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How to Create a WinMSD Report

Article ID: 232848 - View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q232848

SUMMARY

Windows NT Diagnostics, also known as WinMSD, is a utility used to gather detailed configuration information about computers running Windows NT. It can be beneficial for Microsoft Support Professionals to use this information to troubleshoot issues. End users can also use this utility to record current configuration information on each of their computers for archival purposes. WinMSD can be run from the graphical user interface (GUI) or at an MS-DOS command prompt.

MORE INFORMATION

WinMSD usage:

winmsd [\\computername] [/a /s /f /p]
/a  Causes a complete system report to be generated
/s  Causes a summary system report to be generated
/f  Causes the system report to be sent to a file
/p  Causes the system report to be send to the current printer

If you run the utility from the command prompt without switches, a GUI appears, which has multiple tabs that allow you to view specific information. The default tab is the Version tab, which indicates the version, service pack, and serial number.

WinMSD can be run from a command prompt or from the Start Menu.

For troubleshooting purposes, a common command would be:

winmsd /a /f

This queries the local computer and creates a text file (computername.txt) in the current directory.

Another common usage is:

winmsd \\computername /a /f

This queries a remote computer (computername) and creates a text file (Computername.txt) in the current directory.

To use the GUI version:

From the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Windows NT Diagnostics.
Click Print.
Set the following option:
Scope = All Tabs, Detail Level = Complete, Destination = File
You can name and locate the file anywhere you wish.