Service manual

Troubleshooting Your Computer: Dell Latitude CP
NOTE: If you have another hard-disk drive that you know is in good condition, install it in
your computer before you begin this procedure and perform the operation that caused you to
suspect a hard-disk drive failure. If there is no evidence of a drive failure with the second
drive installed, the first drive is probably defective. If the second drive fails, reinstall the first
drive and start the following procedure.
1. Reboot the computer. Does the drive access indicator blink during the boot routine, and
does the drive boot the operating system?
Yes. If a message appears on the display, see Table 3-2 for an explanation if the
message and possible corrective actions. Then go to step 6.
No. Continue to step 2.
2. Insert your operating system diskette into drive A, and reboot the computer.
3. Check drive C in the Windows 95 Explorer. Are the root directory contents for Drive C
displayed?
Yes. Go to step 5.
No. Continue to step 4.
4. If your hard-disk drive has more than one logical drive, check drive D. Are the root
directory contents for drive D displayed?
Yes. Continue to step 5.
No. You may have a corrupted boot sector or file allocation table (FAT) on drive C. Go
to step 8.
5. Rename your autoexec.bat and config.sys files, remove the operating system diskette
from drive A, and reboot the computer. Does the operating system load now?
Yes. You have an error in your autoexec.bat or config.sys file. Use a text editor to
examine the contents of these files and locate the error. For information on the correct
syntax for commands in these files, see the documentation that came with your
operating system.
No. Continue to step 6.
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