Does anyone have a recommendation for good, free diagnostic software for Windows? Specifically, Windows 7. I’ve looked through the “PC Problems” sticky threads but (a) they are old and (b) seem to be mostly for finding and cleaning viruses and malware.
My son-in-law runs an auto repair shop and his front desk PC has been getting the occasional BSOD with a message about the video driver. My suspicion is either memory going bad or a heat related issue, although he claims that sometimes he gets the BSOD within five minutes of starting up, which would seem to rule out a heat issue. I was going to run by the shop later today and take a look, pop open the case and blow the dust out with some canned air, make sure everything is seated in the slots correctly, etc. But I thought it might also be a good idea to run some diagnostic software and see if anything turned up.
If this was something I was planning on doing regularly, I’d probably go ahead and spring for some diagnostic software. But since it’s just a one time thing I’m looking for something free. And yes, I know I could google, but I trust the folks here more than I would trust random google search results for “free diagnostic pc software”.
I’ve used a program called Sandra, from SiSoft to get detailed information about hardware and software. It doesn’t fix anything, but helps you see all the nuts and bolts. The techsupport alert page has a great list of free tools they’ve tested and evaluated. You could take a look there.
What is the manufacturer of the computer? You may be able to download diagnostic software from the manufacturer’s website. I know that Dell computers have diagnostic software built into the BIOS.
I carry Advance System Care and Glary Utilities on a thumb drive for tuning PCs for friends and family. As ever in such threads for all free software, reviewed by people that know what they are writing about, I recommend Gizmo’s Freeware. It covers every variety off software you can think of an has never steered me wrong.
On linking I see a new higher rated utility for tuneups. Must check it out.
Thanks for the recommendations. I installed a copy of SiSoft Sandra for what I needed today, but will definitely check out the others and maybe load me up a thumb drive with a bunch of tools for future use.
It should tell you what caused the BSOD – which particular device or driver or program – and he can look that up on the internet. Many BSODs are the result of manufacturer hardware or software problems that are kinda widespread among some portion of their customers, and you can hopefully find more info that way.