Day 17
Group Lab Work
Story for the day…
If a packet hits a pocket on a socket
on a port,
and the bus is interrupted at a very last resort,
and the access of the memory makes your floppy disk abort,
then the socket packet pocket has an error to report.
If your cursor finds a menu item followed by a dash
and the double-clicking icon puts your window in the trash;
and your data is corrupted cause the index doesn't hash,
then your situation's hopeless and your system's gonna crash!
If the label on the cable on the table at your house
says the network is connected to the button on your mouse,
but your packets want to tunnel to another protocol,
that's repeatedly rejected by the printer down the hall,
and your screen is all distorted by the side effects of gauss,
til your icons in the window are as wavy as a souse;
then you may as well reboot and go out with a bang,
'cuz sure as I'm a poet, the sucker's gonna hang!
When the copy of your floppy's getting sloppy in the disk
and the macrocode instructions cause unnecessary risk,
then you'll have to flash the memory and you'll want to RAM your ROM.
Quickly turn off the computer and be sure to tell your Mom!
Go over questions-
Troubleshooting
Your diagnoses is that 5 cards are defective in a PC you should_____
*a) Recheck for software or I/O conflicts
b) Replace cards all at once
c) Replace cards one at a time
You have a PC with no video on a known good monitor. Pick the best order you should follow in tracking down the problem.
a) replace the video card, replace the monitor, replace the power supply, replace the system board, try a different monitor
*b) check that PC and monitor are plugged in, check that monitor brightness is turned up, check that PC fan is running, remove all option cards
c) check PC supply voltages, replace video card, replace CPU
d) check that everything's plugged in, replace system board
e) check that everything's plugged in, replace hard drive, replace ram
Which of the following would be a logical first step in troubleshooting a PC?
a) Check the computer CMOS
*b) Define the circumstances of the problem
c) Call the vendor
d) Define what applications are being used
After displaying the directory of a floppy disk, a different floppy is inserted into the drive. The contents of the original floppy continues to display regardless of the director requests on the other floppies placed in the drive. You remove the drive in question and install it into your test system, and it does not exhibit the problem. You should next replace the:
a) System's floppy drive device driver
b) Original IDE controller
*c) Floppy drive ribbon cable
d) System's power supply
What questions could be asked to determine if a problem is software or hardware related? (choose all that apply)
*a) Does the computer BEEP during the boot phase?
*b) Did peripheral devices initialize, i.e. printers?
*c) Will hardware components pass diagnostics?
d) Determine how many serial ports are installed in the system.
A keyboard locks up intermittently even when replaced with a new keyboard. What is the LEAST likely cause of the problem?
*a) A second bad keyboard
b) The keyboard controller chip
c) The keyboard connector
d) The motherboard
Award BIOS
BIOS Configuration
The BIOS setup program lets you modify the basic system configuration settings. The settings are then stored in a dedicated battery-backed memory called NVRAM, that retains all of the information when the power to the PC is off.
The Award BIOS in your computer is a customized version of an industry standard BIOS for IBM PC AT-compatible PCs. It supports Intel x86 and compatible processors. The BIOS provides critical low-level support for the system central processing, memory, and I/O subsystems.
The Award BIOS has been customized by adding important, but nonstandard, features such as virus and password protection, power management, and detailed fine-tuning of the chipset controlling the system.
Starting Setup
The Award BIOS is immediately activated when you first turn on the computer. The BIOS reads system information configuration in CMOS RAM and begins the process of checking out the system and configuring it through the power On Self Test (POST).
When these preliminaries are finished, the BIOS seeks an Operating System on one of the data storage devices (hard drive, floppy, CD-ROM, etc.). The BIOS launches the OS and hands control of the system to it.
During POST, you can start the Setup Program by pressing <DEL> before the OS is launched.
Setup Keys
| KEY | FUNCTION |
| F1 | Help |
| F2/Shift-F2 | Change colors |
| F3 | Calender (On some systems) |
| F4 | Reserved |
| F5 | Restore to previous BIOS settings |
| F6 | Load the default CMOS RAM value from CMOS. |
| F7 | Load the default value |
| F8 | Reserved |
| F9 | Reserved |
| F10 | Save all CMOS changes, only in the main menu. |
| + | Increase a numeric value |
| - | Decrease a numeric value |
| PgUp | Increase a numeric value |
| PgDn | Decrease a numeric value |
| ESC | Main menu: Quit without saving. Other menus: Exit to main menu. |
| Up Arrow | Move to previous item |
| Down Arrow | Move to next item |
| Left Arrow | Move to the item on the left |
| Right Arrow | Move to the item on the right |
Main Setup Menu
CMOS Setup Utility - Copyright (C) 1984 - 2001 Award Software
|
Standard CMOS Features Advanced BIOS Features Advanced Chipset Features Integrated Peripherals Power Management PnP/PCI Configurations PC Health Status |
Load Fail- Safe Defaults Load Optimized Defaults Set Supervisor Password Set User Password Save & Exit Setup Exit Without Saving |
|
Esc : Quit F10 : Save & Exit Setup |
Arrow Keys : Select Item (Shift) F2 : Change Color |
Standard CMOS Features : Options in the original PC AT-compatible BIOS
Advanced BIOS Features : Award Software enhanced BIOS options
Advanced Chipset Features : Options specific to your system's chipset
Integrated Peripherals : .I/O subsystems that depend on the integrated peripherals controller in your system
Power Management : Advanced Power management options
PnP/PCI Configurations : Plug and Play standard and PCI Local Bus configuration options
PC Health Status : Displays CPU / System Temperatures and Fan Speeds
Load Fail - Safe Defaults : BIOS settings that are most stable, yet lack any performance options
Load Optimized Defaults : BIOS settings that are for the highest performance
Set Supervisor Password : To change, set, or disable a password
Set User Password: To change, set, or disable a password
Save & Exit Setup: To save the setting to CMOS and exit
Exit Without Saving : Abandon all changes and exit.
Standard CMOS Features Menu
In the standard menu setup you can set the system clock, record disk drive parameters, the video subsystem type, and select the type of errors that can halt the BIOS POST.
|
Date (mm:dd:yyyy) _________ ________________Sat.,Jul
5, 2001 IDE Primary Master _______________________
Press Enter Auto Drive A ________________________________
1.44M, 3.5 in. Base Memory_____________ ______________
640K |
Item Help ________________________________ Menu Level •
To enter next page for detailed hard disk settings.
|
IDE Setup Menu
|
IDE HDD Auto-Detection ____________ Press Enter IDE Primary Master ________________ Auto Capacity _________________________0 MB Cylinder __________________________0
|
Item Help ________________________________ Menu Level ••
To Auto-detect the HDD size, head... on the channel
|
Questions?
Now for a word about memory...
ATHLON SYSTEMS - IMPORTANT MEMORY INFORMATION
System memory compatibility is always an issue when purchasing RAM, however I have experienced considerable memory compatibility issues & systems instability with lower grade memory modules being used in AMD Athlon systems. I have seen modules made with virtually all available inexpensive brands of DRAM, multiple DRAM configurations with little success. I believe the issue is related to three main factors:
1. Cas Latency - Memory For Athlon systems should be the faster CAS 2
only
2. Module Noise - Because of the high internal and bus frequencies any noise
is amplified to a much higher degree than with 100MHz system bus systems.
To reduce this noise you have to isolate the ground and power layers of the
module board (6 Layer) and engineer the board with short trace lengths
3. DRAM Brands - I have found that using only "A" quality DRAM From
to tier manufacturers work best in Athlon systems. Virtually every major manufacture
will grade the un-cut die or wafers during manufacturing and will sell the
lower grade wafers to smaller DRAM venders to make their own less expensive
DRAM (Didn't you ever wonder how a lesser known DRAM company's parts are always
on the lowest cost parts even though it costs 2 to 3 billion dollars to build
a wafer fabrication plant?)
So, if are buying a higher frequency machine, then it only makes sense to
buy matching RAM, right? Who are the "better" DRAM makers? Toshiba,
Samsung, Kingmax, Kingston Technology, and Infineon. Hyundai, Mitsubishi,
and Vanguard are also reliable makers. Stay away from Unbranded DRAM and CAS
3.
Group Work
Each group needs to take their working PC and strip it down.
First check to see that it works before you begin.
Remove all cables.
Remove all cards.
Remove all drives.
Remove the M/B from the case.
Clean the case with a moist towel from the center office.
The cases should look very clean and have no stains on them.
Dry the case.
Reassemble the units.
Boot the systems up and show me that they still work.
FLOPPY
The floppy drive light stays on when you power up the system.
It means that
a) the CMOS setting set to 720 KB instead of 1.44 MB
b) the disk inside is not bootable
c) the FDD cable is reversed
d) the FDD cable is not inserted
When not in use, it is very important to keep 5 1/4 diskettes in ______.
a) Their protective sleeves
b) In a plastic bag
c) On a shelf in an upright position
d) In the floppy drive
3.5 HD floppy disks have how many square holes on top?
a) 0
b) 1
c) 2
d) depends if they are formatted or not
After displaying the directory of a floppy disk, a different floppy is inserted into the drive. The contents of the original floppy's directory still continue to be display regardless of a new directory request on the other floppy placed in the drive. You remove the drive in question and install it into your test system, and it does not exhibit the problem. You should next replace the:
a) System's floppy drive device driver
b) Original IDE controller
c) Floppy drive ribbon cable
d) System's power supply
