Users Guide

support.dell.com Finding Software Solutions 4-1
CHAPTER 4
Finding Software Solutions
Because most systems have several application programs installed in addition to the
operating system, isolating a software problem sometimes is confusing. Software
errors can look like hardware malfunctions at first.
Software problems can result from the following circumstances:
• Improper installation or configuration of a program
• Input errors
• Device drivers that conflict with certain application programs
• Interrupt conflicts between devices
You can confirm that a system problem is caused by software by running the system
board tests in the Dell Diagnostics (see Chapter 5, “
Running the Dell Diagnostics”). If
all tests in the test group are completed successfully, the problem is most likely
caused by software.
This chapter 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.
Installing and Configuring Software
Use virus-scanning software to check newly acquired application programs and files
for viruses before you install the programs on the system's hard-disk drive. Viruses
can quickly use all available system memory, damage and/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 system's hard-disk drive. Installation instructions often 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.
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