                        TESTING 

   
Make your selections for Select Peripherals, Pause 
Control, Pass Control, Test Log Mode and Test Logging 
BEFORE running the tests or they will run in the default 
mode.  Default testing mode is: No Pause on Errors; 
Single Pass; No Peripherals Selected; and No Test 
Logging.  Also, if you don't deselect specific tests, 
the default for components tested is All Components. 

If you select Test Logging a complete record will be 
kept of the tests run on your computer. 


SELECT PERIPHERALS 
   
   This selection permits you to configure the parallel 
   (LPT) and serial (COM) ports on your computer.  The 
   parallel ports may either have No Device, a Printer, 
   a loopback plug (see User's Guide), or another type 
   of device attached.  If a printer is attached you may 
   specify whether it is compatible with Epson (most dot 
   matrix printers), HP LaserJet (Most laser printers) 
   or PostScript (many desktop publishing printers).  
   The Serial Ports may have the Port Device specified 
   (no device, modem, mouse, printer, loopback plug or 
   other device attached), Baud Rate (data transfer 
   speed from 110 to 38,400 bits per second), Parity 
   (space, mark, even or none), Data Bits (5, 6, 7 or 
   8), and stop bits (1 or 2).  The initial settings are 
   correct for many devices. 

   If you're having problems, experiment with changing 
   baud rate first, then parity.  Use of COM Debug will 
   help you in getting the COM ports set up properly. 


RAM TEST CONTROL 
   
   Controls the memory test parameters for the memory 
   tests run under the RUN TESTS option in the Testing 
   menu.  You may select the memory block to be tested, 
   as well as the number of actual diagnostic memory 
   tests to be run. 


PAUSE CONTROL 
   
   Controls whether there is a pause at the end of each 
   test, when an error is encountered, or no pause at 
   all.  If you are running the tests unattended with 
   logging on (see below), you may set pause to "off" so 
   that the tests will continue to run. 


PASS CONTROL 
   
   You may set the number of passes (test cycles) to 
   single, or 10 passes. 


TEST LOG 
   
   The results of the selected tests may be set to send 
   to a text file (QA_LOG.TXT), to the printer (LPT1), 
   COM port (COM1), or to turn off logging.  Unless you 
   have known disk problems, it is usually most 
   convenient to log errors to a file which may then be 
   printed or displayed.  

      
TEST LOG MODE 
   
   Error logging mode may be set to Errors Only or Full 
   Logging, allowing "errors only" logging if desired. 

   
RUN TESTS 

   Selecting "Run Tests" in the Testing Menu displays a 
   screen with a number of test groups.  Within each 
   test group there may be several individual tests 
   which may be enabled or disabled.  Use the Up and 
   Down arrow keys to move to the test group you wish to 
   select.  If the test is enabled, a >> character 
   appears beside the selection.  Use the Right and Left 
   arrow keys to position the highlight over the test 
   selection you wish to enable or disable, and press 
   [Space Bar] to change the selection.  

   Pressing the [Enter] key when any test group is 
   highlighted initiates those tests.  To run all test 
   groups, highlight Run Selected Tests at the bottom of 
   the screen and press the [Enter] key. 
   
   If you wish to discontinue the tests, press the [Esc] 
   key.  You will be given a choice of Quit Batch, Quit 
   Test, Help Menu or Continue. Quit Batch will 
   discontinue all subsequent tests that were selected. 
   Quit test will discontinue the test group selected. 

   THE TESTS ARE: 

   MAIN COMPONENTS 
      CPU  - Central processing unit 
      NPU  - Numeric co-processor unit 
      INT  - Interrupt Controller 
      TMER - Timer 
      DMA  - Direct Memory Access 
      CCLK - CMOS clock 
      EISA - EISA bus (if available) 
   
   VIDEO ADAPTERS 
      MDA  - Monochrome display adapter 
      CGA  - Color graphics adapter 
      EGA  - Extended graphics adapter 
      VGA  - Video graphics array
      SVGA - Super video graphics array (only available 
             in Western Digital/Paradise compatible 
             video adapters) 
     
   FLOPPY DRIVES A: AND B: 
      These tests are non-destructive.  You must insert 
      a blank, formatted disk in the drive.  The 
      diskette must be formatted to the drive's maximum 
      capacity (e.g. do not use a 360K diskette in a 
      1.2MB drive). 
   
   HARD DRIVES C: AND D: 
      These tests are non-destructive and test only the 
      ability to read data from the hard disk using a 
      variety of different seek patterns. 
   
   COM PORTS COM1: - COM4: 
      These tests test the ability to communicate 
      through the serial ports.  For the most complete 
      testing, use a Serial loopback plug and specify 
      loopback for the COM ports in Select Peripherals 
      above. COM3: and COM4: require DOS 3.3 or later. 

   PARALLEL PORTS LPT1: - LPT3: 
      These test the ability to communicate through the 
      parallel ports. For the most complete testing, use 
      a Parallel loopback plug and specify loopback for 
      the LPT ports in Select Peripherals above. 
   
   PRINTERS 
      If any of the COM or LPT devices are specified to 
      be a Printer, a test pattern will be directed to 
      the printer. 
   
   RAM TESTS 
      These thoroughly test the Random Access Memory by 
      using a variety of patterns written and read.  In 
      addition the memory bus is checked for sensitivity 
      to noise.  If you have expanded or extended memory 
      it is checked also.  The complete RAM tests 
      usually require some time to complete, based on 
      the speed of your computer, so the area of memory 
      being tested is displayed as the tests progress.  
      If you have insufficient memory to run the tests, 
      you will be notified.  If this is the case, you 
      should temporarily rename the config.sys file on 
      your boot drive (A: for floppy disk, C: for hard 
      disk) and reboot the computer.

   USER DEFINABLE DIAGNOSTICS 
      QAPlus lets you select and run a user definable 
      test.  First copy the tests into the QAPlus 
      directory.  Then rename the test either DIAGX.COM 
      or DIAGX.EXE, (where X = 1-6)  as appropriate.  
      QAPlus will report "result" values of: 0 = passed, 
      1 = failed, 2 = aborted.  Any other result value 
      is reported as "UNKNOWN". 


IMPORTANT: Never try to repair or replace any 
potentially defective component(s) yourself unless you 
are familiar with the proper procedures and safety 
precautions for servicing the particular component(s). 


                       *** END *** 

