======================================================================
  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.

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| 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.                                 |
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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 <drive>:\msd.* <destination>:\

   where <drive> is your floppy disk drive containing the GA0363 disk
   and <destination> 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]<filename>    Writes a complete MSD report to the
                                specified file. Requests
                                information such as name, company,
                                address, telephone number, and
                                comments.
                              
  /p [drive][path]<filename>    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
      <filename>
      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.