Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
The Dr. Watson dialog box includes a text box that you can use to enter infor-
mation about what was happening when the fault occurred. This information can
be extremely useful later - particularly when the same machine next produces
errors. By default, Dr. Watson log files are saved to the
\
Windows
\
Drwatson
folder.
Finally, it is worth noting that Dr. Watson is best used with reproducible
faults. With intermittent faults, you may often not be able to determine the
cause of the fault in which case you should follow the procedures described
earlier depending on the exact nature of the Windows error message that has
been generated.
Benchmarking and
performance
measurement
It is often useful to compare the performance of one PC with another or to
measure the comparative performance of a PC over a period of time, particu-
larly when changes are made to software, hardware, and system configuration.
Several software packages offer benchmarking checks but one of the best is a
suite of programs and utilities known as Fresh Diagnose. Fresh Diagnose can
analyze and benchmark the individual parts of a computer system making it
possible to detect individual items of hardware that are not configured correctly
or that should considered to be prime candidates for upgrading.
Fresh Diagnose will scan a system and produce a comprehensive report on
the hardware and software, including information on:
•
motherboard type and configuration
•
CPU type and clock settings
•
video system
•
PCI/AGP bus peripheral devices (e.g. keyboard, mouse, and printer)
•
network connections.
Fresh Diagnose will also perform a series of tests in order to measure the
performance of a system. These tests include:
•
CPU performance
•
hard disk performance
•
CD/DVD ROM performance.
In addition to absolute measurement of performance, Fresh Diagnose can
provide a comparison of the current system with others. This information can
be invaluable in confirming (or otherwise!) that a PC is performing accord-
ing to expectation. Fresh Diagnose will operate successfully with systems
that use Windows 95, Windows 95 OSR2, Windows 98, Windows 98 Sec-
ond Edition, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows
XP (Figure 13.11).
System information
Fresh Diagnose incorporates a large number of individual program modules
that can be used to provide information on both the system hardware and its
software. The modules provide comprehensive information on:
•
the operating system version and configuration (Figure 13.12)
•
advanced power monitor (APM)
•
CMOS settings
