User Guide
Running the System Diagnostics 159
Running the System Diagnostics
If you experience a problem with your system, run the diagnostics before 
calling for technical assistance. The purpose of the diagnostics is to test your 
system's hardware without requiring additional equipment or risking data 
loss. If you are unable to fix the problem yourself, service and support 
personnel can use diagnostics test results to help you solve the problem.
Using Dell™ PowerEdge™ Diagnostics
To assess a system problem, first use the online Dell PowerEdge Diagnostics. 
Dell PowerEdge Diagnostics is a suite of diagnostic programs, or test 
modules, that include diagnostic tests on chassis and storage components 
such as hard drives, physical memory, communications ports, NICs, CMOS, 
and more. If you are unable to identify the problem using the PowerEdge 
Diagnostics, use the system diagnostics described in the remainder of this 
section. The system diagnostics program is run from the iDRAC6 Express 
System Services menu.
The files required to run PowerEdge Diagnostics for systems running 
supported Microsoft
®
 Windows
®
 and Linux operating systems are available 
at support.dell.com and on the CDs that came with your system. For 
information about using diagnostics, see the Dell Online PowerEdge 
Diagnostics User's Guide.
System Diagnostics Features
The system diagnostics provides a series of menus and options for particular 
device groups or devices. The system diagnostics menus and options allow 
you to:
• Run tests individually or collectively.
• Control the sequence of tests.
• Repeat tests.
• Display, print, or save test results.










