PLAYING DOCTOR WITH
PC Diag

If the Swiss Army developed a tool for diagnosing and treating common PC maladies, we think it would look a lot like PC Diag. Comprising more than 400 diagnostic tests and utilities, the software fits on a single floppy disk, with room left over for voluminous help files, tutorials, and log files. While you'll still need a decent trauma kit and replacement parts to get a seriously ill PC up and running, PC Diag can shave hours of time that might otherwise be spent tediously examining every component in search of the culprit.

PC Diag operates from any pure DOS environment (such as Safe Mode command prompt; not that DOS-window fakery), and tests can be executed in a batch run or individually, subsystem by subsystem.

Even candystripers will be able to pop is the disk and test hard drives, floppy drives, I/O ports, CPU, and memory for an instantaneous, Star Trek-like diagnoses - all while receiving a basic education on how PC's work (for example, one help file explains how to interpret Hex dumps from crashed programs). seasoned professionals can trade up to more sophisticated PC Diag versions that perform remote diagnostics, back up the Master Boot Record, and place the systems under heavy stress for burn-in testing. One of our favorite features backs up CMOS settings, so a battery swap won't force you to re-tweak your BIOS.

Young'uns may find the DOS-based interface a bit jarring to work with, but hey, it's still easier and less awkward than administering a barium enema.

- LOGAN DECKER, MaximumPC Magazine