Manuals

Messages and Codes: Dell OptiPlex GX110 System User's Guide

Messages and Codes: Dell™ OptiPlex™ GX110 System User's Guide

	Overview		Warning Messages
	System Messages		Diagnostics Messages
	System Beep Codes		Diagnostic LEDs

Overview

Your application programs, operating system, and the computer itself are capable of identifying problems and alerting you to them. When a problem occurs, a message may appear on your monitor screen or a beep code may sound. See "System Messages" or "System Beep Codes" for information about each message or beep code.

System Messages

If you receive a system message, see Table 1 for suggestions on resolving any problems indicated by the message. The system messages are listed alphabetically.

NOTE: If the system message you received is not listed in the table, check the documentation for the application program that you were running at the time the message appeared and/or the operating system documentation for an explanation of the message and a recommended action.

Table 1. System Messages

Message

Cause

Action

Address mark not found

The basic input/output system (BIOS) found a faulty disk sector or could not find a particular disk sector.

See "Troubleshooting Drives."

Alert! Previous attempts at booting this system have failed at checkpoint [nnnn]. For help in resolving this problem, please note this checkpoint and contact Dell Technical Support.

The system has failed to complete the boot routine three consecutive times for the same error.

See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance, and report the checkpoint code (nnnn) to the support technician.

Attachment failed to respond

The diskette drive or hard-disk drive controller cannot send data to the associated drive.

See "Troubleshooting Drives."

Bad command or file name

The command you entered does not exist or is not in the pathname you specified.

Make sure you have spelled the command correctly, placed spaces in the proper location, and used the correct pathname.

Bad error-correction code(ECC) on disk read

The diskette drive or hard-disk drive controller detected an uncorrectable read error.

See "Troubleshooting Drives."

Controller has failed

The hard-disk drive or the associated controller is defective.

See "Troubleshooting Drives."

Data error

The diskette or hard-disk drive cannot read the data.

Run the ScanDisk utility in the Microsoft® Windows® operating system to check the file structure of the diskette or hard-disk drive. See your operating system documentation for more information.

If you are using another operating system, run the appropriate utility to check the file structure of the diskette or hard-disk drive. See your operating system documentation.

Decreasing available memory

One or more dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) may be faulty or improperly seated.

See "Troubleshooting System Memory."

Diskette drive 0 seek failure

Diskette drive 1 seek failure

A cable may be loose, or the system configuration information may not match the hardware configuration.

See "Troubleshooting Drives."

Diskette read failure

A cable may be loose, or the diskette may be faulty.

See "Troubleshooting Drives."

Diskette subsystem reset failed

The diskette drive controller may be faulty.

Run the Diskette tests in the Dell Diagnostics.

Drive not ready

No diskette is in the drive. The operation requires a diskette in the drive before it can continue.

Put a diskette in the drive or close the drive latch.

Diskette write protected

The diskette write-protect feature is activated.

Remove the diskette from drive A and move the write-protect tab to the unlocked position.

Gate A20 failure

One or more DIMMs may be loose.

See "Troubleshooting System Memory."

General failure

The operating system is unable to carry out the command.

This message is usually followed by specific information—for example, PRINTER OUT OF PAPER. Respond by taking the appropriate action.

Hard disk configuration error

The hard-disk drive failed initialization.

See "Troubleshooting Drives."

Hard disk controller failure

Hard disk failure

Hard-disk drive read failure

The hard-disk drive failed initialization.

See "Troubleshooting Drives."

Invalid configuration information - please run SETUP program

The system configuration information does not match the hardware configuration.

Enter System Setup and correct the system configuration information.

Keyboard clock line failure

Keyboard controller failure

Keyboard data line failure

Keyboard failure

Keyboard stuck key failure

A cable or connector may be loose, or the keyboard or keyboard/mouse controller may be faulty.

See "Troubleshooting the Keyboard."

Memory address line failure at address, read value expecting value

One or more DIMMs may be faulty or improperly seated.

See "Troubleshooting System Memory."

Memory allocation error

The software you are attempting to run is conflicting with the operating system or another application program or utility.

Turn off the computer, wait 30 seconds, and then turn it on. Try to run the program again. If the problem persists, contact the software company.

Memory data line failure at address, read value expecting value

Memory double word logic failure at address, read value expecting value

Memory odd/even logic failure at address, read value expecting value

Memory write/read failure at address, read value expecting value

One or more DIMMs may be faulty or improperly seated.

See "Troubleshooting System Memory."

Memory size in CMOS invalid

The amount of memory recorded in the system configuration information does not match the memory installed in the computer.

Reboot the computer. If the error appears again, see "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.

Memory tests terminated by keystroke

The memory test did not complete.

Rerun the memory test.

No boot device available

The computer cannot find the diskette or hard-disk drive.

Enter System Setup, check the system configuration information for the diskette and hard-disk drive, and if necessary, correct the information.

No boot sector on hard-disk drive

The system configuration information in System Setup may be incorrect, or the operating system may be corrupted.

Enter System Setup, check the system configuration information for the hard-disk drive, and if necessary, correct the information.

If the message persists, reinstall your operating system. See the documentation that came with your operating system.

No timer tick interrupt

A chip on the system board might be malfunctioning.

Run the System Board Devices tests in the Dell Diagnostics.

Non-system disk or disk error

The diskette in drive A or your hard-disk drive does not have a bootable operating system installed on it.

A nonbootable diskette is in drive A. Either replace the diskette with one that has a bootable operating system, or remove the diskette from drive A and restart the computer.

Not a boot diskette

There is no operating system on the diskette.

Boot the computer with a diskette that contains an operating system.

Plug and Play Configuration Error

The system has encountered a problem in trying to configure one or more expansion cards.

Turn your system off and unplug it. Remove all but one of the cards. Plug in your system and reboot it. If the message persists, the expansion card may be malfunctioning. If the message does not appear, turn off the power and reinsert one of the other cards. Repeat this process until you identify the malfunctioning card.

Read fault

Requested sector not found

The operating system cannot read from the diskette or hard-disk drive.

The system could not find a particular sector on the disk, or the requested sector is defective.

See "Troubleshooting Drives."

Reset failed

The disk reset operation failed.

See "Troubleshooting Drives."

Sector not found

The operating system is unable to locate a sector on the diskette or hard-disk drive.

See "Troubleshooting Drives."

Seek error

The operating system is unable to find a specific track on the diskette or hard-disk drive.

If the error is on the diskette drive, try another diskette in the drive.

Shutdown failure

A chip on the system board might be malfunctioning.

Run the System Board Devices tests in the Dell Diagnostics.

Time-of-day clock stopped

The battery may be dead.

Enter System Setup and correct the date or time.

If the problem persists, see "Troubleshooting the Battery."

Time-of-day not set

The time or date displayed in the system configuration information does not match the system clock.

Enter System Setup and correct the date or time.

Timer chip counter 2 failed

A chip on the system board might be malfunctioning.

Run the System Board Devices tests in the Dell Diagnostics.

Unexpected interrupt in protected mode

The keyboard controller may be malfunctioning, or one or more DIMMs may be loose.

Run the System Memory and the Keyboard tests in the Dell Diagnostics.

WARNING: Dell's Disk Monitoring System has detected that drive [0/1] on the [primary/secondary] EIDE controller is operating outside of normal specifications. It is advisable to immediately back up your data and replace your hard-disk drive by calling your support desk or Dell Computer Corporation.

Power-on self-test (POST) has queried the enhanced integrated drive electronics (EIDE) drive for status information. The drive has returned a parameter from the call that indicates it has detected possible error conditions for its operating specifications.

Once your computer finishes booting, immediately back up your data and replace your hard-disk drive. Restore the data to the replaced drive.

If a replacement drive is not immediately available and the drive is not the only bootable drive, enter System Setup and change the appropriate drive setting to None. Remove the drive from the system. This should be done only after you have backed up the data.

Write fault

Write fault on selected drive

The operating system cannot write to the diskette or hard-disk drive.

See "Troubleshooting Drives."

System Beep Codes

When errors occur during a boot routine that cannot be reported on the monitor, your computer may emit a series of beeps that identify the problem. The beep code is a pattern of sounds: for example, one beep, followed by a second beep, and then a burst of three beeps (code 1-1-3) means that the computer was unable to read the data in nonvolatile random-access memory (NVRAM). This information is invaluable to the Dell support staff if you need to call for technical assistance.

When a beep code is emitted, write it down on a copy of the Diagnostics Checklist found in "Getting Help," and then look it up in Table 2. If you are unable to resolve the problem by looking up the meaning of the beep code, use the Dell Diagnostics to identify a more serious cause. If you are still unable to resolve the problem, see "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.

Table 2. System Beep Codes

Code	Cause	Action
1-1-2	Microprocessor register failure	See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
1-1-3	NVRAM	Run the System Board Devices tests in the Dell Diagnostics.
1-1-4	ROM BIOS checksum failure	Run the System Board Devices tests in the Dell Diagnostics, if possible.
1-2-1	Programmable interval timer	Run the System Board Devices tests in the Dell Diagnostics, if possible.
1-2-2	Direct memory access (DMA) initialization failure	Run the System Board Devices tests in the Dell Diagnostics, if possible.
1-2-3	DMA page register read/write failure	Run the System Board Devices tests in the Dell Diagnostics, if possible.
1-3	Video Memory Test failure	Run the VESA/VGA Interface tests in the Dell Diagnostics.
1-3-1 through 2-4-4	DIMMs not being properly identified or used	See "Troubleshooting System Memory."
3-1-1	Slave DMA register failure	Run the System Board Devices tests in the Dell Diagnostics, if possible.
3-1-2	Master DMA register failure	Run the System Board Devices tests in the Dell Diagnostics, if possible.
3-1-3	Master interrupt mask register failure	See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
3-1-4	Slave interrupt mask register failure	See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
3-2-2	Interrupt vector loading failure	See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
3-2-4	Keyboard Controller Test failure	Run the Keyboard tests in the Dell Diagnostics. Otherwise, see "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
3-3-1	NVRAM power loss	Run the System Board Devices tests in the Dell Diagnostics, if possible.
3-3-2	NVRAM configuration	Run the System Board Devices tests in the Dell Diagnostics, if possible.
3-3-4	Video Memory Test failure	Run the VESA/VGA Interface tests in the Dell Diagnostics.
3-4-1	Screen initialization failure	Run the VESA/VGA Interface tests in the Dell Diagnostics.
3-4-2	Screen retrace failure	Run the VESA/VGA Interface tests in the Dell Diagnostics.
3-4-3	Search for video ROM failure	Run the VESA/VGA Interface tests in the Dell Diagnostics.
4-2-1	No time tick	See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
4-2-2	Shutdown failure	See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
4-2-3	Gate A20 failure	See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
4-2-4	Unexpected interrupt in protected mode	See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
4-3-1	Memory failure above address 0FFFFh	Run the System Memory tests in the Dell Diagnostics.
4-3-3	Timer-chip counter 2 failure	See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
4-3-4	Time-of-day clock stopped	See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
4-4-1	Serial or parallel port test failure	Run the Serial Ports and the Parallel Ports tests in the Dell Diagnostics.
4-4-2	Failure to decompress code to shadowed memory.	Run the System Board Devices tests in the Dell Diagnostics.
4-4-3	Math-coprocessor test failure	Run the System Board Devices tests in the Dell Diagnostics.
4-4-4	Cache test failure	Run the System Board Devices tests in the Dell Diagnostics.

Warning Messages

A warning message alerts you to a possible problem and asks you to do something before execution continues. For example, before you format a diskette, a message may warn you that you may lose all data on the diskette as a way to protect against inadvertently erasing or writing over the data. These warning messages usually interrupt the procedure and require you to respond by typing a y (yes) or n (no).

NOTE: Warning messages are generated by either your application programs or your operating system. See "Software Checks" and the documentation that accompanied your operating system and application programs.

Diagnostics Messages

When you run a test group or subtest in the Dell Diagnostics, an error message may result. These particular error messages are not covered in this section. Record the message on a copy of your Diagnostics Checklist found in "Getting Help." Also see "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.

Diagnostic LEDs

The power indicator light-emitting diode (LED) and the hard-disk drive LED on the front of the computer emit diagnostic codes that can help you troubleshoot a system problem. Table 3 lists the codes for the diagnostic LEDs, probable causes, and suggested corrective actions.

CAUTION: Before servicing any components inside your computer, see "Safety First—For You and Your Computer."

Table 3. Diagnostic LED Codes

Power LED Code	Cause	Action
Blinking yellow	The system power supply may have failed.	See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
Solid yellow	A device on the system board may be faulty or is incorrectly installed.	Be sure that each microprocessor is properly seated, remove all expansion cards, and then reboot. If the system does not boot, see "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
Solid green and a beep code during POST	A problem was detected while the BIOS was executing.	See Table 2 for instructions on diagnosing the beep code.
Solid green power indicator and no beep code and no video during POST	The monitor or the graphics card may be faulty.	See "Troubleshooting the Monitor." If the monitor is operating properly and is correctly connected, see "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
Solid green power indicator and no beep code but the system locks up during POST	An integrated system board device may be faulty.	See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.

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