TechDiY.net

Troubleshooting an issue on your computer is a tough job.  Troubleshooting an issue on someone else’s computer is even more difficult.  Who knows what they have install, tweaked, or tuned on their own before calling you for help.  We have all had this familiar dialog:

CUSTOMER: The computer was working fine until about 3 days ago.

PROFESSIONAL (yes, you): Did you install anything or do anything new with the PC?

CUSTOMER <blank stare>: Uhhh… no?

PROFESSIONAL <not spoken out loud>: Yeah right.

So now we have to be both computer repair experts and detectives.  Here is a handy FREE tool from Microsoft that will help you find out the history of a Windows XP machine.  It will give you:

• Installed / Removed applications
• Updates and patches applied
• Driver modifications
• Active-X controls that have been downloaded
• Internet Explorer COM components
• Autostart Extensibility Points

Please note that you will get an error if you try to run this on Windows XP with Service Pack 3.  Follow the instructions below to use this tool error free on all Windows Service Packs.

The instructions below will bypass the built-in installer application (to avoid the error messages) and make the app portable (stick it on a USB drive).

1. If you do not already have it, you will need to download and install 7Zip.  This is a great, free compression utility:  Click here to download 7Zip
2. Download the tool from Microsoft using this link:  Microsoft Change Analysis Diagnostic Tool for Windows XP
3. Once the file has been downloaded, copy it to your USB drive
4. Right-click on the file (called WindowsXP-KB924732-x86-ENU.exe).  Select 7-Zip and Extract Here
   

   Extract the files

5. Once the files are extracted, we’ll clean up some of the unnecessary files / folders.  Delete the update folder, the spmsg.dll file and the spuninst.exe file.
   

   Delete the unnecessary files and folders

6. Change the name of the scdiag folder to be a bit more recognizable.  I called mine “Windows XP Change Analysis Diagnostic Tool”
   

   Rename the folder

7. Now we can run the tool.  Open the folder and run the statechangediag.exe file
   

   Run the tool

8. Click Next on the first welcome screen and you will be brought to the calendar.  This will allow you to select how far back you want to scan.  I chose 7 days in this example, but you might need to go back further.
   

   How far back do you want to scan?

9. When the scan finishes, you will have the option to view the file that was created.  It is saved automatically if you ever want to go back and view it (just make sure you don’t run the tool again and overwrite the file).  The output is an XML file which can be viewed in Internet Explorer.
   

   Take the option to view the report that was created

10. The results are very impressive!
    

    This is a very detailed report

NOTE: I have not tried this tool on any other Microsoft Windows Operating Systems, so I don’t know how well if it will work.

Jason Free software change, detective, free, tool, windows, xp

WuInstall allows you to update Windows from the command line!

I am a big fan of doing things from the command line.  I can script with the best of them and I am always on the lookout for good CLI utilities.

A good use for this tool would be testing a new WSUS server.  Or maybe you need to update some computers outside the regularly scheduled update time.  You can script it and have GPO run this script at login.  Or you can use another one of my favorite tools (PSExec) and run this tool remotely anytime!

Very awesome utility and I highly recommend adding it to your computer toolkit!

Click here to visit their website and download WuInstall.

Jason Free software cli, command, free, line, update, vista, windows, xp