o#erating s$ste) starts w"en $ou turn on $our co)#uter. boot


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sector virus re#laces t"e dis%Js original boot sector wit" its own and loads t"e

virus into t"e )e)or$. Once in )e)or$ virus can s#read to ot"er dis%s.

F&!" &*;"+,' file infector virus adds virus code to files t"at run #rogra)s

so t"e virus is activated w"enever $ou run t"e #rogra).


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