Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Version 12
TECHNICAL MANUAL
By
COPYRIGHT © 2003 MICRO 2000 INC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN CANADA
MICRO 2000 INC.
1100 E. BROADWAY, 3RD FLOOR GLENDALE CALIFORNIA 91205
PHONE: (818) 547-0125
FAX: (818) 547-0397 WWW.MICRO2000.COM
DOCUMENT #MAN-MS V.12 10/01/2003
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ............................................................ 1
ABOUT MICRO 2000 Inc....................................................... 1
ABOUT MICRO-SCOPE ........................................................ 2
CHAPTER 1. STARTING MICRO-SCOPE......... 5
A. ONLINE DOCUMENTATION ..................................... 5
Tutorial Video .......................................................................... 7
Product Manual ........................................................................ 8
RemoteScope Demo................................................................. 8
Other Products.......................................................................... 8
Website..................................................................................... 8
B. LOADING THE MICRO-SCOPE SOFTWARE.............. 9
CMOS Setup ............................................................................ 9
Boot Selection Menu.............................................................. 10
Option 0.................................................................................. 10
Option 1.................................................................................. 10
Option 2.................................................................................. 11
MICRO-SCOPE 12
iii
Option 3.................................................................................. 12
Option 4.................................................................................. 12
Full Version vs. Limited Edition............................................ 13
Registration ............................................................................ 13
C. MAKING BACKUPS ................................................... 14
D. MISCELLANEOUS...................................................... 15
Upgrading............................................................................... 15
Running Under DOS or Windows ......................................... 16
Warm Boot ............................................................................. 17
Help ........................................................................................ 17
Navigation.............................................................................. 18
CHAPTER 2. SYSTEM CONFIGURATION ..... 21
A. COMPARE SETTINGS ............................................... 22
Device Settings Compared..................................................... 23
B. SYSTEM INFORMATION ......................................... 25
System Board Information ..................................................... 26
Processor and Bus Information .............................................. 27
Memory Information.............................................................. 28
Video Information.................................................................. 28
System Information Screen #2............................................... 29
Floppy Drive Information ...................................................... 30
Fixed Disk Information.......................................................... 30
System Information Screen #3............................................... 31
TABLE OF CONTENTS
iv
CD-ROM................................................................................ 31
Port Information..................................................................... 31
Miscellaneous Information .................................................... 32
C. DMI INFORMATION.................................................. 33
D. HARD DISK PARAMETERS ..................................... 34
E. IDE INFORMATION................................................... 35
F. SCSI INFORMATION ................................................. 36
G. PLUG-N-PLAY ............................................................. 37
H. PCI INFORMATION ................................................... 39
I. USB INFORMATION .................................................. 40
J. ACTIVE ROM SEARCH............................................. 41
Beginning and Ending Address.............................................. 42
ROM Identified ...................................................................... 42
K. DEVICE ASSIGNMENTS ........................................... 43
Press C (Check Interrupts) ..................................................... 44
Press U (User Defined) .......................................................... 44
Screen Layout for Device Assignments................................. 44
L. PARTITION TABLE ................................................... 47
Master Partition Boot Sector.................................................. 47
Partition/Volume Boot Sector ................................................ 50
Listings for FAT 16 and 32.................................................... 51
Listings for FAT 32 Only....................................................... 53
Partition Editing Controls ...................................................... 54
M. CMOS DISPLAY/EDIT ............................................... 55
MICRO-SCOPE 12
v
Display CMOS Contents........................................................ 56
Edit CMOS Contents ............................................................. 56
N. COMPARE FEATURES ............................................. 57
Add System ............................................................................ 57
Verify System ........................................................................ 58
CHAPTER 3. BATCH MENU .................................. 59
A. RUN ALL TESTS ......................................................... 60
Run Continuously .................................................................. 61
Set Pass Count........................................................................ 61
B. SELECT TESTS ........................................................... 62
1) Load Batch Tests .............................................................. 63
2) Save Batch Tests............................................................... 63
Test Selection......................................................................... 64
C. RUN SELECTED ......................................................... 67
D. REPORT FEATURES ................................................. 67
Create Report ......................................................................... 67
Log Report ............................................................................. 70
E. ERROR LOG ................................................................ 73
F. ERROR HALT ENABLED/DISABLED .................... 73
CHAPTER 4. DIAGNOSTIC TESTS .................... 75
A. SYSTEMBOARD TESTS ............................................ 76
Microprocessor Test............................................................... 76
TABLE OF CONTENTS
vi
Coprocessor............................................................................ 77
RTC/CMOS Test.................................................................... 77
CTC Controller Test............................................................... 77
DMA Controller Test ............................................................. 77
Interrupt Controllers Test....................................................... 78
Speaker Test ........................................................................... 78
PS/2 Mouse Controller Test ................................................... 79
Keyboard Controller Test....................................................... 79
B. MEMORY TESTS ........................................................ 80
Cache Memory....................................................................... 81
Expanded Memory ................................................................. 81
Extended Memory.................................................................. 82
All Tests ................................................................................. 83
Pattern Test ............................................................................ 83
Pseudo-Random Test ............................................................. 83
Xor’ed Test ............................................................................ 83
Bit Test ................................................................................... 83
Grid Test ................................................................................ 83
C. FLOPPY TESTS ........................................................... 84
Drive Select............................................................................ 84
Media Select........................................................................... 85
User Defined .......................................................................... 85
Format Diskette...................................................................... 85
MICRO-SCOPE 12
vii
Format Partial......................................................................... 85
Butterfly Seek Test................................................................. 86
Read Test................................................................................ 86
Write Test............................................................................... 87
Safe Write Test....................................................................... 87
D. FIXED DISK TESTS .................................................... 88
Drive Select............................................................................ 89
Set Interleave.......................................................................... 89
Bad Sector Map...................................................................... 89
Format Fixed Disk ................................................................. 90
Format Entire ......................................................................... 90
Format Partial......................................................................... 91
Use Controller BIOS.............................................................. 91
Fixed Disk Diagnostic Tests .................................................. 92
Butterfly Test ......................................................................... 92
Read Test................................................................................ 93
Write Test............................................................................... 93
Safe Write Test....................................................................... 93
Controller Test ....................................................................... 94
E. CD-ROM / ATAPI / SCSI TESTS.............................. 94
Select Drive............................................................................ 95
IDE / ATAPI Device.............................................................. 95
SCSI / ASPI Device ............................................................... 96
Determine Parameters ............................................................ 96
TABLE OF CONTENTS
viii
Device Tests ........................................................................... 96
Butterfly Seek Test................................................................. 96
Read Test................................................................................ 97
Write Test............................................................................... 97
F. MULTIMEDIA TESTS................................................ 98
Sound Card Test..................................................................... 98
Record / Playback Test .......................................................... 99
G. SERIAL PORT TESTS .............................................. 100
Select Port ............................................................................ 100
Set Parameters...................................................................... 100
Set Port Configuration ......................................................... 100
Set Baudrate ......................................................................... 100
Set Data Bits......................................................................... 101
Set Stop Bits......................................................................... 101
Set Loopback........................................................................ 101
Run Loopback Test .............................................................. 102
Keyboard to Port .................................................................. 102
Keyboard.............................................................................. 102
Mouse................................................................................... 102
Modem ................................................................................. 103
Serial Port Test Results ........................................................ 103
Internal /External Line Status .............................................. 103
Modem Status ...................................................................... 103
Error Count .......................................................................... 103
MICRO-SCOPE 12
ix
Data Window ....................................................................... 104
Port, IRQ, I/O, Baud and UART.......................................... 104
H. MODEM CONNECT TESTS .................................... 104
Modem Test ......................................................................... 105
Line Test .............................................................................. 105
Connect Test ........................................................................ 105
Send ASCII Test .................................................................. 105
Send File Test....................................................................... 105
I. PARALLEL PORT TESTS ....................................... 106
Set Parameters...................................................................... 106
Select Port ............................................................................ 106
Set Port Configuration ......................................................... 106
Set Loopback........................................................................ 106
Run Loopback Test .............................................................. 106
Data Latches Test................................................................. 107
Control Latches Test ............................................................ 107
Status Latches Test............................................................... 107
Interrupt Level Test.............................................................. 107
Signal Status Window.......................................................... 107
J. NETWORK CARD TESTS ....................................... 108
K. USB CONTROLLER TESTS .................................... 108
L. VIDEO TESTS ............................................................ 109
Video Memory ..................................................................... 109
Page Memory Test ............................................................... 109
TABLE OF CONTENTS
x
Linear Memory Test............................................................. 110
Video DAC Test................................................................... 110
Display Attributes ................................................................ 111
Display Character Set........................................................... 112
Screen Alignment................................................................. 112
Screen Focus ........................................................................ 113
Text Modes Test................................................................... 114
SVGA Graphics Modes Test................................................ 115
Screen Paging Test............................................................... 116
M. OTHER DEVICE TESTS .......................................... 117
Keyboard Test ...................................................................... 117
Joystick Test......................................................................... 118
Mouse Test ........................................................................... 118
Printer Test ........................................................................... 119
CHAPTER 5. UTILITIES MENU......................... 121
A. MEMORY DISPLAY ................................................. 122
Memory Display Navigation................................................ 123
System ROM BIOS and ROM BIOS Extensions ................ 123
SCSI/ESDI Setup Routine Segment/Offset ......................... 124
Available memory................................................................ 124
B. FLOPPY EDITOR...................................................... 125
Drive Select.......................................................................... 125
Media Select......................................................................... 125
MICRO-SCOPE 12
xi
Display/Edit ......................................................................... 126
C. FIXED DISK EDITOR .............................................. 129
Drive Select.......................................................................... 129
Display/Edit ......................................................................... 129
D. SCSI / IDE DEVICE EDITOR .................................. 130
Device Select........................................................................ 130
E. RUN BENCHMARKS................................................ 132
Processors............................................................................. 132
Fixed Disks .......................................................................... 132
CD ROM .............................................................................. 133
Memory ................................................................................ 133
Video.................................................................................... 133
F. PC HEALTH STATUS ............................................... 134
G. REBUILD MASTERBOOT....................................... 135
H. FLOPPY HEAD CLEANER ..................................... 136
I. DEBUGGING FUNCTIONS ..................................... 137
Execute Interrupts ................................................................ 137
In/Out to I/O Address........................................................... 138
Read/Write to Real Memory ................................................ 138
Read/Write to Protected Memory ........................................ 138
J. SECURE WIPE ............................................................. 139
Short Secure Wipe ............................................................... 140
Long Secure Wipe................................................................ 140
Long Wipe with Format ....................................................... 140
TABLE OF CONTENTS
xii
Entire/Partial ........................................................................ 140
K. TOGGLE ATTRIBUTES .......................................... 141
Color..................................................................................... 141
Monochrome ........................................................................ 141
L. SAVE/RESTORE CMOS ............................................ 141
M. SAVE/RESTORE MBR.............................................. 143
CHAPTER 6. QUIT .................................................... 145
A. Exit to OS..................................................................... 145
B. Reboot System ............................................................. 146
CHAPTER 7. TROUBLESHOOTING................ 147
HARDWARE VS. SOFTWARE ...................................... 147
OPERATING SYSTEM INDEPENDENCE ................... 148
ISOLATING THE CAUSE ............................................... 148
VERIFY AND DOCUMENT ............................................ 149
TECHNICAL SUPPORT .................................................. 150
CHAPTER 8. SYS. CONFIG. REFERENCE ... 151
COMPARE SETTINGS .................................................... 151
SYSTEM INFORMATION .............................................. 152
DMI ..................................................................................... 152
ACTIVE ROM SEARCH.................................................. 153
IRQ ASSIGNMENTS ........................................................ 153
MICRO-SCOPE 12
xiii
Multiple Devices .................................................................. 154
Serial Devices ...................................................................... 154
Parallel Devices.................................................................... 154
Mice ..................................................................................... 154
LAN Cards ........................................................................... 154
PARTITION TABLES ...................................................... 154
Partition Status ..................................................................... 154
Starting Head........................................................................ 154
Starting Sector...................................................................... 154
Starting Cylinder .................................................................. 155
Partition Type....................................................................... 155
Ending Head......................................................................... 155
Ending Sector ....................................................................... 155
Ending Cylinder ................................................................... 155
Start Absolute Sector ........................................................... 155
Number of Sectors ............................................................... 155
Boot Signature...................................................................... 156
VOLUME BOOT RECORD ............................................. 156
Bytes Per Sector ................................................................... 156
Sectors Per Cluster ............................................................... 156
Reserved Sectors .................................................................. 156
Number of Copies of FAT ................................................... 156
Maximum Root Directory Entries........................................ 157
Total Number of Sectors ...................................................... 157
TABLE OF CONTENTS
xiv
Media Descriptor Byte ......................................................... 157
Sectors Per FAT ................................................................... 157
Sectors Per Track ................................................................. 157
Number of Heads ................................................................. 158
Number of Hidden Sectors................................................... 158
Volume Boot Signature........................................................ 158
FAT 32 Volume Boot Sector Info........................................ 158
Partition Flags ...................................................................... 158
Version of FAT 32 Drive ..................................................... 158
Start Cluster Root Directory ................................................ 158
File System Info Sector........................................................ 158
Backup Boot Sector ............................................................. 159
Logical Drive ....................................................................... 159
Extended Signature .............................................................. 159
Partition Serial Number ....................................................... 159
Volume Name ...................................................................... 159
FAT Name............................................................................ 159
CMOS EDIT ....................................................................... 159
Diskettes............................................................................... 159
HD0/HD1 ............................................................................. 160
Base Memory ....................................................................... 160
Extended Memory................................................................ 160
Video Adapter ...................................................................... 160
Coprocessor.......................................................................... 160
MICRO-SCOPE 12
xv
CMOS DISPLAY ............................................................... 161
COMPARE FEATURES TEST ....................................... 162
CHAPTER 9. DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS ............. 165
SYSTEM BOARD ERRORS ............................................ 165
CPU Tests ............................................................................ 165
NPU Tests ............................................................................ 166
RTC Errors ........................................................................... 166
CTC Errors ........................................................................... 166
DMA Errors ......................................................................... 167
Keyboard Controller Errors.................................................. 167
Interrupt Controller Errors ................................................... 167
APM Errors .......................................................................... 167
MEMORY TESTS ............................................................. 168
Base Memory Tests.............................................................. 168
Cache Memory..................................................................... 169
Expanded Memory ............................................................... 169
Extended Memory................................................................ 170
FLOPPY ERROR CODES ............................................... 172
FIXED DISK ERROR CODES ........................................ 176
CD-ROM ERROR CODES............................................... 180
PRINTER CODES ............................................................. 182
SERIAL TESTS ................................................................. 182
UART Errors........................................................................ 182
TABLE OF CONTENTS
xvi
Line Status Errors................................................................. 182
Misc. Serial Test Errors ....................................................... 184
Modem Status Errors ........................................................... 184
MODEM CONNECT TESTS ........................................... 185
Modem Test ......................................................................... 186
Line Test .............................................................................. 187
On-line Tests ........................................................................ 187
PARALLEL PORT TESTS .............................................. 188
Signal Status......................................................................... 188
Function Tests ...................................................................... 189
NETWORK CARD TESTS .............................................. 190
USB CONTROLLER TESTS ........................................... 191
VIDEO TESTS ................................................................... 192
APPENDIX A ................................................................. 195
WARRANTY...................................................................... 195
LICENSE AGREEMENT ................................................. 196
Contact Micro 2000, Inc. ..................................................... 198
MICRO-SCOPE 12
xvii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
xviii
1
Introduction
Congratulations for choosing Micro-Scope Version 12. This diagnostic is designed for professional-level trouble-shooting of IBM-type personal computers, and has been the choice of technicians worldwide since the first version was introduced several years ago. Although the program is very intuitive and user-friendly, we strongly suggest studying this manual to be sure no useful features are overlooked. This will provide a much improved understanding of how to best use Micro-Scope, and who knows, it might even add to one’s understanding of Personal Computers.
About Micro 2000 Inc.
Formed in September 1990, Micro 2000 Inc. was chartered to provide the personal computer industry with professional-quality diagnostic tools, which were virtually non-existent at the time for that segment of the computer industry.
As the “personal” computer evolved into the powerful machines of today and became an indispensable fixture in the corporate world, Micro2000 has maintained its position of industry leadership through award-winning technical support and by staying consistently on the cutting edge throughout the rapid advances in PC technology.
Meanwhile, our basic philosophy has not changed at all. Whether it is diagnostics, network administration tools or educational and certification courses, our goal has always
MICRO-SCOPE MANUAL
2
been to provide our customers with the best state-of-the-art products of their kind available in the world, and always at an affordable price.
About Micro-Scope
Virtually all application programs for the PC are written to run under one of the popular operating systems, most often either DOS or one of the versions of Microsoft Windows. The operating system handles all of the interfacing with the hardware, transferring data on and off the disk, into and out of memory etc.
This frees the application (and the user) to concentrate on the tasks that are specific to that application and avoids duplication of the most basic functions from one application to the next. However, when attempting to diagnose the hardware, the buffer provided by the operating system actually becomes a handicap, making it impossible for an application to directly access the various peripherals and motherboard components.
The way that we solved this problem with Micro-Scope was to write a bootable operating system that specifically allowed direct control of the hardware, and to include this operating system as an integral part of the diagnostic software. This way, the operating system and the application are focused together on the same task, which is to provide you with the most precise control and most accurate information about the state of the PC’s hardware.
INTRODUCTION
3
An additional benefit of our own bootable operating system on the diskette is that the diagnostic routines can be used on any PC with a CD-ROM drive as a boot device, regardless of the installed operating system. The same comprehensive tool can be used on systems running Windows, DOS, Linux, UNIX, OS/2 and others.
This approach of mating an operating system to a complete suite of diagnostic routines had been widely accepted with mainframe computers, but had never been successfully done with personal computers until Micro-Scope was released in 1991. The result was that Micro-Scope immediately became the best-selling diagnostic software package for PCs, and (frequently upgraded) has remained in this position ever since.
MICRO-SCOPE MANUAL
4
5
Chapter 1 STARTING MICRO-SCOPE
Please read this chapter before running Micro-Scope the first time.
The first section describes the documentation contained on the CD, and how to access it. The second section gives the various options for loading and running the Micro-Scope software.
A. On-Line Documentation
With the system booted up to its resident operating system, insert the CD. If the system features Autoplay, the Attention screen shown on the previous page will appear automatically. If Autoplay is not featured, locate and double-click the autoplay.exe file on the CD.
CHAPTER 1
6
SCREEN – ATTENTION
The Micro-Scope software is intended to be used while booted to its own operating system, and the screen above is a reminder to anyone attempting to run it under Windows. The screen will also appear while accessing the on-line documentation.
The information in the README.TXT file is already described in this chapter of the manual. Since you are reading the manual, README.TXT can be ignored.
To access the rest of the documentation on the CD, click Next to bring up the Autoplay Menu screen shown on the following page.
STARTING MICRO-SCOPE
7
SCREEN – AUTOPLAY MENU
The right-hand side of the screen lists the documentation options available on the CD. Click on any selection from this menu to bring up the corresponding content.
Tutorial Video – This is the Toolkit Tutorial for using the Micro-Scope software and the Universal Post-Probe card. The video run time is approximately one hour and requires a video player, such as RealPlayer or Windows Media Player, that can use the .mpg format.
If you are a new user of the Micro-Scope software, the video provides an excellent overview of the program’s many features, and tips on when to use them.
CHAPTER 1
8
Product Manual – A duplicate of the hard-copy manual is included in PDF format on the CD. This is a handy field reference in case the hard-copy manual gets left at home. The CD also contains a copy of Acrobat Reader.
RemoteScope Demo – The CD contains a free 5-seat copy of the powerful network management and remote control program called RemoteScope. If your duties include network administration, give it a try and see how much easier your job can be.
Other Products From Micro 2000 – Open this menu item to learn about other products relating to computers or computer training.
Website – Provides a one-click link for access to the Home page of Micro 2000’s website.
STARTING MICRO-SCOPE
9
B. Loading the Micro-Scope Software
For the full version of Micro-Scope on CD, no installation procedure is required before running the software on any PC with a bootable CD-ROM. Simply put the CD disc in the CD-ROM drive and turn on the computer. Micro 2000’s proprietary operating system on the disc includes a boot-load routine, which will bring up the system with that operating system in control.
Most brand-name systems sold in the last 5 years will have a bootable CD-ROM drive, but this feature sometimes must be enabled in CMOS, as described below.
CMOS SETUP
Changes to the CMOS are made through the CMOS Setup program, also called the BIOS Configuration program. This program can be entered by pressing the correct key during system bootup. The right key will vary from one system to the next, but is usually named in an onscreen prompt.
Once in the setup program, locate the menu items that set the boot priorities or sequence, and make sure that the CD-ROM drive has a higher boot priority than the C drive. Normally the CD-ROM will be 2nd, after the floppy drive, and the C: drive will be third.
Note: If using the Limited Edition version on floppy diskette, or if the system requires a floppy because the CD-ROM is not bootable, see the appropriate sections later in this chapter.
CHAPTER 1
10
Boot Selection Menu
When Micro-Scope boots up, it will first present the screen shown below.
MICRO 2000.…...……..MICRODOS Ver 4.f.…….……..MICRO 2000
Option 0 – Errors in Base Memory will often prevent a diagnostic program or operating system from loading.
This option provides a way to pinpoint fatal errors in base memory by loading a compact memory test routine that takes up only 2 KB of RAM and performs a basic test on the remainder of the base memory.
Option 1 – This is the normal choice when loading Micro-Scope. As the program loads, it will do a thorough inventory and analysis of the system hardware. If the program halts during the loading process, it could be because there is
– – Boot Selection Menu – –
Press <0> for Base Memory Test Press <1> for Micro-Scope Ver. 12.00 Press <2> for MS Configuration/Utility Press <3> for MS Batch/Testing Program Press <4> for MakeCopy Utility Version 4.0
STARTING MICRO-SCOPE
11
insufficient memory (Micro-Scope requires 512 KB) or an error occurred at the address shown on the screen. If this happens, use Option 0.
Once the memory has been checked, the Title Screen shown on the next page will be displayed as the system peripherals are sampled. The amount of time this takes will depend on the speed of your system. Please be patient and don’t touch the keyboard while the bottom of the screen displays the line saying “Please Wait While Analyzing”, except for the M key which must be pressed at this time if you wish to use the mouse for navigation. When the sampling process is complete, the program will progress to the main menu, covered in Chapters 2-6.
Option 2 – Loading the entire Micro-Scope program requires the use of overlays that are brought into RAM on an as-needed basis. This requires that the CD remain in the drive while the program is in use.
Options 2 and 3 eliminate the use of overlays by loading only certain portions of the program. This allows the CD to be removed, which is an advantage when working on multiple systems. To further save space in conventional memory, Options 2 and 3 are run in Text mode.
Option 2 will load the items that are accessed through the System Configuration menu and Utility menu. The items available on these menus are described in Chapter 2 and Chapter 5, respectively.
CHAPTER 1
12
TITLE SCREEN
Option 3 – As with Option 2, this loads a smaller portion of the program so that the CD can be removed for testing additional machines. Option 3 loads those items that are accessed through the Batch menu and Diagnostic menu. These are covered in Chapters 3 and 4, respectively.
Option 4 – This provides access to the routine used to make copies of the CD onto a floppy diskette. The copying procedure is covered later in this chapter.
STARTING MICRO-SCOPE
13
Full Version vs. Limited Edition
Micro-Scope comes in two versions, the full professional version and the Limited Edition. The full version comes on a bootable CD and is the tool favored by most professional PC technicians. The Limited Edition is an introductory version on a floppy diskette, and is included in many educational courses. Both of these versions have the same diagnostic routines, with a few minor exceptions which are discussed at the appropriate points in the text.
The full version CD can be used an unlimited number of times, and allows backup copies to be made on floppy diskette. The Limited Edition only allows the software to be loaded and run a specified number of times, and does not allow copies. Also, the Limited Edition must be registered, as described below.
Registration
The very first time the Micro-Scope Limited Edition diskette is loaded, it will stop on the Title Screen to allow for registration of the diskette, rather than going on to the main menu. Once the “Please Wait While Analyzing” prompt has gone away, the cursor will move to the registration line. Type in your name (or the company name, whoever is going to be the registered licensee for the diskette) using alphanumeric characters (no punctuation), and press Enter. The program will go to the main menu.
Once registered, each time the diskette is loaded it will briefly display the Title Screen with your registered name, and will then progress to the main menu automatically.
CHAPTER 1
14
C: Making Backups
If you have the full version of the program and wish to use it in a system that does not have a bootable CD-ROM, you can make a backup copy of the program on a floppy diskette for this purpose.
Backups must be made using the proprietary backup routine included on the diskette. Copying the software with other disk-copy or imaging programs is a violation of the licensing agreement and in most cases will result in an unusable copy.
To create a copy of the Micro-Scope program on a bootable floppy diskette:
1. First locate a PC with a bootable CD-ROM. Most brand-name PCs sold in the last 3-5 years should qualify. Put the CD in the bootable CD-ROM drive and reboot the system.
2. At the Boot Selection Menu, press the 4 key to load
the MakeCopy utility program.
3. Use the Selection menu to choose the destination drive and media. Usually this will be Drive A and 1.44MB 3.5" for media. Put a formatted diskette in the selected drive.
4. Go to the Make Backup menu, and follow the
prompts to copy the Micro-Scope program to the diskette.
5. When complete, remove the diskette and label it per
the terms of the Licensing Agreement, found in the
STARTING MICRO-SCOPE
15
product manual and on the software envelope that contained the CD.
6. To use the floppy version, insert the diskette in a PC's
A drive and reboot the PC. Due to the space limitation of 1.44 MB, the floppy version will not have all of the bootup options listed on page 10, only the Base Memory test (Option 0) and the full Micro-Scope program (Option 1) will be available. Because Option 1 uses overlays, it is necessary that the floppy diskette remain in the drive while using the program. Also, the floppy will run in text mode, which is functionally identical but without the colorful background.
D. MISCELLANEOUS
Upgrading
Major upgrades of the Micro-Scope are usually issued each year prior to the November COMDEX show. These are available for a nominal fee to Micro-Scope licensees in good standing. We recommend staying with the latest upgrade, in order to keep up with the rapid pace of change in PC hardware design. In addition, throughout the year we may occasionally post patches and minor product improvements to our website at micro2000.com. These can be downloaded at no cost to update any floppy backup copies.
Look in the Tech Support section of the web site for the latest downloads, and be sure to note the installation instructions posted there for each particular upgrade.
CHAPTER 1
16
Running under DOS or Windows
Micro-Scope is designed for the highest degree of accuracy when the system is booted to the Micro2000 operating system. It is possible to run the MS.EXE file from the command line in DOS, Windows 9x or ME (although not in NT, 2000 or XP), but this can lead to inaccurate results on certain tests and benchmarks due to the masking effects of those operating systems.
However, the tests for some hardware devices require the software drivers for those devices to be loaded. Examples are expanded memory and certain high-end sound cards.
If Micro-Scope does not report a device that you know is installed, this indicates that the device driver needs to be loaded.
If the device drivers are specified in AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS, they can be loaded by booting to DOS or to the Windows option COMMAND LINE ONLY. Then insert the Micro-Scope diskette and type a:ms at the command prompt. This is preferable to running in an MSDOS window within the Windows OS because DOS will cause less interference to the diagnostic than Windows does.
However, if necessary you can boot to Windows and start Micro-Scope with the Windows RUN command or by locating and double-clicking the ms.exe file on the diskette. Windows Safe Mode will load the basic Mouse and Video drivers, and is preferable to the full Windows boot if these are the only drivers needed.
If Micro-Scope is opened under Windows, it will bypass the Boot Selection Menu and go straight to the Main Menu screen.
STARTING MICRO-SCOPE
17
Warning: Before using a diskette copy of Micro-Scope under DOS or Windows, it must be Write Protected by using the slider to open the square hole in one corner of the diskette. Using the Micro-Scope diskette under Windows without write-protection can render the diskette unusable, and void the warranty.
Warm Boot
There also may be times when it is beneficial to run under Micro-Scope’s own OS, but with hardware in the same state it was initialized to by the resident OS. This can be accomplished with the procedure known as a warm boot.
1. Boot to DOS or Windows.
2. Insert the Micro-Scope diskette into the A: drive.
3. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL (DOS) or choose Restart from the Windows shutdown menu.
Help
Micro-Scope contains context-sensitive help. Wherever you are in the program, pressing the <F1> key will bring up a screen with information about that portion of the program. Pressing the Escape key will take you out of the Help screen and back into the program at the same point you left it.
The further you go down the menu tree or into one of the information or test set-up screens, the more specific will be the Help information that you see. If the information is too specific, return to the program and use the Escape key to back up a step or two. Then press F1 again and see if the Help data at that step is more pertinent.
CHAPTER 1
18
Navigation
All selections within Micro-Scope are made from the Main Menu or one of the sub-menus. The Main Menu is the starting point and has 5 choices:
System Configuration Batch Menu Diagnostics Utilities Quit
If Option 2 was selected during bootup, the Batch and Diagnostics choices will be missing, and if Option 3 was selected, System Configuration and Utilities will be gone.
Each of these menu items has its own submenu, covered in its own chapter in the manual.
Moving around the screens is done with the Arrow keys, or with the mouse if the M key was pressed during startup. One item (only one item) will be highlighted at any time.
Menus have gray backgrounds with black text, within the Micro-Scope program itself (i.e. not the Autoplay or Boot Selection menus). The highlighted item will be shown in white text with a black border. However, in this manual the tonal values of most screens have been altered for clarity.
The highlighted item is selected by a mouse left-click or by pressing the Enter key. This will open up a submenu, start the selected item (either a test or an information screen), or open a data entry window for that item.
Items with submenus will have an arrowhead pointing to the right.
STARTING MICRO-SCOPE
19
SCREEN – MAIN MENU
Press the Escape key to exit the selection and return to the next higher level in the menu hierarchy.
In cases where the item consists of a series of screens (such as System Information), moving from one screen to another is done with the Page UP and Page DN keys. Across the bottom of the screen, a prompt will remind you of which keys will do what.
Data Entry screens may require Y/N or other alphanumeric data to be entered into boxes. In a few instances, values in a screen can be toggled or incremented by using the Plus and Minus keys. These will be mentioned in the appropriate sections.
CHAPTER 1
20
21
Chapter 2 SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
SCREEN - SYSTEM CONFIGURATION MENU The System Configuration section of Micro-Scope and its sub-menus provide access to complete information about the System Settings, CPU and NPU, ROMs, IRQs, Hard Drive Partitions, CMOS, POS Registers and System Peripherals. The wealth of information displayed is determined from POST, CMOS, and a series of routines run by Micro-Scope on the specific devices, and is vital for troubleshooting,
CHAPTER 2
22
upgrading or just for a thorough understanding of your computer system.
In this section the program allows editing of information in the standard areas of CMOS and in the partition areas on the fixed disks.
A. Compare Settings
This display is split into three sections.
The middle section displays information on those devices listed on the left. This information was detected by the BIOS during POST, and in some instances, determined by Micro-Scope upon loading the software.
The right side of the window shows the current CMOS setting.
This information is used to determine if the current setting matches the detected hardware. Incorrect settings for a device may be the cause of a system failure.
If an asterisk (*) appears after the information displayed on the left side of the screen, then there is a mismatch between detected hardware and the CMOS or switch settings.
If a device is failing it may not be detected even though it is set in the CMOS or switches, and therefore would not show up in this window. Running the appropriate diagnostic test will verify the failure.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
23
SCREEN - COMPARE SETTINGS
Device Settings Compared
Here is a list of the devices that will be displayed if they are detected:
Math Co-Processor – The left side of the screen will display the type of NPU detected by Micro-Scope. The right side of the screen will show installed or not installed. If an NPU is displayed on the left side of the screen and an asterisk appears beside it, the NPU is not set in CMOS and will not be used by many software programs. If an NPU is
CHAPTER 2
24
present and is not displayed on the left side of the screen, the NPU is failing.
Floppy Drives – The left side of the screen displays the number of floppy drives detected by the BIOS during POST. The right side of the screen shows the CMOS setting for the first two drives, or number of floppy drives set in the XT switches.
Fixed Disks – The left side of the screen displays the number, not type, of fixed disks detected by POST and Micro-Scope. The right side of the screen shows the CMOS type for the first two drives. An asterisk may be an incorrect CMOS setting or a drive or controller failure.
Video Adapter – The left side of the screen displays the type of video adapter (MDA, HGA, CGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA, and VGAs with extended modes such as SVGA and XGA).
The maximum mode supported is also displayed after the type of adapter. The right side of the screen displays the current setting for the video. If the video displayed on the left side of the screen is a VGA or above, the right side should show EGA/VGA.
Base Memory – The left side of the screen displays the amount of Base Memory detected by POST from 0k to 640k. If the two sides of the screen do not match, the memory may be failing, or is reserved by a device or software program. It should be noted that boot viruses such as Stoned, or Michelangelo commonly use 2k of base memory.
Extended Memory – The left side of the screen displays the amount of Extended Memory detected by POST from 1 megabyte on. An asterisk is usually indicative of a bad RAM chip. The extended memory test will verify the failure.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
25
B. System Information
SYSTEM INFORMATION SCREEN #1
The System Information windows provide an overview of the system. The information is separated into three screens containing systemboard information, processors and bus information, floppy drive, fixed disk and miscellaneous hardware information. The information comes from POST, CMOS, device drivers and a series of routines run by Micro-Scope. Use PgUp and PgDn to alternate between the three screens. Following is a description of the information displayed.
CHAPTER 2
26
System Board Information
System Type – The IBM or equivalent IBM system type will be displayed at the top of the window, such as "PSII model 95" or "IBM AT". The manufacturer will be displayed where possible.
BIOS Name – The section displays the name of the BIOS manufacturer.
BIOS Date – The section displays the date the BIOS revision was released. Some manufacturers have made changes to their BIOS without issuing a new version number, so date information is sometimes crucial. Additional BIOS information will be located in memory at segment F000 and can be accessed using the Memory Display Utility described in Section IV of this manual. The data will be found in the ASCII field in the right-hand side of that display.
BIOS MSR – The BIOS Model, Submodel and Revision is displayed in this section. This information is vital for upgrading system ROMs.
DMI Version – This gives the DMI version being used to collect system information. More information on this feature will be found under the DMI Information menu item, described later in this chapter.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
27
Processor and BUS Information
CPU – Displays Basic CPU type (for example: 80486, Pentium II, Pentium IV, Celeron, AMD K6-3, AMD Athlon). If possible the diagnostic will determine the manufacturer and revision of the CPU. This is dependent on the CPU. With multiple processors, the entry will show the quantity (up to 4) but will display the CPU type only once.
CPU Speed – Displays the speed of the CPU installed in the system. The speed displayed is based on the results of an ID routine performed by Micro-Scope upon boot-up, and is different than the Benchmark done under System Board Diagnostic and Batch tests. If the turbo switch is off, or there is an incorrect setting in the extended CMOS, the speed of the system will be affected and the CPU will run slower than its rated speed. If the system is configured correctly, the CPU speed displayed should match its rated speed.
NPU – Displays the type of NPU installed in the system. INTERNAL means the NPU is contained within the CPU.
BUS Type – The BUS types present in the system will be displayed. These will include ISA, EISA, MCA, PCI, USB and PCMCIA. Video (VLB) and VESA LB are not displayed since they are merely an extension of the CPU internal or (local) BUS.
System Speed – The speed of the system bus is displayed. Except for some older systems where the bus and CPU speed are equal, , the CPU speed will be a multiple of this figure.
CHAPTER 2
28
Memory Information
Base Memory – This section displays the amount of Base memory detected by POST.
Extended Memory – Displays the amount of Extended Memory detected by Micro-Scope. Memory must be continuous. Some memory managers create a memory "hole", and Micro-Scope will not report that portion of memory above the hole. However, that memory can still be selected for testing by the diagnostic.
Expanded Memory – This section displays the amount of expanded memory reported by the expanded memory driver. If expanded memory is present and drivers are loaded, the page frame used by the expanded memory driver will be displayed. If drivers are not loaded, the display will report "Not Active".
Video Information
Video BIOS – This displays the name of the BIOS ROM chip on the video adapter. If available, the number and revision of the video chipset will also be shown.
Video Memory – This section displays the amount of video memory detected by Micro-Scope. Some video cards do not have full access to their video memory without the aid of a VESA driver (e.g. some ATI cards).
Video Maximum Mode – This displays the maximum mode for the video adapter. This information is determined by
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
29
Micro-Scope at boot-up. Micro-Scope is designed to detect and test up to 64 megabytes of video memory.
Display – Displays the type of video monitor - Analog Monochrome, Analog Color, Digital Monochrome, Digital Color, STN, TFT, Internal or External for laptop displays.
AGP Bus Version – If the system has AGP capability, this gives the version of bus used for the AGP, and its speed.
SYSTEM INFORMATION SCREEN #2
CHAPTER 2
30
Floppy Drive Information
This section will display the type (i.e. 1.44M, 2.88M) of floppy drives installed in the system. Micro-Scope is designed to detect and test up to four floppy drives.
The drives are designated Drive 0 through Drive 3. This is the actual system terminology for the drives, although they are referred to as A:, B: etc. by most operating systems for the convenience of the users.
Fixed Disk Information
This section displays the type, model (if applicable), parameters, speed, and size of up to three fixed disks. Detailed information for up to seven fixed disks is available in the fixed disk tests.
IDE Information
Up to four IDE devices can be shown, which may overlap with the drives shown in the section just above.
SCSI Information
This Section reports up to 16 SCSI devices. Be aware that Windows and some RAID systems may identify IDE devices as SCSI.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
31
SYSTEM INFORMATION SCREEN #3
CD ROM
This section displays if a CD ROM is present in the system. Micro-Scope will identify IDE and SCSI devices, but some proprietary devices will not be detected unless their drivers are loaded.
Port Information
Serial Ports – Displays the number and the I/O address of all serial devices found by POST. It should be noted that some operating systems will change the values determined by POST in order to control the serial port access.
CHAPTER 2
32
Parallel Ports – Displays the number and the I/O address of parallel ports found by POST. It should be noted that some operating systems will change the POST values in order to control access to the ports.
Miscellaneous Information
Keyboard – This section displays the type of keyboard installed in the system. This will state standard or enhanced.
Network Card – Shows the network card installed. If no network card is installed, it will display None.
Sound Card – This section displays the type of sound cards detected by Micro-Scope. This will state "SoundBlaster", etc. if the appropriate sound card is present. If no sound card is detected, this will display None.
Firewire – If a Firewire serial bus is installed, it will show the I/O address and IRQ being used by the Firewire controller.
DOS Version – If the system was booted to DOS, this gives the version of DOS present on the system. If the system was booted to the Micro-Scope OS (called MicroDOS), it will display the floppy’s MicroDOS version.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
33
C. DMI Information
DMI INFORMATION SCREEN #2
DMI stands for Desktop Management Interface, which is a standard method of collecting and presenting information in systems that are configured to allow it. The amount and accuracy of the information depends on the manufacturer and system integrator and so will vary from one system to the next.
Any information available will be presented in three screens, which can be cycled through using the PgUp and PgDn keys.
CHAPTER 2
34
D. Hard Disk Parameters
SCREEN - HARD DISK PARAMETERS
Older BIOS versions can only interface with drives up to 528MB in capacity. For larger IDE drives, the drive controller will translate the cylinder, head and sector information, in a scheme known as Logical Block Addressing (LBA). Microscope can report the information either way. To see the BIOS data, press <B>,and press <L> for the LBA format. The default is LBA when the diagnostic is first loaded.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
35
E. IDE Information
SCREEN - IDE IDENTIFICATION
There can be up to four IDE devices on the system. Initially, the screen will show the parameters for the Primary Master device. To see the others one at a time, select Primary Slave, Secondary Master or Secondary Slave.
If there is no device in the selected position, the screen will report 'NO DEVICE ATTACHED', as shown in the screen shot above. This will also occur if the program is running under Windows rather than booted to its own OS, because Windows will mask the fact that the device is IDE.
CHAPTER 2
36
F. SCSI Information
SCREEN – SCSI INFORMATION
This section displays all SCSI devices installed in the system., of which there can be up to 16. The number of each SCSI device is listed as well as what type of device it is. Pressing the D key and then the number of a device will bring up a screen of additional details about that device.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
37
G. Plug-N-Play
The Plug-N-Play screen shows the identification, type and attributes for all plug-and-play devices installed. Pressing the D key and entering a device number will bring up a screen of detailed information about that Plug-and-Play device.
SCREEN – PLUG-N-PLAY INFORMATION
CHAPTER 2
38
SCREEN – PLUG-N-PLAY DETAIL
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
39
H. PCI Information
SCREEN – PCI INFORMATION
This screen shows the identification, address and IRQ for each card installed in the PCI bus. Three lines are used for each device, with 5 devices showing at a time. Pressing any key will scroll down to display additional devices.
From left to right, the top line gives the bus slot number, the device and class/subclass numbers (supplied by the manufacturer), and the device name and sub-name.
The second line shows the IRQ used by that device, and the beginning address of up to three ROM address ranges used
CHAPTER 2
40
by the device. Any address range not being used will show as all zeroes.
I. USB Information
SCREEN – USB INFORMATION
This screen displays information about the USB Host Controllers installed in the system.
From left to right, the right-hand window lists: the Bus #, I/O address, vendor ID, device number, and manufacturer.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
41
J. Active ROM Search
SCREEN – ACTIVE ROM SEARCH
This window displays adapters with an active ROM BIOS.
Adapter ROMs function as extensions to the main BIOS interrupt support but are physically located on the adapter or controller. Adapters and controllers with ROM will occupy memory addresses from C0000 to DFFFF in IBM systems and up to EFFFF in compatible systems.
CHAPTER 2
42
Beginning and Ending Address
ROMs start with a signature of 55AA in memory. The Active ROM Search looks for this signature in 16 byte increments, displays the segment where the signature is found, reads offset 2 from the beginning of the segment in order to determine the length of the ROM, and displays the ending offset of the ROM.
When installing adapters it is important to determine where the existing ROM BIOS extensions are located so that address conflicts in memory can be avoided. Most adapters have provisions for alternate addressing.
ROM Identified
As well as listing the address, the Active ROM Search will attempt to identify the ROM. If it cannot, use the Memory Display Utility (described in Section IV) and enter the beginning segment. Information about the ROM will be listed in the ASCII field on the right side of the Memory Display screen.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
43
K. Device Assignments
This window will display information on the serial ports, parallel ports, hardware modems (but not WinModems), mice, LANs, CD ROMs, sound cards and SCSI adapters installed in the system. The information displayed for each device is the IRQ usage, current IRQ status, DMA usage, I/O port usage, Device name and the Memory vector (pointer to the interrupt service routine for the IRQ). Please note that IRQ2 is reserved for the slave Interrupt Controller, and any device assigned to IRQ2 will be re-routed and actually appear as IRQ 9.
SCREEN – DEVICE ASSIGNMENTS
CHAPTER 2
44
The Device Assignment window provides the information to determine hardware conflicts that exist in a system, determine the correct setup for software drivers, and for installing new adapters in a system.
Press C (Check Interrupts) – This runs a series of routines to determine the device assignments. These Check Interrupt routines will actually cause each device to generate an interrupt and access a DMA channel in the same way the device normally operates. If a device has not been incorporated into the test, the system may lock up. If this occurs, please inform tech support so the device may be incorporated into the next version of the diagnostic. Pressing C will find serial ports, parallel ports, modems, LANs, mice, sound cards and CD ROMs.
Press U (User Defined) – Pressing C will find all devices incorporated into Micro-Scope. The User Defined is used after the Check IRQ in order to toggle a specific I/O port. This should be performed before installing an adapter at the I/O port to ensure no other device is using the I/O port.
This will not affect the screen if the I/O port is not in use. However, Micro-Scope may lock up if the port is used by a non-standard device.
Screen Layout for Device Assignments
IRQ – IRQs 0 through 15 are displayed on the left of the screen. The interrupt priority for a system with one 8259 PIC chip is IRQ 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. The interrupt
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
45
priority for a system with two 8259 PICs is IRQ 0, 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. The second 8259 PIC (IRQs 8 through 15) is cascaded to IRQ 2 of the first 8259 PIC. IRQ 2 controls IRQs 8 through 15. If a device is set to IRQ 2 it will be redirected to IRQ 9. This allows 2 to remain open for servicing IRQs 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15. NOTE: When a device driver is loaded it may, depending on the driver, enable an IRQ. LAN adapter drivers enable an IRQ when loaded. Bus mouse drivers enable one, and in some cases two, IRQs (IRQ 3 and IRQ 4). This last case would cause a conflict if another device was using the second IRQ that was enabled. Other device drivers will only enable the IRQ when the device is in actual use.
Status – The Status column displays the disabled or enabled state of the interrupt masked register (IMR) in the 8259 PIC. Devices which periodically request an interrupt will keep the IMR for the designated IRQ enabled (Timer, Keyboard, Cascades, Floppy, Coprocessor and Fixed Disks). IRQs not in use or IRQs which have devices that do not enable the IRQ until the device is in actual use will display Disabled.
I/O Port – This displays the I/O port address assigned to each device. When applications, device drivers or the O/S need to access a device they send a command to the I/O port for that device.
NOTE: Only standard I/O ports are checked for serial, parallel and LAN devices. If one of these devices uses a non-standard I/O port, toggle the non-standard I/O port with the
CHAPTER 2
46
User Defined option and the IRQ that the device uses will then be displayed.
Devices – The Devices column initially displays the dedicated IRQ devices (Timer, Keyboard, IRQ 2 Cascade, Floppy, RTC, IRQ 9 Cascade, Coprocessor, Fixed Disk). These IRQs cannot be used for anything else even if the devices are not installed, except for IRQ 9. If a device is set to use IRQ 2 the device will be redirected to IRQ 9 on AT systems. Pressing C will update the column with all devices that respond (a maximum of 3 devices can be displayed per IRQ). An IRQ conflict will happen if two or more devices attempt to use the same IRQ.
Memory Vector – The IRQ VECTOR column will display the memory vector that the 8259 PIC sends to the CPU. The CPU uses the memory vector as a pointer to the ISR. The only memory vectors displayed while booted under Micro-Scope will be from the BIOS or from an adapter with ROM that substitutes its own memory vector. Operating Systems, device drivers and software programs will also substitute memory vectors. Load Micro-Scope under the Operating System with all device drivers and software programs loaded to display the new memory vectors.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
47
L. Partition Table
A PC can have four physical drives (maybe more by the time you read this). Each drive can have up to four physical partitions (0, 1, 2 and 3). The master boot record is the first partition and points to three additional partitions. Each partition contains a single operating system. DOS 3.3 and earlier versions only have two partitions (0 and 1). Physical partitions can be broken down even further by the operating system into logical partitions. Only physical partitions are displayed.
Master Partition Boot Sector
The BIOS loads the master partition boot sector to memory address 0000:7C00 from the hard drive. The master partition boot sector contains the master boot loader (see Chapter 5, Section F: Rebuild Master Boot) and master boot record.
The master boot record starts at cylinder 0, head 0, sector 1, offset 01BE. This area contains four 16 byte entries. The first entry is the first partition table. The second, third and fourth entries point to additional partition boot sectors. The master boot record ends with a 55AA signature byte. The BIOS will not execute the sector program if it does not find the 55AA at offset 01FE. The master boot record window displays the drive number (0 or 1), partition number (0, 1, 2 or 3), the four 16 byte entries and the 55AA signature byte. A 16 byte entry can be broken down into ten separate parts.
CHAPTER 2
48
SCREEN – MASTER BOOT RECORD DISPLAY/EDIT
Partition Status (byte) – Indicates the bootable (80) or non-bootable (00) status of the partition.
Starting Head (byte) – Indicates which head on the drive that the physical partition begins.
Starting Sector (6 bits) – Indicates which sector on the drive that the physical partition begins.
Starting Cylinder (10 bits) – Indicates which cylinder on the drive that the physical partition begins.
Partition Type (byte) – Indicates the type of operating system for that physical partition, and also whether it uses a 16-bit or 32-bit FAT (File Allocation Table).
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
49
Ending Head (byte) – Indicates which head on the drive that the partition ends.
Ending Sector (6 bits) – Indicates which sector on the drive that the physical partition ends.
Ending Cylinder (10 bits) – Indicates which cylinder on the drive that the physical partition ends.
Start Absolute Sector (double word) – Indicates the number of sectors from the beginning of the drive to the physical partition.
Total Number of Sectors (double word) – Indicates the number of sectors from the beginning of the physical partition to the end of the physical partition.
Volume Boot Signature – This should read 55AA on any bootable partition. Press D to select the physical drive. Press the + or - key to change the drive number. Press enter to execute.
Press P to select the partition and display the PARTITION TABLE screen (see following section). Press the + or -key to change the partition number. Press enter to execute.
Press E to edit the master boot record. Cursor to area to be changed. Press + or - to change the boot indicator or system indicator. Type in numbers for all others. Press W to write the new master boot record over the old master boot record on the drive. WARNING: Improper changes to the master boot record can make the drive unaccessible.
CHAPTER 2
50
Partition/Volume Boot Sector A partition on a hard drive must have a partition boot sector followed one head later by a volume boot sector. If either of these areas are corrupted the partition will not be accessible. These areas can be corrected but first you must understand what a partition boot sector and volume boot sector contain.
The master partition boot sector is also the first partition boot sector. This sector contains the bootloader, first partition table, pointers to additional partition boot sectors and a 55AA boot signature.
Additional partition boot sectors contain a partition table, pointers to logical partitions and a boot signature.
A volume boot sector is located exactly one head (track) after a partition boot sector. A DOS volume boot sector contains a program, a disk parameter block and the 55AA boot signature. The program will attempt to load IBMDOS.BIOS and IBMDOS.COM. The disk parameter block allows DOS to read and verify the capacity of the disk volume as well as the locations of the two FATs. The 55AA boot signature ends the volume boot sector.
In the Master Boot Record screen, pressing “P” will cause the display to shift to the Partition Table for a single partition, and also show details of the Volume Boot Sector for that partition. The amount and arrangement of these details will vary depending on whether the partition uses FAT 16 or FAT 32. The first entries below apply to both FAT 16 and 32, followed by information for FAT 32 only.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
51
SCREEN – FAT16 PARTITION TABLE EDITOR
The drive number, partition number, OEM (original equipment manufacturer) name and DOS version will be displayed at the top of the window, just below the line that tells whether this is FAT 16 or FAT 32. Below that starting on the left are the listings for the Volume Boot Sector, followed by the Partition Table information carried over from the Master Boot Record screen.
Listings for FAT 16 and 32
Bytes per Sector – Indicates the number of bytes per sector. This value is normally 512. This value must be a power of 2.
Sectors per Cluster – Indicates the number of sectors per cluster. This value must be a power of 2.
CHAPTER 2
52
Reserved Sectors – Indicates the number of sectors reserved for the boot sector. This value is normally 1.
Number of Copies of FAT – Indicates the number of copies of FATs. This value is normally 2.
Max Root Dir. Entries – Indicates the maximum number of root directory entries. This value is normally 512.
Total Number of Sectors – Indicates the total number of sectors in the volume.
Media Descriptor Byte – Indicates the disk parameters. Bytes vary for floppy disk. Hard disk always use 0xF8.
Sectors per FAT – Indicates the number of sectors in each FAT.
Sectors per Track – Indicates the number of sectors on each track of the disk.
Number of Heads – Indicates the number of heads for the hard drive.
Number of Hidden Sectors – Indicates the total number of sectors that the partition boot sector uses and jumps over to reach the volume boot sector. This number is normally the same as sectors per track.
Volume Boot Signature – The volume boot sector must end with a 55AA volume boot signature.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
53
SCREEN – FAT 32 PARTITION TABLE EDITOR
Listings for FAT 32 Only
Sectors Per FAT – The number of sectors covered by each File Allocation Table.
Partition Flags – Bits 0-4 indicate the active FAT copy, and Bit 7 shows whether FAT mirroring is enabled.
Version of FAT 32 Drive – Four hex digits give the major and minor FAT version numbers.
Start Cluster Root Directory – This 4-digit hex number shows the Cluster Number of the start of the Root Directory.
CHAPTER 2
54
File System Info Sector – This is number of the sector containing the details of the file system.
Backup Boot Sector – FAT 32 contains a second Boot Sector as a backup. This gives the location of that backup.
Logical Drive – If the logical number of the drive is different than the physical number, it will appear here.
Extended Signature – This should be 29h.
Partition Serial Number – The serial# of the partition.
Volume Name – If the disk volume has been given a name, it will appear here. If not, this entry will state “No Name”.
FAT Name – The type of File Allocation Table will show here. Should be “FAT 32”.
Partition Editing Controls
Press D (physical drive) To select the physical drive, press the + or - key to change the drive, enter to execute change.
Press P (logical partition) to select the partition. Press the + or - key to change partition. Press enter to execute change.
Press E (edit) to edit the partition table and volume boot sector. Cursor to area to be changed. Press the +, -, or type in the numbers to be changed.
Press W (write) to write the new partition table and volume boot sector over the old partition table and volume boot sector onto the drive. Warning: Improper changes to the partition table and volume boot sector will make that partition inaccessible.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
55
M. CMOS Display/Edit
ATs, EISAs, MCAs, and upgraded XTs include a Real Time Clock with 64 bytes of CMOS RAM. The Real Time Clock keeps track of the time and date. The standard CMOS RAM area stores the Real Time Clock information, Real Time Clock status registers and System configuration information. A battery supplies power to the RTC/CMOS chip to maintain this information. ISA systems often include an extended CMOS area. Standard and Extended CMOS areas are accessed through port 0070h and 0071h. EISA and MCA systems have additional CMOS areas that require a reference disk. This function now allows setting of the date to include the digits for the year 2000.
SCREEN - DISPLAY/EDIT CMOS CONTENTS
CHAPTER 2
56
Display CMOS Contents
The Display CMOS Contents window will display the standard CMOS area. This is what CMOS is set to, not what is actually in the system. Six CMOS areas are displayed in this window.
Date and Time – Indicates the date and time stored by the Real Time Clock.
Diskette A and B – Indicates the number and media type of floppy drives set in CMOS.
HD 0 and 1 – Indicates the number and drive type of hard drives set in CMOS.
Base and Extended Memory – Indicates the amount of base and extended memory set in CMOS.
Video Adapter – Indicates the type of video adapter set in CMOS.
Coprocessor – Indicates the installed or not installed status of the Coprocessor in CMOS.
Edit CMOS Contents
To edit CMOS, use the arrow keys to highlight the selected information, and press the +, -, or number keys to change it. Press Enter to accept the changes, or Escape to exit without the changes. Although Micro-Scope will utilize the new values immediately, DOS will not use the updated information until the POST updates the hardware configuration equipment list during the next REBOOT.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
57
Press D (Display CMOS Bytes) to display the standard area of 64 bytes of CMOS memory.
The standard area of CMOS RAM in the RTC stores the values needed by the BIOS when accessing system peripherals. These values will cause problems if they are corrupted. Corruption of CMOS will occur if the battery loses power or there is a power surge.
N. Compare Features
This feature allows the comparison of the hardware configuration of any system with the information contained in a configuration comparison file, or template. In this manner, the hardware configuration of a newly assembled system can be quickly confirmed by a manufacturer. This also allows for verification of any returned systems.
Add System
Add System is used to create or add to a comparison file using the data from the System Information screens of the current system under test. A prompt will ask you if this data is correct. If it is, press Y. The next prompt gives a choice between Drive 0 and Drive 1. These correspond to the first and second floppy drives, A and B. You will then type in the file name, with the .BIN extension already provided. If the file does not exist, it will be created.
CHAPTER 2
58
The last step is to enter a model number. This must be a unique name that does not match any models previously entered in this configuration file.
If you need for some reason to create or use a file that is located on the hard drive, this can be done by running the Micro-Scope program under DOS or in Windows Safe Mode, rather than booting to the Micro-Scope OS. In this case instead of individual prompts you will see a text box in which to enter the drive, path and filename. You will then see the prompt for the model name.
Verify System
This function will compare the hardware configuration of the current system with a model stored in the previously created comparison file. Select the drive, and type in the file name. You will then see a list of all the models stored in that configuration file.
Select the model that corresponds to the system under test and press Enter. If an exact match is found between the current system and the configuration of the selected model, the routine will indicate a passed status. If a match is not found, errors will be displayed and logged which will indicate any discrepancies.
As with Add System, if booted to DOS or Windows it is possible to access a file on drives other than the floppies. As before, the entire drive, path and file name must be entered.
59
Chapter 3 BATCH MENU
SCREEN - BATCH MENU
The batch menu is designed for running multiple tests in a continuous or pass-bound mode. This option is useful for testing newly assembled systems and for diagnosing systems with intermittent errors.
The options are available to select specific tests to be performed, and to save the selected tests to a floppy disk.
CHAPTER 3
60
These selections can then be loaded again in order to facilitate specific batch test routines.
The option is available to create a report of the system tests that are run, and to save this report to a parallel printer or floppy disk.
A. Run All Tests
The RUN ALL test selection will perform all non-destructive and non-interactive test routines. This will test the following equipment if it is detected by the diagnostic. Systemboard, Cache Memory, Base Memory, Extended and/or Expanded Memory, Floppy Disk(s) Read and Write (Partial/Entire) Butterfly Seek, Fixed Disk(s) Read, Butterfly Seek and Controller tests, CD ROM Butterfly Seek and Read, Sound Card check, Internal Serial, Internal Parallel, and Video Memory test. Each of the tests are more fully explained in the Diagnostic Menu. Choose SELECT TESTS if destructive testing is required. A prompt will ask if you want to run Write or Partial tests, on both the floppy and hard drives. NOTE: A formatted disk is required in all floppy drives and a CD must be placed in the CD ROM drive for the Run All Tests option
THE BATCH MENU
61
All errors will be logged to the error log until the error log is full. The error log can hold up to 16 errors per test. If the Error Halt has been selected, additional errors for the test will be displayed on the screen.
Run Continuously
The Run Continuously Option will run all or selected tests up to 65535 times. This might take about a year on a 166mhz Pentium machine, if all tests were performed. The test can be aborted by pressing the escape key. This option is designed for burn-in testing of new systems, when it is desirable, to force heat-related problems to occur. Set Pass Count
The Set Pass Count option allows up to 65535 passes to be selected. The diagnostic will perform all tests or the preselected tests until the pass count is reached or the Escape key is pressed.
CHAPTER 3
62
B. Select Tests
SCREEN – SELECT TESTS
The Select Tests Menu allows selection of specific tests to be run. Non-destructive and destructive testing can be chosen from this menu. Destructive testing will write over selected media data. Formatted diskettes are required for floppy tests. Loopback plugs are required in order to perform external serial and parallel port tests. CD ROM disks are required for CD ROM tests. Errors will be logged to the error log. Press the space bar to toggle the checkmark for each test to be selected.
THE BATCH MENU
63
1) Load Batch Tests
This option will load a previously saved Batch file from a floppy diskette. This is designed for convenience of running specific tests in a batch mode. This option will ask for the floppy drive where the file to be loaded is stored. Once the drive is selected the prompt will ask for the name of the file to be loaded. If running under DOS, the complete path must be entered for the location where the file is stored. Once the file has been loaded the Run Selected tests option can be performed without further need of setup. 2) Save Batch Tests
This option allows any currently selected tests to be saved to a file on a floppy diskette. This file can then be loaded from the floppy disk at a future time. This is designed to expedite the setup of specific batch tests. This option will display a window to select the drive to save the file. Select a drive and press enter. A prompt will appear asking for the name of the file to be saved. The file name will be referred to by the Load Batch option. If running under DOS, the complete path must be entered for the location where the file is to be saved.
CHAPTER 3
64
Test Selection
SystemBoard Tests – The SystemBoard tests includes the CPU, NPU, DMA chips (8237), PIC chips (8259), PIT chips (8254), RTC chip (146818), 8042 chip and the speaker. If it is determined that 32 bit chips are present then the tests will be performed in 32 bit mode. Memory Tests – The Memory Tests allows the selection of the type of memory to be tested. Any tests available on a particular machine may be selected.
A. Base Memory Test starts testing the base memory directly above the end of the diagnostic program. If it is necessary to test the area in which the program is loaded use the Test Base Memory option before booting to Micro-Scope. B. Cache Memory will be tested if the particular machine has CACHE RAM present. This will test up to 256k of static RAM and tag RAM. C. Expanded Memory will test the ability of the expanded memory driver to page Extended Memory into Base Memory if an LIM 4.0 or compatible driver is installed. This test is not recommended for "burn in" of new or repaired systems since the extended memory test is more thorough. D. Extended Memory tests are performed in protected mode. It is necessary to boot the diagnostic from M2000 O/S or to DOS without loading memory drivers (himem.sys, EMM386.exe) in order for the test to function.
THE BATCH MENU
65
Floppy Tests – The Floppy Tests requires the selection of the floppy drives and the selected tests to be run. Format and Write tests will destroy all data on the diskette. The appropriate media type must be specified for the diskette on which the tests are to be performed. The selections are made by pressing the space bar and then pressing enter to go to the next option window. NOTE: Incorrect selection of the media will result in false errors being reported for the floppy tests. Fixed Disk Tests – The Fixed Disk Tests requires the selection of the fixed disk drives and the tests to be run. The selections are made by first pressing the space bar on the desired section and then pressing enter to continue to the next option window. NOTE: The Format and Write tests will destroy all data in the selected area of the fixed disk(s) selected. IDE Device Tests – Individually select one IDE device for testing: Primary Master, Primary Slave, Secondary Master or Secondary Slave. SCSI Device Tests – Select from up to 16 SCSI devices by highlighting the device listing and pressing the space bar. Available tests are Read, Write and Butterfly Seek.
CHAPTER 3
66
Multimedia Tests – This allows selection of tests for the CD-ROM, Sound Card and Record/Playback function. Serial Port Tests – The Serial Port Tests requires the selection of the serial ports and the selected tests to be run. External tests require the loopback plugs to be present on the selected serial ports. Parallel Port Tests – The Parallel Port Tests requires the selection of the parallel port and the selected tests to be run. External tests require the loopback plugs to be present on the selected parallel ports. Network Card Test – This tests the registers and EEPROM of the network card. USB Controller Test – The basic functions and commands of the USB Host Adapter are tested. Video Memory Test – The Video Memory Test will test the amount of memory on the video adapter detected by Micro-Scope. Additional video tests require an operator. Go to Section III Diagnostics, Video Tests and run the tests manually. Other Device Tests – Individually select tests for the Sleep Button, Joystick, Keyboard, Mouse and Printer
THE BATCH MENU
67
C. Run Selected The Run Selected choice will begin the selected tests immediately, as soon as one of the two options below is enabled. The errors will be logged to the error log. Run Continuously – The Run Continuously option will run the selected tests for 65535 passes or until the escape key is pressed. Set Pass Count – The Set Pass Count option will run the selected tests for a specified number of passes or until the escape key is pressed.
D. Report Features The report features menu allows the creation, saving, loading and logging of a report. The options in this menu are Create Report and Log Report. This feature is designed for the creation of a report on systems that have been tested using the Run All or Run Selected options. If running under the M2000 O/S the report format can be saved to or loaded from a floppy diskette. Create Report
This function will create the report format. The name, address and phone numbers may be input for both the testing facility and the client. Pressing Enter on this option will bring up the Testing Facility window.
CHAPTER 3
68
SCREEN – CREATE REPORT To create an original report select the edit function, type in the appropriate information, and press enter. Then press (A) to accept the information and continue on to the Client window. The client window is handled in the same manner. Press E (edit) to edit the appropriate window. Press S (save) to save report format. This option will save the information in the current window to a floppy diskette. The Testing Facility and the Client Information is saved separately so it may be loaded independently of the other option. Choosing this option will prompt for the floppy drive to save the file to, and the name
THE BATCH MENU
69
of the file to be saved. Press enter after each entry to accept the parameter and continue to the next window. If running under DOS, the report may be saved to any valid floppy, fixed or network drive by entering the completed path to where the file is to be saved. Press L (load) to load an existing report format. This option will load an existing report format from a floppy diskette. If this option is chosen, a prompt will appear asking for the floppy drive where the file exists. Pressing enter on a drive will bring up the file name prompt. Enter the name of the file which contains the desired report format. Pressing enter at this time will load the report format. If running under DOS, the report may be loaded from any valid floppy, fixed or network drive by entering the complete path where the file is stored. Press C (clear) to clear the window. This option will clear any information in the current window. This will not affect the other option windows in the report format. Press A (accept) to accept the information in the window. This option accepts the information in the current window and continues on to the next window. This is used when all of the necessary information has been input into a window. NOTE: The client information and the testing facility information may be saved or loaded individually.
CHAPTER 3
70
Log Report
This option allows the entire report to be saved as a file or displayed on the screen or sent to a parallel printer. While running under the M2000 O/S, the report may also be saved to a floppy diskette. If running under DOS, the report may be saved to any valid floppy, fixed or network drive by entering the complete path for where the file is to be saved.
SCREEN – LOG REPORT
Selecting any of the options in this menu except ‘Display to Screen’ will bring up submenus. The report is logged in a four page format.
THE BATCH MENU
71
Page 1 The first page contains the testing facility and client information along with information regarding the system tested. The date, time and number of passes is also stored on page one.
Page 2 The second page contains the equipment installed in the system tested. This will include the same information found in the System Configuration window.
Page 3 This page contains the tests that were performed and a Pass or Fail status for each test. If an error was detected for any of the tests, the appropriate page in the error log will be added to the report. For example, if three tests found errors, three pages would be added to the report, detailing the type of error that occurred.
Page 4 and above These will be detailed information on the errors found. Display on Screen – Select this option to display the test results on the monitor screen.
CHAPTER 3
72
Log To Disk – This option will save the report to an ASCII file on a 360k or a 720k floppy diskette. Pressing enter will bring a prompt asking for the floppy disk where the file will be saved. Pressing enter again will ask for the name of the report file to be saved. If running under DOS, the report may be saved to any valid floppy, fixed or network drive by entering the complete path where the file is to be saved.
NOTE: Files saved to a floppy can be loaded at a later date and then printed if necessary. Log To Printer Select the printer option to print the report to a parallel printer. If this option is selected a prompt will ask for the port where the printer is connected. Select the proper port and the diagnostic will print the report.
THE BATCH MENU
73
E. Error Log The Error Log window will display all errors detected from the Run All Tests and Run Selected Tests. The Error Log can hold a maximum of 16 errors for each test performed. This log will be added to a report if errors were detected during testing.
F. Error Halt Enabled/Disabled By selecting Error Halt Enabled, the operator is choosing to halt the batch when the first error is detected. If Error Halt is disabled, each test will continue until the error log for that specific test is filled (16 errors). Enabled will stop on the error and Disabled will continue testing.
CHAPTER 3
74
75
Chapter 4 DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
SCREEN – DIAGNOSTICS MENU
The Diagnostic menu contains tests for the System Board, Memory, Floppy and Fixed disks, SCSI and IDE devices, Sound Cards, CD-ROMs, Serial Ports, Parallel Ports, Video Adapter and Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Joystick and Printer. Low level formatting of Floppy and Fixed Disks may also be performed.
CHAPTER 4
76
A. SystemBoard Tests
SCREEN – SYSTEMBOARD TESTS The SystemBoard Tests window runs a series of routines to test the CPU, NPU, DMAs, PICs, RTC/CMOS, 8042 (Keyboard controller) and the speaker. XTs will only have one DMA and one programmable interrupt controller. AT systems will have two DMAs and two PICs. Newer systems will usually use an integrated peripheral controller. This one chip contains two 8237 DMAs, two 8259 PICs, two PITs and RTC/CMOS. Microprocessor Test – The Microprocessor Test will run a series of routines to test the CPU chip, from the 8088 to the latest Pentium III, AMD or Cyrix processor.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
77
The CPU chip performs all the system's logical operations. The tests include a test for the registers (both 16 and 32 bit), logical instructions, arithmetic functions and the instruction set for each type of CPU. Multi-processor systems are also tested and failures are assigned to a particular CPU. NOTE: The arithmetic test includes a routine to detect the 386 divide bug. Coprocessor – The NPU Test will run a series of routines to test the numeric processor. The coprocessor can do mathematical operations 10 to 100 times faster than the CPU. This takes the strain off the CPU. Most modern programs can detect and use a coprocessor. Programs that cannot detect and use a coprocessor will do all the mathematical operations through the CPU. RTC/CMOS Test – This tests the RTC against the CTC to ensure the RTC is keeping proper time and the CMOS RAM is tested for any failing bits. CTC Controller Test – The CTC test will run a series of routines to test the Clock Timer Circuitry chip or chips. DMA Controllers Test – The DMA test will run a series of routines to test the Direct Memory Access chip or chips. The 16 bit functions are tested where appropriate. DMA chips allow direct transfer of data from memory to memory or device to memory without the CPU. This allows the CPU to do other tasks while the DMAs handle certain transfers. Each DMA has four channels.
CHAPTER 4
78
NOTE: If two devices try to use the same DMA channel at one time, one or both devices will not work.
PC's and XT's use one DMA chip and the standard setup is:
Channel 0 Refresh, Channel 2 Floppy. Channel 3 and Channel 1 are available for use by fixed disks, CD ROMs etc.
ATs, ATXs and other modern form factors use two DMAs and the standard setup is:
Channel 0 Available 16-Bit, Channel 1 Available, Channel 2 Floppy, Channel 3 Available, Channel 4 Cascades lower 4 channels to upper 4 channels. Channel 5 Available 16-Bit, Channel 6 Available 16-Bit, Channel 7 Available 16-Bit.
Interrupt Controllers Test – The Interrupt Controller test will run a series of routines to test the 8259 PIC chip or chips. PIC chips allow interrupt requests to be sent to the CPU by devices needing service. This test ensures that the IRQ lines are toggling correctly within the PIC. Speaker Test – This sends a pattern of distinguishable tones to the speaker. If a tone is not heard when the test is in progress, the test failed.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
79
PS/2 Mouse Controller Test – This tests the ability of the PS/2 mouse controller portion of the keyboard controller to communicate properly with the device. Keyboard Controller Test – This tests the keyboard controllers ability to communicate with the keyboard and tests the ability of the keyboard controller to toggle the A20 line correctly.
CHAPTER 4
80
B. Memory Tests
SCREEN – MEMORY TESTS
The Memory Tests menu provides a series of basic routines to test Cache, Expanded and Extended memory. Expanded Memory should be tested while booted to DOS, but the others should be run after cold-booting to the Micro-Scope operating system. Note: If base memory (below 640KB) needs to be tested, boot to Micro-Scope and use: Option 2 Run Base Memory.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
81
Cache Memory
Testing Cache Memory uses the same selection menu and the same battery of tests that are used by the Extended and Expanded Memory Tests. See the test descriptions below in the section for Extended Memory. The difference between the Extended and Cache Memory Tests is that when testing extended memory, the cache must be flushed after each cycle to ensure that reads are performed from system RAM and not from the Cache. For this reason, each of the Cache tests will run much faster than the same test for Extended Memory. To ensure that the cache is controlled by Micro-Scope rather than by the Windows operating system, Micro-Scope must be booted to its own OS rather than run in a Windows DOS box when performing the Cache tests.
Expanded Memory
This routine will test the Expanded Memory Driver's ability to correctly page the extended memory into base memory. In order to test expanded memory, it is necessary to load the driver with a Warm Boot, using the following steps. 1. Boot to DOS with EMS driver loaded. 2. Load Micro-Scope under DOS (A: MS), 3. Select Diagnostics, Memory Tests, Expanded Memory. If the test is attempted after a cold boot to the Micro-Scope operating system, a message will appear stating that the Expanded Memory Driver is not loaded.
CHAPTER 4
82
SCREEN – EXPANDED MEMORY
Extended Memory
The Extended Memory Tests are for system RAM above 1024k. Select the desired test and press Enter to start. The screen displays the test in use, area being tested, offset and segment being tested, and pass count. You may abort the tests at any time by pressing the Escape key. By default, the amount of memory detected by CMOS and by Micro-Scope is displayed in the test window. You may enter the amount of memory you wish to test, including those portions of memory which cannot be detected by the BIOS. The area between 640k and 1024k is reserved for BIOS ROM. If the BIOS is shadowed into extended memory or
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
83
the 640k-1024k area is relocated, then that memory also will not be tested since it is in use by a ROM. All Tests – This will run the entire battery of tests, except for the long versions of the Bit and Grid tests. Pattern Test – The patterns include Walking Ones, Inverse Walking Ones and Checkerboard. Pseudo-Random Test – Memory is filled with semi-random data and checked. Then, each address is given new data, and checked along with the previous address. Xor'ed Address Test – The bytes of each address are Xor'ed together with a test byte, which is then stored at that address. The test makes eight passes with different test bytes. Bit Test – Sequentially changes each bit of each word in memory. Detects one bit changing another bit in memory. The long version includes an extra toggle with a cache flush in between. Grid Test – Checks for mislinked bits that are physically adjacent. NOTES: 1. Incorrect setting of the DMA and Read/Write cycles may render a system non-bootable. If this occurs, and all other attempts to correct the problem fail, drain the CMOS Battery. 2. On 386 systems, it is advisable to manually disable cache during extended memory testing, to ensure that the data being tested is actually in RAM and not in cache. In 486 and later systems, Micro-Scope will do this automatically.
CHAPTER 4
84
C. Floppy Tests
The Floppy Tests menu allows drive selection, media selection, formatting, Butterfly, read and write tests to be performed on the various floppy drives and floppy diskettes. Place a DOS formatted diskette in the drive to be tested. A blank diskette can be used but the format option will have to be executed before any other tests are performed.
SCREEN – MEDIA SELECT
Drive Select – The Drive Select menu allows the selection of floppy drive 0, 1, 2, and 3. A PC can have a maximum of 4 hardware-configured floppy drives. Press Enter with the cursor on the selected drive to be tested.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
85
Media Select – The Media Select window allows the selection of 5.25 360K, 5.25 1.2M, 3.5 720K, 3.5 1.44M, and 3.5 2.88M media types. The predefined drive settings are for standard AT drive types that are directly supported by the BIOS on the motherboard. Press Enter with the cursor on the selected media type to be tested. User Defined – This option allows the user to define the media type manually, for testing of non-standard floppy drives. Selecting this option will highlight the media area to be manually set on the left side of the window. Press the character and number keys to change area. Use the cursor key to move to the different media areas. Press Enter when finished. Format Diskette – The Format Diskette window will do a low-level format on the floppy diskette. The Format Entire option will format the entire floppy diskette. A warning message will be displayed. Press Y (Yes) to low-level format the floppy diskette and destroy all data. Press N (No) to cancel operation. Format Partial – Will format the selected area of the floppy diskette. Use the number keys to select Start Cylinder, End Cylinder, Start Head and End Head. Press Enter to execute. Press Y (Yes) to low-level format floppy diskette and destroy selected data. Press N (No) to cancel. NOTE: This is not a DOS format. The Diskette will have to be reformated with DOS to be used on a DOS system.
CHAPTER 4
86
Butterfly Seek Test – The Butterfly Seek Test will read the first sector, the last sector, the second sector, the second from last sector, and proceed to read inward in this pattern. The test pattern will continue until the heads reach the middle of the drive. The test will then start reading outward using a reverse pattern. The advantage of the Butterfly Seek Test is that it will cause the head and electronics on the floppy drive to work vigorously. while doing all the functions of a read test. The increased activity will help in detecting alignment problems and intermittent electronic failures. Read Test – The Read Test window will read the floppy drive in a sequential pattern. This will test the read functionality of the floppy drive and find errors on the floppy diskette. 1. The Read Entire option will read the entire floppy diskette.
2. The Read Partial option will read the selected area of the floppy diskette. Use the number keys to select the Start Cylinder, Ending Cylinder, Start Head and End Head.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
87
Write Test – The Write Test window will write to the floppy diskette in a sequential pattern. This will test the write functionality of the floppy drive and find errors on the floppy diskette. 1. The Write Entire option will write to the entire floppy diskette. A warning message will be displayed. Press Y (Yes) to write to the entire floppy diskette and destroy all data. Press N (No) to cancel operation. 2. The Write Partial option will write to the selected area of the floppy diskette. Use the number keys to select the Start Cylinder, End Cylinder, Start Head and End Head. Press Enter to Execute. Press Y (Yes) to write to the selected area of the floppy diskette and destroy selected data. Press N (No) to cancel operation. Safe Write Test – This procedure will copy the diskette contents into the system RAM, perform a write test on the diskette, and then read the original data back onto the diskette. This option is useful for testing the write functions of the floppy drive when a blank diskette is not available.
CHAPTER 4
88
D. Fixed Disk Tests
SCREEN – FIXED DISK DRIVE SELECTION
The Fixed Disk Test menu contains routines for drive selection, setting interleave (MFM and RLL drives), determining parameters (MFM and RLL drives), mapping bad sectors manually, formatting, and diagnostic tests for butterfly seek, read, write, safe write and controller tests. The Fixed Disk Selected window will display the drive type set in CMOS, the type of drive (MFM, RLL, IDE, ESDI, and SCSI), the BIOS parameters (the parameters used by the interrupt 13 functions), the Native settings (the parameters stored on the drive), and the BIOS settings (the parameters used by the BIOS on controller card for the drive). IDE drives will also display information specific to IDE drives.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
89
Drive Select (0 through 6) – The Drive Select option will allow the selection of Fixed disk 0 through 6. It may be necessary to load a software driver in order to gain access to the drives beyond the first two. Set Interleave (MFM/RLL) – The Set Interleave option will highlight the Interleave area in the Fixed Disk Selected window. Press the number keys to change the interleave. Press Enter to exit out of Set Interleave option. Low-level format the drive to change the interleave. If the interleave for an MFM or RLL drive is set incorrectly the drive will operate at a reduced speed. NOTE: Formatting a drive to change the interleave will destroy all data on the drive. IDE drives always have an interleave of 1. ESDI and SCSI are set through the controller BIOS. Bad Sector Map (MFM/RLL/IDE)
The Bad Sector Map window will allow the mapping of bad sectors. Each sector to be mapped must be entered individually. The Read Test has an automatic mapping feature. Most IDE drives will automatically map out bad sectors during a low-level format. There will be instances where the bad sectors will have to be manually mapped out. A low-level format must be performed to map out bad sectors that were entered into the Bad Sector Map. Press Left and Right cursor keys to select Cylinder, Sector, Head and BFI(automatically calculated by Micro-scope).
CHAPTER 4
90
Press the number keys to set Cylinder, Sector, Head and BFI in bad sector map. Press Up and Down cursor keys to select entry (1, 2, 3, etc.). Format Fixed Disk
SCREEN – FORMAT FIXED DISK
Format Fixed Disk – The Format Fixed Disk option will run a specific routine to low level format each of the 5 drive types (MFM, RLL, ESDI, SCSI and IDE drives). Format Entire – The Format Entire Disk option will low level format the entire hard disk for MFM, RLL and IDE drives. The Micro-Scope will run the proper routine for each drive type. A warning message will be displayed. Press Y
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
91
(Yes) to low-level format and destroy selected data on the hard disk. Press any other key to cancel operation. Format Partial – The Format Partial Disk option will low-level format the selected area on MFM, RLL and IDE drives. Use the number keys to select Start Cylinder, End Cylinder, Start Head and End Head. Press Enter to execute. A warning message will be displayed. Press Y (Yes) to low-level format selected area and destroy selected data. Press any other key to cancel the operation.
Warning: All of the format options are destructive. No data will remain on a drive which is low-level formatted.
Use Controller BIOS – Use Controller BIOS option will jump to the setup/low-level format routine located on the BIOS on the controller adapter card for ESDI and SCSI drives. Enter the Segment Address and Offset Address for the location of the jump byte. Go to Section IV, Memory Examine, ESDI/SCSI Setup Routine Segment and Offset to find segment and offset address. Use the character and number keys to set segment and offset. Press Enter to execute. The BIOS setup low-level format routine will now be displayed. Note: Not all ESDI and SCSI controllers have a setup and low-level format routine to access. Future Domain SCSI controllers do not have a controller setup/format routine. Use the format entire option for Future Domain SCSI controller cards.
CHAPTER 4
92
Fixed Disk Diagnostic Tests Butterfly Test – The Butterfly Test window will read the first sector, the last sector, the second sector, the second from last sector and proceed to read inward with this pattern until the test reaches the middle of the drive. The test will then start reading outward using a reverse pattern. The Butterfly Test will cause the heads and electronics on the hard disk to work vigorously. The increased activity will help in detecting intermittent, alignment and electronic failures. This test will do all the functions of a read test.
SCREEN – READ TEST
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
93
Read Test – The Read Test window will read the hard disk in a sequential pattern. This will test the read functionality of the hard disk and detect bad sectors. The Read Entire option will read the entire hard disk. The Read Partial option will read the selected area of the hard disk. Use the number keys to select the Start Cylinder, End Cylinder, Start Head and End Cylinder. Write Test – The Write Test window will write to the hard disk in a sequential pattern. This will test the write functionality of the hard disk and detect bad sectors. The Write Entire option will write to the entire hard disk. A warning message will be displayed. The Write Partial option will write to the selected area of the hard disk. Use the number keys to select the Start Cylinder, End Cylinder, Start Head and End Head. Press Enter to execute. A warning message will be displayed. Press Y (Yes) to write to the selected area of the hard disk and destroy selected data. Press N (No) to cancel operation. Be aware that this is an extremely detailed, accurate, and time consuming test. Safe Write Test – This test will read the hard drive contents into system RAM one portion at a time, perform a Write test on that portion of the drive, restore the contents to the drive, and then go to the next portion. Just as with the destructive write test, there is a choice of Safe Write Entire or Safe Write Partial. Be aware that data can still be lost if there is a malfunction of the read or write heads.
CHAPTER 4
94
Controller Test – The Controller Test will test the hard disk controller for MFM, RLL, ESDI and SCSI drives, which all have a separate controller adapter card. Four tests are run. Controller Diags is a self test run by the controller on the drive. Write/Read Buffer test will write to the controller buffer then read what was written then compare the two. Recalibrate Drive will retract all the heads of the drive. Reset Drive will reset all registers on the controller. Note 1: If the buffer on the fixed disk becomes filled with errors, this test will clear the buffer for further testing. Note 2: IDE drives have the controller built onto the drive and mostly inaccessible to this test. The IDE adapter card is tested but it contains only a line buffer (amplifier), and passing the Controller Test does not confirm that an IDE controller is error-free.
E. CD-ROM / ATAPI / SCSI / Tests
This group of tests is actually useful on a variety of removable media, including Zip and LS-120 drives. The tests require that a copy of the media is inserted in the drive. The media can’t be defective or test failures will result. When testing a CD-ROM drive, Autoplay must be disabled to run the tests in a Windows DOS box. If the Micro-Scope is booted to its own operating system, autoplay is not an issue.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
95
SCREEN – CD-ROM / ATAPI / SCSI TESTS
Select Drive
This provides a choice between IDE/ATAPI Device and SCSI/ASPI Device. If the wrong one is selected, the program will inform you there is no such device installed, and it’s a simple matter to hit the Esc key and make the other choice. IDE/ATAPI Device – If the device is an IDE type, it will be in one of 4 positions: Primary Master, Primary Slave, Secondary Master and Secondary Slave. Again, if an incorrect choice is made the program will say so. Most often the CD-ROM drive will be installed as a secondary master, or as primary master if no IDE hard drive
CHAPTER 4
96
is installed. A CD-ROM will seldom be installed on the same channel as a hard drive because of throughput problems. SCSI/ASPI Device – Select any of up to 16 devices by entering the device number, from 0 to 15. The System Information Screen #2 will tell you which SCSI devices are installed on the system, and their Device Number. If no device is present corresponding to the selected number, or if the appropriate driver has not been loaded, the program will report “No ASPI Driver Loaded”. . After selecting an IDE or SCSI drive, Escape back to the SCSI/IDE submenu and select the test to run. Determine Parameters
This selection will query the drive to determine the number of sectors and the sector size. If run after one of the tests, it will also display the error code, if any, from the test. Device Tests
Regardless of whether the drive is an IDE or SCSI device, the same three tests are available. Butterfly Seek Test – This test performs a Read function, combined with vigorous accordion-pattern exercising of the heads. It is useful for diagnosing alignment and intermittent problems. Partial or Entire testing of the drive is available.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
97
Read Test – The choices are Read Entire Drive and Read Partial Drive. If the partial test is selected, you will be prompted to enter a Starting and Ending sector. Write Test – Like the Read test, the Write test offers Entire or Partial. The Write test cannot be used on CD-ROMs, but is useful for other removable-media devices. Note: Be aware that if these tests are run in a Windows DOS box, some IDE-type CD-ROM drives, ZIP drives and other removable drives may appear to Micro-Scope as SCSI devices.
CHAPTER 4
98
F. Multimedia Tests
Multimedia Menu – This menu has two selections, one for Sound Cards and one for Record/Playback functions.
Sound Card Test
SCREEN – SOUND CARD TEST
This selection tests for the presence of a SoundBlaster-compatible sound card or cards. If one is detected, the type of card and I/O port setting for the card will be displayed.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
99
The testing will toggle the registers in the card to determine the functional state of the card. This will cause tones to be produced by the sound card(s). If a card is not detected, a message will appear designating the absence of the card. In addition, pass/fail results will be shown for the Register Test, Interrupt Test and DMA Test.
Record/Playback Test
This selection tests the recording and playback functions of the sound card.
SCREEN – RECORD/PLAYBACK TEST
CHAPTER 4
100
G. Serial Port Tests The Serial Port Tests will allow testing of the internal and external line status of modems and serial ports. The Serial Port Tests window will allow the selection and/or display of the port, I/O address, IRQ, baud rate and UART type. Micro-Scope will query the I/O port(s) and determine the actual IRQ usage of the installed devices. Select Port The Select Port option will allow the selection of port 0, 1, 2 and 3. Press enter with the cursor on the desired port to select the port for testing. Set Parameters
The Set Parameters option will allow the setting of Port Configuration, Baud Rate, Parity, Data Bits, Stop Bits and Loopback. Set Port Configuration – This will allow the setting of the I/O Address. Use the character and number keys to set I/O Address. Press Enter to execute. Set Baudrate – Allows the setting of the baudrate for a modem. The maximum baudrate setting is 115200. The baudrate defaults to 57600 if not set. Press Enter with the cursor on the selected baudrate. The Set Parity option will allow the setting of parity for a modem. None is for no parity set. Odd is for a parity check that equals an odd
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
101
number. Even is for a parity check that equals an even number. Press Enter with the cursor on the selected parity.
SCREEN – SERIAL PORT LOOPBACK TEST Set Data Bits – This option will allow the setting of the Data Bits for a modem. The Data Bits are the number of bits (7 or 8) sent through the modem. Press Enter with the cursor on the selected Data Bits. Set Stop Bits – Will allow the setting of the stop bits for a modem. The Stop Bits are bits (0 or 1) telling the modem when to stop. Press Enter with the cursor on the selected stop bit. Set Loopback – Determines whether the Internal or External Loopback test will be done. The External loopback test
CHAPTER 4
102
requires the proper loopback plug to be installed on the selected serial port.
Run Loopback Test
The Run Loopback option will run a series of routines to test the selected serial port. The test data being sent to test the serial port will be displayed in the data window. The results of the test will be displayed in the Internal/External Line Status window, Modem Status window and Error Count window. The bottom line will display information for the selected Port, IRQ, I/O, Baud and UART. Keyboard to Port
The Keyboard to Port option will allow testing of the keyboard, modem, and mouse hardware without the software driver being loaded. The test will begin as soon as the Enter key is pressed with Keyboard-to-Port highlighted, so the setup to determine which device is tested must be done first. Keyboard – The keyboard can be tested by selecting a port with a loopback plug. The keyboard will now be able to type to the data window. Mouse – The mouse can be tested by selecting the port used by the mouse, then selecting the Keyboard to Port test. The data window will now display characters and numbers when the mouse is moved.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
103
Modem – For the most complete test of the modem, do a warm boot to load the modem driver, and use the suite of Modem Connect Tests described in Section H. To use the Serial Port tests for a basic test of the modem, select the port used by the modem, then use the Set Parameters feature to set the Port Configuration (I/O Address), Baudrate, Parity, Data Bits and Stop Bits for the modem, and then start the Keyboard to Port Test. The data window is now a modem terminal that does not require the modem software driver, and can be tested by .typing in ATDT, International Code (1 for U.S.A.), area code and phone number (Example: ATDT18185551212). Note: The example phone number is not a valid modem data line. Serial Port Test Results
Internal/External Line Status – The Line Status window will state Internal or External depending on the type of loopback test that was selected. The left column describes the circuit being tested and the connected circuit. The right column displays the active or error status of the test. Modem Status – The Modem Status window will display the modem test for selected port. The left column describes the circuit being tested. The right column displays the active or error status of the test. Error Count – The Error Count window will display the test being done and the count of the test. The left column describes the test being done. The right column displays the test in process, count of the test and pass or error.
CHAPTER 4
104
Data Window – The Data Window displays the Run Loopback test and Keyboard to Port test. Port, IRQ, I/O, Baud and UART – The Port, IRQ, I/O, Baud and UART line will display the present setting for the window. The UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transceiver) chip number for the serial device is displayed.
H. Modem Connect Tests
SCREEN – MODEM CONNECT TESTS MENU
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
105
Although the modem is a specialized serial port device and the basic functions can be tested using the Serial Port test, the routines listed below allow a more comprehensive on-and-off line check of the modem circuitry and the phone line. Only hardware modems will be tested. WinModems or other software modem simulators will not be detected even if their drivers are loaded. Modem Test – This checks the basic command response of the modem unit. The available speeds and modes will be listed. Some ATI commands are unique to each brand of modem, so the test may show a failure if the modem uses an ATI command that Micro-Scope is not familiar with. This would not indicate a failure of the modem. Line Test – Tests the connection to the phone line, and the receipt of dial tone. Note: This test expects a standard dial tone. Connecting to a hotel PBX or other non-standard switchboard can cause the test to fail, and may risk damage to the modem. Connect Test – Put in the phone number of a remote modem and start the test. This will verify the ability to connect to a remote site and receive an acknowledgement. The modems on each end must be in compatible modes and able to match speed. Send ASCII Test – This sends a packet of ASCII data to the remote modem, to verify transmission. Send File Test – This sends a file called Sample.txt to the remote computer. Accuracy of transmission can be verified at the remote end.
CHAPTER 4
106
I. Parallel Port Tests
The Parallel Port Tests will run a series of routines to test signal, pin, status, port, interrupt, I/O port, internal, external, data latches, control latches, status latches and interrupt level.
Set Parameters
Select Port – Choose from Port 0, 1 and 2. Press Enter with cursor on selected port. Set Port Configuration – Use character and number keys to set the I/O address of the port. Press Enter to execute. Micro-Scope will test the selected I/O port and determine the actual IRQ usage for that port. Set Loopback – Determines the selection of either the internal or external loopback test. Press Enter with cursor on selected loopback test. The External test requires the parallel loopback plug to be set on the selected parallel port. Run Loopback Test
The Run Loopback Test will perform a series of routines with the selected port. The Status Latches Test and the Interrupt Level Test will only be performed with the External Loopback option. The results of these tests will be displayed in the lower right window.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
107
SCREEN – RUN PARALLEL LOOPBACK TEST
Data Latches Test – Checks the port’s Data Bit Registers. Control Latches Test – Shows that the port can latch the control byte. Status Latches Test – Checks signals being returned from the device attached to the port (or from the loopback plug). Interrupt Level Test – Tests that an interrupt coming from an attached device will be properly handled by the port. Signal Status Window – The window on the left lists each of the signal lines of the port, down the left–hand column. The middle column lists the pin number for each line, and the right-hand column shows the status of each line during the test. The status will read either Active, Inactive or Error.
CHAPTER 4
108
If the Internal Loopback option was selected, five of the control lines should be listed as inactive: Acknowledge, Device Busy, Paper End, Select and Error Signals.
J. Network Card Tests
This test of the network interface controller displays a box in the upper left corner showing the Node Address of the network card and separate pass/fail results of testing the NIC registers and EEPROM.
The test supports a variety of NIC chipsets, including Intel, National Semiconductor, Realtek and some SMC and 3COM cards.
In addition to the tests listed above, Intel, 3COM and national cards also have an internal self-test which is activated and reported by Micro-Scope.
K. USB Controller Tests
The tests for the USB controller will identify, first of all, whether the controller is the Open Host Controller Interface (OHCI), Universal type (UHCI) or Enhanced (EHCI). This information will be displayed across the top of the Test Results window. Then, the test will exercise the basic controller commands and make sure these are functional. The commands tested are: Reset, Restart, Run/Stop, Suspend and Resume. The pass/fail results for each command will be posted in the window.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
109
L. Video Tests
SCREEN – VIDEO TESTS
The Video Tests will check video memory, attributes, character set, screen alignment, text modes, graphics modes and screen paging. A visual inspection will be required for all tests except video memory. Video Memory
Page Memory Test – This will test all the video memory on the 1st video adapter that can be accessed using standard BIOS calls. During the test, broad bands of color will appear as the video memory is filled with various test data.
CHAPTER 4
110
Linear Memory Test – This uses the Extended Memory Tests routines to check all mapped video memory that can be accessed with VESA calls. A greater variety of patterns will be seen as the tests cycle through, and if the system is VESA compatible, the amount of memory tested will also be greater than with the page memory test.
SCREEN – VIDEO PAGE MEMORY TEST
Video DAC Test
The static RAMDAC chip on a video card used for Digital to Analog Conversion is scanned for both addressing and data bit failure in this test.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
111
SCREEN – DISPLAY ATTRIBUTES
Display Attributes – The Display Attributes window will display the attribute bits (0 through 7), hex, results, descriptions and foreground colors for the video adapter. The Attribute bits are broken down into four groups, listed on the left portion of the screen. Bits 0, 1 and 2 set the foreground. Bit 3 sets the intensity. Bits 4, 5 and 6 set the background. Bit 7 sets the blink. The Hex column gives the hexadecimal value of the eight attribute bits. The Results column in the center of the screen shows what the attribute looks like for each combination of bits. This can be compared visually with the description line in the right-hand column. The foreground colors along the bottom display the 16 different colors and the bit set for that color. Combined with
CHAPTER 4
112
the background colors (16 different colors) there are a total of 256 combination of colors. Be aware that some tonal values in the screen shot on the next page have been reversed for print clarity. Display Character Set – The Display Character Set will write the 256 character ASCII character set to video memory. The video adapter will display this set on the screen. A visual inspection is necessary to determine if the characters are being displayed correctly.
SCREEN – DISPLAY CHARACTER SET
Screen Alignment – The Screen Alignment test displays a grid pattern for visual inspection. Look at the edges and see if there is one line, which is correct, or a divergence, which is incorrect. The left and right arrows keys will change the foreground attribute. The up and down arrow keys will change the background attribute, and the plus or minus keys will change the character displayed.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
113
Note: To check alignment of the electron guns, use a background attribute of 5 (magenta). If the convergence is off center a red line (lower left of screen) a blue line (upper right of screen) or both will appear at the screen edge.
SCREEN – SCREEN ALIGNMENT
Screen Focus – A series of three test patterns (not shown) can cycled through by pressing any key. At the end of the series the program is returned to the Video Tests menu.
CHAPTER 4
114
SCREEN – TEXT MODES TEST Text Modes Test – The Text Modes Test will display the 80 x 25 and 40 x 25 text modes. If it is determined that the video hardware will support the 132x25 text mode this mode will also be displayed. Press any key to advance from one mode to the next, or the Escape key to leave the test.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
115
SVGA Graphics Modes Test – The Graphics Modes Test will display various different graphics modes. The pixels (640 X 480), color (16 colors), mode (12h) and type (VGA) will be displayed in the windows. The High, Medium and Low intensity will also be displayed in a window. If it is determined that the video hardware will support 1024x768x16 or 256 colors, and 1280x1024x16 or 256 colors, these modes will be implemented and displayed. Press Enter to move from one display to the next.
SCREEN – SVGA GRAPHICS MODE
CHAPTER 4
116
Screen Paging Test – The Screen Page Test will display a window filled with 0s, 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, etc. Each page is a different page of video memory. Press Enter to page to the second window filled with 2s. Press Enter again to continue paging.
SCREEN PAGING TEST (2s)
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
117
M. Other Device Tests
The Other Device Tests Menu has four selections: Joystick Test, Keyboard Test, Mouse Test and Printer Test.
SCREEN – KEYBOARD TEST
Keyboard Test – The Keyboard Test opens a window on the left of the screen that will contain a box displaying the name of any key pressed, the scan code representing any key pressed and the corresponding ASCII character for any key pressed. If the name displayed in the box does not match the key pressed, the key in question has failed, or the keyboard controller has failed. Note: When the escape key is pressed during the keyboard test, it will not be displayed if it is functioning properly. Pressing the Escape key will exit the test.
CHAPTER 4
118
Joystick Test – The Joystick Test will detect if a control device is presently attached to the game port in the system. A window will appear in the left portion of the screen with an inner box for each button and an X and Y coordinate for the current screen cursor position. Moving the joystick will affect the X and Y coordinate displayed in the window. Pressing either button will cause the appropriate box status to state “Active”. If these displays do not occur, the joystick is failing. Mouse Test – This will test any mouse detected by the mouse driver. Starting with Version 11, Micro-Scope includes a generic mouse driver so the manufacturer’s driver does not need to be loaded. In earlier versions of Micro-Scope, if a mouse driver was not loaded an error message would appear stating "No Mouse Was Detected or No Driver Installed". If a mouse is detected, a window will appear in the left portion of the screen showing the X and Y coordinates for the current screen cursor position. These should vary as the mouse is moved. There are three inner boxes corresponding to the Left, Right and Center mouse buttons. These should say “Inactive”, changing to “Active “ while the mouse button is being pressed. If the screen coordinates do not track with the mouse movement or if the button status does not change, the mouse is failing.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
119
SCREEN – MOUSE TEST
Printer Test – Pressing enter on the Printer Test will display a menu which allows for the selection of the parallel port to which the printer is attached. The printer cannot be a network printer but must be local to the system running Micro-Scope. Place the cursor on the appropriate port and press enter to select the port for the printer test. The IRQ, Port and I/O address will be displayed for the current selection. Press "P" to begin the printer test. If any printer lines are failing, an error message will display on the screen. Otherwise, the on-screen message will state "Printer Status Passed".
CHAPTER 4
120
The printer test will send an ASCII string to the printer. Any discrepancies or breaks in the string printed by the printer is indicative of a failure.
121
Chapter 5 UTILITIES MENU
SCREEN – UTILITIES MENU
The Utilities section contains routines to perform various diagnostic or system maintenance functions. These include options to display memory contents, edit media (for floppy, fixed disks, SCSI and IDE devices), benchmark system components, rebuild the master boot record, clean floppy heads, and configure the monitor
CHAPTER 5
122
display for color or monochrome. There is also a selection of debugging functions that allow you to exercise very specific I/O addresses, interrupts, etc.
A. Memory Display
The Memory Display window will display the 1024K real mode memory from segment 00000 through segment F0000. The left hand side is in hex. The right hand side is in ASCII. The segment, offset and actual address (20 bit) is displayed at the bottom.
SCREEN – MEMORY DISPLAY
THE UTILITY MENU
123
Memory Display Navigation
Press S (Segment) to select the segment. Press Character and number keys for desired segment. Press Enter to execute. Press O (Offset) to select the offset. Press character and number keys for desired offset. Press Enter to execute. Page Up and Page Dn keys will move the window in 256 byte intervals (000, 0100, 0200, etc.). Arrow keys (Cursor Up and Cursor Down) will move the window in 16 byte intervals (000, 0010, 0020, etc.). Home will move to the beginning of the current segment. End will move to the end of the current segment. System ROM BIOS and ROM BIOS Extensions SYSTEM ROM BIOS copyright information will be located at or near Segment F000. ROM BIOS extensions on adapters are identified in Section I, Active ROM Search. Copyright Information about adapters with ROM BIOS will be located between the beginning and ending segment in Memory Display.
CHAPTER 5
124
SCSI/ESDI Setup Routine Segment/Offset Most Adapters for SCSI and ESDI drives have a setup routine located on the ROM BIOS. To access this setup routine, go to the USE CONTROLLER BIOS option on the Fixed Disk diagnostic menu. The segment and offset are required, which can be found under Active ROM Search on the System Configuration menu. Look for the beginning segment of the SCSI or ESDI adapter (example: C800). Go to this segment in Memory Display. Look at top line in the hex field. The second E9 (near jump) or EB (far jump) is the standard offset to jump to the setup routine (example: first E9 or EB is under column 3, second E9 or EB is under column 5, offset is 0005). The segment and offset in the preceding examples would be segment C800 and offset 0005. Available Memory
It is possible to determine if memory is currently being used by a program by using the memory display. If it is necessary to load a device driver or program in the area between 640k and 1024k, first use the Active ROM search to find any memory used by ROMs. Load all device drivers and programs before running Micro-Scope. Use the Memory Display and page down in the areas in question. If a pattern of FFFF is found for an entire 256 byte block, there is an excellent chance that this area is not utilized. This assumption is based on the fact that properly written code will zero out any buffer that is used to store data within the length of the program. If code is resident in an
THE UTILITY MENU
125
area it will have various characters on the screen. If the area is used as a buffer, the screen will be filled with zeros. If the screen is filled with FFFF then it is not utilized, or the program utilizing the area did not zero out the buffer area which may cause problems within the program, so it is very unlikely that this will occur. Remember that F000:0000 to F000:FFFF is reserved for system ROM. Portions of this area may be used. However, to be sure the system ROM is not utilizing the area, use the memory display and look for a pattern of FFFF for an entire 256 byte block.
B. Floppy Editor
The Floppy Editor window can display and edit media on the selected floppy diskette. Drive Select (0, 1, 2 and 3) The Drive select option allows the selection of floppy drive 0, 1, 2 and 3. Press Enter with the cursor on the selected drive to be displayed or edited. Media Select (360, 720, 1.2, 1.44, 2.88) The Media Select window allows the selection of 5.25 360K, 5.25 1.2M, 3.5 720K, 3.5 1.44M, and 3.5 2.88M. The User Defined option allows the user to define the media type manually. Press Enter with the cursor on the selected media type to be displayed or edited.
CHAPTER 5
126
SCREEN – MEDIA SELECT The User Defined option will highlight the media area to be manually set on the left side of the window. Press the character and number keys to change area. Use the cursor to move to the different media areas. Press Enter when finished. Display/Edit
The Display/Edit window displays the information from the floppy diskette in hex on the left side of window and ASCII on the right side of window. The initial information comes from the keyboard buffer. Press R (Read) to read the first sector on the floppy diskette. The Next Access line (next
THE UTILITY MENU
127
area to be displayed or edited) and the Current Access line (present area being displayed or edited) are located below the hex and ASCII fields. Options to Modify, Read, Write, Cylinder, Sector and Head are located at the bottom of the window. Press F (Find) to do a search for particular content on the diskette. A pop-up menu will give you a choice of entering your content as ASCII, Hex, or Continue, to locate additional occurrences of the same data. You can then enter a starting cylinder if you don’t want to search from Cylinder 0. Press M (Modify) to bring cursor up on the top left corner of the Hex field. Cursor to area to be modified and press the character and number keys to edit information in the window. Press Enter to exit the Modify option.
SCREEN – FLOPPY EDIT/FIND
CHAPTER 5
128
Press A (ASCII) to bring cursor up on the top left corner of the ASCII field. Cursor to area to be modified and press the character and number keys to edit information in the window. Press Enter to exit the Modify option. Press R (Read) to read the information from the Next Access line to the Current Access line and display the information in the hex and ASCII fields. Press W (Write) to write the information from the hex and ASCII fields to the floppy diskette. A warning message will be displayed. Press Y (Yes) to write information to the floppy diskette. Press N (No) to cancel write operation. Press C (Cylinder) to highlight the cylinder in the Next Access line. Press the number keys to change the cylinder. Press Enter to exit cylinder option. Press S (Sector) to highlight the sector in the Next Access line. Press the number keys to change the sector. Press Enter to exit sector option. Press H (Head) to highlight the head in the Next Access line. Press the Number keys to change the head. Press Enter to exit head option.
THE UTILITY MENU
129
C. Fixed Disk Editor
The Fixed Disk Editor can display and edit media on the selected hard disk. Drive Select (0 - 6) The Drive Select option will allow the selection of drive 0 through 6. Press Enter with the cursor on the selected drive to be displayed or edited. Display/Edit
Once the drive has been selected, the Fixed Disk editor operation is identical to the Floppy Editor. The options are repeated here for convenience. Press F (Find) to do a search for particular content on the drive. A pop-up menu will give you a choice of ASCII, Hex, or Continue, to locate additional occurrences of the same data. You can then enter a starting cylinder if you don’t want the search to start at the beginning of the drive. Press M (Modify) to bring up cursor on the top left corner of the hex field. Cursor to the area to be modified and press the character and number keys to edit the information in the window. Press Enter to exit Modify option. Press A (ASCII Modify) to bring up cursor on the top left corner of the ASCII field. Cursor to the area to be modified and press the character and number keys to edit the information in the window. Press Enter to exit.
CHAPTER 5
130
Press R (Read) to read the information from the Next Access line to the Current Access line and display the information in the hex and ASCII fields. Press W (Write) to write the information from the hex and ASCII fields to the hard disk. A warning message will be displayed. Press Y (Yes) to continue, and N (No) to cancel. Press C (Cylinder) to highlight the cylinder in the Next Access line. Press the number keys to change the cylinder. Press the Enter key to exit cylinder option. Press S (Sector) to highlight the Next Access sector. Change the sector with the number keys. Press Enter to exit. Press H (Head) to highlight the head in the Next Access line. Press the number keys to change the head. Press the Enter key to exit head option.
D. SCSI / IDE Device Editor
This utility is comparable to the floppy and hard drive editors, that can be used on a variety of removable drives. A prompt will ask for the type of device. Device Select – Choose between an IDE / ATAPI Device or a SCSI / ASPI Device. If the IDE / ATAPI is selected, you will then need to designate one of the following: Primary Master, Primary Slave, Secondary Master or Secondary Slave. If selecting SCSI / ASPI, you will be required to enter the number of the drive, between 0 and 15.
THE UTILITY MENU
131
SCREEN – SCSI DEVICE SELECT
After entering the drive number, press Escape to enter the editor. The options are: Press F (Find) to do a search for particular content. You may enter a starting sector for the search or accept Sector 0. Press R (Read) to see the Hex and ASCII text of the media section being displayed. Press W (Write) to change the contents of the displayed section. Press (S) to enter a specified sector number.
CHAPTER 5
132
E. Run Benchmarks
The Run Benchmarks option provides a tool for measuring the throughput capabilities of various system components, including processors, memory, fixed disks, video and, CD ROM drives. The menu allows the selection of Run All or individual components.
SCREEN – RUN BENCHMARKS
Processors – will benchmark the CPU and NPU. The window will display the number of instructions executed per second and the current operating frequency of the processors. Fixed Disks – This option will benchmark the fixed disks. The display will show, in kilobytes per second, the rate at which data is transferred between the fixed disk and system.
THE UTILITY MENU
133
CD ROM – will benchmark the CD ROM drive. The display will show, in kilobytes per second, the rate at which data is transferred between the CD-ROM drive and the system memory, and the average time in milliseconds necessary to access any given sector on the drive. Memory – Benchmarks the system memory. The display will show, in kilobytes per second, the rate at which data is transferred between the CPU and system memory. Video – This option will benchmark the video adapter transfer rate. The display will show, in kilobytes per second, the rate at which data is transferred between the video memory and the system memory. Note: During the video benchmark, the monitor screen may blank out for a few seconds. This is normal.
CHAPTER 5
134
F. PC Health Status
This feature displays up to 3 temperatures, 3 fan speeds, and 8 voltage readings for systems equipped with a hardware monitoring IC. This IC must be a Winbond or compatible type such as the Via 686 or SiS South Bridge Chip, National LM79, LM81 or LM87, Dallas Semiconductor DS1780, Analog Devices ADM1024, ADM1025, ADM1026 or ADM9024, Genesys Logic GL525 or Phillips NE1619.
In machines not equipped with a monitoring IC, the program will report “No supported Hardware Monitoring IC has been found in the system”.
SCREEN – PC HEALTH STATUS
THE UTILITY MENU
135
G. Rebuild MasterBoot
The Rebuild MasterBoot option will rewrite the first 446 bytes of the master boot sector with a generic DOS boot loader program.
SCREEN – REBUILD MASTERBOOT
The Master Boot Sector contains a boot loader program (446 bytes), Master Boot Record (64 bytes) and a 55 AA boot signature (2 bytes). When the BIOS looks at the Master Boot Sector on the C drive and finds a 55 AA boot signature at 01FE, the BIOS turns control over to the boot loader program at 0000. The boot loader program then loads the Master Boot Record at 01BE. If the boot loader program is missing or corrupt, the Master Boot Record will never be
CHAPTER 5
136
loaded and the C drive will not boot. It is still possible to boot to the A drive then go to the C drive.
Press Y (Yes) to rewrite the Master Boot Sector. Press any other key to cancel write operation.
H. Floppy Head Cleaner
This utility exercises the floppy heads for one complete pass in an efficient pattern for using a head cleaning diskette to clean the read/write heads on your floppy disk drives. With this feature, the normal floppy cleaning diskette can last up to 20 longer (it is recommended that you do not use abrasive head cleaning materials). Floppy drives that are suspected of being defective should be cleaned first in order to determine that the problem is not simply dirty heads obscuring the signal.
THE UTILITY MENU
137
I. Debugging Functions
Sometimes to isolate a malfunction, it is useful to pinpoint and exercise a specific Interrupt, I/O address or memory address. That is the purpose of the Debugging Functions, which allow direct triggering or interrogation of hardware.
This utility can be used to give you the state of a device, reset the device, or help to pin down the exact cause of a failure that Micro-Scope has caught.
Execute Interrupts – This function allows the user to specify the execution of any BIOS or hardware device interrupt-based call, and to see the results of that call.
SCREEN – EXECUTE INTERRUPTS
CHAPTER 5
138
There are 256 interrupt levels. The first 16 are reserved for IRQs, although these can also be triggered with the Execute Interrupt utility.
In/Out to I/O Address – This feature allows you to write to, or read from, a specific I/O location. One byte of information will be transferred, making it possible to pinpoint failing ports, registers, etc.
Read/Write to Real Memory – One byte of information can be written to or read from a location in the first 1 meg of memory, by entering the segment and offset of that locatation.
Read/Write to Protected Memory – One byte of information can be written to or read from a location in upper memory (over 1 meg). This feature cannot be used if a memory driver or paging-type memory manager is loaded.
WARNING: These debugging features are very powerful troubleshooting aids but can also be dangerous, with the potential to lock up a device or even the entire system. Do not use them without complete documentation of the functions being manipulated.
THE UTILITY MENU
139
J. Secure Wipe
This feature provides a way to sterilize a hard drive that contains classified or sensitive information. There are three levels of security available, with the more thorough methods taking more time.
SCREEN – SECURE WIPE
CHAPTER 5
140
Short Secure Wipe – This will over-write the data twice, which is sufficient to obscure it from anyone without access to a sophisticated data recovery laboratory.
Long Secure Wipe – The data will be over-written six times, which will prevent its recovery by techniques available in the private sector.
Long Wipe with Format – This option makes a total of seven passes: six over-writes followed by a pass that does a low-level format of the drive, and meets the most stringent national security requirements for declassifying a drive.
Entire/Partial – Any of the choices above can be applied to all or part of a drive. If Partial Drive is selected, you will enter the start and ending cylinder and head.
Before the Secure Wipe operation begins, a warning will appear to let you know that the data on the drive is about to be destroyed. Press Y to continue or N to abort.
THE UTILITY MENU
141
K. Toggle Attributes
Certain plasma, LED and monochrome displays are difficult to read if a program is running in color. The Toggle Attributes options will change the Micro-Scope program from color to monochrome. Color – The Color option will change the program from monochrome display to color display. Monochrome – The Monochrome option will change the program from color display to monochrome display. Note: If the cursor can not be seen then the program is running in color on a monochrome-only monitor, and the display should be changed to monochrome. Use the description lines to determine where the cursor is located and go to Toggle Attributes, change the attribute to monochrome and the cursor will appear.
L. Save/Restore CMOS This feature provides the capability to save the CMOS contents into a backup file, and to restore the saved contents back to the CMOS. Backing up the CMOS is recommended before replacing the CMOS chip or battery, and before making major changes to the CMOS configuration. A backup file should also be kept for emergencies and updated after major changes to system hardware.
CHAPTER 5
142
SCREEN – SAVE CMOS
Save CMOS Contents – Select Save CMOS Data, and enter the complete drive, path and filename for the location where the backup file will be created. This can be on any floppy or hard drive that was detected by Micro-Scope during bootup. Restore CMOS Contents – To put the previously saved CMOS contents back into CMOS, select Restore CMOS Data, and enter the drive\path\filename where the data was saved.
THE UTILITY MENU
143
M. Save/Restore MBR
SCREEN – SAVE/RESTORE MBR The contents of the Master Boot Record for any hard drive or floppy drive in the system can be saved to a backup file, and then written back to the Master Boot Record of that drive or another drive. This offers protection against a Master Boot Record that is missing or corrupt, for instance from a boot record virus, and also provides an easy way to port a Master Boot Record from one drive to another.
CHAPTER 5
144
Save MBR – When the Save MBR option is selected, a box opens with a list of floppy drives 0-3 and hard drives 0-5, which is the maximum number of each drive that can be configured by hardware. Choose the drive whose MBR you wish to save and press Enter. In the filename box, type in the complete drive\path\filename of the storage location. A file will be created at that location containing the MBR contents. If the location was entered incorrectly or a drive was selected that does not exist on the system, a prompt will appear to let you know that the file could not be created. Restore MBR – Select a drive and then the location for the backup file. The contents of the specified file will replace the current MBR on that drive. Note that this can be an MBR saved from a different drive. For more information about the Master Boot Record, see the section on rebuilding the Master Boot Record, earlier in this chapter.
145
Chapter 6 QUIT
Micro-Scope offers two methods for terminating the program. One of these will reboot the system, and the other will exit to the resident operating system, if Micro-Scope was running under that OS rather than its own OS. These two choices will be found by selecting the item QUIT on the main Micro-Scope menu. Because certain routines in the diagnostic are sensitive about the way the program is terminated. it is recommended that one of these two options is always used to terminate the diagnostic rather than the power switch, Reset button or pressing CTL/ALT/DEL. A. Exit to OS The option to Exit to OS will not be displayed if the diagnostic is booted from the M2000 O/S. It will only be displayed if the diagnostic is loaded under another operating system (DOS, OS2, etc.). This option allows the operator to quit Micro-Scope and exit to the OS without rebooting the system. However, changes to CMOS made with the Edit CMOS feature will not be utilized by the operating system until the system is rebooted. If Micro-Scope is running under another operating system it is possible to cause corruption to the file management system
CHAPTER 6
146
of that operating system if the computer is rebooted directly from Micro-Scope. This feature is also useful for determining the effect of network software on a system without affecting the network upon exit. B. Reboot System The option to Reboot System will terminate the diagnostic program and reboot the system. The reboot is a cold boot, not a warm boot. Any changes to CMOS will be updated to the system during POST as the system reboots. If another operating system was open during the running of Micro-Scope, rebooting is an effective way to ensure that any changes caused by the tests will not stay loaded to affect operations of the system.
SCREEN – QUIT MENU
147
Chapter 7 TROUBLESHOOTING
This chapter contains some tips for using the Micro-Scope to troubleshoot and isolate problems in a computer system.
Hardware vs. Software The first step in solving many computer problems, and often the most difficult step, is to determine whether the cause of the problem lies with the hardware components or with the software, either the operating system or an application. Hardware Failure is defined as a malfunction of a physical component, either mechanical or electronic. Hardware failures are usually (but not always) consistently repeatable, although some may only occur when the failing part reaches a certain temperature. Software Failure can be defined as the failure of a program to correctly control the system in which the program is running. Sporadic, apparently random failures can be either software or hardware. If the problems only show up after the computer has been on a while, they are probably heat-related hardware failure. Hard errors that always occur at a certain point in the execution of a program will probably be software. If the failure disappears when the mix of programs
CHAPTER 7
148
open on the system is changed, then you should suspect a bad memory location, which is a hardware problem.
Operating System Independence Micro-Scope has a tremendous advantage over any DOS or Windows-based diagnostic when it comes to separating hardware and software problems. Because Micro-Scope has its own operating system, any problems due to software are automatically eliminated. If a problem still occurs while testing with the Micro-Scope, you can be sure that the cause is in the hardware component being tested. On the other hand, if the hardware tests OK, you can safely say that it’s a software problem, without worrying that the operating system is masking the symptoms.
Isolating The Cause
There are several tools, or ways of approaching a problem, that will help to narrow down the cause.
1. Determine the Nature of the Problem. The first big division, as mentioned above, is whether it’s hardware or software. Once the problem is determined to be software, Micro-Scope is going to be of limited use at best, since it was designed for troubleshooting hardware.
If the problem is hardware, Micro-Scope can be very helpful indeed. If the symptoms point to a particular system component, run tests on that component to pin down the source. If no particular component stands out as a suspect, use Micro-Scope’s batch feature and either Select All or
TROUBLESHOOTING
149
choose a list of all components that might possibly cause the symptoms. This may take a while to complete, but Micro-Scope will run the tests for you and log the results, while you do other work.
2. Suspect the simplest causes. If the symptoms can be explained by one single cause, that is much more likely than an explanation that requires two or more things to be faulty at the same time. And look for the obvious. If the test says a key is stuck, check the keyboard first even though it is theoretically possible for the keyboard controller to give you the same symptoms.
3. Check the easy things first. For instance, if the power isn’t coming on, see that the system is plugged in before you open the cabinet. If a floppy drive is failing, try cleaning the heads before ordering another drive. This may not eliminate all wild goose chases, but at least they will be shorter.
Verify and Document
Once the adjustments have been made or the suspect component has been replaced, run the test again and see that the system passes. This step can save much embarrassment and wasted time.
We also strongly recommend keeping a log of problems and their solutions. The same type of failures will tend to recur many times during a career, and this type of documentation will become a gold mine of information.
CHAPTER 7
150
Technical Support
If you are not sure how to make the best use of any feature of the Micro-Scope, or if you feel the results are questionable, please call the appropriate Technical Support line (either your vendor or Micro 2000 Inc.) and get your questions answered.
151
Chapter 8 SYS. CONFIG. REFERENCE
A wealth of information is available from the various headings of the Micro-Scope System Configuration menu. This chapter contains notes on what to expect in each category.
Compare Settings An asterisk beside one of the entries on the DETECTED side of this display indicates a mismatch between the detected hardware and the CMOS settings.
If the DETECTED side states there is no device, and the CMOS side shows a device, either the CMOS is set incorrectly or the device is failing.
If a device is shown in the DETECTED side and the CMOS side states NONE or 0 for the device, then the CMOS is set incorrectly. Use the appropriate diagnostic test to determine what the CMOS should be set to.
CHAPTER 8
152
System Information The information presented on the three System Information screens is derived from an inventory done by Micro-Scope during boot-up and should exactly match the installed hardware. There are a couple of exceptions to this.
If there is a bad block of RAM memory, it is possible that Micro-Scope will report the amount of total RAM as the amount below the defective block.
The stated CPU speed is done by performing a benchmark and then comparing it to a table of speed ratings for CPUs of that type. If the chip is being over-clocked or is performing significantly slower than it should, the reported speed will not match the manufacturer’s rated speed for the chip.
DMI Unlike the System Information screens, the information reported in the DMI section is taken from a database supplied with the system by the manufacturer and/or system integrator. Its completeness and accuracy depend entirely on the manufacturer and not on Micro-Scope.
If the installed hardware has been updated, added to or changed in any way after leaving the factory, the DMI will still report the old configuration. This can be detected by seeing conflicting information on the System Information and DMI screens.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION REFERENCE
153
Active ROM Search If it is known that an adapter has a ROM and it is not detected in this screen, the ROM is either set to Disabled on the adapter or the ROM does not start with 55AA. Use the memory display to search the area where the ROM should exist, for further verification of an inactive ROM. If the memory display does not show any information other than FF’s, the ROM is not active.
It is possible that the actual ROM length may differ from the length displayed in this screen. The length of the ROM is determined by the ROM-length byte in the ROM. This will indicate the length of the ROM code, although the ROM may actually use additional memory space.
Use the memory display to search beyond the length of the ROM for a pattern of FFFF. If a pattern of 0000 is found directly after the ROM, it is most likely a buffer for the ROM. Any memory with any pattern other than all FF’s is being used.
IRQ Assignments Any serial, parallel or LAN device installed on a standard I/O port in a system should be detected using the CHECK INTERRUPTS function. If the device is on a non-standard port, use the USER DEFINED feature to check for the device.
Remember that parallel devices need a loopback in order to be detected.
If a device is not detected, then use the appropriate diagnostic test to determine if the device is missing or
CHAPTER 8
154
failing. If the diagnostic passes, this indicates that another device is using the same IRQ.
Multiple devices cannot use the same IRQ at the same time.
Serial Devices can share an IRQ, as long as only one device is in use at any given time.
Parallel Devices of any kind must have their own IRQ, since there is no specific Start and Stop sequence built into the standard parallel device that can be used to indicate to other parallel devices when not to use the line.
Mice must be set to their own IRQ, because the interrupt for mouse devices is toggled continuously.
LAN Cards also must have their own IRQ because the network toggles the interrupt on a continuous basis.
Partition Tables The following descriptions can be used as a guideline for correcting errors in either a Partition or Volume Boot Sector.
Partition Status – This value should state Bootable on the partition that the system gives control at Power-On. This is normally the first partition of the drive.
Starting Head – The starting head of a DOS partition is normally Head 1. This head must contain the Volume Boot Sector for the O/S to operate properly.
Starting Sector – This should state Sector 1 and must contain the Volume Boot Sector.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION REFERENCE
155
Starting Cylinder – This is the starting cylinder of the partition, and Head 1 of this cylinder must contain the Volume Boot Sector.
Partition Type – This is normally set to BIGDOS for DOS versions above 4.0. Partitions less than 16 MB will be set to either DOS 16 or BIGDOS.
Ending Head – This should be the last head number of the disk, and therefore should be equal to the value of the numbers of heads minus 1. For example, if there are 6 heads on a drive, they are numbered 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 so the Ending Head is number 5.
Ending Sector – This value should equal the number of Sectors per Track.
Ending Cylinder – This is the last cylinder of the partition. If there are multiple partitions on the disk, the next partition should start on the cylinder directly past this value. If this is a single-partition disk, the value should be equal to the number of cylinders set in CMOS, minus 2.
Start Absolute Sector – This is the absolute starting sector of a partition. This sector is counted from the first sector beyond the Master Boot Record for the partition. If a partition starts on Head 1 of Cylinder 0, the Start Absolute Sector is 17. This value should match the number of Sectors per Track in most cases.
Number of Sectors – This is the total number of sectors in a partition. All sectors beyond the Volume Boot Sector are counted. The first sector counted should be the first sector of the first FAT and should start with F8. This value must equal the total Number of Sectors value in the Volume Boot Sector for the operating system to function correctly.
CHAPTER 8
156
Boot Signature – This value must be 55AA in order for the BIOS to give control to the Master Boot Code. Any other value will render the disk non-bootable to the operating system present on the disk.
Volume Boot Record The Volume Boot Record is the main record for a partition. It designates the size of the partition, size and number of FAT records, Root Directory size, etc. This information can be used to diagnose and correct a problem with the Volume Boot Record. The first section pertains to both FAT 16 and FAT 32, and the following section is for FAT 32 only.
Bytes Per Sector – This value should equal 512 bytes for standard DOS partitions. This may be equal to 1024 or more with non-standard or non-DOS partitions such as Novell, Disk Manager, etc.
Sectors per Cluster – This is the quantity of sectors that will be read by the operating system at a time, and is therefore the smallest quantity of disk space that can be allocated to any data transfer. Standard DOS versions above 3.3 will normally be set to 4 sectors per cluster.
Reserved Sectors – This value should be 1 since it reflects the quantity of sectors reserved from the partition. Reserved sectors will not be written to by the operating system under normal circumstances. The only reserved sector of a standard partition is normally the Volume Boot Sector.
Number of Copies of FAT – This value should be 2 since there are always two copies of the File Allocation Table in all standard operating systems.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION REFERENCE
157
Maximum Root Directory Entries – This value will be 512 for all DOS versions and most other 16-bit operating systems, and 0 on 32-bit operating systems.
Total Number of Sectors – This is the total number of usable sectors in the partition, minus the track reserved for the Master Boot Record. It should equal the number of sectors in the Master Boot Sector entry for this partition. This value may be determined by the following formula:
C x H x S – S
where C = total cylinders (Ending Cylinder # + 1) H = total number of heads (from CMOS) S = number of sectors per track (CMOS)
Media Descriptor Byte – This is the value of the byte that starts each FAT, normally F8 on fixed disks. This can be compared to the first byte of the first FAT in order to verify accuracy.
Sectors per FAT – This is the quantity of sectors contained in each File Allocation Table. This value can be verified by using the Sector Editor to locate the first sector of the first FAT, use the Plus key to count the value, and press Read. This should place the buffer at the first sector of the second FAT, which should match the first sector of the first FAT.
Sectors per Track – This value should match the CMOS value for Sectors per Track, and should equal the number of sectors that actually exist on each track of the disk.
Verification of this value can be performed by using the Sector Editor. Start at the first sector on the drive, incrementing the Sectors by this number and perform a read.
CHAPTER 8
158
This should place the buffer at the Volume Boot Sector if the Sectors per track value is valid.
Number of Heads – The total number of heads on the drive. This should be one more than the Ending Head, because the first head is Head 0.
Number of Hidden Sectors – This value is the total of all sectors hidden from the operating system software. It should equal the number of Reserved Sectors.
Volume Boot Signature – This is the signature that must end any valid boot record. If this value is anything other than 55AA, the partition will not be accessed properly by the BIOS on the motherboard.
FAT 32 Volume Boot Sector Info
Partition Flags – This is 2 hex digits, with bits 0-4 indicating which copy of the FAT is active. Bit 7 shows whether FAT mirroring is enabled or disabled. When FAT mirroring is disabled, the FAT information is written only to the copy indicated by Bits 0-4.
Version of FAT 32 Drive – Two hex digits. The High Byte shows the major version, and the Low Byte shows the minor version.
Start Cluster Root Directory – These 4 digits give the Cluster Number of the start of the root directory.
File System Info Sector – This is the number of the sector containing the information on the File System, usually the second sector of the partition.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION REFERENCE
159
Backup Boot Sector – FAT 32 contains a backup copy of the Boot Sector, whose location is specified here.
Logical Drive – This is the logical drive number assigned to the given partition, a 2-digit hex value.
Extended Signature – This additional byte indicates that the partition contains three more fields, containing the following information.
Partition Serial Number – This is a serial number assigned to the partition. It is used primarily for tracking removable media.
Volume Name – This should match the volume label in the root directory. If none has been assigned, it will say No Name.
FAT Name – This should say FAT 32, but other values would not normally be a problem because the data is not used by Microsoft operating systems.
CMOS Edit The time and date should be current. If not, the correct time and date can be entered in this screen. If the time and date will not stay current, use the Display CMOS Bytes feature to check the RTC/Battery status and the appropriate byte of CMOS RAM.
Diskettes – This reflects the information stored at offset 10h of CMOS RAM. If a diskette type is entered in this screen but the information changes when the cursor is moved, the CMOS RAM is corrupt and the CMOS/RTC chip should be replaced. If the information remains intact after being changed, but reverts to the previous setting when the system
CHAPTER 8
160
is rebooted, then either the CMOS battery is failing or the floppy controller is failing. Use the Display CMOS feature and Floppy Tests to verify the failure.
HD0/HD1 – This information is contained in CMOS bytes 19 (HD0) and 1A (HD1). If this information will not stay set when the cursor is moved then CMOS is corrupt and the chip should be replaced. If the information changes when the system is rebooted, then the fixed disk, controller or a device driver such as Disk Manager is causing the problem. Use the Fixed Disk Tests to verify the situation.
Base Memory – This reflects information contained in CMOS RAM locations 15h and 16h. If the information changes when rebooting, either the BIOS is not detecting the correct amount of memory during POST or the CMOS battery is failing.
Extended Memory – This information is stored at CMOS RAM locations 17h and 18h. If the information changes when rebooting, either the BIOS is not detecting the correct amount of memory during POST or the CMOS battery is failing.
Video Adapter – Contained in CMOS RAM location 14h. If information changes when rebooting, the video adapter or battery is causing the problem. Use the CMOS Diagnostic Byte and the Video Tests to verify.
Note that in dual video systems, this setting should reflect the highest value supported by the video adapters installed.
Coprocessor – Shows CMOS RAM location 14h. Problems could be the NPU or CMOS battery. Use the Information screen and the NPU diagnostic in Systemboard Tests.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION REFERENCE
161
CMOS Display Any changes made in the CMOS Edit screen should be reflected in the appropriate place in the CMOS display screen. If the information cannot be entered, or reverts when the cursor is moved, this indicates a failure of the CMOS/RTC chip itself. If the information is retained when the cursor is moved, but reverts when the system is rebooted, the cause is either the CMOS battery or the hardware to which that entry applies.
0Dh – The RTC/BAT byte should be set to a value of 80h if the battery is good. Any other value indicates either a bad battery or corruption of this location of CMOS RAM. Use the Diagnostic Byte to verify battery status.
0Eh – The Diagnostic Byte should have a value of zero. If it is any other value, the device in question should be checked with the appropriate diagnostic routine. Following is a list of the possible values and their causes:
01h – EISA or PS/2 adapter register is not accessible. The adapter is failing. Use diagnostic tests to verify
02h – PS/2 or EISA adapter/configuration file mismatch. The file for the adapter being configured is not the correct file, or the adapter is failing.
04h – CMOS Time does not match the DOS clock. Either the DOS time is set incorrectly or the CMOS/RTC or CTC chip is failing. Reset the DOS clock and retry.
08h – Fixed Disk Controller failed initialization. The controller is failing. If the drive is IDE, the controller is on the drive itself.
CHAPTER 8
162
10h – CMOS Memory does not match POST memory size. This indicates either a bad bit in memory or an incorrect CMOS setting. Use the memory test to isolate the problem.
1Dh – BIOS POST found CMOS configuration incorrect. The information found during POST does not match the information set in CMOS RAM. Use the System Configuration feature to resolve it.
40h – CMOS CRC failed. The bytes located at CMOS RAM locations 2Eh and 2Fh are the checksum value. A failure indicates corruption of the CMOS RAM, and replacement of the CMOS/CRC chip.
80 h – The CMOS battery has lost power. This may be the battery or a defective CMOS/RTC chip. Use byte 0Dh to verify if the battery is bad.
Compare Features Test When the system under test does not match the Master Compare File, one of the following errors will be shown on the screen:
File Open Failed – The ctest.bin file was not found in the same directory as the ms.exe file.
Model Not Found – The System Model Number does not appear in the Master Compare File.
Computer Type – The BIOS, BIOS date, model, sub-model or revision information did not compare.
Processor Type – The CPU data did not compare.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION REFERENCE
163
NPU Type – The NPU data did not compare.
Bus Type – The Bus Type data did not compare.
Floppy Type – Either the number or type of floppy drives did not match the Master Compare File.
Hard Drive Type – The fixed disk type, model, parameters or number of drives did not compare.
Video Type – Mismatch of the video BIOS, mode capabilities or amount of video memory.
Memory Size – The amount of Base, Cache, Extended or Expanded memory did not compare.
Serial Ports – Either the number of serial ports or the I/O address data did not match.
Parallel Ports – The number of parallel ports or the I/O address data did not compare.
Sound Card – The presence or absence of the sound card (or the type of card) was not what was expected.
CD ROM Type – The number or type of CD-ROM drives did not compare.
Keyboard Type – The type of keyboard detected was not what was expected.
CHAPTER 8
164
165
Chapter 9 DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS
This chapter describes the various error indications that will be encountered while running the tests on the Diagnostic menu. Where possible, the most likely cause of the failure is given as well.
System Board Errors CPU Tests
Microprocessor Test – A microprocessor failure will usually prevent the software from loading, and will require a hardware tool such as the POST-Probe to diagnose the problem. If this failure does appear, it indicates a problem with the CPU chip.
Register Test – The Register Test will exercise the internal registers of the CPU. Failure is a defective CPU chip.
Arithmetic Test – Indicates a bad CPU chip. Be aware that some revisions of the 80386 have an error on 32-bit divides, which will cause the this test to fail but is not otherwise a problem if the system has been running properly.
Logical Test – This tests the logical functions of the CPU chip, which should be replaced if the test fails.
CHAPTER 9
166
NPU Tests
Coprocessor Test – This tests the general functionality of the NPU chip.
Not Installed – The NPU chip was not detected by the software. This indicates a hard failure of the NPU chip, except in those few systems with no NPU installed. Verify with the System Configuration feature.
Register Test – Tests the NPU registers. Indicates failure of the chip.
Arithmetic – Tests the floating-point calculations of the NPU. Failure indicates replacement of the chip.
RTC Errors
RAM Data Failure – There is a failing data bit in the memory associated with the Real Time Clock, located in the CMOS/RTC chip.
RAM Address Failure – This indicates a failing address line in the memory associated with the RTC.
CRC Checksum Failure – The CRC checksum does not equal the expected total.
CTC Errors
Port B Test Failed – This indicates a failure of the secondary port of the Clock Timer chip.
CTC Register Failed – Testing the internal registers of the CTC chip.
DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS
167
CTC Timer Failed – Indicates failure of the timer circuitry of the CTC chip.
DMA Errors
Register Failure – Indicates a defective DMA chip.
Page Register Failure – Usually means a defective DMA chip, but some early PCs may fail due to an incompatibility with the test even though the chip is OK.
Keyboard Controller Errors
Keyboard Controller Test Failed – Indicates either a defective keyboard or a failing keyboard controller chip (8042). Use the Keyboard test to differentiate.
PS/2 Mouse Test Failed – Tests the PS/2 mouse portion of an Enhanced Keyboard Controller. Failure may be the controller chip, mouse port socket or cable, or the mouse itself. To isolate the problem, run the test again with no mouse attached.
Interrupt Controller Errors
Register Test Failed – This indicates a defective PIC chip.
APM (Advanced Power Management) Errors
Cycle Fan On Failed – The failure could be the fan control circuit or the fan itself. If possible, the fan should be
CHAPTER 9
168
observed during the test to determine if it is responding to the command.
Cycle Fan Off Failed – The failure could be the fan control circuit or the fan itself. If possible, the fan should be observed during the test to determine if it is responding to the command.
Memory Tests Base Memory Tests
Refresh Errors – If a refresh error occurs while testing Base Memory, the memory controller or the PIT chip are the likely suspects.
Data Errors – Indicates a failure of a memory chip. The segment, offset, expected data, received data and XOR are given. The XOR is all bits within the offset that failed.
Address Errors – The failing address line will be indicated on the screen. This could be due to a bad trace or buffer circuit on the motherboard, or in some cases by a defective SIMM or DIMM.
Parity Errors – Almost always a failure of the memory chip. The segment, offset, expected data, received data and XOR are provided.
DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS
169
Cache Memory
A Cache Memory failure could be either the static RAM or the Cache Controller. The segment within the cache, the offset, expected data, received data and XOR are given. The XOR is all bits that failed within the given offset.
The Cache Memory tests are functionally the same as those for Extended Memory, except that the cache is not flushed during the test.
Expanded Memory
Note: To properly perform the Expanded Memory tests, first perform a warm boot so that the EMM drivers are loaded.
Page Frame – This error indicates that the page frame (block within Base Memory) could not be allocated. Try changing the page frame in the Expanded Memory software setup, since this area may be used by another device or program.
Number of Pages – This error indicates that the number of pages allocated by the Expanded Memory driver is incorrect.
EMM Version – If this error occurs, the expected version of the EMM driver could not be detected by the diagnostic.
Handles and Allocation of Memory – This error indicates the Expanded Memory driver is unable to allocate a memory block. Reduce the number of handles and try again.
Map Memory to Physical Memory – The EMM driver could not allocate a memory block. Either the memory block is being used or the EMM driver is failing.
CHAPTER 9
170
Compare Memory – This error means there was a failure of the Compare performed on the data written to memory. Test the indicated area as Extended Memory.
De-allocate Memory – This error will occur if the EMM driver cannot de-allocate a block of memory, and indicates a failure of the EMM driver. Conform that the EMM driver has been loaded with a warm boot.
Refresh Error – There is either a failure in the refresh circuitry or the EMM driver is not addressing the correct location where data was written prior to this error occurring. Use the Extended Memory test to verify this error.
Extended Memory Errors
Unlike expanded memory, the Extended Memory tests will NOT run if the EMM drivers are loaded. Always do a cold boot to Micro-Scope’s own operating system before testing Extended Memory.
All Extended Memory tests will state the Offset from 1 Megabyte, the Segment, the EXP (expected data), REC (received data) and an XOR (the failing bit). Use the Offset to determine the bank in which the failure occurred, the Segment to determine the 64K block within the bank, and the XOR to determine the specific bits that are failing. For example:
Offset = 0001 First megabyte beyond 1MB. Segment = 1000 Second 64K block in Offset. XOR = 10 Bit 4 is failing.
The actual memory segment may be affected by the computer’s paging layout.
DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS
171
Refresh Error – Either an intermittent error is occurring at the given location, or the refresh circuitry for the memory is failing. If this error occurs at different locations each time, the fault is in the refresh circuits.
Parity – The memory location indicated has a defective parity cell.
Data Bit Error – The Data Received does not match the Data Expected for the given location. The XOR will show the conflicting bit(s).
A20 Line Not Open – The keyboard controller would not allow the CPU to enter Protected Mode. Either the keyboard controller chip is malfunctioning or the A20 line is defective.
Note: Faster Tests Available
Extended Memory has long and short versions for the Bit test and the Grid test. The reason the long versions are so time-consuming is because of the need to flush the cache after each step to ensure that the test is looking at RAM rather than the cache.
If the cache is disabled in CMOS, these same tests can be run from the Cache Memory Tests menu, but will take place in RAM since cache is disabled. In this way, the tests will be completed in a much shorter amount of time. The cache must be re-enabled once the tests are completed.
CHAPTER 9
172
Floppy Error Codes Many of the errors that might be found during these floppy tests can be caused either by the drive or by the floppy controller. Many more errors occur with the drives, because of their mechanical complexity and close tolerances. However, if there is a second floppy in the system and the error shows up on both drives, the most likely suspects are the controller or the floppy cable.
Code 01: Invalid Function Error – The command sent to the floppy drive was not accepted. The most likely cause is either the drive unit or the cable.
Code 02: Address Mark Not Found – The diagnostic could not find the Address Mark for the given sector. This is most likely from a defective or unformatted diskette. Retry the test with another freshly-formatted diskette.
Code 03: Disk Write Protect – This error should only occur during the Write Test or Format, and indicates that the drive is sending a ‘write-protected’ signal to the controller. If the diskette is actually write-protected, this is functioning normally. If the diskette is not write-protected, there is a problem either with the drive or the controller. If the error occurs during a Read or Butterfly Seek test, it is most likely the controller at fault.
Code 04: Sector Not Found – This error could occur if the selected media type does not match the diskette in the drive, if the diskette is unformatted or has defective sectors, or if the floppy heads are out of alignment.
Note: To determine if a floppy drive is aligned properly, format a diskette in a known good drive, to use as a
DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS
173
standard. If a drive can read diskettes that have been formatted on that drive, but fails when tested with the standard diskette, the drive is misaligned.
Code 05: Reset Failed – The floppy drive will not reset before starting the format operation. This could be caused by the drive, the cable, or the controller.
Code 06: Disk Change – This should occur if the door on the floppy drive is opened during the test. If the door was not deliberately opened, there is a probably a mechanical problem with the drive. If the door was deliberately opened during the test and this error did NOT occur, there is a problem either with the drive or the controller.
Code 07: Drive Param Activity Failed – This indicates either a failure in the floppy controller or improper media settings in the CMOS. Verify the media settings and try the test again.
Code 08: DMA Overrun – This error would occur if another device, such as a tape drive, was set to the same DMA channel as the floppy drive. If such a device was recently added to the system, the first thing to try would be removing the device and running the test again. Floppy drives use DMA channel 2, so no other devices should be set to this. If no other device is using the same channel, then the floppy drive’s control circuitry is failing.
Code 09: Data Boundary Error – This indicates that another device is using the same DMA channel as the floppy drive. See DMA Overrun above for solutions.
CHAPTER 9
174
Code 0A: Bad Sector Flag – Bad sectors should be flagged and not accessed, even during the diagnostic tests. If this error occurs, it most likely indicates a failure in the controller.
Code 0B: Bad Cylinder Detected – This code could mean a faulty controller, a damaged diskette or a malfunctioning actuator arm in the floppy drive.
Code 0C: Invalid Media – This error should not occur with the Micro-Scope diagnostic regardless of the media placed in the drive. The fault could be with the drive, controller or cable.
Code 0D: Invalid Number of Sectors – This error could mean a malfunction of the drive, cable or controller, either on the system under test or on the one in which the diskette was formatted.
Code 0E: Control Data Address Mark – Retry the test with another freshly-formatted diskette. A second failure implicates the floppy head alignment or an electronic failure.
Code 0F: DMA Arbitration Out of Range – Could be hardware failure, but first check the setup of the system, and remove any recently installed devices to eliminate conflicts.
Code 10: Uncorrectable CRC Error – This is most likely a defective diskette. Replace the diskette with a known good sample. If the error re-occurs, clean the heads and try again. A third failure indicates a malfunction of the floppy drive.
Code 11: ECC Corrected Data Error – This is most likely a defective diskette. Replace the diskette with a known good sample. If the error re-occurs, clean the heads and try again. A third failure indicates a malfunction of the floppy drive.
DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS
175
Code 20: Controller Failure – Although this message occurs when the controller has failed to properly control the drives, the problem could be in the drive or the cable as well as the controller.
Code 40: Seek Failed – The floppy drive was not able to find the desired cylinder. The problem is most likely a defective floppy diskette, followed by a mis-aligned floppy drive or mechanical failure of the actuator arm. Least likely causes are a defective cable or controller.
Code 80: Timeout Error – This is most likely to happen if there is no diskette in the drive, or it is inserted incorrectly.
Code AA: Drive Not Ready – Indicates electronic failure in the drive, controller or cable.
Code BB: Undefined Error – Either the floppy controller or cable.
Code CC: Write Fault – A failure occurred while attempting to write to the drive. Source of the problem could be electronic or mechanical.
Code E0: Status Register Error – The floppy controller is not sending the proper signal to the BIOS during the floppy’s busy state. The fault is with either the controller or the cable.
Code FF: Sense Operation Failed – Most likely a defective diskette or the heads need cleaning. If these fail to resolve it, the problem is electronic failure in the drive.
CHAPTER 9
176
Fixed Disk Error Codes This section lists the errors that could be encountered during the Fixed Disk diagnostic tests or during a drive format, along with suggestions for correction. Keep in mind that with IDE drives, the control circuitry is in the drive, not on the motherboard. Also, when errors occur because of incompatibility between drives, the error will sometimes disappear if the order of the drives is changed (swapping Master and Slave, or Primary and Secondary). Of course, the proper changes must then be made with jumpers and settings.
Code 01: Invalid Function Error – The command sent to the drive was not accepted. The most likely cause is either the drive unit or the cable. If the system is a PS/2, the BIOS does not support the direct format of the drive.
Code 02: Address Mark Not Found – The diagnostic could not find the Address Mark for the given sector. On MFM and RLL drives that do not use a voice-coil head actuator, it could mean the heads are misaligned. A low-level format will correct the problem. It could also mean that the drive type is not set in CMOS. On IDE drives, this error is a physical defect and the address should be added to the Bad Sector map before doing a low-level format.
Code 03: Disk Write Protect – This error should never occur while testing a hard drive, and would indicate electronic failure in the drive control circuitry.
Code 04: Sector Not Found – This can occur if the servo information on the platter for that sector is damaged or there is an electronic failure in the drive control circuitry. It could also be mis-aligned heads (MFM or RLL drives). A low-level format may be able to correct the problem. If the error
DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS
177
occurs during a low-level format, it is a fatal error and the drive should be replaced.
Code 05: Reset Failed – Usually caused by electronic failure in the control circuitry. If there are two or more hard drives in the system, this error may indicate an incompatibility between a Master Drive and its Slave.
Code 06: Disk Change – This error should never occur during testing of a hard drive.
Code 07: Drive Param Activity Failed – Either the drive parameters are set incorrectly in CMOS or the controller does not correctly translate the parameters. Verify the settings and try the test again.
Code 08: DMA Overrun – This error would occur if another device is trying to use the same DMA channel as the disk drive or if the drive controller is failing. If a new device was recently added to the system, the first thing to try would be removing the device and running the test again.
Code 09: Data Boundary Error – This indicates that another device is using the same DMA channel as the fixed disk. See DMA Overrun above for solutions.
Code 0A: Bad Sector Flag – On the fixed disk, this is not an error. It shows that the flagged sector has already been added to the Bad Sector Map and is not being used by the system. If it is known that the sector is good, the flag can be removed by performing a low-level format without first setting this sector in the Bad Sector Map.
Code 0B: Bad Cylinder Detected – This error code should not occur during the Fixed Disk tests.
CHAPTER 9
178
Code 0C: Invalid Media – This error code should not occur during the Fixed Disk tests.
Code 0D: Invalid Number of Sectors – This error indicates that the fixed drive is set incorrectly in CMOS or the controller is improperly jumpered. If these causes are eliminated, then an electronic failure exists in the drive, controller or cable.
Code 0E: Control Data Address Mark – The servo information is damaged or there is an electronic failure. If the error occurs at different locations on the drive, suspect electronic failure. If it’s at the same place each time, run a low-level format to map out the bad sector. If the error occurs during a low-level format, it is a fatal error and the drive should be replaced.
Code 0F: DMA Arbitration Out of Range – Could be hardware failure, but first check the setup of the system, and remove any recently installed devices to eliminate conflicts.
Code 10: Uncorrectable CRC/ECC Error – This is most likely a physical defect in the requested sector, which can be corrected by mapping during a low-level format. With MFM or RLL drives, it may indicate mis-alignment of the heads.
Code 11: ECC Corrected Data Error – The requested sector had an error that was within correctable limits for the ECC circuitry. If data integrity is of extreme importance, the sector can be marked bad during a low-level format.
Code 20: Controller Failure – Although this message occurs when the controller has failed to properly control the drives, the problem could be in the drive or the cable as well as the controller. If there are two or more drives, it may
DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS
179
result from an incompatibility between a Master Drive and its Slave.
Code 40: Seek Failed – This could result from a physical defect on the platter, which can be corrected by a low-level format, or by a failure of the seeking circuitry of the drive.
Code 80: Timeout Error – This error will occur when the drive does not respond to the controller commands. Before replacing hardware, check the CMOS setup and the IRQ status for the drive and also check that the drive and controller jumpers are correctly configured. Before retesting, run the Controller Test to reset the drive.
Code AA: Drive Not Ready – Run the controller test to reset the drive. If the failure persists, it indicates electronic failure in the drive, controller or cable.
Code BB: Undefined Error – Either the fixed disk controller or cable.
Code CC: Write Fault – A failure occurred while attempting to write to the drive. Source of the problem could be electronic or mechanical.
Code E0: Status Register Error – The fixed disk controller is not sending the proper signal to the BIOS. The fault is with either the controller or the cable.
Code FF: Sense Operation Failed – This error should never be reported during the Fixed Disk tests.
Controller Internal Diags Failed – The controller circuitry is failing, or there is an incompatibility between two drives.
Controller Write Buffer Failed – This indicates a failure of the write buffer on the drive itself, not the controller.
CHAPTER 9
180
Controller Read Buffer Failed – This indicates a failure of the read buffer on the drive itself, not the controller.
Controller Compare Buffer Data Failed – This indicates a failure of the fixed drive’s buffer circuitry, on the drive itself, not on the controller card.
Controller Recalibrate Failed – The drive’s heads failed to properly seek Track 0. Either the heads or Track 0 of the platter is damaged. Either is a fatal error for the drive.
Controller Reset Failed – The drive failed to respond to the reset command. This failure could occur in the drive, the controller or the cable.
CD-ROM Error Codes Code 01: Unknown Unit – The software driver does not recognize the CD-ROM drive. This can occur if attempting to access a drive which is not installed.
Code 02: Drive Not Ready – The CD-ROM drive did not return a Ready signal. There are several possibilities: mechanical or electronic malfunction in the drive, controller or cable, incorrect hardware settings, or a corrupted or incorrectly configured software driver.
Code 03: Unknown Command – The software driver did not recognize a control command. Sometimes a defective controller, most often a corrupted driver.
Code 04: CRC Error – Usually a defect in the data area of the disc. If the error still occurs with a known good disc the
DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS
181
CD-ROM should be cleaned. Continued failure after cleaning indicates a malfunction of the drive itself.
Code 05: Bad Request Header Length – The controller software was unable to execute a command due to an incorrect Request Header response.
Code 06: Seek Error – The drive was unable to seek the sector requested by the test.
Code 07: Unknown Media – The software driver did not recognize the media type. Retry with a known good disc (data disc, not music).
Code 08: Sector Not Found – The requested sector’s ID was not found. It could result from a defective disc, dirty or misaligned head, or electronic failure.
Code 0B: Read Fault – Due to a failure of the Read circuitry in the drive.
Code 0C: General Failure – The driver cannot recognize or communicate with the CD-ROM drive.
Code 0F: Invalid Disc Change – This occurs when the door is opened and re-closed during the test. If the door was not disturbed, there may be a mechanical problem with the door or a bad electrical connection in the drive or the cable.
Code 15: Invalid Drive – Usually indicates an attempt to access a drive that is missing or incorrectly installed.
Code FB: Dirty lens or dirty media. Try a new CD. If failure still occurs, clean lens in drive.
CHAPTER 9
182
Printer Codes Code 01/02: Timeout Error – The printer failed to respond. Check the cable and the printer’s Online status.
Code 08: I/O Error – The printer command was unable to gain I/O access.
Code 20: Out of Paper Error – The printer is returning an Out-of Paper signal.
Code F6: Print Test Aborted – The Escape key was pressed during the test.
Code FF: Printer Would Not Initialize – Indicates the printer is not responding to commands.
Multiple Errors – A combination of two or more error codes were returned during the test.
Serial Tests UART Errors
UART Failure – The signal is missing from the Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter chip. Use the System Information screen to verify that the port actually exists.
FIFO Failure – The FIFO circuitry of the Serial UART has failed, and the Serial Controller card should be replaced.
Line Status Errors
The following signals each describe one line of the serial port. If the port is functioning properly, each of these lines should report as Active at the conclusion of the Loopback Test. An error means that the given signal did not appear
DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS
183
when expected, which could be due to the connector, the serial controller, or attempting an external test when no loopback plug is attached. In describing the various signals, Terminal refers to the computer terminal (bus). Set or Device refers to the peripheral attached to the port.
Carrier Detect – Indicates when a carrier is present. This signal is needed for proper communication through the port.
Receive Data – The Device has received the data.
Transmit Data – This signal lets other serial devices know that a transfer of data is in progress. A failure would allow multiple devices to use the interrupt simultaneously.
Data Terminal Ready – The terminal is ready to receive data.
Data Set Ready – The device is ready to receive data.
Request To Send – The terminal wishes to transmit.
Clear To Send – The device acknowledges the Request to Send.
Ring Indicator – Used by modems to determine if a call is coming through the line. If this signal is missing, the modem will not answer the call.
Note: RI/87307 TERI Flaw – A failure of the Ring Indicator line to change state properly. This may be due to a design flaw in the National Semiconductor 8730x series of Super I/O Controller chips, which does not comply with design standards but does not appear to affect the function of current modem devices.
CHAPTER 9
184
Negative Current Transmit Loop – Only used in XT and earlier machines, to indicate data transfer.
Misc. Serial Test Errors
Overrun – The Data Receive Register is full, but data is still being sent. Either the CS signal is not functioning or the sending device is malfunctioning.
Parity Error – Indicates that the attached devices are not set to the same parity.
Framing Error – One or more serial devices are not responding properly to the setting of the Start and Stop bits.
Handshake – The port failed to respond to the XON and XOFF software flow control signals.
Break Detected – A break was detected during data transmission. A mouse connected to the serial port is often a cause of these errors.
Data Errors – The Sent and Received data bytes were not the same.
Modem Status Errors
When the Serial Port Test is run, it will also report the condition of the Modem Status Lines listed below. If the modem is not in use during the test, the four Inverted lines should be reported as Low, and the Delta lines should be reported as Inactive.
DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS
185
Delta Clear To Send – A Request to Send was acknowledged by the modem.
Delta Data Set Ready – The modem is ready to receive data.
Delta Ring Indicator – An incoming ring was detected.
Delta Carrier Detect – A carrier signal was detected.
Inverted Clear to Send – The CTS line has been toggled.
Inverted Data Set Ready – The DTS line has been toggled.
Inverted Ring Indicator – The Ring Indicator signal has been toggled.
Inverted Carrier Detect – The Carrier Detect circuitry was toggled.
Modem Connect Tests
Although the modem can be tested as a serial device as explained in the previous section, the Modem Connect Tests menu offers five sets of tests for more comprehensive testing of a host-based modem. These are the Modem test, Line test, Connect test, Send ASCII and Send File tests. The last three require the modem to communicate with a remote modem.
CHAPTER 9
186
Modem Test
The largest group of tests in this set is the Sync/Async Tests, which use the ATI Command Set to request information from the modem. These may vary from one manufacturer to the next, but the most common version is given here.
Because the ATI commands can vary from one manufacturer to the next, error responses should be analyzed carefully and if possible compared against other modems of the same model. Another thing to watch for is whether the modem is connected to an active line, for instance to an ISP. In this case, errors can result from the receipt of signals not expected by the test. The Sync/Async Test is an off-line test, and the phone line should be disconnected if necessary to prevent spurious signals.
Sync/Async
ATI 0 – Manufacturers Product Code
ATI 1 – ROM Checksum
ATI 2 – RAM Checksum
ATI 4 – Current Settings. Includes:
FAX INT Settings Baud Rate Parity Dial Settings Speed
ATI 5 – NVRAM Settings
ATI 7 – Configuration and Internal Product ID
ATI 9 – Plug-N-Play Status
DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS
187
Data Compression (ATXC) – Tests the modem’s data compression circuitry.
Fax Modem Test – Checks the FAX functions of the modem.
Internal Loopback – Uses an internal loopback to test the modem I/O.
Reset Modem – Tests the Reset function of the modem.
Line Test
This set monitors two functions of the modem.
1. Can it connect to the phone line and detect a dial tone?
2. Can it reset and release the phone line?
If this test fails, first check the phone cable and its connections on both ends.
Note: This test expects a standard phone-company-supplied dial tone. Connecting to a private PBX can cause this test to fail, as well as risking damage to your modem.
On-line Tests
These tests require entering a phone number that will connect to another modem.
Connect Test – This test confirms that the modem has connected to a remote site and received an acknowledgment.
CHAPTER 9
188
If the test fails, run the Line Test to help isolate the problem. If the Line Test passes and the Connect Test fails, check that the modems on both ends are in compatible modes and able to match transmission speeds.
Send ASCII Test – This goes one step beyond the Connect Test, and sends a packet of ASCII data to the remote site. If the previous test passed and this one fails, there may be a resource conflict or marginal transmission capability.
Send File Test – This test sends a file called Sample.txt to the remote site. This file can be printed out and checked visually for accurate transmission. If this fails where the ASCII test passed, suspect the data settings for either of the modems.
Parallel Port Tests
Signal Status
Following are the various lines of the parallel port that are toggled during the test. The first five are incoming signals (from the external device to the port) and will be listed as Inactive if the test is run in Internal mode. The others are outgoing and will be listed as Active at the conclusion of the Loopback test, if they are functioning properly.
Acknowledge – The device received the data byte and is ready for another.
Device Busy – If this signal fails, the port will send data when the device is not ready to receive it.
DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS
189
Paper End – The printer is out of paper.
Select – The device indicates it has been selected to receive data.
Select In – Selects the device to receive data.
Error Register – The device uses this line to let the system know it has flagged an error.
Strobe – Enables the transfer of one byte of data.
Data Bits 0-7 – These are the parallel data lines.
Auto Feed – Notifies the printer to do auto-feed. If this signal fails, the printer will perform manual feed only.
Initialize Printer – This signal alerts the printer to perform its internal initialization routine.
IRQ Enable – Tells the system an interrupt will be generated when the external device returns an Ack signal.
Function Tests
The Status Latch Test and Interrupt Level Test must be run with an external loopback plug. If the test is run in internal mode, these tests will say Bypassed. If the test is run in External mode without a loopback plug in place, the tests will fail.
Data Latches Test – Tests the port register that holds a data byte for transmission.
Control Latch Test – This register holds the Control byte, containing signals such as IRQ Enable and Initialize Printer. The failing signal will be displayed in the test status window.
CHAPTER 9
190
Status Latch Test – Latches the incoming status lines, such as Device Busy, Ack and Paper Out. The failing signal will be displayed. If all fail, check to see if the test was run in external mode without a loopback plug.
Interrupt Level – Checks that the device responds with an interrupt. A failure could be the port or PIC circuitry but is more likely the device or cable.
Network Card Tests Each of the failure codes listed below will be the result of a hardware failure on the NIC card.
1 = Register Test Failure – onboard command registers are malfunctioning.
2 = EEPROM Test Failure – EEPROM chip not responding.
3 = SRAM Test Failure – Malfunction of onboard RAM.
4 = FIFO Test Failure – FIFO stack not responding with correct data.
5 = Rcv RAM Buffer Failure – Malfunction of the buffer for incoming data.
6 = Xmt RAM Buffer Failure – Malfunction of the buffer holding data for output.
7 = NIC Node Address Failure – The card did not respond with the correct MAC address.
8 = I/O Address Failure – An incorrect address or the I/O ports are not functioning.
DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS
191
9 = Interrupt Failure – The card did not respond with the expected interrupt.
10 = Not From a Windows DOS Box – The test was attempting to run the Windows MS-DOS prompt.
11 = No Supported NIC Adapter – The installed network card is not a type recognized by Micro-Scope.
13 = Port Self-Test Failure – The card did not pass an internal diagnostic of its I/O ports.
14 = Internal Diagnostic Failure – The card did not pass some part of its own internal diagnostic.
15 = Dump Data Bytes Failure – The card did not comply with a command to dump its buffer contents.
16 = Configure Command Failure – Did not respond to Configure command.
17 = Transmit Data Failure – Unable to output data to the network cable.
18 = Receive Data Failure – Unable to latch incoming data.
USB Controller Tests Each of the following errors is the result of the USB Host Controller failing to respond correctly to one of the basic commands. These tests do not test attached devices and do not require any USB devices to be attached.
1 = Host Reset Failure – Controller did not respond correctly to a Reset command.
CHAPTER 9
192
2 = Host Restart Failure – Controller did not respond to a Restart command after being stopped.
3 = Host Run/Stop Failure – Either the Run command, Stop command or both were ineffective.
4 = Host Suspend Failure – Controller unable to suspend operations.
5 = Host Resume Failure – Controller unable to resume after a Suspend command.
Video Tests Memory Failure – A data mismatch within the video memory. The error message provides the offset, data expected, data received and XOR.
Display Attributes – The attributes are displayed in the middle column, the attribute bits in the left column, and a description on the right. The attributes must be visually matched to the description.
Display Character Set – The entire ASCII character set should be displayed. Any errors are probably due to the video adapter card.
Screen Alignment – Check the horizontal and vertical grid lines to ensure that they remain parallel, especially toward the corners of the screen.
Convergence – Using the screen alignment test, change the background attribute with the up and down arrow keys. If a red or blue line appears at the edge of the screen, the colors of the electron gun do not converge properly.
DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS
193
Text Modes – The standard 8-character set should be displayed on each line, offset by one character from the line above it.
Graphics Mode – The display will show 16 labeled colors, allowing the color balance to be adjusted either by eye or by comparison with a standard color chart.
Screen Paging – The screen will initially show 25 lines of zeroes. Pressing any key (except Esc) will cycle the display through the digits 0-7.
CHAPTER 9
194
195
Appendix A WARRANTY & LICENSING
Please read the warranty and licensing information completely before breaking the seal on the diskette package. Be advised that while we intend this to be the best product of its kind, we do not claim that Micro-Scope will find every problem or detect every device that may be present.
WARRANTY
This Software product is warranted for 30 days, against defects in workmanship and against noncompliance with the specifications as stated in this manual.
THE SELLER MAKES NO OTHER WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Micro2000, Inc. SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR TORT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SUCH AS LOSS OF PROFITS OR LOSS OF GOODWILL FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE FOR ANY PURPOSE. Some states may not allow this disclaimer so this language may not apply to you. In such case, our liability shall be limited to the refund of the Micro2000, Inc. purchased price.
APPENDIX A
196
LICENSE AGREEMENT
DO NOT OPEN THE SEALED ENVELOPE OR USE THE PRODUCT UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THIS LICENSING AGREEMENT. IF YOU OPEN THE ENVELOPE OR USE THE PRODUCT MICRO2000, INC. WILL ASSUME THAT YOU HAVE AGREED TO BE BOUND BY THIS STANDARD AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE, YOU MUST RETURN THE PACKAGE UNUSED AND UNOPENED TO THE PARTY FROM WHOM YOU RECEIVED IT, WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE PURCHASE DATE. Ownership: Micro2000, Inc. or its licensors own all right, title and interest including all worldwide copyrights, for the Software and all copies of the Software.
Grant of License: Micro2000, Inc. grants to you (the purchaser) and you accept a license to use the programs and related materials delivered with this License Agreement, as the sole user thereof. If you wish to make the programs and/or materials available to additional users, you must license additional copies or request a multi-user license from Micro2000, Inc.
Term: This License Agreement is effective from the day you receive the product, and continues until you return the original magnetic media and all copies, and related materials that were included with the media, to Micro2000, Inc. If you violate any of the provisions of this agreement, Micro2000, Inc. shall have the right to terminate the license at the time of violation or any subsequent time, at its sole discretion.
WARRANTY AND LICENSING AGREEMENT
197
Your Agreement: You agree not to transfer the Software in any form to any party without the prior written consent of Micro2000, Inc. You further agree not to copy the Software in whole or in part, except for backup copies, unless Micro2000, Inc. consents in writing. Each of these backup copies must have a label placed on the magnetic media showing the program name, copyright, and trademark designation in the same form as the original Software. You will use your best efforts and take all reasonable steps to protect the Software from unauthorized reproduction, disclosure, reverse engineering or distribution, and you agree not to disseminate, decompose or transmit the software in any form or by any means. You understand that the unauthorized reproduction of any portion of the Software and/or transfer of any copy may be a serious crime, as well as subjecting you to damages and attorney fees.
Updates: Micro2000, Inc. will from time to time make updated versions of its products available. Updates may be purchased by licensees in good standing at nominal prices which are fixed in relation to increased functionality.
Micro2000, Inc. will contact its customers from time to time to inform them of the availability of appropriate product updates.
Misc.: This is the sole and entire agreement between you and Micro2000, Inc., and it cannot and shall not be modified by purchase orders, advertising or other representations of anyone, except by written amendment signed by a company officer of Micro2000, Inc. This License Agreement shall be governed by California Law.
APPENDIX A
198
Contact: Micro2000, Inc. welcomes any suggestions that will help us to better meet the needs of our customers and the marketplace. Please send any information regarding product enhancement to:
Quality Control Division Micro2000, Inc.
1100 E. Broadway, 3rd Floor Glendale, CA 91205
WARRANTY AND LICENSING AGREEMENT
199
APPENDIX A
200
