Microsoft System Information (Msinfo32.exe) is an updated version of Microsoft Windows NT Diagnostics (Winmsd.exe). When you start Winmsd.exe, it starts <Drive:>\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\MSInfo\Msinfo32.exe.
Msinfo32.exe displays information about your Hardware Resources, Components, and software Environment:
Hardware Resources shows DMA, IRQs, I/O addresses, and memory addresses. The Conflicts/Sharing node identifies devices that are sharing resources or that are in conflict.
Components displays information and status about your Windows configuration.
Software Environment is a snapshot of the software currently in memory.
NOTE: Other programs may add nodes in Msinfo32.exe.
If you start Msinfo32.exe from the command line, you can control the process. The syntax is:
The Catagorynames are:
Category Heading categoryname
==============================================
System Summary SystemSummary
Hardware Resources Resources
Components Components
Software Environment SWEnv
The following items are add-ons and may not be present:
Category Heading categoryname
=========================================
Internet Explorer 5 InternetExplorer
Applications Apps
Hardware Resources Subcategories:
Category Heading categoryname
=========================================
Conflict/Sharing ResourcesConflicts
DMA ResourcesDMA
Forced Hardware ResourcesForcedHardware
I/O ResourcesIO
IRQs ResourcesIRQS
Memory ResourcesMemory
Components Subcategories:
Subcategory Heading Subcategoryame
=========================================
Multimedia ComponentsMultimedia
Display ComponentsDisplay
Infrared ComponentsInfrared
Input ComponentsInput
Modem ComponentsModem
Network ComponentsNetwork
Ports ComponentsPorts
Storage ComponentsStorage
Printing ComponentsPrinting
Problem Devices ComponentsProblemDevices
USB ComponentsUSB
Software Environment Subcategories:
Subcategory Heading Subcategoryame
==============================================
Drivers SWEnvDrivers
Environment Variables SWEnvEnvVars
Jobs SWEnvJobs
Network Connections SWEnvNetConn
Running Tasks SWEnvRunningTasks
Loaded Modules SWEnvLoadedModules
Services SWEnvServices
Program Groups SWEnvProgramGroup
Startup Programs SWEnvStartupPrograms
OLE Registration SWEnvOLERegThe following example outputs each high-level category into a separate .nfo file, which can be read by Msinfo32.exe.:
start /wait msinfo32.exe /nfo syssum.nfo /categories +SystemSummary start /wait msinfo32.exe /nfo cmpnt.nfo /categories +components start /wait msinfo32.exe /nfo swenv.nfo /categories +swenv start /wait msinfo32.exe /nfo hwdres.nfo /categories +resources start /wait msinfo32.exe /nfo ie.nfo /categories +internetexplorer start /wait msinfo32.exe /nfo apps.nfo /categories +AppsThe following example outputs basic system summary information and conflicts into an .nfo file, which can be read by Msinfo32.exe.:
start /wait msinfo32.exe /nfo conflicts.nfo /categories +systemsummary+componentsproblemdevices+resourcesconflicts+resourcesforcedhardwareThe above Conflicts.nfo file contains the following top-level categories:
System Summary Hardware Resources ComponentsUnder Hardware Resources, the Conflict/Sharing and Forced Hardware subcategories are present. Under Components, the Problem Devices subcategory is present.
The following example outputs the Software Environment information, but does not include the Program Groups and Startup Programs subcategories:
start /wait msinfo32.exe /nfo swenv.nfo /categories +swenv-swenvprogramgroup-swenvstartupprogramsNOTE: Start /wait is required. Without it, the MSinfo32.exe will overload your CPU.
