System Utilities for DOS

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SYSTEM INFO AND DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS

Remarks:

  1. For 'old' PC's try InfoPlus (released 1993).
  2. Note that dedicated drive identity tools are listed on the DISK UTILS page.

Need to add Memtest86: a thorough, stand alone memory tester for x86 architecture computers. GPL.


NSSI- System information tool with excellent CPU identification capability.

unrated [added 1998-01-30 updated 2003-01-01]

NSSI is an up-to-date freeware hardware information tool. Some features have yet to be implemented, but it is quickly becoming a comprehensive and detailed hardware analyzer.

Major components addressed (with detail):

Also includes CPU and FPU performance tests. Other capabilities: Save BIOS, Save Video BIOS, Save Boot, Save Partition, View File, Search Video Modes and Test CPU Bugs, Test Y2K rollover, Reset keyboard, Reset computer, Test speaker, printer, Automatic Report. Command line options available (e.g., autoreport). Author: Tomáš Navrátil, Czech Republic. (2002)

Watch for new versions on Home Page if link becomes outdated.

2003-01-01: v0.54 (2002-12) available.

Download from home page


AIDA- System information and benchmarking program.

unrated [added 2001-06-01 updated 2002-10-12]

A current sysinfo and benchmarking tool- strength seems to be with identifying current, rather than legacy hardware. Multi-language support under development. Free for individual use only. 16 bit DOS (AIDA16) and 32-bit Windows (AIDA32) versions.

Hungary (2001). AIDA16 Home Page.

2002-05-21: v1.60 (2002-05) available.

download from home page (912K)


Y2000- Test PC for Year 2000 compliance (Y2K).

unrated

"This program tests the personal computer's ability to support the year 2000, not the operating system or software applications. Separate testing must be performed on software." Returns error levels that can be used in batch files. Can't be run under Windows. Author: NSTL (1997)

The following tests are performed:

download y2000.exe (33K, self extracting ZIP)

Also see: HOLMESFX- TSR fix for old bios RTC Y2K failures


PCI- PCI system information tool.

unrated [added 2000-08-28 updated 2001-05-04]

Most modern PCs (mid 1990's +) include a PCI bus. PCI "examines your PCI Bus (including devices on the motherboard, AGP port and within the PCI chipset itself) and reports in detail. Identifies over 5500 different vendors and devices." Released as freeware, is freely modifiable, and source is included. PCI database is updated regularly.

  Usage: PCI [-H] [-D] [-S] [-T] [-B] [-P] [-?]   [] indicates optional parameter
-H : Use direct hardware access (instead of the BIOS) to retrieve PCI Info
     May be required for accurate reporting on Intel 430FX chipset+Award BIOS
-D : Do a hex-dump of each device's configuration space
-S : Create a brief, summary report only; only devices and IRQs listed
-T : Disable test ROM IRQ Routing Table function
-B : Enable display of Bus, Device & Function info
-P : Enable display of PCI slot routing data
-? : Displays this help screen!

Author: Craig Hart, Australia (2001). Home Page.

05-04-01: v0.42beta available (03-01).

download pci.zip from home page (140K)
and also get latest PCI database: PCIDEVS.TXT


MAP- MEM substitute.

unrated [added 2002-10-20]

"Map is a program to display the memory map. It can list only programs and device drivers, or the full list of memory control blocks. It can also list device drivers, interrupt vectors and the high memory area." Useful when you need detailed mapping information for optimizing memory. Based on Map 2.0 by Peter Sulyok. Authors: Sulyok Peter, Jason Hood (v3.0). (2002)

Usage:   MAP [-option ...] [name ...]
Options:
         -c        list of programs in conventional memory
         -u        list of programs in upper memory
         -f[c|u]   full list of memory blocks
         -d        list of device drivers
         -i[list]  list of interrupt vectors (in hexadecimal)
         -a        list of HMA
         -o addr   determine the owner of addr
         -h,?      this text

Download from Home Page.


DOS Function Tracers

Memory resident utilities that can be used to troubleshoot program errors and log file access. Don't run these under Windows.

1. Argus- DOS function tracer logs file access and other parameters.
2. KGB- DOS function tracer logs file access.

Argus * * * * A memory resident utility that packs a big punch for its small (8K) size. Argus can log access to drives, directories, files and transferred bytes, EMS use, modifications of the INT table, and memory management. I use it primarily to troubleshoot and to discover what file actions some apps perform (e.g., what files are required by a program, log creation of temp files, etc.). Requires about 5K RAM and can be uninstalled from memory. One warning: The log files created by Argus can grow very large very quickly.

KGB * * * A 2K memory resident utility that logs only file activity. Unlike Argus, KGB doesn't stamp the log entries with times. The log file is smaller and easier to read compared with Argus because KGB doesn't record common error messages. Permanent saving of log file. Requires 1K RAM and can be disabled or uninstalled from memory.

download argus161.zip
download kgb104.zip


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