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Finding Software Solutions: Dell™ PowerEdge™ 4400 Systems
Installation and Troubleshooting Guide
Because most computer systems have several application programs installed in addition
to the operating system, isolating a software problem can be confusing. Software errors
can also appear to be hardware malfunctions at first.
Software problems can result from the following circumstances:
- Improper installation or configuration of a program
- Device drivers that may conflict with certain application programs
- Interrupt conflicts between devices
You can confirm that a computer system problem is caused by software
by running the system board tests in the Dell
Diagnostics. If all tests in the test group are completed successfully, the problem is
most likely caused by software.
This topic provides some general guidelines for analyzing software
problems. For detailed troubleshooting information on a particular program, see the
documentation that accompanied the software or consult the support service for the
software.
Use virus-scanning software to check newly acquired application programs and files for viruses before you install the programs on the
computer's hard-disk drive. Viruses can quickly use all available system memory, damage or
destroy data stored on the hard-disk drive, and permanently affect the performance of the
programs they infect. Several commercial virus-scanning programs are available for
purchase.
Before you install a program, read its documentation to learn how
the program works, what hardware it requires, and what its defaults are. A program usually
includes installation instructions in its accompanying documentation and a software
installation routine.
The software installation routine assists you in transferring the
appropriate program files to the computer's hard-disk drive. Installation instructions may
provide details about how to configure the operating system to successfully run the
program. Always read the installation instructions before running a program's installation
routine.
When you run the installation routine, be prepared to respond to
prompts for information about how the computer's operating system is configured, what type
of computer you have, and what peripheral devices are connected to the computer.
The following subsections discuss errors that can occur as a result
of software operation or configuration.
Error Messages
Error messages can be produced by an application program, the operating system, or the
computer. "Messages and Codes"
provides information about the error messages that are generated by the computer. If you
receive an error message that is not listed in Messages and Codes, check the operating
system or application program documentation.
Input Errors
If you press a specific key or set of keys at the wrong time, a
program may give you unexpected results. See the documentation that came with the
application program to make sure that the values or characters you are entering are valid.
Make sure that the operating environment is set up to accommodate
the programs you use. Keep in mind that whenever you change the parameters of the
computer's operating environment, you may affect the successful operation of the programs.
Sometimes, after modifying the operating environment, you may need to reinstall a program
that no longer runs properly.
Program Conflicts
Some programs may leave portions of their setup information behind,
even though you have exited from them. As a result, other programs cannot run. Rebooting
the system can confirm whether these programs are the cause of the problem.
Device drivers, which are programs that use specialized subroutines,
can cause problems with the computer system. For example, a variation in the way the data
is sent to the monitor may require a special screen driver program that expects a certain
kind of video mode or monitor. In such cases, you may have to develop an alternate method
of running that particular program—by creating a start-up file made especially for
that program, for example. Call the support service for the software you are using to help
you with this problem.
Avoiding Interrupt Assignment Conflicts
Problems can arise if two devices attempt to use the same interrupt
request (IRQ) line. To avoid this type of conflict, check the documentation for the IRQ
line's default for each installed expansion card. Then consult Table 1 to configure the
card for one of the available IRQ lines.
Table 1. IRQ Line Assignment Defaults
