To ensure that all of the components on your FPGA board are working properly, you can program your board with a "self test" file provided by Xilinx. Begin by setting up your board. Connect the power and USB cables and insert your expansion board into the expansion port. Connect a VGA cable to the VGA port on the left side of the board and a keyboard to one of the PS/2 ports on the right side. If you have a pair of headphones, you can connect them to the line out port on the left side of the board.
Warning
Do not put the headphones on your ears, as the sound played through them will be very loud.
Download the .bit file, turn your board on and make sure the download configuration switches are set correctly, and use iMPACT to program your FPGA with the self test. If you forget how to set the configuration switches or program the FPGA, review section VI of the tutorial. Note that you can open iMPACT on its own, without running ISE first, from the Xilinx ISE 8.2i -> Accessories folder in the Windows Start menu.
After programming the FPGA, the user LEDs on the main board should flash for a few seconds, and the self-test should appear on the connected monitor. Check for the following behavior:
If you observe any unexpected behavior during the self test, please demonstrate the behavior to a TA.