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- MICROSOFT DIAGNOSTICS (MSD) UTILITY
- ===================================
-
- --------------------------------------------------------------------
- | 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 DOS |
- | 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 1990 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. |
- | Microsoft and the Microsoft logo are registered trademarks of |
- | Microsoft Corporation. |
- --------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- The Microsoft Diagnostics (MSD) utility is designed to assist
- Microsoft customers and Product Support Services (PSS) technicians in
- identifying system configuration information such as the BIOS and
- video card type and manufacturer, processor(s) installed, I/O port
- status, operating system version, environment settings, hardware
- devices attached, and additional software running concurrently with
- MSD. This utility is used when Microsoft PSS needs information to
- diagnose and solve problems with Microsoft products.
-
-
- INSTALLATION
- ============
-
- Hard Disk System
- ----------------
-
- To install MSD on a hard disk system, do the following:
-
- 1. Place the enclosed disk in drive A.
-
- 2. At the DOS prompt, type the following and press the ENTER key
-
- copy a:\msd.exe <pathname>
-
- where <pathname> is the location of your root directory. For
- example, type the following and press the ENTER key:
-
- copy a:\msd.exe c:\
-
- Dual Floppy Disk System
- -----------------------
-
- To install MSD on a dual floppy disk system, do the following:
-
- 1. Place your DOS boot disk (system disk) in drive A and the enclosed
- Microsoft Diagnostics (MSD) Utility disk in drive B.
-
- 2. At the DOS prompt, type the following and press the ENTER key:
-
- copy b:\msd.exe a:
-
-
- USING THE MICROSOFT DIAGNOSTICS UTILITY
- =======================================
-
- The MSD utility (MSD.EXE) runs in DOS and the DOS compatibility box of
- OS/2. To start MSD, do the following:
-
- 1. At the DOS prompt, change to the root directory (where you
- installed MSD.EXE).
-
- 2. Type "msd" (without the quotation marks) and press the ENTER key.
- (For monochrome, black-and-white, and LCD screens, type "msd /b"
- and press ENTER.)
-
- 3. The program presents an introduction screen. To continue, press any
- key.
-
- MSD then presents a Main Menu screen split into two sections. The
- upper section presents a summary of information that the utility has
- gathered from your system. For additional information on any category,
- move the highlight bar (using the arrow keys) to any category and
- press the ENTER key. A dialog box appears that presents detailed
- information for that category. You can quickly choose any category by
- pressing the ALT key and the highlighted letter corresponding to the
- category you want. Return to the Main Menu screen by pressing the ESC
- key.
-
- The following is a brief explanation of the categories in the first
- section:
-
- Category Description
- -------- -----------
-
- BIOS Displays the BIOS manufacturer, date, version,
- and type
-
- Processor Displays the processor type and math
- coprocessor, if installed
-
- Memory Displays a map of physical memory from 768K to
- 1 MB and information concerning the
- configuration of RAM and ROM in your computer
- system
-
- Video Shows your video card's manufacturer and
- model, BIOS version, memory, and current video
- mode
-
- Network Detects whether a network is MS-NET or
- compatible, or Novell
-
- Mouse Shows the DOS mouse driver version number,
- mouse type, and other information concerning
- the mouse
-
- Game Adapter Dynamically displays game card status for up
- to two game devices or joysticks
-
- CD-ROM Displays the Microsoft CD-ROM Extensions
- (MSCDEX.EXE) version number and drive letter
-
- Operating System Displays the operating system version number
- and path from which MSD was run
-
- Parallel Ports Dynamically displays the status of installed
- parallel ports and their port addresses
-
- Serial Ports Dynamically displays the status of active
- serial ports and their current configurations
-
- Disk Drives Scans all local and logical drives and
- displays the total and available bytes
-
- IRQ Status Shows the current hardware interrupt, IRQ,
- status
-
- Environment Displays environment variables
-
- AUTOEXEC.BAT Lists the AUTOEXEC.BAT file
-
- CONFIG.SYS Lists the CONFIG.SYS file
-
- The lower section of the MSD screen includes additional functions you
- can use with your system, as follows:
-
- Function Description
- -------- -----------
-
- Resident Programs Displays the names of programs loaded in RAM
- at the time MSD was executed, their locations,
- and their sizes; programs may be loaded into
- multiple segments of RAM and have multiple
- entries in the table
-
- Device Table Displays software and hardware device drivers
- installed; these include default devices, such
- as COM1 or LPT1, and user-installed devices
- loaded from the CONFIG.SYS file, such as
- HIMEM.SYS or EMM386.SYS
-
- Printer Test Prints a page to test the connection between
- the computer and either a TTY or PostScript-
- type printer
-
- Generate Report Prints a "faxable" report to a normal TTY
- printer or to a file
-
- File Viewer Views text files by entering the path and
- filename
-
- Memory Browser Searches selected ROM and RAM areas for search
- strings such as "Copyright" and "Version"
-
- About Displays MSD version number and copyright
- information
-
- Exit Exits MSD
-
-
- USES FOR THE MICROSOFT DIAGNOSTICS UTILITY
- ==========================================
-
- The Microsoft Diagnostics utility is designed to be used in one of
- three ways:
-
- 1. Over the telephone, you can report the information MSD displays to
- the Microsoft PSS technician assisting you in solving the problem
- you are experiencing.
-
- 2. You can fax or mail Microsoft PSS a report generated by MSD. The
- Generate Reports feature will print the information to any TTY
- printer. Be sure to send the report to the attention of the
- technician assisting you.
-
- The mailing address is below. Microsoft's fax number is
- (206) 883-8101. Include the following attention line on the fax
- cover sheet:
-
- ATTN: PSS, <technician's name, building, group>
-
- 3. You can send us a report file generated by MSD. The Generate
- Reports feature will print a configuration report to a file. You
- can copy this file to a floppy disk and send it to the technician
- helping you or send the file electronically by modem.
-
- Microsoft's mailing address is as follows:
-
- ATTN: Product Support Services
- <Technician's name, building, group>
- Microsoft Corp.
- One Microsoft Way
- Redmond, WA 98052-6399
-