Epson Equity LT-286e User manual

EPSON
®
EQUITY™LT™-286e
System Diagnostics
User’s Guide

IMPORTANT NOTICE
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
Epson America makes no representations or warranties, either express or implied, by
or with respect to anything in this manual, and shall not be liable for any implied
warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose or for any indirect,
special, or consequential damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion of
incidental or consequential damages, so this exclusion may not apply to you.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Epson
America, Inc. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of information
contained herein. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this
publication, Epson America assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is
any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained
herein. Further, this publication and features described herein are subject to change
without notice.
TRADEMARKS
Epson is a registered trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation.
Equity and LT are trademarks of Epson America, Inc.
MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
Copyright 0 1989 by Epson America, Inc.
Torrance, California Y19499100200
ii

Contents
Introduction.. .........................................
1
Starting the Diagnostics Program.
..........................
2
Creating a Database
..................................... 2
The DIAG Main Menu Screen
............................
4
Selecting Diagnostics Tests
...............................
6
Setting the Run Time Parameters
..........................
7
Timebound Testing
.................................
9
Continuous Testing
.................................
9
Passbound Testing
..................................
9
Error Logging.. ....................................
10
Executing Diagnostics Tests in Batch Mode
.................. 12
Running the Tests.
......................................
12
System Board Diagnostics
.................................
13
Basic Functionality Test
............................. 13
CPU Protected Mode Test.
........................... 13
Processor Speed Test
................................
14
Coprocessor Test
...................................
14
DMA Controller Test ...............................
14
Interrupt Controller Test.
............................
15
Timer Test ........................................
15
RTC Test .........................................
16
CMOS Validity Test
................................ 16
Memory Diagnostics
.....................................
17
BIOS ROM Test
...................................
18
Parity Test
........................................
18
Pattern Test
.......................................
18
Walking 1’s Test.
...................................
19
Walking 0’s Test.
...................................
19
Address Test
.......................................
19
Refresh Test
.......................................
20
iii

Hard Disk Diagnostics
...................................
20
Hard Disk Parameters.
...............................
21
Disk drive identifier.
............................
21
Disk drive type
.................................
22
Interleave factor
...............................
22
Bad track list
..................................
23
Start and end cylinder numbers
...................
23
Start and end head numbers
......................
24
Hard Disk Format.
..................................
24
Auto Interleave
....................................
25
Media Analysis.
....................................
26
Performance Test
...................................
27
Seek Test
.........................................
28
Read/Verify Test
...................................
28
Check Test Cylinder
................................ 29
Force Bad Tracks
...................................
29
Hard Disk Error Messages
............................
30
Floppy Disk Diagnostics
..................................
31
Diskette Format
....................................
32
Drive Speed Test
...................................
32
Random R/W Test
..................................
32
Sequential R/W Test
................................
33
Disk Change Line Test
..............................
33
Floppy Disk Error Messages
...........................
33
Keyboard Diagnostics
....................................
34
Controller Test.
....................................
35
Scan/ASCII Code Test
..............................
35
Keyboard Clock Line Test
............................
35
Keyboard Data Line Test.
............................
35
iv

Video Diagnostics
.......................................
36
Adapter Test
......................................
36
Attribute Test
.....................................
36
80x25 Display Test.
................................. 36
40x25 Display Test.
................................. 37
320x200 Graphics Test
..............................
37
640x200 Graphics Test
..............................
37
Page Selection Test
................................. 37
Color Test .........................................
37
640x350 Graphics Test
..............................
38
Video Error Message.
................................
38
Miscellaneous Diagnostics
................................
38
Printer Adapter Test
................................ 38
Communication Adapter Test.
........................
39
Keyboard Scan/ASCII Codes
..............................
41
V

Introduction
This booklet describes how to use the diagnostics program,
called DIAG, to test the condition of your computer’s main unit
and peripheral devices, The DIAG program provides tests to
check the following hardware:
CI System board
Cl Memory
Ll Hard disk drive
0 Diskette drive
LI Keyboard
CI Video adapter board and monitor
CI Printer and communications ports
After you start the diagnostics program, you can create a
database that records the location of faulty memory chips, if any
exist. This database displays a graphic representing your
computer’s memory board and identifies the faulty chips.
Once you select a test, you need to specify how long to run it.
You use the Run Time Parameters window to specify a certain
length of time to run the test, run it continuously until you
interrupt it, or specify a number of times to run the test.
System Diagnostics 1

Starting the Diagnostics Program
To start the diagnostics program, follow these steps:
1. Insert the Diagnostics diskette in drive A.
2. Turn on or reset the computer.
3. At the MS-DOS@ prompt, type the following and press
Enter:
DIAG
The Diagnostics program displays a title screen.
4. Press any key to continue.
Creating a Database
You can create a database to record the location of faulty
memory chips that are causing memory errors. To graphically
represent the memory board on the screen, you need to identify
your system’s memory configuration.
In the lower portion of the screen, you see this message:
Press <Esc> to bypass database creation
Press ESC if you do not want to create the database. The DIAG
main menu appears so you can select the tests you want to run.
2 System Diagnostics

If you want to create a database, follow these steps:
1. Type the name (from 1 to 50 characters) that identifies your
company or the computer and press Enter in response to
this prompt:
vendor's name :
(maximum 50 characters)
For example, type EPSON and press Enter.
2. Type the computer’s model number (from 1 to 8 characters)
and press Enter in response to this prompt:
model number
.
.
(maximum 8 characters)
For example, type LT-286e and press Enter.
DIAG stores this information in a file called DIAGS.CNF.
3. If a database with this vendor name and model number does
not exist, you see this message:
Database does not exist - press
any key except <Esc> to continue
To create the database, press any key other than ESC.
Now you respond to the screen prompts to update the
configuration. You can accept the default values that DIAG
presents by pressing Enter. When you see the diagram of
the motherboard, press ESC to continue the diagnostics.
If a database with the specified vendor name and model
number exists, you see this message:
Your database already exists -
want to update (Y/N)? N
System Diagnostics 3

To update the existing database, press Y and Enter. Now
you respond to the screen prompts to update the
configuration.
If you do not want to update the database, press N and
Enter. You see the DIAG main menu.
The DIAG Main Menu Screen
The DIAG main menu screen looks like this:
~~~~~~~~~~ Memoly
:.:-A. . . . ..I. _.... . . . .
Hard Disk Keyboard Video
Miscl.
.
Processor speed test
DMA Controller test
Interrupt Controller test
Timer test
Real Time Clock test
The program’s title, copyright information, and the date and
time appear at the top of the screen.
The DIAG options line shows these categories of tests: System
Board, Memory, Hard Disk, Floppy, Keyboard, Video, and
Miscellaneous.
After you select a category, DIAG provides a submenu of the
available diagnostics tests. When the main menu first displays,
you see the submenu of diagnostics tests for the System Board
category.
4 System Diagnostics

The Run Time Parameters window lets you specify how long
you want the test to run, whether you want DIAG to notify you
of each error as it occurs, and whether to create a log of all
errors that occur during testing.
The Help window shows the keys you use to make menu
selections.
A short message describing each test you highlight displays at
the bottom of the screen.
You use these keys to make menu selections and run diagnostics
tests:
Key
Function
+
Move to the next window (or device)
t
Move to the previous window (or device)
1Move to the next test
t Move to the previous test
Enter Start the test
F2
Set the Run Time Parameters
F3
Select or deselect a test
F4 Select all tests
F5
Deselect all tests
F6
Run all selected tests
system Diagnostics 5