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Looking for a simple script

script tool diagnostic diagnose usb boot cd hdsentinel memtest hitmanpro

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#1 xQluSivV

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Posted 21 May 2015 - 10:26 AM

Hello fellow forum members,

 

For my work I am looking for a simple tool that makes it easy to do a diagnostic.

 

I work as technical engineer in a computershop and I have to diagnose alot.

I was looking for a tool or script that runs more programs at once or followed after eachother and eventually creates a .log

Normally when someone brings his/her laptop or desktop we run a HDSentinel, Memtest and a hitmanpro to have a quick overview on how the laptop runs and what could be wrong with it etc.

 

Is there anyone that could help me make a simple tool that runs those programs at once or automaticly after eachother?

 

I hope someone can help me.

 

Timothy.



#2 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 21 May 2015 - 11:35 AM

Hello fellow forum members,
 
For my work I am looking for a simple tool that makes it easy to do a diagnostic.
 
I work as technical engineer in a computershop and I have to diagnose alot.
I was looking for a tool or script that runs more programs at once or followed after eachother and eventually creates a .log
....

And your previous career as a butcher or as a greengrocer, for which you studied all those years, took a bad turn?  :dubbio:

I mean, you work as a technical engineer in a computer shop and you don't know anything about (say) batch, vbs or Auto-It or any other elementary scripting language?  :unsure:

 

And none of your colleagues (or your boss) do? :w00t:

 

I presume that a number of people, members of this board, would be happy to write an automation package of some kind for you for a reasonable fee, but it is actually outside the scope of the Community.

 

Or I misunderstood your request :ph34r: and you are looking for suggestions on which scripting language/tool people believes to be more suited for you to learn so that you can write your own routine? 

 

If this latter is the case, personally I would write it in batch (but I am very "old school", besides grumpy), most people would probably suggest Auto-It instead.

:duff:
Wonko



#3 xQluSivV

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Posted 21 May 2015 - 11:41 AM

Thanks for your response.

What I asked if there is someone that could help me, in ways like what tools/programs or guides I can follow to write something like this.

 

And no, I never took a turn to look at batch scrips, Auto-it etc. Just because my interest was not there.

So for me its new to learn such a scripting language and im not sure how long it will take me to write at least something close at what im looking for.



#4 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 21 May 2015 - 01:19 PM

Well, at the very basics a script language is a reproducible list of a sequence of operations that you can do normally "manually".

So, how exactly do you run those tools manually?

 

As an example HDsentinel may be run from a PE of some kind (or from within a Linux "Live") booted for the occasion or the physical disk could be removed from the machine, connected to a "lab computer" and diagnosed on this latter (while running on the "full OS" the "lab machine has").

Memtest (which specific version?) needs to be booted on the specific machine and runs "on itself" without actually loading an OS, but may needed to be booted form a USB stick in order to produce a log.

HitmanPro is a specific Windows tool, it can be run on the actual system to scan or from the network, etc.

 

If you can explain in detail which is your current "standard procedure" someone may be able to advise you on the possibility of scripting the procedure and which language may be more suitable for the scope.

 

:duff:

Wonko



#5 xQluSivV

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Posted 21 May 2015 - 01:40 PM

Wonko,

 

Thanks for the input so far.

What we usually run for a quick diagnose is:

 

*HDSentinel to check the health, performance and failures of the HDD.

*Memtest 86 to check the RAM its performance.

*And we Always run Hitmanpro to run a quick scan on malware/viruses.

 

mostlikely we run those from HBCD, but it would be nice if I could use only 1 USB drive that runs all test after eachother and eventually creates a log file.

 

I guess I will have to change Hitmanpro to a different scan since it only runs in Windows itself? (Maybe KAV that runs under DOS, but from my experience KAV usually takes kinda long to run a scan.)

Those tools are the only tools we run for a quick diagnose.

 

Timothy



#6 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 21 May 2015 - 04:06 PM

mostlikely we run those from HBCD

 
So you are using in a Commercial Environment an illegally redistributed PE 1.x? :frusty: :ph34r:
 
Maybe you should start by learning to build yourself (from legally obtained files) a more modern PE, as I believe that on recent machines PE 1.x's are starting to have issues with drivers, particularly SATA.

Anyway that was not a suitable answer to the asked question, which was how EXACTLY, in the uttermost DETAIL do you carry your "standard" test procedure, I asked for a DETAILED, EXACT, COMPLETE, PRECISE description, not a "We run 1,2,3", I am asking from what media, how (and to what) the machine is booted, how many times (if it is rebooted) it is rebooted, how (if it is rebooted) it is rebooted, etc., etc.
Standard Litany:
http://homepage.ntlw...ard-litany.html
is needed.

Fake that you are subject to an audit (say for getting a ISO 9001 qualification), you need to write down the whole procedure step by step first thing.

:duff:
Wonko

#7 xQluSivV

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Posted 21 May 2015 - 09:45 PM

Haha well thats the big issue, I don't know (yet) how to build my own PE since I don't know any scripting languages.

Thats why I made a new Topic to make a start by learning something new.

 

I would love to have my own PE with testing software that I can use for diagnoses.

 

How do I run my tests:

 

When a customer hands over a laptop/desktop with, let's say "a slow computer".

We create a document which has some basic details on it like; S/N, Brand, Type, Description of problem etc.

Eventually we have a diagnostic document that every engineer has to run.

 

Memtest 86:    Pass 1:       Pass 2:

HD Sentinel:    ...%

HitmanPro:      ... Viruses / ... Tracks

Currently installed AV:  ...............

 

So let's say I am doing this reperation.

I take my 32GB USB drive which is installed with HBCD 15.2

Plug it into the onboard USB port and boot from the USB drive to start up Memtest 86, I let it run till it completed 2 passes and make a note on the document saying OK at Pass 1 and Pass 2.

Now I restart the computer and boot from USB again to run HDSentinel to check the status of the HDD, lets say the HDD is 100% which is good and I fill that in on the document.

I reboot the computer again and let it boot from the Hard Drive, now I go to a server folder which contains the Hitmanpro scan, run this as administrator and let it do a quickscan, lets say it has found 22 viruses and 876 tracks and I fill this in on the document.

 

This is a small diagnose but can say alot on what has to happen to fix the computer. Ofcourse I would also check the Event Viewer to see if there are any others issues like driver related issues etc.

Clean the Event Viewer, Reboot and check the Event Viewer again.

 

After this I write down some options like Advice: Windows Reinstall or Clean system (make it Virus free), Buy a better Anti Virus, Remove unwanted programs, upgrade the HDD to SSD etc.

 

Does this come closer to an answer that you were looking for?

 

Timothy



#8 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 22 May 2015 - 11:34 AM

Does this come closer to an answer that you were looking for?

Yep. :thumbsup:
Almost.

So, the "attended" parts are:

  1. Boot the machine, access BIOS, change boot order to enable USB booting
  2. Reboot to the USB thingy (on some machines you can do the same in one step by pressing F12 or similar when booting and choosing USB "on-the-fly"
  3. Select from a boot menu the Memtest
  4. Reboot the machine once the MEMTEST has completed the two steps
  5. Select from a boot menu a PE of some kind
  6. Run from it the HD sentinel
  7. Connect the machine to the LAB LAN
  8. Reboot, choose to boot normally from the HD
  9. Login on the system (with which credentials?)
  10. Change if needed settings in the Network and TCP/IP stack to actually connect to the LAB server
  11. Run the Hitman Pro from a shared folder on the LAB server
  12. Revert if needed any change in #10 above
  13. Shutdown the machine
  14. Optionally reboot it to verify it boots settings are set properly.

Are the above correct? (please feel free to amend where inaccurate).

How do you deal with a machine where there is no support for the internal disk?

If there is a choice in BIOS for "IDE compatibility mode" you switch it and then revert it?

And what when (laptops) there isn't one?

 

How long does each step take? (approximately or on average)

 

What are your activities while the one (or the other) tool is chunking bytes away?

 

Who/How/Why this sequence of operations (and the specific tools used) were chosen/devised?

 

I know I sound more like an Inquisitor :w00t: :ph34r: than anything else, but I am failing :blush: : to see an actual reason for the procedures as described, which may mean both that they are way too smart/technically advanced for me or too d@mn dumb (or put together at random).

 

At first sight they seem more appropriate to a refurbishing firm than to a computer repair shop, but of course there may be very sound reasons to perform those tests on all machines that enter the shop, and I would like to understand what are these reasons.

 

:duff:

Wonko







Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: script, tool, diagnostic, diagnose, usb, boot, cd, hdsentinel, memtest, hitmanpro

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