Windows Vista comes with a variety of built-in diagnostics tools that you can use to troubleshoot problems. Unfortunately, they’re well hidden and few users are aware of them. Let me share a few that I’ve discovered.
Memory Diagnostics is a built-in tool that will run when your computer is having trouble with the memory. When Windows detects a memory issue, you’ll be prompted to run this test. However, you don’t have to wait for problems to manifest. You can run the Memory Diagnostics tool at any time. Simply go to the Start button, type Memory Diagnostics in the Search bar and follow the prompts.
Another neat tool is the System Health Report. This is part of the Reliability and Performance Monitor. Go to the Control Panel, click on Performance Information and Tools, and then click on Advanced Tools. Here, you’ll see a list of useful options including Generate a System Health Report. The utility then run a series of tests on your computer and compile a detailed report covering just about everything you can imagine. Not only will you be able to diagnose problems, the report will offer suggestions for correcting them or improving overall performance.
Among the test categories in the System Health Report are: operating system checks, disk checks, memory checks, security checks, hardware and device driver checks, system service checks, resource overview, software configuration, hardware configuration, statistics, and more. The system diagnostics report lists all warnings and errors at the top of the report along with their symptoms, cause, details, resolutions, and links for further information.
This tool takes several minutes to run because dozens of tests take place. It’s well worth the time investment though. For example, I just ran the System Health Report and have discovered that several of my devices are either disabled or cannot start including my printer. Likewise, my CPU is overloaded with a CPU load of 92%. The report tells me to investigate top processes. Something, possibly malware, is hogging my computer’s CPU.
The Windows Security Center provides you with a one-stop location for making sure that your operating system is secure. You can access the Security Center via the Control Panel or by typing Security Center into the Search bar. Here you’ll find links to: Windows Update, Windows Firewall, Windows Defender, Internet Options, and Microsoft security and virus information. In addition, you’ll see the current status of security essentials including whether your computer is protected by a firewall, malware, and other settings.
Another useful tool is the System Configuration utility. This isn’t unique to Windows Vista but it’s still invaluable. Here, you can control which programs start up automatically, disable services, and tell the computer to start up in diagnostic mode. In addition, you’ll find shortcuts to even more diagnostic tools.
Celeste Stewart | August 19th, 2008
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WinDiagnostic is a new product that diagnoses Windows problems. It incorporates PC agents that remotely monitor both the Registry and all file systems for changes. The product documents ALL Windows and application program changes, and will send reports via email whenever there are relevant changes.
You just review the reports to see what caused your problem!