Overview of the Microsoft Configuration Capture Utility (MPS_REPORTS)

This article describes the Microsoft Configuration Capture Utility (MPS_REPORTS). This article discusses the system requirements to run MPS_REPORTS, describes the specialty editions of MPS_REPORTS, tells where to obtain the utility, and lists some known issues.

Overview

MPS_REPORTS is a compressed software package that contains one or more scripts and other utilities that you can use to capture critical system, diagnostic, and configuration information about your computer. Use this tool when you have to gather configuration and log information about your computer to help troubleshoot a support issue with a Microsoft Product Support Services professional. MPS_REPORTS is supported on computers that are running the following operating systems:

• Windows Server 2003
• Windows XP
• Windows 2000
• Windows NT 4.0

MPS_REPORTS is not supported on Windows Millennium Edition (Me) or on any version of Windows 98 or earlier.

System requirements

To run MPS_REPORTS, the following system requirements must be met:

• The computer is running either Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows NT 4.0.
• The computer has approximately 100 megabytes (MB) of free hard disk space.
  
  Approximately 5 MB or less of hard disk space is required for the utility and the report tools, and approximately 10 MB or more of hard disk space is required for runtime, depending on the size of the event log files. The larger the event log files, the more free hard disk space is required (up to a maximum of approximately 200 MB of hard disk space).
• You are logged on to the computer as an administrator or as a member of the Administrators group.

Specialty editions

Different editions of MPS_REPORTS are available for different support scenarios. Each edition captures information and performs actions that are relevant to that specific support scenario. The following list contains the specialty editions of the MPS_REPORTS utility that are currently available and describes the support scenario that each edition is specific to:

• Alliance Edition (Mpsrpt_alliance.exe): A general, all-purpose edition of the utility that captures a broad range of configuration information
  
  Note The Alliance Edition now includes a version for x64-based computers.
• Cluster Edition (Mpsrpt_cluster.exe): An edition that captures information that is relevant to Windows Cluster Service issues
• Directory Services Edition (Mpsrpt_dirsvc.exe): An edition that captures information that is relevant to Directory Services issues
• Network Edition (Mpsrpt_network.exe): An edition that captures information that is relevant to networking issues
• Setup Edition (Mpsrpt_setupperf.exe): An edition that captures information that is relevant to setup and performance issues
• Software Update Services Edition (Mpsrpt_sus.exe): An edition that captures information that is relevant to Software Update Services issues
• SQL Edition (Mpsrpt_sql.exe): An edition that captures information that is relevant to SQL.
• MDAC Edition (Mpsrpt_mdac.exe): An edition that captures information that is relevant to MDAC.
• Exchange Edition (Mpsrpt_exchange.exe): An edition that captures information that is relevant to Microsoft Exchange.

Important MPS_REPORTS does not make any registry changes or modifications to your computer.

A Readme.txt file (Mpsrpt_EditionName_readme.txt) accompanies each edition of the utility. For more information about the specific actions that each utility performs, including the files and folders that are created by the utility, see the Readme.txt file that is specific to the edition of the utility that you are using.

It take approximately 10 minutes or more for the data collection operations of MPS_REPORTS to complete. Although the process uses some CPU time, the amount of CPU time generally does not have an adverse effect on system performance. If you run the utility on a computer in a production environment, you may want to run it during off-peak usage times.

To run the tool, double-click MPSRPT_EditionName.exe, and then click Yes to accept the End User License Agreement (EULA). A command prompt window appears that displays the progress of the operation, and Notepad starts and opens the Readme.txt file of the edition of the utility that you are running.

The title bar of the command prompt window displays the name and version number of the edition of the MPS_REPORTS utility that you are running. You can also find this information in the ComputerName_Progress.txt file that is contained in the resulting output file (a compressed .cab file) that is generated by MPS_REPORTS. If you are not sure whether you have the latest version of MPS_REPORTS, you can delete the version that you have and download the latest version of the utility from the Microsoft Web site that is listed in the "To obtain MPS_REPORTS" section later in this article.

To obtain MPS_REPORTS

To download MPS_REPORTS, visit the following Microsoft Web site: The actual size of the utility depends on the version that you have. However, all editions of the utility are 1 MB or less and can be stored on a floppy disk.

MPS_REPORTS is provided as-is to customers to help in the collection of information for troubleshooting purposes. This utility is typically used in conjunction with a support incident. You can report any issues that you may experience with the MPS_REPORTS utility to the Microsoft Product Support Services professional who is assisting you with your support incident.

To obtain an update to the list of versions of MPS_REPORTS, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Known issues

You may receive event ID 1 error messages in the event log

• When you try to run one of the included scripts, you may receive the following error message in the event log:
  Event Type: Error
  Event Source: WSH
  Event Category: None
  Event ID: 1
  Description: ISAInfo version 1.9.5
  To prevent this message from being logged, the script must be run on a server that has a version of Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server installed and running.
• When you try to install MPS_REPORTS on a computer that does not have a version of Microsoft ISA Server installed, you may receive the following error message in the event log:
  Event Type: Error
  Event Source: WSH
  Event Category: None
  Event ID: 1
  Description: ISAInfo version 1.9.5
  To prevent this message from being logged, you should install MPS_REPORTS on a server that has a version of Microsoft ISA Server installed and running.

You may receive a false virus report when you send the MPS_REPORTS output file from a Hotmail account

When you attach the MPS_REPORTS output file (.cab file) to an e-mail message, and you send the message from a Hotmail e-mail account by using a Web browser, the antivirus scanning feature in Hotmail may report that the attachment is infected with a virus. You may receive the following message: This issue occurs if you access your Hotmail account in a Web browser, click Compose to create a message, and then attach the MPS_REPORTS output file to the message. This issue does not occur if you use an e-mail client, such as Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Outlook Express, to send the message that contains the .cab file attachment.

The MPS_REPORTS output file will not, under ordinary circumstances, be infected with a virus. The output files that are contained in the MPS_REPORTS are either text files or log files and do not contain computer code that is executable. Hotmail support is aware of this issue but does not currently have a resolution for it.

To work around this issue, do not use a Hotmail account in a Web browser to compose and send the message. Instead, compose and send the message from another e-mail client, such as Outlook or Outlook Express.

The Cluster Edition (Mpsrpt_cluster.exe) version 7.2 does not run correctly

The Cluster Edition tool (Mpsrpt_cluster.exe) version 7.2 does not run correctly if Services for Unix (SFU) is installed on the nodes. This problem occurs because there is a conflict between the SFU version of Find.exe and the Windows version of Find.exe.

To verify that there is a conflict with Find.exe, type path at a command prompt, and then press ENTER. The result will appear similar to the following: Because the SFU path comes before the Windows path, the SFU version of Find.exe is found first. The SFU version of Find.exe is different from the Windows version of Find.exe and does not function with Cluster MPS Reports.

To temporarily work around this issue, follow these steps:

1. At a command prompt, type path=C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS, and then press ENTER.
   
   This command changes the path for this CMD session only. Any other CMD session, and any Windows session, will still use the original path.
2. Verify that the path has been updated. To do so, type: path, and then press ENTER. The output will look similar to the following:
   PATH=C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS
3. Do not exit the CMD session. Start Cluster MPS Reports from the command prompt. To do so, type mpsrpt_cluster.exe, and then press ENTER.
   
   Note You have to start Cluster MPS Reports from the command prompt because the new path is only in effect for the current CMD session.
4. After Mpsrpt_cluster.exe is finished, type exit at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.

REFERENCES

For more information about MPS_REPORTS, visit the following Microsoft Web site: