WINDOWS 1002000 PROFESSIONAL RESOURCE KIT [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Applications Tools

Windows 2000 offers tools to gather information about and manage application issues. Some of the most useful tools, which are shown in Table 31.13, are detailed in this section.

Table 31.13 Applications Troubleshooting Tools

System Information

System Information is a Windows-based tool that collects and displays configuration information to help diagnose and correct problems. This tool can quickly find the required data to resolve problems, about the following categories:

System Summary displays basic information about the system, such as version number of the operating system, the NetBIOS computer name, the manufacturer and model number, the installation folder of Windows 2000, locale and time zone information, as well as information about the amount of installed physical memory and virtual memory.

Hardware Resources displays hardware resource settings such as direct memory access (DMA), interrupt requests (IRQs), I/O addresses, and memory addresses.

Components displays information about the Windows 2000 configuration and determines the status of peripheral devices, ports, and universal serial bus (USB) connections.

Software Environment displays a snapshot of drivers, environment variables, tasks, and services loaded into computer memory. This information can be used to check whether a process is still running or to check version information.

Internet Explorer 5 displays a list of configuration settings related to Internet Explorer, including install location, cipher strength, build number, a list of associated files and version numbers, and settings for connectivity, file caching, and security zones.

Applications displays a list of installed Microsoft applications that support System Information. Microsoft® Office 2000 applications are currently supported. Additional Microsoft applications might be included in the future.

The Tools menu in System Information also provides links to several tools used for troubleshooting, including the following:

Disk Cleanup

Dr. Watson for Windows 2000

DirectX Diagnostic Tool

Add/Remove Hardware wizard

Network and Dial-up Connections

Backup

File Signature Verification Tool

Update Wizard Uninstall

Windows Report Tool

To use System Information, from the Start menu, click Run, and then type:

msinfo32

System Information categories are displayed in a tree structure, as shown in Figure 31.3.

Figure 31.3 System Information

You can print or save System Information to a text file to send to support personnel. These files are stored in the My Documents folder by default.

NOTE

---

A full System Information report printout can total more than 80 pages depending on the hardware and software installed.

System Summary

System Summary provides a general profile of the system, including the version of Windows, the installation folder, virtual memory, locale and local time zone, and system hardware, such as BIOS, CPU, memory, and other system resources. Use this information at the beginning of the troubleshooting process to develop a basic picture of the environment in which the problem occurs.

Hardware Resources

Hardware Resources, as shown in Table 31.14, displays hardware-specific settings, such as assigned or used IRQs, DMA channels, I/O addresses, and memory addresses.

Table 31.14 Hardware Resources

Components

Components displays information about your Windows 2000 system configuration, as shown in Table 31.15. The Components view includes information about the status of peripheral devices, ports, and USB connections. There is also a summary of problem devices.

Table 31.15 Components

Software Environment

Software Environment, as shown in Table 31.16, displays the software loaded in computer memory.

Table 31.16 Software Environment

Internet Explorer 5

Internet Explorer 5, as shown in Table 31.17, displays configuration information for Internet Explorer 5.

Table 31.17 Internet Explorer 5

Applications

Applications, as shown in Table 31.18, displays configuration information about the installed applications that are compatible with System Information.

Table 31.18 Applications

NOTE

---

The Applications module is installed into System Information whenever any version of Office 2000 is installed. By default, this module lists all of the applications included in the Microsoft® Office 2000 Premium Edition, regardless of whether any particular application listed is installed.

Other than the Summary pages, the data fields for the configuration information of the individual applications in Office 2000 are not populated unless the particular application is running at the time that System Information is active.

DirectX Diagnostic Tool

The DirectX Diagnostic Tool (DXDiag) is a Windows-based DirectX tool that presents information about the components and drivers of the DirectX application programming interface (API) installed on your system. Administrators or users can test sound and graphics output and DirectPlay service providers, and disable some hardware acceleration features. You can use DXDiag to gather information during a support call or to send an e-mail message.

To start DXDiag, from the Start menu, click Run, and then type:

dxdiag

NOTE

---

Some information displayed in DXDiag, such as the amount of memory on a display card, might be approximate.

DXDiag uses a tabbed dialog box format to separate the sections of reports, as shown in Figure 31.4.

Figure 31.4 DXDiag Dialog Box

Table 31.19, describes each tab in the DirectX Diagnostic Tool dialog box.

NOTE

---

If a DirectX problem is detected on a particular tab, a warning message is displayed in the Notes box.

Table 31.19 DXDiag Dialog Box Tabs

What to Look For

If you are experiencing problems when running DirectX applications, DXDiag can help you find the source of the trouble. The following are issues to look for:

Incorrect versions of DirectX components. In the Notes section of the DirectX Files page, look for warnings about beta and debug files.

Uncertified drivers. In the file list on the DirectX Drivers page, look for drivers that are marked as uncertified. Other problems might be shown in the Notes section of the Display, Sound, and Input pages. Uncertified drivers have not been tested by Microsoft for full compatibility with the latest version of DirectX.

Lack of hardware acceleration. Some programs run slowly or not at all unless DirectDraw or Direct3D hardware acceleration is available. On the Display page, under DirectX Features, check whether DirectDraw, Direct3D, or AGP Support is marked "Not available." If so, consider upgrading your hardware.

Device not connected. If a joystick or other input device fails to respond, it might not be properly set up. Make sure the device is accounted for on the Input page of DXDiag. If not, add the device by using the Game Controllers icon in Control Panel.

Testing DirectX Components

You can test DirectDraw and Direct3D on each monitor attached to your system, DirectSound on each WAV output device, and DirectMusic on each music port.

Click Test, read any messages that appear, and watch or listen to the tests. Let each test run until you see a message asking whether the test was successful. If you respond No, no more tests are run.

There is a single test for DirectMusic. Click OK when you are satisfied that the music is or is not playing correctly.

You can also test DirectPlay functionality on any available service provider.

To test DirectPlay on two connected computers

On Computer A on the Network page, click Test DirectPlay. In the DirectPlay Test dialog box, type a user name and choose a service provider. Select Create New Session, and then click OK. If you have chosen a modem connection, in the Modem Connection dialog box click Answer to put the modem in autoanswer mode.

Run DXDiag on Computer B to establish the selected connection with Computer A. Click Test DirectPlay, type in a different user name, choose the same service provider, select Join Existing Session, and then click OK. For some types of connections, you might be asked to provide more information, such as a telephone number. For a TCP/IP connection on a local network, you can leave the text box blank.

A session list is displayed on Computer B, containing the name of the session that you created on Computer A. Select the name of the session, and then click OK.

Both computers display a chat dialog box. Type a message in the input box on one computer, and then click Send. The message appears in the scrolling area of the chat dialog box on both computers.

Overriding Default Settings

On the Sound page, you can set a different level of hardware acceleration by moving the slider. This level remains in effect after you have closed DXDiag.

On the Display page for each installed display device, you can disable hardware acceleration for DirectDraw or Direct3D and AGP Support (if such options are available) by clicking Disable. These features remain disabled after you close DXDiag, and are not available to any applications. To re-enable a disabled feature, click Enable.

NOTE

---

Disabling DirectDraw acceleration also disables acceleration for Direct3D.

You can also override the monitor refresh rate set by DirectDraw full-screen applications. Do this only if you are experiencing display problems with certain applications and have good reason to believe that the application is setting an invalid refresh rate.

To set an override refresh rate

On the More Help page, click Override.

In the Override DirectDraw Refresh Behavior dialog box, select the Override Value text box and type a valid refresh rate for your monitor. The Override Value option is automatically selected.

To cancel the override refresh rate

On the More Help page, click Override.

In the Override DirectDraw Refresh Behavior dialog box, select Default.

On some configurations, DXDiag allows you to restore older audio and video drivers. This can be the best way of solving problems with incompatible drivers.

If a Restore button appears on the More Help page, click it to run the DirectX Setup program.

DirectX Setup has two buttons labeled Restore Audio Drivers and Restore Display Drivers. Clicking either of these buttons restores drivers that were replaced when DirectX was installed on your system. If a button is disabled, you do not have older drivers to which to revert. Contact the hardware manufacturer for the newest drivers.

Saving Information

To save information gathered by DXDiag, click Save All Information. Information from all the pages is saved in a file under a name and in a location you choose.

Registry Editors

Windows 2000 contains two registry editors (Regedit and Regedt32) that you can use to change settings in your system registry, which stores information about how the hardware and software on your computer runs. Windows 2000 stores its configuration information in a set of database files, organized into subtrees, keys, and subkeys, and displayed in a tree format by the registry editors. Although the registry editors enable you to inspect and modify the registry, normally you do not need to do so, and making incorrect changes can damage your system. An advanced user who is prepared to edit and restore the registry can use a registry editor for tasks such as eliminating duplicate entries, deleting entries for programs that have been uninstalled or deleted, verifying options and settings, or configuring options that are not accessible through the normal user interface.

If there is an error in your registry and your computer ceases to function properly, you can restore the registry to its state when you last successfully started your computer by starting the computer using the Last Known Good Configuration. For more information on the Last Known Good Configuration option, see "Safe Mode" earlier in this chapter.

WARNING

---

Do not use a registry editor to edit the registry directly unless you have no alternative. The registry editors bypass the standard safeguards provided by administrative tools. These safeguards prevent you from entering conflicting settings or settings that are likely to degrade performance or damage your system. Editing the registry directly can have serious, unexpected consequences that can prevent the system from starting and require that you reinstall Windows 2000. To configure or customize Windows 2000, use the programs in Control Panel or Microsoft Management Console (MMC) whenever possible.

Before the registry is changed, it is highly recommended that you backup the registry files. For more information about backing up the registry, see "Emergency Repair Process" earlier in this chapter.

The five subtrees, through which all registry keys, subkeys, and assigned values are accessed, are defined in Table 31.20.

Table 31.20 Predefined Registry Subtrees

Differences Between the Registry Editors

The registry editors included with Windows 2000 include Regedt32 and Regedit. Each registry editor has advantages and disadvantages. You can perform most tasks with either registry editor, but certain tasks are easier with one registry editor.

The following are advantages of Regedt32:

Using the Security menu, you can check for and apply access permissions to subtrees, keys, and individual subkeys.

Each subtree is displayed in its own dedicated window, reducing clutter.

You can set an option to work in read-only mode.

You can edit values longer than 256 characters.

You can easily edit REG_MULTI_SZ entry values.

You can load multiple registry files at the same time.

NOTE

---

From the Registry menu, select Load hive and open any registry file on disk. You can have more than one registry file open at one time. This feature is particularly useful when a computer with multiple installations of Windows 2000 cannot start from one of the installations due to a registry problem. If the cause of the problem is known, the user can start the computer from the secondary installation. Using Regedt32, the registry files from the primary installation can be loaded, edited, and saved, resolving the problem with the primary installation.

Figure 31.5 shows the Regedt32 interface.

Figure 31.5 Regedt32

The following are advantages of Regedit:

Regedit has more powerful search capabilities.

All the keys are visible in one Windows Explorer-like window.

You can bookmark favorite subkeys for fast access later on.

Regedit reopens to the subtree that was last edited.

You can export the registry to a text file.

You can import a registry file from the command line.

NOTE

---

To import a registry file from the command line, type

regedit /s regfile

where regfile is the full path and file name of the registry file to be imported.

Figure 31.6 shows the Regedit interface.

Figure 31.6 Regedit

IMPORTANT

---

Regedit cannot display registry values larger then 256 characters. Values that contain a larger number of characters are ignored and not shown. These values can only be edited by Regedt32.

Using the Registry Editors

Folders represent subtrees, keys, and subkeys and are shown in the navigation pane. In the topic pane, the registry entries in a subkey are displayed. When you double-click a registry entry, it opens an editing dialog box.

Within the registry editors, you can assign entries to new subkeys or alter the entries assigned to a currently selected subkey. Entries appear in the registry as strings that consist of three components separated by colons. For example, in the following registry entry:

RefCount : REG_DWORD : 0x1

RefCount is the entry name, REG_WORD is the data type, and 0x1 is the value of the entry.

For more information about using the registry editors for tasks such as saving a subtree, key, or subkey as a file, printing, importing, and exporting registry data, see Windows 2000 Professional Help and the Technical Reference to the Windows 2000 Registry (Regentry.chm) on the Windows 2000 Resource Kit companion CD.

Regedt32 provides the following ways to update registry display:

Auto Refresh (on the Options menu) automatically updates the registry when any change is made to registry data.

Refresh All (on the View menu) updates all of the information in all windows.

Refresh Active (on the View menu) updates only the information in the active window.

NOTE

---

When Auto Refresh is in effect, a check mark appears next to the command and Refresh All and Refresh Active are unavailable.

You cannot use Auto Refresh while viewing a remote registry. If you click Auto Refresh while displaying a remote registry, the manual refresh options (Refresh All and Refresh Active) are not available. Although Auto Refresh appears to work, the contents of the remote registry window are not automatically refreshed.