====================================================================== Microsoft(R) Product Support Services Application Note (Text File) GA0363: MICROSOFT DIAGNOSTICS UTILITY (MSD) ====================================================================== Revision Date: 6/94 1 Disk Included The following information applies to Microsoft Diagnostics Utility, version 2.11. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT AND ANY SOFTWARE THAT MAY | | ACCOMPANY THIS DOCUMENT (collectively referred to as an Application | | Note) IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER | | EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED | | WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR | | PURPOSE. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and | | the use of this Application Note. This Application Note may be | | copied and distributed subject to the following conditions: 1) All | | text must be copied without modification and all pages must be | | included; 2) If software is included, all files on the disk(s) | | must be copied without modification (the MS-DOS(R) utility | | diskcopy is appropriate for this purpose); 3) All components of | | this Application Note must be distributed together; and 4) This | | Application Note may not be distributed for profit. | | | | Copyright (C) 1990-1994 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. | | Microsoft and MS-DOS are registered trademarks and Windows is a | | trademark of Microsoft Corporation. | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION ============ Microsoft Diagnostics (MSD) is an MS-DOS-based utility designed to provide Microsoft customers and Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) personnel with detailed technical information about a computer's hardware and software components. This information can be helpful when you are trying to diagnose and solve problems with Microsoft products. TO INSTALL MSD VERSION 2.11 ON YOUR HARD DISK ============================================= 1. Insert the enclosed GA0363 disk in your floppy disk drive. 2. Copy MSD.EXE and MSD.INI to your hard disk as follows copy :\msd.* :\ where is your floppy disk drive containing the GA0363 disk and is your hard disk. For example, to copy the files from drive A to the root directory of drive C, type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt and then press ENTER: copy a:\msd.* c:\ NOTE: If you do not want to install MSD on your hard disk, or if your computer does not have a hard disk, you can run MSD from your floppy disk drive. USING MICROSOFT DIAGNOSTICS =========================== MSD is an MS-DOS-based application that should be run from the MS-DOS command prompt. The variables and options for the MSD syntax are described in the following table. Option Description ----------------------------------------------------------------------- /b Runs MSD using a black-and-white scheme. Use this option if your computer has a monochrome or LCD monitor. /i Bypasses initial hardware detection. Use this option if MSD fails to start correctly. /f [drive][path] Writes a complete MSD report to the specified file. Requests information such as name, company, address, telephone number, and comments. /p [drive][path] Writes a complete MSD report to the specified file without first requesting information. /s [drive][path][filename] Writes a summary MSD report to the specified file. If no filename is specified, the report is displayed on the screen. /? Displays the MSD command options. For example, to write a complete MSD report to a file called REPORT.TXT in a directory called TEMP on drive C, you could type msd /f c:\temp\report.txt -or- msd /p c:\temp\report.txt To start MSD, do the following: 1. Change to the drive and directory where you installed MSD.EXE. For example, if you installed MSD.EXE in the root directory of drive C, type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt, pressing ENTER after each line: c: cd\ 2. At the MS-DOS command prompt, type the following and press ENTER: msd As MSD loads, an introduction screen is displayed with a message indicating that MSD is examining your system. Once MSD has loaded, you will see a menu bar at the top of your screen along with 14 buttons for viewing information about various components of your system. To choose a button, press the key that corresponds to the highlighted letter in the button's description. For example, press V to display information about your video configuration. To open a menu, hold down the ALT key and then press the first letter of the desired menu. For example, to open the File menu, hold down the ALT key and then press F. If you have a mouse installed on your computer, you can click the desired button or menu. When you choose a button, a window containing the requested information appears. If there is more information than can be displayed in one screen, use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys or the PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN keys to scroll through the additional information. If you have a mouse, you can use the scroll bars on the right side of the window to scroll through the information. After you have finished viewing the information, press ENTER or choose the OK button to close the window and return to the main screen of MSD. For windows that have multiple buttons (such as an OK button and a Cancel button), use the TAB key to move from button to button or use your mouse. When you are finished using MSD, choose Exit from the File menu or press the F3 function key to exit. MSD Button Options ------------------ The following table briefly describes the buttons that appear on the main screen of MSD. Button Description ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer Displays computer manufacturer, processor type, and bus type; ROM BIOS manufacturer, version, and date; keyboard type; direct memory access (DMA) controller configuration; and math coprocessor status. Memory Displays a map of the upper memory area (UMA)--the memory region from 640K to 1024K. Also displays DOS Protected Mode Interface (DPMI) and Extended Memory Specification (XMS) version number as well as available memory statistics. Video Displays your video card manufacturer, model and type; video BIOS version and date; and current video mode. Network Displays network-specific configuration information. OS Version Displays the operating system version, location of MS-DOS in memory (for MS-DOS 5.0 or later only), the drive the system was booted from (for MS-DOS 4.0 or later), the current environment settings, and the path from which MSD was run. Mouse Displays the MS-DOS mouse driver version, mouse type, mouse interrupt request line (IRQ) number, and other information specific to the configuration of the mouse. Other Adapters Dynamically displays the game card status for up to two game devices or joysticks. Disk Drives Displays the size and number of bytes free on local and remote drives. LPT Ports Displays the port addresses of all installed parallel ports and dynamically displays the status of each port. COM Ports Displays the port addresses and current communications parameters of all installed serial ports and dynamically displays the status of each port. Windows Displays the Windows version and directory location, as well as virtual device driver (VxD) filenames, versions, sizes, and dates. IRQ Status Displays the configuration of the hardware IRQs. TSR Programs Displays the name, location in memory, and size of each program loaded in memory at the time MSD was run. Device Drivers Displays the names of all device drivers installed at the time MSD was run. MSD Menu Options ----------------- The following table briefly describes the menu options that appear on the main screen of MSD. File menu option Description ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Find File Searches for a specific file and allows you to view the contents of the file. Print Report Prints a faxable report to a normal TTY printer, a PostScript(R) printer, or a file. Exit Exits the Microsoft Diagnostics utility. AUTOEXEC.BAT Lists the contents of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. CONFIG.SYS Lists the contents of your CONFIG.SYS file. SYSTEM.INI Lists the contents of your Microsoft Windows SYSTEM.INI file. WIN.INI Lists the contents of your Microsoft Windows WIN.INI file. MSMAIL.INI Lists the contents of your Microsoft Windows MSMAIL.INI file. PROTOCOL.INI Lists the contents of your Microsoft Windows PROTOCOL.INI file. DBLSPACE.INI Lists the contents of your Microsoft Windows DBLSPACE.INI file. MEMMAKER.STS Lists the contents of your Microsoft Windows MEMMAKER.STS file. If one or more of these files cannot be found on your system, and you choose that file from the menu, MSD either does not open the file or displays the following error message: Error opening No such file or directory Utility menu option Description ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Memory Block Display Displays memory allocation--the starting address of each block and its size in bytes. Memory Browser Searches selected ROM and RAM areas for strings such as "copyright" and "version." Insert Command Allows for quick insertion of a command in the appropriate file; the list of commands you can choose from is stored in the [commands] section of the MSD.INI file. Test Printer Prints a page to test the connection between the computer and printer. Black & White Toggles the display from black and white to color and vice versa. Help menu option Description ----------------------------------------------------------------------- About Displays Microsoft Diagnostics version and copyright information.