I've got the "ultimatebootcd" and it works for what I need.  It does seem
really clunky compared to Dell or Gateway diagnostics, however -- bunches of
different test programs by different authors, and you reboot after one test to
get back to the menu and run another.

I've also tested the free "#1-TuffTEST-Lite" at www.tufftest.com.  It has
integrated tests & menu the way nature intended, but the memory & disk tests
are deliberately limited because it is really a lead-in for the (gasp) $10
regular version, or even the $30 "pro" version.
Any body used either paid version ?  I'll probably get one or the other
eventually, even though the free version (allowing for deliberate crippling)
still doesn't seem as polished as what Dell ships.

The Windows utilities are an issue for another day.  Right now I'm only after
Windows-free hardware tests.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gordon Montgomery" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Dave Powell, MMfab" <[log in to unmask]>; <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 18:31
Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] OT: PC hardware diagnostics


> I have been using something called "The Ultimate Boot CD" for years. It
> has served me well. I haven't updated it since I downloaded it a couple of
> years ago, but after a simple google search, it is still at
>
> www.ultimatebootcd.com
>
> Best of all, it's free!  The version I have has many, many tests on it, but
it
> is simple to use. I can only assume they've improved it over the years.
>
> Good luck,
>
> Gordon Montgomery
> Living Scriptures, Inc.
> (801) 627-2000
> [log in to unmask]
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Dave Powell, MMfab" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 7:12 PM
> Subject: [HP3000-L] OT: PC hardware diagnostics
>
>
> > Anybody have any experience / recommendations?   I'm looking for hardware
> > tests that can be run from a bootable CD, completely bypassing Windows.
I've
> > done some searches and found a few products that claim to be perfect in
every
> > way, but they don't give enough specifics to tell me how close they are to
> > what I want.
> >
> > My ideal diagnostics would be much like the CD Dell ships with their
Optiplex
> > machines, but I want to buy other brands which sadly come with lame
> > diagnostics, or none at all.  And the Dell CDs don't like to run on other
> > brands.  Dell's CD offers nice choices full system tests or a menu of
> > individual tests, choice of quick or long flavors of most tests, etc, etc.
> >
> > PS:  the bit about bypassing Windows is a big deal for me.  Just recently
> > Windows on a month-old Dell decided to boot into BSOD with a pretty
useless
> > error message, but the Dell bootable CD ran just fine and reported memory
&
> > cache errors and it was easy to get Dell to replace the parts.  Without
that
> > CD I might have gone on a Windows reinstall wild goose chase.  Either that
or
> > I'd still be on the phone with Dell support.
> >
> > * To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
> > * etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *
>

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