CTS Training Notes

Trainer: Alok Dutt

Written By: Mohit Jasuja

August 25, 2008

Queues in DELL:

1. Core Queue- "In warranty" - Tech Support - CORE (today)

2. EWS Queue- "Expired warranty" - Sales+Tech support - Entitlement Specialist Queue (today)

3. DOC Queue- "Dell on Call"-- "Dell on Call" is called Helpdesk

4. OWR Queue- "Outside Warranty Repair" - Only for Laptops this Queue is used.

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DELL Financial Services -

A subsidiary to DELL which provides Cards to the customers to buy DELL Products. Such account provided to the customers is termed to be as "Dell Preferred Account".

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Parts of a Computer:

1. Monitor

2. Keyboard

3. SMPS (Power supply)

- Converts AC Current to DC Current.

- ATX connector is the connector that gets connected to the System Board.

- Majorly we have 4 pin connectors which are Molex Connectors which supplies the

power to IDE connectors. E.g. Hard Drive.

4. CD/DVD ROM

5. Audio Card

6. Video Card

7. LAN Card

8. Hard Drive

9. Mouse

10. RAM

11. Motherboard

12. Processor

13. TV Tuner Card

14. UPS

15. CMOS

16. PORTS

17. Modem

18. Speakers

19. FDD

20. Card Reader

21. Bluetooth Adapter

22. Input Panel

23. Cache Memory

24. I/o Panel

25. Fans

Normally, System Board has 3 PCI Slots. IDE Port is where we connect Hard drive and Optical Drive.

August 26, 2008

DELL Products:

Desktop

Portables

Laptops

Handheld Devices: Axims

Projectors

Routers

TV’s

MP3 Players

Monitors

Desktops can be categorized as—

- Dimension (for home user).

Also, any high configuration in Dimension is termed to be as Dimension XPS.

- Optiplex (for Business user)

Laptops can be categorized as --

- Inspiron (for Home user).

Also any high configuration in Inspiron is termed to be as Inspiron XPS.

- Latitude ( for Business user)

Inspiron: Range of computers included is DELL Inspiron Desktop and DELL Inspiron Laptop.

Inspiron Desktops: We at DELL Tech Support provide support to customers on this product.

Vostro: Range of computer included is DELL Vostro Desktop and DELL Vostro Laptop.

Vostro Desktops: We at DELL Tech Support provide support to customers on this product.

August 27, 2008

Warranty:

DELL provides maximum Warranty for 4 yrs on computers.

Types of Warranties:

Initial Warranty-

Customer pays for this warranty but the price of this warranty is included in the price of the computer. It covers the system for 1 yr.

Extended Warranty-

Warranty can be extended upto 3 yrs.

Limited Warranty:-

Warranty covered but with some conditions or clauses.

Complete Care Warranty:

It is an ADD-ON Warranty that covers the accidental damages on the system. If the customer has 2 yrs of Onsite warranty then customer will get the Complete Care warranty of 2 yrs. This warranty covers the system from unconditional accidental damages.

Note: Complete Care Warranty does not cover Fire, Theft, Flood and any other natural calamities.

September 28, 2004 is the date so as to confirm that any PC bought before this date and not on this date, is covered with Life-time Phone Support.

Company# - Every computer that DELL sells contains a special Service tag # that is the identification number of every PC. And with the help of the Service Tag we can easily find the Company#.

We support DELL customers with Company#: 9, 19, 22, 29, and 13.

Company# 9 = Retail. These are called Resellers.

Company# 19 = DHS-DELL Home Sales. Here, customer calls by phone and orders the PC of his configuration choice.

Company# 22 = Refurbished

Company# 29 = Online Sales

Company# 13 = Kiosk

Supports provided to DELL customers:

Phone Support:

Customer calls the DELL Technical Support and explains his/her problem and we support them over the phone.

Parts Replacement Support:

While troubleshooting, if we realize that any part goes problematic then we send the part to the customer and customer replaces that part on his own.

Onsite Support:

While troubleshooting, if we realize that any part goes problematic then we send the part to the customer and also the Technician goes to the customers place to fix the issue.

Both Initial and Extended Warranty covers the above 3 supports. Technician (DELL Authorized Technician) only visits the customer’s place for

replacing the part and not for troubleshooting the problem.

Date of Shipment and Invoice Date are the same.

Warranty of any PC purchased by the customer starts from the Invoice the Date i.e. the Date of Shipment.

Lifetime Phone Support is provided for the customers who purchased the system before September28, 2004 as per the policy of DELL. On and after this date is not included in Lifetime Phone Support.

Order Date: When customer places the order of a system

Shipped date: It’s the Invoice date.

Delivery Date: When customer receives the system that he ordered with DELL.

Speed of Processor: GigaHertz

Speed of RAM: MegaHertz

Speed of Hard Drive: RPM

Devices that a SATA port can accommodate: 1

Devices that an IDE port can accommodate: 2

Question:

If 4 SATA port and 2 IDE ports then how many drives can IDE port accommodate?

Answer: 8

CRU’s and FRU’s

CRU- Customer Replaceable Unit – Parts of the PC that customer can replace on his own i.e. parts outside the Tower of the PC.

FRU- Field Replaceable Unit - Parts of the PC that customer can’t replace on his own and only with the help of Technician visit i.e. parts inside the Tower of the PC.

Note: Customer can return any computer bought from DELL within 21 days from the date of purchase.

August 28, 2008

GOLD Technical Support:

Any customer who does not want to wait in the queue for long time buys a Gold Technical Support for immediate assistance. This is more common for business users.

Keyboard:

Keyboard is of two kinds-

1. Wired: Keyboard gets connected to two ports-PS2 and USB2. Wireless: Here keyboard gets connected to Bluetooth and Infra Red.

Color of the Port where the keyboard wire plugs into the CPU is of PURPLE color. A normal keyboard contains 104 keys on it. Other is a Multimedia Keyboard that can contain 130-132 keys.

Mouse:

Mouse is of two types-

1. Wired- gets connected to two ports: PS2 and USB2. Wireless- Here Mouse gets connected to Bluetooth and Infra Red.

Also there exists a Scroll Mouse. Different types of Mouse: Optical and Ball Mouse. Color of the Port where the Mouse wire plugs into the CPU is of GREEN Color.

Storage Devices:

Primary Storage Devices:

RAM ROM

Secondary Storage Devices:

Hard Drive Optical Drive Floppy drive

Hard Drive and Optical Drive work for two technologies:

1. Serial Advanced Technology Attachment2. Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (Also called Integrated Drive Electronic

Drive)

Features of SATA:

Advanced Faster Support better capacity Hot Swapping Has a thin blue*( color can be sometimes of any other color) cable

Features of PATA:

Obsolete Slower Lower capacity Ribbon Gray Cable

Optical Drives:

CD/DVD CDROM CDRW DVDROM DVDRW COMBO

Video Cards:

Types of Video Cards:

Onboard (Integrated) Expansion Cards – are of two types:

1. PCI-Express 16X 2. AGP Ports

The above two slots can actually accommodate the Video Cards.

Sound Cards:

Types of Sound Cards:

Onboard (Integrated) Expansion – PCI slot

System Board:

The system board, a.k.a. mother board, is the largest circuit board in a personal computer. It contains one or more sockets for micro-processors, connectors for the system's main memory, connectors for additional boards and drives, ports for connecting external peripheral devices (ex. mouse, keyboard, display), and other critical system parts.

The system board's job is to provide the pathways the system's other components use to communicate. Together, all the micro-chips on the system board are called a chipset.

Parts on the Motherboard:

1. Processor Socket2. Power Connector3. USB Ports4. PCI-E Slots5. Memory Module Slots6. SATA Connectors7. Network Port8. PCI Slots9. Power Connector10. Audio Ports11. Video Port

USB: Universal Serial Bus It is a serial bus standard to interface devices to a host computer.

It was designed to allow many peripherals to be connected using a single standardized interface socket and to improve the plug-and-play capabilities by allowing hot swapping, that is, by allowing devices to be connected and disconnected without rebooting the computer or turning off the device.

It provides power to low-consumption devices without the need for an external power supply and allows many devices to be used without requiring manufacturer specific, individual device drivers to be installed.

E.g. mice, keyboards, PDAs, gamepads and joysticks, scanners, digital cameras, printers, personal media players, and flash drives.

Parallel Port:

Parallel port is a type of interface found on computers (personal and otherwise) for connecting various peripherals. It is also known as a Printer port or Centronics port .

Serial Port:

Serial port is a serial communication physical interface through which information transfers in or out one bit at a time (contrast parallel port).

Serial Port usually identifies hardware more or less compliant to the RS-232 standard, intended to interface with a modem or with a similar communication device.

Various other ports available are:

VGA Port DVI S-Video Sound IEEE RJ-11 RJ-45

BIOS: Basic Input Output System

The ROM Chip on the systemboard is called BIOS, which contains the information about POST.

POST: Power on Self Test

This is the process which checks all the necessary components whenever the system is powered on.

Necessary components to complete the POST:

Power supply Processor Motherboard Memory Video card

POST is considered to be complete when the control is handed over to the Operating System.

September 01, 2008

RSL: Recommended Spares List

In DELL parts are categorized as follows;

Stock Keeping Unit (SKU):

This is a part# format. It will be written as xxx-xxxx (e.g.: 314-2345). These are always new parts.

DPN Dell Part Number:

They are Alpha –Numeric (e.g. 5z258) 5 digit parts. All these parts are refurbished.

Electronics and Accessories (E&A):

They always start with A0 (its capital ‘A’ and Zero number) They are 3rd party parts.

NOTE:

New part replacement is done in first 21 days. After 21 days if any part is replaced is refurbished part.

RoHS: Restriction of Hazardous substances

If any part is >$25, then DELL needs the part back to DELL after dispatching the refurbished/new part.

If any part is <$25, then DELL asks the customer to destroy the part or customer has the choice to keep the parts with themselves, provided the substance is not harmful.

DOUBT::::Warranty on the refurbished part is 1 year.

Return Policy: Refurbished system = 14 days

DELL Memory:

A memory (i.e. Memory sticks) that is not being sold with DELL computer. It’s sold separately to the customer. They will be having the part# A0 or it will have the different Part# such as XXXXX-1 and that has lifetime warranty.

Non Service Dispatch:

In Non Service Dispatch , only the component goes to the customer.

Types of Non-Service Dispatches:

1. EXG- Exchange:

Can be used to send used as well as refurbished parts. Can be created even if the system is Out-of-Warranty. Can be created even if there is no service tag is associated. Used to send a new part.

2. POS- Parts only Service:

Can only be used to send refurbished parts. Can only be created if the system has valid contracts. Can only be created on the Service Tag screen.

Similarity between EXG & POS:

Both can require Replacement.

3. SHO- Short Order:

Created when- Customer says that a part is missing Customer is charged for the part but not delivered The box is not tampered. Created within the first 21 days from the date of invoice but exceptions

can be made with the manager’s approval. No Service TAG associated.

Procedure for NON-SERVICE DISPATCH:

a) Part has been sent to customer.b) In that box there is a pre-paid return label in that box.c) Customer has to replace part of his own.d) And put that old part in that box.e) Paste that label on box.f) Call DHL.g) Ask them to pick the package.

Service Dispatch:It requires the technician or technician with the Part.

Two types of Service Providers:

Banctec : NBD (Next Business Day)

Qualexserve : NDQ ( Next Day QualexServ)

Procedure for SERVICE DISPATCH:

a. Part has been sent through DHLb. Technician has to collect the part from DHLc. Technician goes to customer place d. Technician replaces the part, collects old part & drops it at DHL.

TYPES OF WARRANTIES : (DESKTOPS)

1. PARTS ONLY : CRU FRU: Non-Service

2. ONSITE : CRU Non-Service DispatchFRU Service Dispatch (we can convert service dispatch into non-service dispatch as per customer requirement)

3. ONSITE + CC : CC Scenario CCP or CCEFRU normal Service DPS

Additional Warranty for LAPTOPS

4. RTD(Return to depot) : CRU normal dispatch

FRU send the system to depot

DIAGNOSTICS:1. 90/90 : 2. 32 bit 3. PSA4. OBIST5. MONITOR SELF TEST6. PAID

90/90 Diagnostics: It is also called BIOS quick test. It is to test the hard drives that are Parallel ATA and less than 80GB.

Running 90/90 Diagnostics:

Two ways to run 90/90:

Ctrl + Alt + D

OR

Blue DELL logo appears Press F12. A screen called One Time Boot Menu appears

On this screen we will have options like IDE diagnostics, 90/90 diagnostics or hard drive diagnostics.

Select 90/90 diagnostics. Hit Enter button. Follow the wizard.

32-bit diagnostics (32-Bit DELL diagnostics):

This diagnostics is capable of checking every device thoroughly depending on to the need of the technician.

Running 32-Bit Diagnostics: Running this test give us 4 options:

a. Express test : It checks every device present in the computer however the checking is not extensive. it takes 20 minutes in which every component is checked randomly.

b. Extended test: It checks every component thoroughly. It takes around 2 hrs.

c. Custom test : It gives the option to select a part on to which we want to run diagnostics.

d. Symptom Tree : If the technician is not sure about the component that is causing the trouble, then we can move forward by selecting the symptoms displayed by the customer’s computer.

Two ways to run 32-Bit Diagnostics:

1) Through HARD Drive:

Blue DELL logo appears. Press F12. Reaches the One Time Boot Menu Select the option 32-bit diagnostic Highlight the option Hit Enter button. Follow the wizard.

2) Through Resource CD:

o Blue DELL logo appears.o Press F12.o Reaches the One Time Boot Menuo Insert the resource CD in the TOP Driveo Highlight the option (BOOT FROM CD)o PRESS enter. o On the next screen select 32 bit diagnostics & o Screen appears with Express, Extended & Custom test.

OBIST (Optical Drive Built-in Self Test):

Running 32 bit diagnostics on Optical Drive. Running 32 bit diagnostics for LCD screens.

PSA & PSA + (Pre Boot system assessment) :

PSA + is the next version of PSA. It’s used only for portables. It also checks every component in the system. It checks the basic functionality of devices in the system.

Running PSA Diagnostics:

1) Shut down the computer.

2) Press and hold down the Fn button & then power on the system.3) Now we enter PSA Diagnostics mode.

PAID (Platform Independent Advanced diagnostics) :

This kind of test is available for recent models of PORTABLES . It’s an advanced version of PSA +.

Monitor On Self Test:

This is used to check the functionality of all monitor models.

Running Monitor on Self Test:

Disconnect the DATA cable from the monitor side. After removing cable if it shows band of colors (red, white, blue & green), then

the monitor is fine. If it doesn’t show any band of color, then the monitor is faulty & we have to

replace it.

System File Checker:

It is a troubleshooting tool to check whether all system files are intact in their correct version.

To run SYSTEM FILE CHECKER we use the command sfc<space>/scannow (sfc /scannow).

SYSTEM CONFIGURATION UTILITY:

This is tool used for startup items & services. Command: msconfig

SAFE MODE :

Safe Mode is a Windows XP diagnostics mode in which only generic Microsoft device drivers are loaded, minimal services and no startup programs.

System Restore:

Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore.

Last Known Good Configuration:

It’s a part of System Restore.

September 03, 2008

Registry:

Windows Registry is a directory which stores settings and options for the operating system for Microsoft Windows 32-bit versions and 64-bit versions.

It contains information and settings for all the hardware, operating system software, most non-operating system software, users, preferences of the PC, etc.

Whenever a user makes changes to Control Panel settings, file associations, system policies, or most installed software, the changes are reflected and stored in the registry.

System File:

System file checker is a t/s tool to check whether all system files are intact in their correct version.

To run system file checker we use the command:

Sfc /scannow

Paging File:

Paging File and Virtual Memory are the same.

System Configuration Utility:

It is used for changing start-up items and services.

Command to run System Configuration Utility:

Msconfig

Two Tabs used in System Configuration Utility :

Services and Start-up.

Way to go to Windows Advanced Options Menu:

Press F8.

September 8, 2008

NO VIDEO:

No Video situation occurs

When WINDOWS Logo appears and then the system goes OFF

OR

Might be because of Software problem.

Certain components are needed for video. These include:

A display (often a CRT monitor or an LCD screen) System Board Power to the display Graphics adapter (also called a video card) Connection between the external display and the graphics adapter

Graphics Adapter: Also known as Video Adapter.

Integrated adapter includes : Expansion- PCI E 16X and AGP.

3 types of BIOS:

1) Single Page 2) Multi Page3) Tree BIOS

Keys used for the following functions:

Windows Advanced Menu: F8 One Time Boot Menu: F12 System Setup: F2

Running 32- Bit test on Video Card:

If the system is going into BIOS and hardware is working fine, then the problem is going on with the software.

Sometimes a graphics adapter might have one or more ports used to connect it to the display (monitor, LCD, etc.). Dell currently supports three types of video connectors. Some graphics adapter cards have all three connectors.

VIDEO CONNECTORS

1. DB-15 VGA (Blue) - Provides standard analog video out to a display monitor. This is most common.

2. S-Video (Round) - Provides display output to a TV capable of receiving an S-Video signal. 3. DVI-I (White) - Provides display to a digital flat panel monitors.

Device Manager:

Here, we see that the entire device are detected and whether installed properly or not.

Bands in Device Managers:

There are 3 types of Bands in Device manager:

Yellow Color? — Unknown Device (Resolution is to install the drivers.) Red Color X— Device Disabled(Rt. Click and enable the disabled device)

Yellow Color! — Conflict between various drivers & devices (uninstall the driver and reinstall the most recent version driver from the Website- support.dell.com).

XP Troubleshooting Tools:

Points of Failure:

Master Boot Record

|

Boot Sector

|

NTLDR

|

Boot.ini BOOT Menu

|

NTDETECT Hardware Profiles Menu

|

Hal.dll

|

NTOSKRNL Windows BOOT Progress Screen

|

Registry/Files.

BOOT Process is divided into 2 parts:

1) Early Boot 2) Late Boot

File System:

It is a technique by which the files are written and accessed from the Hard Drive.

Major file systems that we use are: FAT8, FAT16, FAT32 AND NTFS

FAT= File Allocation Table NTFS= New Technology File System WINDOWS XP supports FAT 32 and NTFS. WINDOWS VISTA supports NTFS.

MBR:

It is a master boot record and resides in the boot sector of the Hard Drive and it points to the Operating System.

BOOT Sector:

It is the sector zero i.e. first sector on the track is called BOOT Sector. Here, the Windows bootable file resides.

NTLDR: (NT loader)

It is also called OS Loader. It actually acts as software that acts as a BOOT process.

Boot.ini:

All the driver files are “.ini” files.

NTDETECT:

Once the NTDETECT gets loaded, it detects all the Hardware components.

Hal.dll:

It acts as a bridge between Hardware and Software (OS).

NTOSKRNL: is actually the core of the OS which controls every activity.

Registry/File: an index that keeps the track of all the hardware and software.

Windows XP Startup Files:

File Name Disk Location Description

ntldr Boot sector Ntldr is the operating system loader.

The boot sector partition is a portion of a hard-disk partition that contains information about the disk's file system and a short machine language program that loads the Windows operating system.

boot.ini Root of the system partition Boot.ini is a file that specifies the paths to Windows XP installations. For multiple-boot systems, boot.ini contains the operating system choices that display on the startup menu.

The system partition refers to the disk volume containing hardware specific files needed to boot Windows (ntldr, boot.ini, and so on). On Intel x86-based machines, it must be a primary partition that has been marked active.

ntdetect.com Root of the system partition Ntdetect.com is the file that passes information about the hardware configuration to ntldr.

ntoskrnl.exe %systemroot%\system32 Ntoskml.exe is the core or kernel of the Windows XP operating system. If Windows XP is installed on a system with multiple or hyperthreaded processors, the installation process will copy ntoskrnlmp.exe and then rename it to ntoskrnl.exe.

The boot partition contains the Windows operating system files (usually \WINNT) and its support files (usually \WINNT\SYSTEM32). It can be the same partition as the system partition.

%systemroot% is an environment variable that holds the location of the Windows XP system files.

hal.dll %systemroot%\system32 Hal.dll is the hardware abstraction layer (HAL) dynamic link library file. This file abstracts low-level hardware details from the operating system and provides a common programming interface to devices of the same type. Windows XP will only copy the correct HAL that corresponds to your system's hardware configuration.

System registry file

%systemroot%\system32\config\system This is the registry file that contains the data used to create the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM. This key contains information that the operating system requires

to start devices and system services.

Device Drivers

%systemroot%\system32\drivers Driver files for hardware devices, such as keyboard, mouse, and video.

Note:Ntldr, boot.ini, and ntdetect.com are the three files that are needed to boot into Windows XP. However, boot.ini is not necessary if Windows XP is installed on the first partition on the first hard drive. The factory image from Dell puts Windows on the second partition after the Utility partition. Because of this, boot.ini is necessary in most cases on Dell systems.

Boot Sequence:

During the boot process, the system goes through the following steps:

Step Description

1 POST

The system completes the Power-On Self-Test (POST) process. The POST tests various system components, such as RAM, the hard disk drives, and the keyboard.

At the end of the POST, the system searches for a boot device in which to hand over control.

2 Initial Startup

If the hard drive is bootable, ntldr will start with the CPU in protected mode, start the file system, and read the contents of the boot.ini file.

The boot.ini information tells ntldr where the operating system is located. This usually occurs when you are prompted for the operating system to start if there is more than one operating system installed.

3 Boot LoaderNtdetect.com gathers basic hardware configuration information and passes this to ntldr.

4Detect and Configure Hardware

Ntldr passes the information collected by ntdetect.com to ntoskrnl.exe.

5 Kernel LoadingNtoskrnl.exe then loads the kernel, HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer), and registry information.

6 User Logon

The device drivers load and the user is prompted to log on.

Once logged on, plug and play detects and configures any new devices that may have been installed.

Accessing the Advanced Options Menu:

To access the Advanced Options Menu, as soon as the blue DELL Logo appears press the F8 key

To make a selection from the Advanced Options Menu, use the up and down arrow keys to highlight your choice.

Then press Enter.

Advanced Options Menu:

The Advanced Options Menu provides a list of safe boot options supported by Windows XP. The Advanced Options Menu includes:

Safe Mode Safe Mode with Networking Safe Mode with Command Prompt Enable Boot Logging Enable VGA Mode Last Known Good Configuration (your most recent settings that worked) Directory Services Restore Mode (Windows domain controllers only) Debugging Mode Disable Automatic Restart on System Failure Start Windows Normally Reboot Return to OS Choices Menu

To start the computer using a particular option, highlight the option you want and press the Enter key.

The Last Known Good Configuration:

Last Known Good Configuration starts your computer using the registry information that was saved at the last successful logon.

Using the Last Known Good Configuration option is often the quickest way to restore a computer to be operational.

Last Known Good Configuration corrects problems by reversing the most recent system and driver changes within a hardware profile.

Using Last Known Good Configuration is somewhat like using System Restore, in that it restores the startup files to the last time the user successfully logged on.

However, keep the following in mind: when you use this feature, you lose all configuration changes that were made since you last successfully logged on to your system in normal mode. If your customer was unable to successfully log on to Windows XP, you should use Last Known Good Configuration before you try other options, such as Safe Mode.

If you decide to use Safe Mode first, logging on in Safe Mode does not update the Last Known Good Configuration control set. Therefore, you can always revert back to the Last Known Good Configuration if you cannot resolve the problem using Safe Mode.

Safe Mode:

Safe Mode is a startup option that disables startup programs and nonessential services and drivers.

Safe Mode starts the minimal set of drivers that the OS needs to function. Provides access to only basic services and drivers Allows you to use the mouse, keyboard, and mass storage devices such as hard drives

and CD-ROM drives Sets Video to VGA with the base video drivers installed Does not load network drivers or services (use the safe mode with networking option

to load network drivers)

When to use Safe Mode:

Safe Mode creates an environment where you can easily troubleshoot and diagnose OS problems such as system instability, "stop" messages, and startup problems.

If a symptom does not reappear when you restart the computer in Safe Mode, you can eliminate the default settings and minimum device drivers as possible causes. You can also use the System Restore utility in Safe Mode.

When not to use Safe Mode:

There are circumstances where Safe Mode is not the best troubleshooting option. If Windows system files are damaged, Safe Mode is not a good choice. In this case, the

Recovery Console may be a better troubleshooting utility.

Using Safe Mode:

When the computer starts in Safe Mode, Windows dialog box displays. Click the Yes button to proceed to work in Safe Mode. The Windows Desktop appears with the words "Safe Mode" displayed in the four corners.

When booting into Safe Mode, it usually takes longer to start and shut down the computer.

Safe Mode with Networking:

Difference between “Safe Mode with Networking” & “Safe Mode”:

In Safe Mode with Networking, network drivers and services are also loaded in addition to the base drivers and services of Safe Mode.

You would use Safe Mode with Networking if you need to get to a network drive or to the Internet to find drivers or utilities to help you troubleshoot.

You would not use Safe Mode with Networking if new NIC drivers or network services are causing the problem that you are troubleshooting.

DellConnect can be used when a system is running in Safe Mode with Networking.

Safe Mode with Command Prompt

Safe Mode with Command Prompt is similar to Safe Mode except that cmd.exe is loaded rather than explorer.exe (explorer.exe is what loads the desktop portion of the GUI).

Safe Mode with Command Prompt gives you a command line interface to operate from. If you type Exit at the Command Prompt, the command line window closes, but the

desktop is not loaded.

To load the desktop:

1. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to access Task Manager. 2. Click the New Task... button to access the Create New Task window. 3. In the Open field, type Explorer and click the OK button. Your desktop will display.

To exit and shut down your system:

1. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to access Task Manager. 2. Click the Shut Down button. Your system will shut down.

Using the New Task ... button in Task Manager is like using the Run ... line from the Start Menu.

Enable VGA Mode:

Differences between Enable VGA Mode and Safe Mode:

All drivers and services are loaded except video drivers. VGA mode loads the video driver in a 640 x 480 mode, rather than loading vga.sys (the

base video driver). This mode is particularly useful in correcting improper video settings that can cause video

problems. By using the Enable VGA Mode option, you will be able to correct the improper video settings.

Disable Automatic Restart on System Failure:

Sometimes Windows XP will have a system failure at startup that causes the system to automatically restart.

This failure can cause an endless loop of restarting the computer, over and over again. In order to break this loop, use the Disable automatic restart on system failure option.

This will prevent the computer from restarting when a system failure occurs.

Enable Boot Logging:

Enable Boot Logging creates a log of the boot events to aid the technician in determining where the boot process is failing.

The Enable Boot Logging option creates a file called ntbtlog.txt in the System root folder of Windows XP (usually the Windows folder).

Installing Recovery Console:

Insert the Windows XP installation CD into the CD-ROM drive. The Windows XP Installation Autorun Splash Screen displays.

Click Exit to close the splash screen. Click the Start menu, and select Run...

In the Open: portion of the Run dialog box, type d:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons where d is the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive.

The Windows Setup Dialog Box displays. This box describes the Recovery Console option. To confirm the installation, click Yes.

Click OK when Windows Recovery Console has been successfully installed. Restart the computer. The next time you start the computer, Microsoft Windows Recovery Console appears on

the boot menu.

Installing Recovery Console requires approximately 7 MB of hard disk space on the system partition.