hardware info help

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technomaNge

Does anyone have a recommendation for software to identify the sound
card in a Windows box so I don't have to open the case and try to
suss it from the chipset?

I tried Belarc, but it reports the sound as whatever driver is loaded
(or attempted to load).

technomaNge
 
technomaNge said:
Does anyone have a recommendation for software to identify the sound
card in a Windows box so I don't have to open the case and try to
suss it from the chipset?

I tried Belarc, but it reports the sound as whatever driver is loaded
(or attempted to load).
Click to expand...

Using my newly acquired psychic skills and I can see that you are
referring to a windows 3.1 machine. ;)

Otherwise, if you have WMI installed:

The next line is single line so watch for wrapping...
Set SoundDeviceInfo =
GetObject("winmgmts:").InstancesOf("Win32_SoundDevice")

For Each System In SoundDeviceInfo
wscript.echo System.Manufacturer & System.ProductName
Next
 
technomaNge said:
Does anyone have a recommendation for software to identify the sound
card in a Windows box so I don't have to open the case and try to
suss it from the chipset?

I tried Belarc, but it reports the sound as whatever driver is loaded
(or attempted to load).
Click to expand...

Soundcard Detector?

Name: SoundCard Detector, V.2.0.E
Author: Robert Einsle
Date: 2001.08.02
OS: [??]

| Soundcard Detector is a small program that retrieves available
| information regarding your sound card. Manufacturer ID, Product ID,
| Driver Version, Name, Formats, Reserved, and Support are among
| the categories it retrieves for each available .wav device. It
| also gathers similar information for each MIDI device. SoundCard
| Detector is a system information program which detects all
| information about your soundcard.

Its output doesn't look useful to me. Nor is it exportable. I get a name
here and there. And a bunch of numbers, mainly 1's. For example, I get
this: "Manufacturer ID = 1". Perhaps part of the problem is that the $2
soundcard that came with my notebook is too cheapo to offer extended info.
Main note: I'm not experienced on this kind of thing, so cannot venture
guess whether SoundCard Detector won't (or will) serve purpose...

You could take a fast look for yourself, to determine either way. I found
a download link from this page: http://www.freeware.org.uk/diag.htm

http://www.rp006b2684.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/diag/soundcard.zip (177k)
 
omega said:
Its output doesn't look useful to me. Nor is it exportable. I get a
name here and there. And a bunch of numbers, mainly 1's. For example, I
get this: "Manufacturer ID = 1". Perhaps part of the problem is that
the $2 soundcard that came with my notebook is too cheapo to offer
extended info. Main note: I'm not experienced on this kind of thing, so
cannot venture guess whether SoundCard Detector won't (or will) serve
purpose...

You could take a fast look for yourself, to determine either way. I
found a download link from this page:
http://www.freeware.org.uk/diag.htm

http://www.rp006b2684.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/diag/soundcard.zip
(177k)
Click to expand...

I tried it in my computer.
I got 8 facts (values) for wave device and 9 for midi devices.

I agree that most of it is not very useful.

I changed current midi device with this program, and checked afterwards
in control panel - multimedia that the device I had selected was the
first device. Looks like it works.

This program is probably just taking its facts from windows, because it
is all about the settings in the operating system.

If the program had done a hardware search it would have found another
soundcard, because I have two.
So this program probably has no idea about hardware, it works only with
the operating system and its settings.
 
Congratulations on your self-improvement program. What did I not
include? What I call a sound card is the onboard or slot-mounted
device that sends sound to the speakers. Was I incorrect or did
I use the wrong termonology?

I will try the programs mentioned by Chaos Master and omega on the
various Win 98 and 2k machines in question.

The WMI info you wrote: Was that a script of some kind? I'm not
scared of the command line, but I've never knowingly used WMI to
do anything.


technomaNge
(refers to the mangy luck I have with hardware)
 
Quoting Roger Johansson [[email protected]], that posted to alt.comp.freeware on
If the program had done a hardware search it would have found another
soundcard, because I have two.
So this program probably has no idea about hardware, it works only with
the operating system and its settings.
Click to expand...

Everest and AIDA32 probe the PCI bus for cards and return what they got.
So I think they don't work with ISA cards.

[]s
 
"Windows box", so I assumed it was a single machine. *Later*, you said:
I will try the programs mentioned by Chaos Master and omega on the
various Win 98 and 2k machines in question.
Click to expand...

My ability to read minds needs more work! ;)
The WMI info you wrote: Was that a script of some kind? I'm not
scared of the command line, but I've never knowingly used WMI to
do anything.
Click to expand...

Yes, a .vbs script. You'd run it from the command line using:
cscript filename.vbs or wscript filename.vbs.

Plenty of inventory apps use WMI to gather hardware info.
WMI is Windows Management Instrumentation (more info):
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnwmi/html/wmiscript.asp

To download it for win95,98 and NT, go to microsoft.com and use these
search words: wmi core
You will see a link to "Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) CORE
1.5 (Windows 95/98/NT 4.0)".
 
BarryTone said:
Yes, a .vbs script. You'd run it from the command line using:
cscript filename.vbs or wscript filename.vbs.
Click to expand...

OK, thanks. I guess it is time to unshrink wrap those manuals at
work. I seem to remember one saying something about VB on the cover.

Very helpful, Barry, thanks.


technomaNge
 
Roger Johansson <no- said:
I tried it in my computer.
I got 8 facts (values) for wave device and 9 for midi devices.

I agree that most of it is not very useful.

I changed current midi device with this program, and checked afterwards
in control panel - multimedia that the device I had selected was the
first device. Looks like it works.

This program is probably just taking its facts from windows, because it
is all about the settings in the operating system.

If the program had done a hardware search it would have found another
soundcard, because I have two.
So this program probably has no idea about hardware, it works only with
the operating system and its settings.
Click to expand...
Are you familiar with :
"PCI - The PCI System information & Exploration tool"?
http://members.datafast.net.au/dft0802/

Pretty comprehensive, free, HTH
 
Roger Hunt said:
Are you familiar with :
"PCI - The PCI System information & Exploration tool"?
Click to expand...

No, but it looks impressive. Sandra is using the lists the author has
created, for example, so it is obviously a real expert who is behind this
web site and all the PCI info and progs there.
 
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