Looking for: Stability - System - Stress Test to run in Windows

[tinjaw]

I put in a piece of USB hardware in my computer today that started a chain reaction of things that caused by system to be unstable. This got me thinking that I would like to find a program that will test the stability of my *operating system*.

Not a mobo burn-in tester, but the equivilent for an existing running Windows system. I would like to find out what isn't working right and why in terms of the operating system and the various drivers I am using.

I am NOT looking for something that does a "tune-up" by degragging the HDD, checking the registry, deleting temp files etc.

The types of things I would like to see reported that it might find would be things like my HDD not reading and writing as fast as it should based on the hardware in the system and a list of the drivers involved in the R/W process and suggestions as to where the bottleneck might lie. It might help me by automatically taking various third-party hardware and virtual drivers out of the loop one at a time to track down the bottleneck.

Is there anybody out there that knows of a test suite like this? I guess I also don't want some $1000 suite that a full-time system builder would use in their business, as that would not be something I could afford as a "home user". But I would be willing to pay $50 for a program and would ideally pay $50 to $100 per year if it was updated at least monthly to keep up with the latest changes in the OS, hardware drivers, software drivers, etc.

If somebody makes a good enough find to result in me making a purchase, I will provide a donation credit bounty to the finder.

[fenixproductions]

2tinjaw
I am not using such software now but I remember two tools which I used in the past for testing my system.

One of them was SiSoftware Sandra: http://www.sisoftware.net/
Second was Everest: http://www.lavalys.c...products.php?lang=en

I don't remember Sandra well but Everest had nice tables for comparing your results with other computers. just check them out.

[PhilB66]

Never used such programs but you could stress test your system with Prime95. See http://sp2004.fre3.com/ for an alternative gui.

Another one is System Stability Tester.

No need to pay $$$ for things that are available for free.

[tinjaw]

Thank you for your suggestions, but those programs are not the kind I am looking for.

Sandra and Everest are programs focused on producing a hardware and software inventory and system benchmarks. I am not looking to produce pure inventories or raw benchmarks.

Prime95 and System Stability Tester are simple burn-in programs that test your CPU and RAM.

The more I think about what I am looking for the murkier it gets.  I guess I am looking for something that really can't be written because it would be too complicated. Also, I think that the tools I need are probably a combination of things like Sandra, System Stability Tester, a pad of paper, a pen, the Internet, and lots and lots of time.

After getting some sleep, I guess I now see that I just wanted some program to do the work that I don't have the time to do myself. Or more correctly, I guess I now see that I should have just stuck to my better judgement and not abandonded keeping tighter records of what I did to my computer over the months of use instead of just installing, uninstalling, reinstall, and tweaking without keeping track. 

Time to get out the operating install disks, Total Uninstaller, Acronis True Image, and those other tools and start from scratch... again. 

[Doppelganger]

One thing that comes to mind that might be something along the lines of what you're looking for:

http://www.quest.com...potlight-on-windows/

"Spotlight® on Windows is Quest Software’s powerful diagnostic and problem resolution tool for Microsoft® Windows®"


Also, Fix-It Utilities has some of the stuff you're not looking for, but some of the diagnostics it contains may be helpful.  Here's a link to a free version:
http://www.vnunet.co...ix-utilities-express

[steeladept]

Doppleganger beat me to it, but it sounds like you don't want stress testing at all.  Rather you want a system monitor with thresholds (preferably predefined thresholds based on the specific model of each individual piece).  If that is the case, I don't believe it exists, but Spotlight-On-Windows by Quest Software does the monitoring in a very intuitive and useful way.  It is expensive, but there is a free download and trial that can be useful for what you want.  Scratch that, it is now old abandonware that is now offered free:

http://www.quest.com/spotlight-on-windows/

I just got it myself now that I see that  .  It used to be expensive though.  I tried talking the company into getting it for some issues we had and they wouldn't pay the price - though they agreed that it was good software and might help fix the issues we were having. It was just a case of the fix being more expensive than the problem I guess.  Negotiations weren't as successful as I hoped, but I digress.

Since it is free, give it a shot.  At very least it will give you an idea of where the bottlenecks are in real time and you can try to determine what might resolve these issues elsewhere.

EDIT:  A quote from the website that was part of what I loved about this particular software:

"Spotlight offers a calibration process that automatically sets a baseline of normal activity and sets thresholds for each system. This allows Spotlight to send warnings of impending problems with visual and audible alerts."

In other words, it tailors itself to your system!

[PhilB66]

Claus of Grand Stream Dreams reviewed System Stress Testing Suites earlier this year. Here's a quick rundown:

Bart’s Stuff Test 5 – (freeware) -- for heavy stress testing of storage devices.

Memtest86 - (freeware) –- for off-line booting of a system and memory checking of installed RAM.

Memtest86+ - (freeware) –- the other bootable memory tester system.

Inquisitor – (open-source) -- for hardware testing and certification system, suitable for both enterprise and home use, customizable, modular and available in both serverless Live CD/DVD format and server-controlled network boot production system.

Phoronix Test Suite - Linux Testing & Benchmarking Platform - (freeware) –- the Test Suite is the most comprehensive testing and benchmarking platform available for the Linux operating system. This software is designed to effectively carry out both qualitative and quantitative benchmarks in a clean, reproducible, and easy-to-use manner.

Phoronix Test Suite LiveCD – Still a work in progress and may not match the current release version of Phoronix proper.  Should allow the curious to experiment with the features safely before deciding if they want to go to the full local installed package.

[tinjaw]

Thanks for the info folks. I am playing a bit with Spotlight-On-Windows by Quest Software currently.