|
Click on the links below:
How to test a dial-up modem in Windows 98 & ME
How to test a dial-up modem in Windows XP
How to check PSU voltages
Windows Memory Diagnostic
Has my PC got USB2 or USB1.1?
Are my drives working fast enough?
Back to top of page
How to test a dial-up modem in Windows 98 & ME
Click Start
Then Settings
Then Control Panel
Then Modems
Then Diagnostics
Select appropriate COM port
Click "More Info"
The PC will "communicate with the modem"
If you get a list of commands and responses - all is well (ignore the detail of the responses)
Anything else - is a problem - ditch the modem
They're too cheap to try to repair.
Click OK all the way out
Back to top of page
How to test a dial-up modem in Windows XP
Click Start
Then right click My Computer
The System Properties box opens
Then click the Hardware tab
Then Device Manager
Click the plus sign next to Modems
Right click on your modem’s description
Click on Properties
The Modem Properties box opens
Click on the Diagnostics tab
and finally click the Query Modem button
The PC will "communicate with the modem"
If you get a list of commands and responses - all is well (ignore the detail of the responses)
Anything else - is a problem - ditch the modem
They're too cheap to try to repair
Click OK all the way out
Back to top of page
How to check PSU voltages
If your PSU fails completely then the PSU fan will stop (and vice versa - think about it!) But sometimes just one of the 3 voltage supplies fails, so if you have a voltmeter you can check the voltages:
At any molex (flat 4 pin) plug:
Black = ground
Red = +5v
Yellow = +12v
Pull out the motherboard plug, short green to any black, switch on
Orange = +3.3v (Red and Yellow as above)
If any of these have failed then replace the PSU. If they are all OK then the PSU is probably OK but may be failing when under load. The only way to be sure is to replace the PSU (temporarily) with a known good one.
DO NOT OPEN OR TRY TO MEND A PSU - THEY CAN GIVE YOU A LETHAL SHOCK EVEN WHEN NOT PLUGGED IN. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Back to top of page
Windows Memory Diagnostic
If you are having problems with crashes or unexplainable glitches, you should use Windows Memory Diagnostic to test the Random Access Memory (RAM) on your computer for errors.
In brief, you download a tiny program, put it onto a floppy or CD and then reboot your PC from the floppy or CD. The diagnostic program runs automatically and tells you if any of it’s tests fail. The tests will keep on cycling until you stop them running by hitting X. The PC will then reboot, so you should remove the floppy or CD before it does, or it will start the tests again.
Don’t ask me why it’s called Windows Memory Diagnostic - it doesn’t run under Windows!
Read all about it and download it from here:
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp
So far I have found faulty RAM on about 40% of the PCs that I have tried this on. But that figure is probably higher than average because I deal mainly with faulty PCs!
Back to top of page
Has my PC got USB2 or USB1.1?
Open the System Properties box by holding down the Windows key and pressing Pause/Break.
Left click the Hardware tab, then the Device Manager button.
Left click the [+] next to Universal Serial Bus Controllers and look down the list that appears.
If you see the word “Enhanced” then you have got USB2. If not then you have USB1.1.
Back to top of page
Are my drives working fast enough?
Hard drives and Optical (CD or DVD) drives talk to the rest of your PC at different speeds. The speed depends upon the parameters of the drive and the motherboard interface.
The speed is determined and automatically set when the drive is initially installed. But if a number of subsequent errors occur Windows will silently reduce the speed setting of the drive to try to stop the errors in future. Like a speaker will start speaking slower if the listener can’t understand what is being said.
Windows doesn’t tell you when it has done this, but you can check the current settings.
You will need to know which of your drives is connected as master or slave on each of the IDE channels. The boot hard drive will always be the master (Device 0) on the Primary IDE channel, but the other drives can be anywhere else. You may need to open your PC case to find out.
Open the System Properties box by holding down the Windows key and pressing Pause/Break.
Left click the Hardware tab, then the Device Manager button.
Left click the [+] next to IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers.
Double left click either the Primary or Secondary IDE channel.
Left click Advanced Settings tab
Read the Current Transfer Mode for Device 0 (the master drive) and Device 1 (the slave drive)
PIO Mode is very slow - see below
Ultra DMA Mode 2 is the normal speed for old Hard drives and most CD and DVD ROM drives
Ultra DMA 4 is the high speed that you need for a DVD writer.
Ultra DMA Modes 5 and 6 are even faster for modern hard disks only.
If your drives are using speed settings slower than indicated above then they may have been “slowed down” by Windows. In particular, no modern drive should be using PIO Mode.
The easiest way to correct a “hobbled” speed setting is to delete the offending IDE channel and then reboot the PC. To delete the channel, find it through System Properties as above, highlight it and hit Delete.
After rebooting, (you might need a second reboot - follow the prompts), check the setting again, as above.
For more help and information see http://winhlp.com/WxDMA.htm.
Back to top of page
|
