Help Contents
Contents

Introduction

What is VB System Information?

What's New in Version 1.01?

Registration Information

Hardware Information

Computer Model

BIOS Manufacturer

BIOS Date

Memory Installed

DOS Version

Bus Type

LASTDRIVE

CPU Information

CPU Type

CPU Speed

Co-Processor

Video Card Information

Video Card Driver

Driver Version

Video Card Pixel Resolution

Number of Colors

Network Information

Computer Name

Network Type

Hard Drive Information

Drive Letter

Total Space

Free Space

Floppy Drive Information

Drive Letter

Drive Type

Mouse Information

Mouse Interface

Windows Mouse Driver

Mouse IRQ

DOS Mouse Driver Version

DOS Mouse Driver

Windows Information

Windows Version

Windows Free Memory

Windows Mode


What is VB System Information?

VB System Information is a utility for displaying the configuration of your computer.

Please note that only information about LOCAL hard drives will be displayed.  NETWORK hard drive information will not be displayed.

By double clicking on a hard drive selection, more detailed information will be presented.


What's New in Version 1.01?

•	Much quicker in displaying information.

•	Added support for the new 2.88 MB floppy drives.

•	Added support for displaying the Pentium's processor speed of 60 MHz, although the program still cannot detect a Pentium.

•	Expanded the range of IBM PS/2 computers that can be detected.

•	Added identification of IBM PS/1 models.

•	Correctly identifies a NetWare network.

•	Opened up the API for SYSINFO.DLL to allow other developer's to add build system information type programs.

•	Confirmation of the following bugs:

-	Does not correctly identify Microchannel machines

-	Cannot identify mouse drivers if they are loaded high.

-	Has problems identifying IBM PS/2 BIOS's

-	Has problems detecting more than 16 colors for the Windows Video driver.


Registration Information

To register VB System Information, please send $10.00 to:

Snowy Mountain Software

10968 - 126 Street

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

T5M 0P5

Upon registration, you will receive the next revision of VB System Information.

Software updates and bug fixes will be posted on CompuServe.

Please send your comments, questions and bug reports to Snowy Mountain Software at CompuServe ID 72123,3402.


Computer Model

The Computer Model is the manufacturer of the computer. VB System Information will detect and display the following computer models:

•	3Com

•	Acer

•	ALR

•	AST

•	Altec

•	Altos

•	Amstrad

•	Apricot

•	Arche

•	AT&T

•	AT&T Safari notebook

•	Blackship

•	Bull

•	Commodore

•	CompuAdd

•	Columbia

•	Compaq

•	Data General

•	Digital Equipment

•	Dell

•	Dolch

•	Everex

•	Emerson

•	Eagle

•	Epson

•	Gateway

•	Goldstar

•	Hauppauge

•	Hewlett-Packard

•	Headstart

•	Hyundai

•	IBM PC/XT 286

•	IBM PC/AT

•	IBM PS/1 Model 2011

•	IBM PS/1 Model 2121

•	IBM PS/2 Model 25

•	IBM PS/2 Model 30

•	IBM PS/2 Model 35

•	IBM PS/2 Model L40

•	IBM PS/2 Model 50

•	IBM PS/2 Model 50Z

•	IBM PS/2 Model 55LS

•	IBM PS/2 Model 55SX

•	IBM PS/2 Model 57

•	IBM PS/2 Model 60

•	IBM PS/2 Model 65

•	IBM PS/2 Model 70

•	IBM PS/2 Model P70

•	IBM PS/2 Model P75

•	IBM PS/2 Model 80

•	IBM PS/2 Model 90

•	IBM PS/2 Model 95

•	Leading Edge

•	Intel 386SL Based System with APM

•	Memorex

•	Mitac

•	Mitsubishi

•	Mitsuba

•	Matsushita

•	Micro Express

•	Micro Telesis

•	Northgate

•	NEC UltraLite

•	NCR

•	NEC PowerMate

•	NEC

•	Olivetti

•	Packard Bell

•	Panasonic

•	PC Designs

•	Polywell

•	PC Direct

•	PC's Limited

•	PC Source

•	PC Brand

•	Proteus

•	Philips

•	Swan

•	Siemens

•	Sperry

•	Sharp

•	Tandem

•	Texas Instruments

•	Tri-Star

•	Twinhead

•	Tandy

•	Toshiba 1000SE

•	Toshiba 1000XE

•	Toshiba 1000

•	Toshiba 1200XE

•	Toshiba 1200

•	Toshiba 1600

•	Toshiba 3100SX

•	Toshiba 3100

•	Toshiba 3200SX

•	Toshiba 3200

•	Toshiba 3300SL

•	Toshiba 5100

•	Toshiba 5200

•	Toshiba 5300

•	Toshiba

•	Tandon

•	Unisys

•	Wang

•	Wyse

•	Xerox

•	Zenith

•	Zeos

If the computer model cannot be detected, VB System Information will display "MS-DOS System".


BIOS Manufacturer

The BIOS Manufacturer is the company that made the computer's BIOS.  VB System Information will detect and display the following BIOS manufactures:

•	American Megatrends Inc.

•	Award

•	Compaq

•	IBM

•	Phoenix Technologies Ltd.

•	Toshiba

•	Zenith

If VB System Information cannot determine the BIOS manufacturer, it will display "Unknown".


BIOS Date

The BIOS Date is the date that the BIOS was manufactured.  This can help diagnose computer malfunctions by indicating if the BIOS is outdated and needs to be replaced.  VB System Information will display the date of the BIOS, or "Unknown" if the date cannot be determined.


Memory Installed

The Memory Installed value is the amount of memory installed in a machine.

If the computer only has 640K with a memory board populated with more memory, the 640K will be counted as 1MB towards the total amount of memory.


DOS Version

The DOS Version is the version of the DOS that is installed. VB System Information will detect and display the DOS version.

It is unknown what version of DOS will be displayed when running under a OS/2 DOS box.


Bus Type

The Bus Type is the internal architecture used allow add-in cards to be used with a computer.  VB System Information will detect and display the following Bus Types:

•	Microchannel

•	ISA

•	EISA

The Microchannel bus is used primarily in IBM's PS/2 line of computers.

The ISA bus stands for Industry Standard Architecture and is used in the majority of the computers manufactured today.  It was originally designed for  IBM's AT computer in 1984.

The EISA stands for Extended Industry Standard Architecture and is used primarily in network servers.  It doubles the bus width of the ISA bus to 32 bits.


LASTDRIVE

The LASTDRIVE value is the last drive letter that can be assigned to a disk drive.


CPU Type

The CPU Type is the version of the CPU that controls the computer.  VB System Information will detect and display the following types of CPUs:

•	80286

•	80386

•	80486

If the actual CPU Type is a Pentium, VB System Information will display a value of 80486.


CPU Speed

The CPU Speed is the speed (in Megahertz) that the CPU runs at.

The CPU Speed will be one of the following types: 8,10,12,16,20,25,33,40,50,60,66

If the CPU chip is a Pentium, the value to be displayed is unpredictable.


Co-Processor

A Co-Processor is an additional chip that can be added to a computer to speed up math intensive applications.  VB System Information will detect and display the following Co-Processors:

•	Built In

•	None

•	80287

•	80387

If "Built In" is displayed, the Co-Processor is already integrated with the CPU.  Examples of this are the 80486 chip, the Overdrive chip, and the Pentium.


Video Card Driver

The Video Card Driver is the video card driver that is used by Windows.  VB System Information displays the same information that is in the display = XXXXXXXXXX entry in the SYSTEM.INI file.


Driver Version

The Driver Version is the version of the video card driver that is used by Windows.  The driver versions of the drivers that ship with Windows will be 3.10.  Other video card manufacturer's may display higher numbers.


Video Card Pixel Resolution

The Video Card Pixel Resolution is the video screen resolution in pixels.

The numbers displayed will typically be one of the following:

•	640 x 480

•	800 x 600

•	1024 x 768

•	1280 x 1024


Number of Colors

The Number of Colors is the maximum number of colors the video card can display at one time.

The number displayed will be one of the following: 16, 256, 32768, 65536


Computer Name

The Computer Name is used to identify the computer to a network operating system. VB System Information will detect and display the computer name.

Detection of the computer name requires that network drivers be loaded and the network services be started.  If these conditions are not met,  VB System Information will display "Network Is Not Started".


Network Type

The Network Type is the manufacturer of the network operating system that is loaded on the computer. VB System Information will detect and display the following types of network operating systems:

•	3Com 3+Open

•	3Com 3+Share

•	Artisoft LANtastic

•	Banyan Vines

•	IBM OS/2 LAN Server

•	IBM PC LAN Program

•	Microsoft LAN Manager

•	Microsoft Network (or 100% compatible)

•	Novell NetWare

•	DEC PATHWORKS

•	TCS 10Net

If the computer is not connected to a network, VB System Information will display "No Network Installed".

If the computer is connected to a network but is not one of the above types,  VB System Information will display "Unknown Network Type".


Hard Drive Information - Drive Letter
Drive Letter

The Drive Letter indicates how the hard drive is identified to the system.  VB System Information will detect and display drive letters from A: to Z:


Total Space

The Total Space value indicates the capacity of the hard drive in megabytes.


Free Space

The Free Space value indicates the capacity of the hard drive in megabytes.


Floppy Drive Information - Drive Letter
Drive Letter

The Drive Letter indicates how the floppy drive is identified to the system.  VB System Information will detect and display drive letters from A: to Z:


Drive Type

The Drive Type describes the capacity of the floppy drives installed on the computer. VB System Information will detect and display the following types of floppy drives:

•	360 KB, 5¼ Floppy

•	1.2 MB, 5¼ Floppy

•	720 KB, 3½ Floppy

•	1.44 MB, 3½ Floppy

•	2.88 MB, 3½ Floppy

If the drive type is not one of the above listed types,  "Unknown Floppy Type" will be displayed.


Mouse Interface

The Mouse Interface is the manner in which the mouse (if present) is connected to the computer. VB System Information will detect and display the following types of mouse interfaces:

•	Bus

•	Hewlett Packard

•	InPort

•	PS/2

•	Serial Port

Detection of the mouse interface requires that a DOS mouse driver be present.  If a DOS mouse driver is not present, VB System Information will display "Unknown" even though a mouse is connected using one of the above ports.


Windows Mouse Driver

The Windows Mouse Driver is the mouse driver used by Windows to communicate with the mouse. VB System Information will detect and display the following types of Windows mouse drivers:

•	Hewlett Packard

•	Logitech

•	Microsoft

•	Mouse Systems

•	Olivetti / AT&T

If the computer has no Windows mouse driver selected, "No Windows Mouse Driver" will be displayed.


Mouse IRQ

The Mouse IRQ (interrupt)  is used to help the computer interface with the mouse.  VB System Information will detect and display the mouse IRQ.

Detection of the mouse IRQ requires that a DOS mouse driver be present.  If a DOS mouse driver is not present, VB System Information will display "Unknown".


DOS Mouse Driver Version

The DOS Mouse Driver Version is the version of the DOS mouse driver that is installed. VB System Information will detect and display the DOS mouse driver version or it will display "No DOS Mouse Driver" if a DOS mouse driver is not installed.


DOS Mouse Driver

The DOS Mouse Driver is type of mouse driver that enables DOS programs to use a mouse.  VB System Information will detect and display the following DOS Mouse Drivers:

•	Hewlett Packard

•	Logitech

•	Microsoft

If no DOS mouse driver is installed, VB System Information will display "No DOS Mouse Driver"

If a DOS mouse driver is installed, but is not one of the three listed above, VB System Information will display "Unknown".


Windows Version

The Windows Version value is the version of Windows the computer is running.


Windows Free Memory

The Windows Free Memory is the amount of free memory Windows has available to run applications.


Windows Mode

The Windows Mode is the type of mode the CPU has been set to run in by Windows.

It will be one of the following:

•	Standard Mode

•	386 Enhanced Mode