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Notice
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1998 Hewlett-Packard Company
Doc ver 2.1 06/99 for DiagTools ver 2.10
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User’s Guide
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Who Should Read This Book
Who Should Read This Book
This manual is for anyone who wants to:
Diagnose hardware problems on a Vectra PC or Kayak PC
•
Workstation
Understand the purpose of DiagTools
•
Learn how to use DiagTools
•
Know what to do when a test fails
•
Provide HP-dedicated Support Agents with more information for
•
solving problems quickly and effectively
Find out where to get more information and support.
•
What is DiagTools?
The first step in solving a problem with a PC is diagnosis.
HP’s DiagTools helps you diagnose hardware-related problems on a
Vectra PC or Kayak PC Workstation. It is a series of tools designed to
help you to:
Verify the correct functioning of a Vectra PC or a Kayak PC
•
Workstation
Diagnose hardware-related problems
•
Provide precise information to HP-dedicated Support Agents so that
•
they can solve any problem quickly and effectively.
DiagTools is not a repair tool.
iv English
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Overview of DiagTools
The Vectra and Kayak hardware diagnostics utility has four parts:
❒ Hardware Detection, which automatically detects the complete
hardware configuration of a Vectra PC or Kayak PC Workstation.
Hardware detection is described in chapter 2.
❒ The Basic Tests, which determine the correct functioning of the PC
as a whole. The basic test phase is described in chapter 3.
❒ The Advanced Tests. These provide complete, in-depth testing and
diagnosis of the PC’s individual components. The advanced test
phase is described in chapter 4.
Overview of DiagTools
❒ The Support Ticket, which is a complete record of the test results
and the PC’s configuration. The support ticket can be used to
communicate the test results to your local or HP-dedicated Support
Agent. This is described in chapter 5.
Compatibility
DiagTools can run on the following HP Vectra PC and HP Kayak PC
Workstation platforms:
❒ All Vectra V–Line and X–Line PCs and PC Workstations released
after June, 1997.
❒ All HP Kayak PC Workstations.
❒ Vectra VE 5/xxx Series 2
Vectra VE 5/xxx Series 3
Vectra VE 5/xxx Series 4
Vectra VE C/xxx Series 7
Vectra VE 6/xxx Series 8
Vectra VL 5/xxx Series 4
English v
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Where to Get the Diagnostics Software
Vectra VL 5/xxx Series 5
Vectra VL 6/xxx Series 6
Vectra VL 6/xxx Series 7
Vectra VL 6/xxx Series 8
Vectra VA 6/xxx.
❒ Vectra XM 5/xxx Series 4
Vectra XA 5/xxx
Vectra XA 6/xxx.
❒ Net Vectra 5/xxx PC.
Where to Get the Diagnostics Software
Always use the latest version of DiagTools.
You can download the latest version of the DiagTools utility from the
Vectra support web site at:
http://www.hp.com/go/vectrasupport
or the Kayak support web site at:
http://www.hp.com/go/kayaksupport.
For more information about the HP web site and HP Customer Care
Service and Support, refer to page 38.
vi English
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Contents
Who Should Read This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
If you are a Net Vectra PC user, the Hardware Diagnostics should
already be installed on your PC and be ready to use. To learn how to
run DiagTools on a Net Vectra PC, refer to "Starting DiagTools from the
Hard Disk Drive", on page 9.
Vectra PC & Kayak PC Workstation Users and Network
Administrators
For Vectra PC and Kayak PC Workstation users, as well as network
administrators, you must do the following before you can use
DiagTools:
Install the latest version of DiagTools on your PC.
1
Set up DiagTools so that it is ready for use. This means either
2
creating the diskette(s), or updating the Hardware Diagnostics files
on your Net Vectra PC.
There are two ways to run DiagTools:
From diskettes. The PC boots (or starts) from the first diskette. This
•
is appropriate for all PCs that have a floppy disk drive. This is the
most common way of using DiagTools.
From the hard disk drive. In this case, you select the Hardware
•
Diagnostics option during startup. The Hardware Diagnostics utility
is installed on the hard disk drive. This is only appropriate for Net
Vectra PCs. Net Vectra PCs do not usually have a floppy disk drive.
NOTEDiagTools must not be run directly from your operating system.
DiagTools will only function under the DOS operating system and once
the correct drivers have been loaded.
You can download the latest version of the DiagTools utility from HP’s
support web site at:
http://www.hp.com/go/vectrasupport
or the Kayak’s support web site at:
http://www.hp.com/go/kayaksupport.
For more information about the HP web site and HP Customer Care
Service and Support, refer to page 38.
There are two versions of DiagTools available:
The stand-alone version. Use this version if you do not have
•
TopTools for Desktops Agent installed on your PC.
1 Starting DiagTools
Installing and Setting Up DiagTools
NOTETo know if you have TopTools client software on your PC in
Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT 4.0, click
Programs, and look for HP TopTools for Desktops or HP DMI.
The TopTools version. Use this version if you have TopTools version
•
Start, point to
2.2 (or later) installed on your PC, or if using the Download function
of TopTools for Desktops Device Manager.
If you have an older version of TopTools that does not have the
or the
DiagTools
page, or if you are in doubt, use the stand-alone
version.
There are several files available for downloading under Software & Drivers and Manuals:
The DiagTools utility. A compressed file (with the extension .EXE)
•
which contains all the files necessary for installing DiagTools.
The User’s Guide for DiagTools – the document you are reading. It is
•
a PDF file which can be viewed and printed using Adobe’s Acrobat
Reader. (The Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded free of
charge from HP’s World Wide Web site.)
Diags
The labels for the Hardware Diagnostics diskette(s). Once you have
•
created the DiagTools diskette(s), you can use this PDF file to create
the diskette labels. You will not need this file if you are going to run
DiagTools from a hard disk partition.
Once you have downloaded the self-extracting DiagTools file, follow
these steps:
1Extract the files by running the downloaded .EXE file. To do this in
Windows, double-click the file.
We recommend that you use the proposed target directory when
extracting the Hardware Diagnostic files. This ensures compatibility
with HP TopTools.
2Open the README file and read the installation instructions. To
open this file in Windows, double-click it.
Creating the Hardware Diagnostics Diskette(s)
If you have a floppy disk drive, you must create the hardware
diagnostics diskette(s). One or more diskettes will be created. How you
do this depends on the version of DiagTools that you have.
If you have downloaded the TopTools version of the Hardware
Diagnostics and you have a recent version of TopTools on your PC, you
can use this utility to create the diagnostic diskette(s). To do this,
select the
Diagnose PC) button.
Diags (or DiagTools) page, then click the Create... (or
1 Starting DiagTools
Installing and Setting Up DiagTools
TopTools client
application showing
the Diags page.
Your version of
TopTools may be
different from this.
For more information about using TopTools, refer to the TopTools
online help in the
Help menu.
If you have the Stand-Alone version of DiagTools
If you have the stand-alone version of the Hardware Diagnostics, follow
this procedure:
1Prepare two formatted 1.44 MB diskettes and two diskette labels.
Before you run the Hardware Diagnostics, ensure that the following are
correctly configured in the computer’s BIOS Setup program:
❒ No operating system is specified, which means that:
1 Starting DiagTools
Before Running DiagTools
Main
if the
•
Play OS
if the Main menu has an item to select the operating system, set
•
Other.
it to
❒ All
Hardware Protection items in the Security menu are set to
Enabled or Unlocked.
menu has an item
, set it to
No
Running Windows 95
Plug and
or
❒ The option to start from the floppy disk is enabled.
More Information About The PC’s Setup Program
Setup is an integrated (ROM-based) program that displays the PC’s
configuration and allows you to change the configuration parameters.
Setup changes system behavior by modifying the power-on
initialization parameters. Setting incorrect values may cause the PC to
fail at start-up. If this occurs, press F9 in the Setup program. This will
load the Setup default values and allow the PC to recover.
To enter the PC’s Setup program, restart the PC and press F2 when the
Vectra Logo or Kayak logo screen (or the Summary screen) appears.
NOTE FOR
NET VECTRA PCS
To run DiagTools from the hard disk drive, the PC must have
the correct boot (start) configuration. All Net Vectra PCs are
provided with a ready-to-use Hardware Diagnostics dual boot
configuration. For more information, refer to "Starting
DiagTools from the Hard Disk Drive", on page 9.
This means that the PC cannot find the system files on the diskette.
The problem could be:
The diskette may be damaged or corrupted. Select another
a
diskette and create another Hardware Diagnostics diskette (refer
to page 4).
If there is more than one diskette, you may have inserted the
b
incorrect one. Try starting the PC from the other diskette(s).
Non-System disk or disk error, Replace
1 Starting DiagTools
Starting DiagTools from the Hard Disk Drive
appears when the PC starts.
NOTE
CAUTION
Starting DiagTools from the Hard Disk Drive
To run DiagTools from the hard disk drive, your PC must have the
correct boot (start) configuration. All Net Vectra PCs are provided with
a ready-to-use Hardware Diagnostics dual boot configuration.
If you have a Net Vectra PC, you can start the Hardware Diagnostics
from the hard disk drive. To do this:
Quit all applications, shut down the operating system, and restart
1
your PC. To do this in Windows NT 4.0, click
, and then click
Down
When the PC starts you have the choice between Hardware
2
Restart the computer
Start
Diagnostics or your usual operating system. Select the Hardware
Diagnostics option. The Hardware Diagnostics will start
automatically, displaying the Welcome screen (refer to page 10).
Do not remove the
CONFIG.SYS
and
AUTOEXEC.BAT
root of the C:\ drive because DiagTools will not work without these files.
Also, DiagTools will not work if you convert the hard disk drive to NTFS
(Windows NT File System) format.
If you have a Net Vectra PC and cannot start Hardware Diagnostics,
your PC may not be correctly set up to run the diagnostic tool. Contact
your network administrator or, alternatively, contact your local or HPdedicated Support Agent.
The Welcome Screen
When you start the Hardware Diagnostics utility, you will see the
following screen:
Press to continue and follow the instructions on the screen to run
the diagnostic tests. You can quit the diagnostic utility at any time,
except during the execution of the basic system test which takes
several minutes. In general, the progression of each test is displayed on
the screen.
Hardware detection determines which tests are appropriate for your
PC. For example, if your PC has a IDE or SCSI hard disk drive, the boot
sector of the hard disk drive will be checked as part of the basic system
test.
In the advanced tests, some functions will be disabled if they are not
appropriate for your PC. For example, if you do not have a SCSI
controller, the
SCSI menu in the advanced tests will be disabled.
During Hardware Detection
The following screen appears during hardware detection:
NOTEHardware detection may be so fast that this screen simply flickers on
and off, without giving you time to read it. This is normal. The time
required for hardware detection varies greatly between the different
systems and different configurations.
If a component or device in your PC (such as a hard disk drive) is not
detected, do the following:
Check the list of components that DiagTools should detect (this is on
1
page 14).
If the non-detected component is not in this list, then there is no
error and the situation is normal.
If the non-detected component is in this list, continue to the next
step.
2 Hardware Detection
If a PC Component is Not Detected
Check that the PC is correctly configured in the PC’s Setup program.
2
(Refer to page 7 for more information about the PC’s Setup
program.)
Refer to the User’s Guide that came with the PC for information
3
about troubleshooting the PC.
Run the DiagTools and proceed to the basic system test.
4
NOTEDiagTools does not test components that have not been detected.
However, we recommend that you continue with the basic system test
to verify that the underlying components are functioning correctly.
For example: a PC has a PCI SCSI controller card installed and a
SCSI hard disk connected to this controller. Even if the SCSI hard
disk drive is not detected, running the basic system test will ensure
the correct functioning of the PCI system that supports the SCSI
controller.
If the problem persists, contact your local or HP-dedicated Support