Project 2-2: Using a Freeware Diagnostic Utility

Many freeware diagnostic utilities can be downloaded from the Internet and can be used to examine, troubleshoot, and benchmark a system. I went to the CNET website http://www.download.com/ and searched for Fresh Diagnose. I downloaded the utility and saved it to the Downloads folder on my hard drive. I installed the software, creating a shortcut to the program on my desktop in the process. I ran the Fresh Diagnose program and browsed through the menus. The program gave me the same answers that the System Information utility gave me:

 

a. The OS this computer uses is Microsoft Windows XP Professional

b. The computer has a Pentium 4 2.40 GHz speed CPU

c. The BIOS manufacturer is Dell Computer Corporation and the version is A03

d. There is 64.00 MB of video RAM available to the video adapter card. To obtain this information, go to Components in System Information and select Display.

e. The name of the driver file that manages the parallel port is paraport.sys. The driver file that manages the USB ports is usbehci.sys.

As I compare the two utilities, my opinion is that:

a. Neither utility was easier to use than the other. They are both organized in similar ways only with different design layouts. I don't think either utility is very comprehensive for the average PC user.

b. I'm pretty sure that all the information that was available to me using the System Information utility was also available using Fresh Diagnose (and vice versa).

c. The System Information utility used more images which may be beneficial to visual learners, while Fresh Diagnose was more text based.

d. Fresh Diagnose on the other hand showed a better representation of the organization hierarchy than the System Information

d. Fresh Diagnose shows a better representation of the hierarchy organization in which information is located.
e. After experimenting with both utilities in the lab as well as my personal laptop, I can't say that I prefer either utility over the other. Some information about my personal PC was extremely hard to find, and if I did need to locate that hard to find information again, I will just Google the fastest way to access the information depending on what OS I am working with. I'm going to have to play around with the utilities more in my free time to really conclude what the best way to find out information about your PC is.