Microsoft Diagnostics

Last updated
Microsoft Diagnostics
Other namesMSD, MSD.EXE
Developer(s) Microsoft
Operating system MS-DOS, OS/2, Windows
License Proprietary commercial software

Microsoft Diagnostics (MSD) was a software tool developed by Microsoft to assist in the diagnostics of 1990s-era computers. Users primarily deployed this tool to provide detailed technical information about the user's software and hardware and to print the gathered information, usually for use by support technicians in troubleshooting and resolving problems. [1] [2] [3] The assumptions made by the program were valid until the late 1990s: it does not handle plug-and-play USB or other new technologies that appeared around 2000.

Contents

In PC DOS 6.1 and above, QCONFIG.EXE provides similar functionality. [4] [5] Commercial alternatives include Manifest MFT.EXE from Quarterdeck's QEMM.

History

MSD.EXE first shipped with Microsoft Word for Windows, and was later included in Windows 3, [1] MS-DOS 6, [1] [2] [3] and on the Windows 9x CD-ROMs. Because OS/2 and Windows NT contain code forked from DOS at the DOS 5 level, the versions of MSD.EXE included here correspond to that of that era (i.e. version 2.0).

Windows NT 3 and NT 4 have WINMSD, a program with similar features. [6] However, the DOS/Windows specific functions were replaced by similar Windows NT concerns. [6] WINMSDP.EXE, included in the resource kits, provides the print functionality of MSD.EXE for WINMSD. Since NT 5 (Windows 2000), WINMSD.EXE has been a loader for MSINFO32.EXE .

Usage

Users generally started the program from the DOS Command Prompt using the command MSD.EXE. [1] Starting the program under a DOS window in either Windows or OS/2 shows only the DOS details allocated for that DOS session, not for the machine in general. [1]

Scope

Aspects of the system for which MSD.EXE provided technical information:

  1. computer brand and processor information [1] [2] [3]
  2. memory (total, EMS, and XMS) [1] [2] [3]
  3. video (type such as VGA and manufacturer) [1] [2] [3]
  4. network [1] [2] [3]
  5. operating-system versions [1] [2] [3]
  6. type of mouse (if installed) [1] [2] [3]
  7. disk drives (and partitions), excluding CD-ROM drives etc.
  8. LPT ports [1] [2] [3]
  9. COM ports [1] [2] [3]
  10. IRQ status [1] [2] [3]
  11. Terminate-and-stay-resident programs [1] [2] [3]
  12. device drivers [1] [2] [3]
  13. other adapters [1] [2] [3]

Successor software

Microsoft replaced MSD.EXE with MSINFO32.EXE. [7] This has similar features, but targets more recent machines. It first appeared in MS-Word, and later was distributed with Plus! for Windows 95 and Windows 98. [7] MSINFO32.EXE under Windows XP stores system history from WMI in the XML files in Windows\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Datacoll. [8] In the interest of backward compatibility, WINMSD became a loader for MSINFO32.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBM PC DOS</span> Computer operating system

IBM PC DOS, also known as PC DOS or IBM DOS, is a discontinued disk operating system for the IBM Personal Computer, its successors, and IBM PC compatibles. It was manufactured and sold by IBM from the early 1980s into the 2000s. Developed by Microsoft, it was also sold by that company as MS-DOS. Both operating systems were identical or almost identical until 1993, when IBM began selling PC DOS 6.1 with new features. The collective shorthand for PC DOS and MS-DOS was DOS, which is also the generic term for disk operating system, and is shared with dozens of disk operating systems called DOS.

NTLDR is the boot loader for all releases of Windows NT operating system from 1993 with the release of Windows NT 3.1 up until Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. From Windows Vista onwards it was replaced by the BOOTMGR bootloader. NTLDR is typically run from the primary storage device, but it can also run from portable storage devices such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, or floppy disk. NTLDR can also load a non NT-based operating system given the appropriate boot sector in a file.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Script Host</span> Automation technology for Windows

The Microsoft Windows Script Host (WSH) is an automation technology for Microsoft Windows operating systems that provides scripting abilities comparable to batch files, but with a wider range of supported features. This tool was first provided on Windows 95 after Build 950a on the installation discs as an optional installation configurable and installable by means of the Control Panel, and then a standard component of Windows 98 and subsequent and Windows NT 4.0 Build 1381 and by means of Service Pack 4. The WSH is also a means of automation for Internet Explorer via the installed WSH engines from IE Version 3.0 onwards; at this time VBScript became means of automation for Microsoft Outlook 97. The WSH is also an optional install provided with a VBScript and JScript engine for Windows CE 3.0 and following and some third-party engines including Rexx and other forms of Basic are also available.

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) consists of a set of extensions to the Windows Driver Model that provides an operating system interface through which instrumented components provide information and notification. WMI is Microsoft's implementation of the Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) and Common Information Model (CIM) standards from the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows NT 4.0</span> Fourth major release of Windows NT, released in 1996

Windows NT 4.0 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It is the direct successor to Windows NT 3.51, and was released to manufacturing on July 31, 1996, and then to retail in August 24, 1996, with the Server versions released to retail in September 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norton Utilities</span> Computer utility software

Norton Utilities is a utility software suite designed to help analyze, configure, optimize and maintain a computer. The latest version of the original series of Norton Utilities is Norton Utilities 16 for Windows XP/Vista/7/8 was released 26 October 2012.

Virtual DOS machines (VDM) refer to a technology that allows running 16-bit/32-bit DOS and 16-bit Windows programs when there is already another operating system running and controlling the hardware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft ScanDisk</span> Disk diagnostic utility for MS-DOS and Windows 9x

Microsoft ScanDisk is a diagnostic utility program included in MS-DOS and Windows 9x. It checks and repairs file systems errors on a disk drive, while the system starts.

Microsoft Plus! was a commercial operating system enhancement product by Microsoft. The last edition is the Plus! SuperPack, which includes an assortment of screensavers, themes, and games, as well as multimedia applications. The Microsoft Plus! product was first announced on January 31, 1994, under the internal codename "Frosting". The first edition was an enhancement for Windows 95, Windows 95 Plus!

Take Command Console (TCC), formerly known as 4DOS for Windows NT (4NT), is a command-line interpreter by JP Software, designed as a substitute for the default command interpreter in Microsoft Windows, CMD.EXE.

Criticism of Windows XP deals with issues with security, performance and the presence of product activation errors that are specific to the Microsoft operating system Windows XP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debug (command)</span> Line-oriented debug utility in DOS

The line-oriented debugger DEBUG.EXE is an external command in operating systems such as DOS, OS/2 and Windows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft Drive Optimizer</span> Windows utility which defragments a hard drive

Microsoft Drive Optimizer is a utility in Microsoft Windows designed to increase data access speed by rearranging files stored on a disk to occupy contiguous storage locations, a technique called defragmentation. Microsoft Drive Optimizer was first officially shipped with Windows XP.

In Microsoft Windows, cacls, and its replacement icacls, are native command-line utilities capable of displaying and modifying the security descriptors on folders and files. An access-control list is a list of permissions for securable object, such as a file or folder, that controls who can access it. The cacls command is also available on ReactOS.

Resource Kit is a term used by Microsoft for a set of software resources and documentation released for their software products, but which is not part of that product. Resource kits offer supplementary resources such as technical guidance, compatibility and troubleshooting information, management, support, maintenance and deployment guides and multipurpose useful administrative utilities, which are available separately.

A batch file is a script file in DOS, OS/2 and Microsoft Windows. It consists of a series of commands to be executed by the command-line interpreter, stored in a plain text file. A batch file may contain any command the interpreter accepts interactively and use constructs that enable conditional branching and looping within the batch file, such as IF, FOR, and GOTO labels. The term "batch" is from batch processing, meaning "non-interactive execution", though a batch file might not process a batch of multiple data.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MS-DOS</span> Discontinued Microsoft operating system

MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few operating systems attempting to be compatible with MS-DOS, are sometimes referred to as "DOS". MS-DOS was the main operating system for IBM PC compatibles during the 1980s, from which point it was gradually superseded by operating systems offering a graphical user interface (GUI), in various generations of the graphical Microsoft Windows operating system.

In computing, recover is a primitive file system error recovery utility included in MS-DOS / IBM PC DOS versions prior to DOS 6.0 and a number of other operating systems.

The command-line tool exe2bin is a post-compilation utility program available on MS-DOS and other operating systems.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Franken; Frater; Kebschull; Raymans (1993). MS-DOS 6.0 Professional Edition - Die neuen 6.0-Tools - Kommunikation, Datensicherung, Windows und DOS, Optimale Konfiguration[MS-DOS 6.0 Professional Edition - The new 6.0 tools - communication, backup and data security, Windows and DOS, optimal configuration] (in German) (1 ed.). bhv Computer Bücher - BHV Verlag - Bürohandels- und Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. ISBN   3-89360-306-9.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Born, Günther (1993). DOS 6 Tuning - Praxisbuch - Das ganze Anwender-Wissen - Tips, Tricks, Utilities. Zur Installation, zur Konfiguration und zur Batchprogrammierung, noch bessere Nutzung der neuen Möglichkeiten von MS-DOS 6.0[DOS 6 tuning - Tips, tricks, utilities. On the installation, on the configuration, and on batch programming. Better utilization of new MS-DOS 6.0 features] (in German) (1 ed.). Markt & Technik Buch- und Software-Verlag GmbH & Co. ISBN   3-87791-495-0. 9-783877-914953.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Maslo, Andreas; Tornsdorf, Helmut; Tornsdorf, Manfred (1994). Das Superbuch - MS-DOS 6.2[Super book - MS-DOS] (in German) (1 ed.). Data Becker. ISBN   3-8158-1026-4. 9-783815-810262.
  4. ↑ Averett, Margaret; Liburdi, Dana (January 1995). IBM PC DOS 7 - User's Guide (PDF) (1 ed.). IBM Corp. 83G9260, S83G-9260-00, P83G9260. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  5. ↑ Heinzel, Edgar (1995). PC-DOS 7: Befehle, REXX, Utilities[PC DOS 7: Commands, REXX, utilities] (in German) (1 ed.). tewi Verlag GmbH. ISBN   978-3-89362-404-1.
  6. 1 2 Bailey, Greg; Collins, David; Dragich, Chris; Etchevers, Peggy; Groves, Jim; Jacobs, John; Kay, Sharon; McGimmis, Gary; Moore, Sonia Marie; Moynihan, Doralee; Pearson, Annie; Purcell, Jim; Sheppard, Laura (1996) [1995]. Microsoft Windows NT Version 3.5 - Die technische Referenz - Expertenwissen zu Windows NT Workstation und Windows NT Server - Grundlagen[Microsoft Windows NT Version 3.5 - Technical Reference. Expert knowledge on Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server - Basics (Windows NT Resource Guide)]. Microsoft Windows NT 3.5 - Die technische Referenz (in German). Vol. 1/5 (1 ed.). Microsoft Press Deutschland, Microsoft Corporation. ISBN   3-86063-235-3.
  7. 1 2 Immler, Christian; Lüders, Jürgen; Salomon, Norbert; Wehr, Hendric; Ziegert, Michael (1998). Windows 98 intern - System-Tuning und Technik-Referenz[Windows 98 internals - System tuning and technical reference] (in German) (1 ed.). DATA BECKER GmbH & Co. KG. ISBN   3-8158-1097-3. 9-783815-810972.
  8. ↑ "Description of Windows XP System Information (Msinfo32.exe) Tool". Microsoft. 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-12. System Information in Windows XP provides a new view of changes to the computer. ... History Information is provided by WMI, and is stored in the Extensible Markup Language (XML) data files located in Windows\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Datacoll.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.