{"id":298,"date":"2020-08-18T19:23:47","date_gmt":"2020-08-18T20:23:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.linux-tutorial.info\/?page_id=77"},"modified":"2020-08-22T19:26:01","modified_gmt":"2020-08-22T20:26:01","slug":"this-is-the-page-title-toplevel-133","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.linux-tutorial.info\/?page_id=298","title":{"rendered":"HW Diagnostics"},"content":{"rendered":"\nHW Diag<\/title>\n<p>\n<b>Hardware Diagnostic Tools<\/b>\n<p>\nSince the world\nis not perfect you will eventually have to deal with a crashed system. In many\ncases, how the system behaves when it boots (or doesn’t boot) will give you an\nindication of what is going on. However, it also will happen that there is\nnothing that specifically identifies the problem. It is also possible that your\nsystem boots fine, but exhibits odd behavior has it is running. The most common\nsolution for this kind of problems on Windows machines is to re-install.\nHowever, this only corrects the problem if is related to the software. What\nabout hardware problems?\n<p>\nThere are a number of hardware diagnostic tools on\nthe market. Some run under Windows, whereas others have their own “operating\nsystem” which you can <glossary>boot<\/glossary>, allowing you to directly\naccess the hardware. Those that run as stand alone products, typically have a\nmuch wider range of tests they can conduct because they are not limited by the\n<glossary>operating system<\/glossary>. Keep in mind that this more that just\nreporting the <glossary>IRQ<\/glossary> or base <glossary>address<\/glossary> of\nthe devices. These products actually test the various components of your system.\n<p>\nPersonally, I think you should use tools which run under the\n<glossary>operating system<\/glossary> in conjunction with stand-alone products.\nIt is possible that you might get incorrect results if you are running under\nany operating system as it often “interprets” the information for you. Although\nthis is useful for “configuration” issues, defects and other problems are often\nmissed.\n<p>\n<p>\nThere are also a few products that come with interface cards\nthat are inserted to the <glossary>bus<\/glossary>, allowing you to diagnose\nproblems even when your system cannot <glossary>boot<\/glossary>. These have a\nsmall, digital display on the card which shows you the post code being sent\nacross the bus. Based on the code, you can determine where the problem lies.\n<p>\nIn general, the software products have a common set of tests they run\nthrough. The tests normally include: <br \/>System Board <br \/>Video Alignment Aids\n<br \/>Video Adapter <br \/>Parallel Port <br \/>Serial Port <br \/>Floppy Disk Drive\n<br \/>Hard Disk Tests (0 & 1) <br \/>Main Memory Tests\n<p>\nOne of the key features to\nlook at is the extent to which you can configure these tests. This might mean\ndefining a specific set of tests to run, as well as how many times to run each\ntest. Both are important aspects. If you already have an idea of where the\nproblem is, you should not have to wait for the program to run through\nunnecessary tests. Also, with hardware you often have sporadic problems.\nTherefore, you might have to run the test continually for an extended length of\ntime before the problem re-appears.\n<p>\nAnother thing to look at is what values\nor configuration settings can be changed. Keep in mind that changing settings is\nnot always a good thing. Particularly if a novice is running the tests.\n<p>\n<b>Micro2000<\/b>\n<p>\nIf you are concerned with diagnosing PC hardware\nproblems, take a look at the wide range of products that Micro2000 has to\noffer. The products range from self-booting diagnostic tools to\n<glossary>POST<\/glossary> reader cards to remote diagnostics and beyond.\n<p>\nMicro-Scope is their self-booting diagnostic tool that can run on any PC.\nRegardless of the <glossary>CPU<\/glossary> manufacturer (Intel, Cyrix or AMD) or\n<glossary>bus<\/glossary> (ISA, <glossary>EISA<\/glossary>,\n<glossary>MCA<\/glossary>, <glossary>PCI<\/glossary>, and PCMCIA), Micro-Scope can\nidentify problems on your PC. Version 7 (the newest, as of this writing)\ncontains tests for your <glossary>CD-ROM<\/glossary> drive, without the need to\nload DOS-based CD-ROM drivers. Something which many other diagnostic tools do\nnot have. In addition, the version 7 also contains support for the AMD K6-II and\nIntel Xeon processor, even those with a clock speed above 500Mhz. Upgrades for\nnew processors are available for download from the internet.\n<p>\nMany tools\nsimply report on the problems they find. However, Micro-Scope not only allows\nyou to make changes, but also gives you detailed benchmarks of your system. This\nis useful when you “feel” something is wrong with your machine, but there is no\nidentifiable hardware problem. With the report generated by the benchmark, you\ncan see if the machine is performing as it should.\n<p>\nDuring the testing,\nMicro-Scope examines the <glossary>CMOS<\/glossary> and <glossary>POST<\/glossary>\ninformation. Anything that is inaccurate or questionable is flagged, allowing\nyou to change it as needed. Part of this is being able to accurately identify\nyour hardware, including brand name and model. This is extremely useful when\nbuying brand name computers, which normally do not tell you exactly what\ncomponents you have.\n<p>\nMicroscope supports all common <glossary>bus<\/glossary>\ntypes including <glossary>ISA<\/glossary>, <glossary>EISA<\/glossary>,\n<glossary>PCI<\/glossary> and Microchannel. You can even display the POS\nregisters on IBM PS\/2 systems, including all slots, which adapters are in which\nslot, which <glossary>ADF<\/glossary> (adapter description file) to use and\nwhether the ADF is loaded.\n<p>\nIn addition to being able to diagnose\n<glossary>CD-ROM<\/glossary> problems, Micro-Scope can test many other\nmulti-media components, such as DVD drives and sound cards. It has full\nsynthesizer tests and can test the volume and left-right channels of your sound\ncard.\n<p>\nTests can be run once or repeatedly. The results of which can either\nbe printer out or saved to disk (or just viewed on-screen if you want). In\naddition, you can use the printscreen capability to print directly from the\n<glossary>application<\/glossary>.\n<p>\nAs with other products, Micro-Scope will\nthoroughly check your memory, using all of the common tests (checkerboard,\nwalking-ones, etc.). Low memory is tested before the entire program is loaded,\nwhich is then relocated in memory to enable you to test all of your memory,\nregardless of how much you have. In addition, Micro-Scope will tell you exactly\nwhat bank is failing. This includes the ability to test internal and external\nsystem <glossary>cache<\/glossary>, as well as video <glossary>RAM<\/glossary> up\nto 64Mb.\n<p>\nAnother bonus is the tools Micro-Scope has for data recovery. It\ncan identify and correct many problems in the master <glossary>boot<\/glossary>\nrecord of your hard disk. It also includes an editor to allow you to make\nchanges your self anywhere on the disk (assuming you have the knowledge to do\nit).\n<p>\nIn addition, to free download of patches, Micro-Scope comes with\nlifetime technical support. After using the program, I find it difficult to\nconceive of a reason why someone would need to call to support, as it is so\nintuitive, but the offer is nice. The product package contains both 3.5″ and\n5.25″ disks, a use’s manual, as well as 9 pin serial, 25 pin serial, and 25 pin\nparallel loopback connectors, to diagnose serial and parallel port problems.\n<p>\nUnfortunately, something like Micro-Scope cannot always do the job. This\nhappens when your system just won’t <glossary>boot<\/glossary> for any number of\nreasons. Using a <glossary>diskette<\/glossary> with it’s own <glossary>operating\nsystem<\/glossary> does no good, because the computer does not get that far to\nboot from anywhere. This is where Micro2000’s product POST-Probe comes in handy.\n<p>\nAs it’s name implies, POST-Probe monitors the <glossary>POST<\/glossary> codes\nbeing sent across your system <glossary>bus<\/glossary> as the computer is\nbooting. It can fit into any <glossary>ISA<\/glossary>,\n<glossary>EISA<\/glossary>, PCU or <glossary>MCA<\/glossary> slot (although it\nrequires the included adapter for the MCA). These codes are displayed on two\nseven-segment displays, indicating what the POST is testing at the moment.\nThere are also four LEDs which monitor the power, as well as four voltage\npads (+5vdc, -5vdc, +12vdc, -12vdc and an additional 3.3V for PCI) to test the\nsystem using a voltmeter.\n<p>\nThere are additional LEDs which monitor clock\nsignals, the RESET <glossary>signal<\/glossary> and <glossary>I\/O<\/glossary>\nreads and writes. You can therefore use POST-Probe after your system is running\nto identify other <glossary>bus<\/glossary> problems and possible problems with\nspecific cards.\n<p>\n<p>\nWhen your system stops, the last code displayed gives\nyou an indication of what is wrong. Although the code does not always tell you\nthe exact place where there is a problem, the included user’s manual lists these\nphases of the <glossary>POST<\/glossary>. By looking at the steps around where it\nstopped, I have never not found the problem. In one instance, I accidentally\nloosed up the cable to my hard disk. When I tried to <glossary>boot<\/glossary>\nnothing happen. Using the POST-Probe I quickly found the problem.\n<p>\nAs I will\ntalk about in later chapters, I am a stickler for documentation. I am really\nimpressed with the POST-Probe manual. It is written in an easy to understand\nlanguage. <glossary>POST<\/glossary> failure codes are on the left side of each\npage, with the description the device or chip that is causing the problem. This\nhelps finding and understanding the problem.\n<p>\nFor the true profession,\nMicro200 has combined Micro-Scope and POST-Probe into a single product, which\nthey call the Universal Diagnostics Toolkit. Both products are combined in the\nfull version within a case, which is not only large enough to hold both product,\nbut tools and many other things. Each product as the same lifetime technical\nsupport as the stand-alone versions.\n<p>\nMicro2000’s product Burn-In takes much\nof the functionality of Micro-Scope to the next level. As it’s name implies, it\nis used to conduct “burn-in” tests of computers. This can be either new machines\nor ones that you have repaired. This is an extremely useful tool to prevent\ndeploying products that will only cause you problems down the road. Particularly\nin cases where machines have multiple problems and only one is correct, burn-in\ntests can save you a great deal of both time and money.\n<p>\nLike Micro-Scope,\nBurn-In is compatible with all <glossary>CPU<\/glossary> manufacturers and system\nbuses. In addition, Burn-In performs all of the same tests that Micro-scope\ndoes.\n<p>\nBurn-In has a couple of very useful features for companies that\ninstall a larger number of PCs at once. First, the tests can be run without a\nmonitor or keyboard. Therefore, you need a lot less space allowing you to simply\n<glossary>stack<\/glossary> up the PCs and run a large number of tests at once.\nUsing the floppy drive light and speaker, the program send a few signals to the\ntechnician when it needs a “scratch” disk or the loopback plugs. Other than\nthat, the program runs completely on it’s one, saving the results to disk.\n<p>\nAs the tests are run, Burn-In writes a complete log to the scratch disk you\nprovided. Since the log is <glossary>ASCII<\/glossary>, you can read it with\nany text editor. In addition, the log is being update the\nentire time. Therefore, if something should happen to the machine (like someone\naccidentally pulling the plug), Burn-In will be able to continue where it left\noff.\n<p>\nIn addition, you only need to run the setup once. The test\nconfiguration is then saved and performed the same way each time the disk is\nbooted. If the program determines that hardware is not present for a test is was\nselected to do, that test is simply skipped, without the need to configure the\ntest for different hardware variations.\n<p>\n<b>TuffTEST<\/b>\n<p>\nTuffTEST from\nWindsor Technologies is a powerful and very inexpensive stand-alone diagnostic\ntool. Although you could order it with all of the packaging, you can save time,\nmoney and trees by ordering and then downloading it from the web. As of this\nwriting it is just $9.95, which is a fraction of most other products.\n<p>\nOne key aspect is that it is designed specifically for users with less experience.\nAlthough it has most of the features of high-end tools, the emphasis is on ease\nof use, as well as providing the user with sufficient information to diagnose\nthe problem.\n<p>\nThis is a stand-alone product, in that it can be booted from a\nfloppy. This sounds confusing at first, because you download it from the\nInternet. What you download is a program which allows you to create the bootable\nfloppies. Once booted, TuffTEST “takes over” the computer, without the need for\nan <glossary>operating system<\/glossary> like <glossary>DOS<\/glossary> or\nWindows. As I mentioned before, often this yields more accurate results.\nTuffTEST has its own set of device drivers, which can access hardware directly.\n<p>\nWindsor boasts that TuffTEST is “safe for use by anyone.” This is because\nnone of the tests change data on the hard disk. In addition, the program is so\nconfigure that once it boots, it will wait 10 seconds for a menu selection and\nif no key is pressed it runs through the complete suite of tests.\n<p>\nAnother\nadvantage of TuffTEST is that it is complete written in assembly language which\nmeans more compact code, and faster execution. In addition, it take up just\n125K of memory, which is actually relocated when then program runs. This ensures\nthat every memory locations is tested. In other cases, the program is actually\ntoo large to be able to check all of memory.\n<p>\nTuffTEST is not just a diagnostic\ntool as it can also display all of your hardware configuration information.\nThis information can then be printed or saved to the disk. Each saved session\ncontains the test results as well as the system configuration. Since you can\nsave up to five previous sessions, you can compare the results from multiple\ntests.\n<p>\nHigher up on the scale is TuffTEST PRO, this is intended for the\nprofessional. This has the same basic functionality plus you can edit your\nconfiguration and make other changes to your system. Like TuffTEST. TuffTEST PRO\nis a stand-alone product, meaning you <glossary>boot<\/glossary> your\n<glossary>operating system<\/glossary> from the <glossary>diskette<\/glossary> and\nit becomes your operating system.\n<p>\nIn addition, there are a number of tests\nthat TuffTEST PRO has that are not included in TuffTEST. For example, TuffTEST\nPRO can report in the switch positions on your motherboard, conduct\n<glossary>I\/O<\/glossary> tests on your serial and parallel ports, determine the\noptimal interleave and low-level your harddisk, and many other tests. Using the\noptional loopback test, you can do I\/O tests on your serial and parallel ports.\n<p>\nOne of the most interesting aspects of TuffTEST is sales approach. You can\norder a packaged version f the product, including a printed manual , if you\nfeel it is necessary. However, there really is no need. The on-line manual\ncontains all of the necessary information, plus the product is extremely\nintuitive.\n<p>\nLifetime support is provided for free. However, the product is so\neasy to use it is hard to think of reason why you would need to call them. In\naddition, updates range from free for minor changes to a slight fee for major\nnew releases.\n<p>\n<p>\nOther Goodies\n<p>\nThe PC Technology Guide\n<p>\nIf you feel\nyou are overwhelmed by all the different hardware technologies, you’re not\nalone. Quite rankly there are a lot of different kinds of hardware and it is\nextremely difficult to be really familiar with all of it, especially if you have\nother duties to perform. However, at one time or another you’re going to need to\nknow about different kinds of hardware, so you will either need to learn all\nyourself, hire someone who already know it all, or find a source of information\nthat can deliver the necessary information efficiently.\n<p>\nIn this context,\nefficiency has two key aspects. The first is related to speed. If it takes\nuntil tomorrow to get the information you need (like being through stacks and\nstacks of old magazines), it is not very efficient. Even if you know that the\ninformation is in that <glossary>stack<\/glossary> “somewhere,” it does you\nlittle good if you spend hours or even days looking for it.\n<p>\nSecond,\nefficiency is also related to the amount of information available to you. This\ndoes not mean you need access to all of the material ever written about PC\nhardware. Instead, the opposite is often more true. That is, sometimes the\ninformation available is just too much. You cannot see the forest for the trees.\nIf the amount of information keeps you from getting at what you need, it is not\nvery efficient.\n<p>\nI often encounter “information overload” when I’m confronted\nby new technology. I’m interested in earning what it’s all about and browse\nthe Web site of a vendor who offers this technology. It is loaded with\ntechnology briefs, press releases, white papers, and many other documents\ndescribing the technology. Unfortunately, more often than not where I would expect\nto find a description of the technology, I end up with what equates to nothing\nmore than the marketing blurb about how wonderfully this company has implemented\nthe technology.\n<p>\nEven if there are technical papers about the technology,\nI’m often confronted with a problem with new technology that there is often not\nenough background information to understand what the papers talking\nabout. So I have to go running to some other site to find out the technical\nbackground to understand technical background of this new technology.\n<p>\nTherefore, when I came across the PC technology guide Web site\n(www.pctechguide.com), I was amazed to find so much useful information in one\nplace. The site explicitly states it is”aimed more at the PC hobbiest than the\nIT professional.” However, I feel that the authors “aim” is off as this site\nprovides the wealth of information for the hobbiest and the IT professional.\n<p>\nOne key issue that is overlooked by many people is just what “IT\nprofessional” means today. As late as the mid-90s, and IT professional had to be\na jack of all trades. You had to know about hardware, operating systems,\nnetworking, programming, and all of the other areas which falls under the\nheading of “information technology.” Today, people within the IT profession are\nbecoming more and more specialized. It is not unreasonable to find an\noutstanding database <glossary>administrator<\/glossary>, who knows little about\nthe underlying hardware. He or she does not need to know this as the\n<glossary>operating system<\/glossary> should provide the necessary level of\nabstraction.\n<p>\nTherefore, something like the PC technology guide provides an\noutstanding resource for anyone including IT professionals who need to find out\nmore information about the hardware technology aspects of IT. Plus, it is\nloaded with detailed images, which help you to understand the technology being\ndiscussed. Being Web pages has the extra added advantage of having links to\ndifferent places on the site. Therefore, you do not need to go hunting defined\ndetails. You just click on the link and you are there.\n<p>\nThe site’s author,\nDave Anderson, has also considered the wishes of people who want continual access\nto the information. Dave provides the PC technology guide on CD, which you can\norder on the Web site. This is definitely well worth the money. For less than\nthe cost of any good book on the subject, you have immediate access to the\ninformation you need. Since it only takes up about 25 MB, including all of the\ninformation stored in MS-Word documents, there is no reason not to copy it to\nyour hard disk.\n<p>\nAlthough a separate browser is provided with the product,\nwhich allows you to access the pages, preferred using a separate browser such\nas Netscape Navigator. By purchasing a site license, you could easily link in\nthe PC technology guide into your Intranet, making it available to all of your\nusers. In addition, regular updates of the CD are provided.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HW Diag Hardware Diagnostic Tools Since the world is not perfect you will eventually have to deal with a crashed system. In many cases, how the system behaves when it boots (or doesn’t boot) will give you an indication of … <a href=\"http:\/\/www.linux-tutorial.info\/?page_id=298\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">→<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-298","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.linux-tutorial.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.linux-tutorial.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.linux-tutorial.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.linux-tutorial.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.linux-tutorial.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=298"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.linux-tutorial.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":577,"href":"http:\/\/www.linux-tutorial.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/298\/revisions\/577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.linux-tutorial.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}