Showing posts with label pnwcomputers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pnwcomputers. Show all posts

Thursday, September 4, 2025

Portable Sysinternals Suite System Tester


As IT professionals, we've all been there: you're troubleshooting a client's computer, performing routine maintenance, or trying to quickly assess a system's health before handing it back to a customer. Traditional diagnostic tools often require installation, leave traces on the system, or produce verbose outputs filled with technical jargon that clients don't need to see.

Enter the Portable Sysinternals Suite System Tester! A game-changing PowerShell toolkit that transforms how we approach Windows system diagnostics. This thumb-drive friendly solution combines the power of Microsoft's renowned Sysinternals Suite with built-in Windows tools to deliver comprehensive system health reports without leaving a footprint on the target machine.

https://github.com/Pnwcomputers/SystemTester


What Makes This Tool Special?

Unlike traditional diagnostic software that requires installation or complex setup, this PowerShell-based solution runs entirely portable. Simply copy it to a USB drive, plug it into any Windows 10 or 11 machine, and you're ready to perform comprehensive system diagnostics.


Key Features That Set It Apart:

  • ๐Ÿ–ฑ️ One-Click Operation: Choose between an interactive menu or fully automated runs
  • ๐Ÿงน Intelligent Output Cleaning: Automatically removes banners, EULA text, and verbose usage information
  • ๐Ÿง  Comprehensive Testing Suite: Covers CPU, RAM, disk health, running processes, security configurations, and network status
  • ๐Ÿ—‚️ Dual Reporting System: Generates both a clean summary for clients and detailed technical logs for IT professionals
  • ๐Ÿ“ฆ Zero Installation Required: Runs completely portable from USB drives or network locations
  • ๐Ÿงฐ Graceful Tool Detection: Automatically detects missing Sysinternals tools and skips them without errors
  • ๐Ÿ” Smart Elevation Handling: Uses advanced SID-based admin detection that works reliably across different Windows configurations

Technical Deep Dive:

The System Tester leverages a carefully curated selection of Sysinternals utilities combined with Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) and built-in Windows commands. Here's what runs under the hood:

System Information Gathering:

  • PSInfo: Comprehensive system configuration details
  • ClockRes: System timer resolution analysis
  • WMI Queries: Operating system and computer hardware overview

CPU Performance Analysis:

  • CoreInfo: Detailed processor architecture and feature detection
  • Performance Counters: Real-time CPU utilization monitoring
  • Process Analysis: Identification of CPU-intensive applications

Memory Health Assessment:

  • WMI Memory Details: Physical and virtual memory configuration
  • TestLimit: Memory stress testing and allocation verification
  • Performance Counters: Memory paging and performance metrics

Storage System Evaluation:

  • WMI Disk Overview: Drive configuration and health status
  • DU (Disk Usage): Detailed directory space analysis
  • Streams: NTFS alternate data stream detection
  • Contig: File fragmentation analysis
  • I/O Testing: Basic read/write performance verification


Getting Started!

Setting up the System Tester is straightforward and takes just a few minutes:

Required Folder Structure:

SystemTester.ps1
SystemTester.bat
Sysinternals\
├── psinfo.exe
├── coreinfo.exe
├── pslist.exe
├── testlimit.exe
├── du.exe
├── streams.exe
├── (optional) handle.exe, autorunsc.exe, contig.exe, sigcheck.exe, clockres.exe


Multiple Ways to Run:

Option A - Easy Launch: Simply run RunSystemTester.bat for an interactive menu.

Option B - Automated Classic Mode: Choose option 2 in the launcher for traditional full-system scanning.

Option C - Device-Grouped Testing: Select option 3 for structured diagnostics organized by hardware components.

Option D - Direct PowerShell Execution:

  • Interactive mode: powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\SystemTester.ps1
  • Automated run: powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\SystemTester.ps1 -AutoRun
  • Device-grouped: powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\SystemTester.ps1 -AutoRunByDevice
  • Custom output location: powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\SystemTester.ps1 -AutoRun -OutputPath "E:\Reports"


๐Ÿ“Š Understanding Your Reports:

The System Tester generates two complementary reports:

Clean Summary Report (SystemTest_Clean_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.txt)

This human-readable report is perfect for sharing with clients. It includes:

  • System specifications in plain English
  • Performance summary with easy-to-understand metrics
  • Health status indicators
  • Actionable recommendations when issues are detected

Detailed Technical Report (SystemTest_Detailed_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.txt)

The technical report provides comprehensive diagnostic data for IT professionals:

  • Complete tool outputs with technical details
  • Raw performance metrics and system counters
  • Detailed process and service information
  • Security configuration analysis (when Autoruns is available)

Ideal/Example Use Cases:

Field Service Technicians

Quickly assess customer systems on-site without installing diagnostic software. Generate professional reports that demonstrate thoroughness and build customer confidence.

IT Support Teams

Establish baseline system health documentation before and after maintenance. The portable nature means you can use the same tool across your entire fleet without deployment concerns.

Computer Repair Shops

Provide customers with detailed "health certificates" for their repaired systems. The clean summary reports are perfect for explaining technical findings in customer-friendly language.

System Administrators

Perform quick health checks during routine maintenance windows. The device-grouped testing mode helps focus on specific subsystems when troubleshooting targeted issues.


Security and Privacy Considerations:

The System Tester is designed with security awareness in mind:
  • Administrative Rights: While optional, some checks benefit from elevation. The tool clearly indicates which tests require admin access.
  • Information Disclosure: Reports include computer names and usernames - review before sharing outside your organization.
  • Sensitive Path Information: Autoruns and Streams can reveal executable paths - treat detailed reports as sensitive artifacts.
  • No Installation Footprint: The tool runs entirely in memory and doesn't modify the target system.

Future Roadmap:

The System Tester continues to evolve with planned enhancements including:
  • Version 1.1: Optional GPU and SMART drive checks, skip flags for selective testing, and tunable summary verbosity
  • Version 1.2: HTML report export, compressed output folders, and improved parsing algorithms
  • Version 2.0: WPF/WinUI graphical interface, pluggable module system, and JSON configuration support

Conclusion

The Portable Sysinternals Suite System Tester represents a significant step forward in field diagnostics tools. By combining the reliability of Microsoft's Sysinternals Suite with intelligent automation and clean reporting, it addresses real-world challenges faced by IT professionals daily.

Whether you're a field service technician needing quick system assessments, a repair shop owner wanting to provide professional diagnostic reports, or a system administrator performing routine health checks, this tool adapts to your workflow while maintaining the highest standards of portability and professionalism.

Ready to streamline your diagnostic workflow? Download the System Tester from the GitHub repository and experience the difference that thoughtful tool design can make in your daily IT operations.


The System Tester is released under the MIT license and welcomes community contributions. Found a bug or have a feature request? Open an issue on GitHub or submit a pull request to help make this tool even better for the IT community.



Created & Maintained by Pacific Northwest Computers


Thursday, May 29, 2025

Allow a Blank User Password for Scheduled Tasks


To allow blank passwords for a scheduled task in Windows 11, you need to disable a security setting in the registry. A simple Windows Registry key controls whether blank passwords can be used for local account logins, including scheduled tasks. By disabling this setting, you can allow the scheduled task to run without a password!

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Can People Easily Find Your Business?

Can People Easily Find Your Business?

Is your Business listed on the major sales/services directory sites?

Do you have a social media presence; not just for followers but just to be found by their users?

Can users of different social, community, and information sites easily find you?

Clickfunnels, landing pages, blogs; do you need to implement all of those? Some of them? None of them?

Pacific NorthWest Computers​ can not only help more people find your company, product, or service but ALSO help search engines find pertinent info and data, all while building an Organic SEO system that runs on autopilot; helping increase your rankings, exposure, conversations, sales, profits, etc. With all of that in place, advertising is a piece of cake!

We then can help you INTELLIGENTLY use Google AdSense, Facebook Advertising, and Instagram Advertising using tools like Google Business, Google Search Console, and Google Analytics to intelligently approach and ATTACK your advertising campaigns. Get impressions, get those clicks, get those conversions and get those profits that have just been slipping by!

Interested? Setup a consult today!

Pacific Northwest Computers
www.pnwcomputers.com
360.624.7379
Jon@pnwcomputers.com

Only $100 per hour, and we can cover a LOT of ground in just an hour or two!!

Monday, March 12, 2018

Run macOS in Windows via Virtual Machine!


With a few downloads, a hand full of steps to follow, you can have a Virtual Apple computer running on your Windows PC. That's right! Your eyes are not deceiving you. You can create a macOS virtual machine using VMware Workstation Player! Have access to the apps, tools, programs that you love about your Apple computer, all on your Windows PC!! No "hackintosh" required.

The link for the tutorial is below and will require you to download and install several programs as well as modify a config file using NotePad. Nothing crazy, but there are quiet a few steps involved. So read carefully and pay close attention to each step.

Link: Run macOS High Sierra OSX via Virtual Machine on a Windows PC!


**A few quick notes regarding this guide!**

  • VMware Virtual Workstation Player us up to version 14. However the needed "unlocker" utility that makes VMware Workstation Player compatible with OSX is ONLY compatible with copies of Version 12 VMware Virtual Workstation Player. So DO NOT download the newest version of VMware Virtual Workstation Player; only use copies of version 12.
  • You DO NOT need an ISO or currently OSX installation media. The tutorial has a link to have to download the Intel version of the Mac OSX virtual machine. This virtual machine is provided courtesy of the excellent fellows at Techsvidrewer.

Thank you PCSteps.com for creating such an easy to follow and thorough setup/install guide!!

Pacific Northwest Computers
www.pnwcomputers.com