MICROSOFT DIAGNOSTICS (MSD) UTILITY

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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
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Hard Disk System

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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

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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

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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