Copyright: Copyright © 1998 Intel Corporation


Help Contents
Contents

Introduction to the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility

What is the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility?

When should I use it?

How do I use it?

Help on the Information section

What's in the Information section?

Help on the Report section

What's in the Report section?


What is the Intel®  Graphics Card Diagnostic Utility?
What is the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility?

The Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility was developed to give you a single source for collecting information about the graphics setup of your computer.

The interface allows you to easily create a report of the graphics setup of your computer, which you can use in troubleshooting technical issues with the system or send to customer support.

For assistance in using the diagnostic utility, click the Help button at the bottom of the blue left-hand column. You can also get help on specific features of the utility by clicking the "?" button in the upper right corner of the window, and then selecting the feature, or by pressing the "F1" key when the feature is selected.


When should I use it?

The Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility can help you in these situations, among others:

1.	When you want to see the details of the graphics hardware in your computer without opening the case.

2.	When you want to find out characteristics of the Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) in your computer.

3.	When you want to view information on the display drivers installed on your computer.

4.	When you need a report of the graphics setup in your computer for customer support.


How do I use it?

Overall navigation in the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility is controlled by the buttons in the blue left-hand column. The navigation buttons change what is found in the right-hand display column.  The Help button will give you assistance in using the diagnostic utility, and the Exit button closes the diagnostic utility.

Listed below are the main components of the Intel Graphics Diagnostic Utility.  The purpose and use of each part are explained further in the following help pages.

•	The utility opens with the Information section selected.  This section is separated into four tabs:  the Adapter Tab, the Monitor Tab, the Drivers Tab and the PCI/AGP Tab.  Note:  the Monitor tab is unavailable under Windows NT 4.0.

•	The Report section enables you to generate a report of all of the information.


What's in the Information section?

To get to the Information section of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility, click on the Information button in the blue left-hand column of the utility.

This section is broken up into four tabs: the first contains information on the graphics card in your computer, the second lists details about the monitor your computer is connected to, the third locates and describes the display drivers installed in your computer, and the fourth reads technical information on the PCI and AGP configuration of your computer.  Note:  the Monitor tab is unavailable under Windows NT 4.0.

Read the help section on the Adapter Tab if you want to:

•	Learn what any of the information given on this tab means.

•	Find out the name or version of the graphics card that is being used in the computer.

•	Detect the version of the video BIOS on the graphics card.

•	See what add-on graphics and video cards are installed in the computer.

•	Find out how much local video memory there is on the graphics card, how much of that memory is currently free or what type of memory it is.

•	Get a listing of the possible resolution and color depth graphics modes for the computer.

•	See what resolution and color depth is currently in use on the computer.

Read the help section on the Monitor Tab if you want to:

•	Learn what any of the information given on this tab means.

•	Find out for what monitor the computer software is set.

•	View general information on the monitor display setup.

•	Find out the maximum size image the monitor can fully display.

•	Check the level of Display Data Channel (DDC) support that the current monitor has.

•	See the Display Power Management System (DPMS) modes the current monitor supports.

Read the help section on the Drivers Tab if you want to:

•	Learn what any of the information given on this tab means.

•	Check the name of the display drivers currently being used in the computer.

•	See the files that make up the current display drivers.

•	View the manufacturer, version number, or issue date of the current display drivers.

Read the help section on the PCI/AGP Tab if you want to:

•	Learn what any of the information given on this tab means.

•	View the PCI configuration vendor and device identifiers of the graphics card in your computer.

•	Check the base memory and I/O addresses for your graphics card.

•	See the AGP version numbers for your computer system.

•	Get details on how the AGP master and target devices are configured in your computer.

More:

Adapter Tab

Monitor Tab

Drivers Tab

PCI/AGP Tab


Adapter Tab

Click below on a feature of the Adapter tab for a description of its function and purpose.

More:

Graphics Adapter Name and Version

Video BIOS Version

Hardware Components

Video Memory

Available Graphics Modes

Current Graphics Mode


Graphics Adapter Name and Version

Function:  Displays the name of the graphics adapter that is currently being used in the computer, along with the version number of that adapter.

Where to find it: Under the Adapter tab of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility Information section, at the top.

What it means: The graphics adapter is the hardware in the computer that figures out exactly how structures and information need to be displayed on the screen and turns that into lines of data that the computer monitor or television can understand.  The name and version of the adapter is stored on it, and the diagnostic utility displays that information here.


Video BIOS Version

Function:  Displays the version number of the VGA BIOS on the graphics card.

Where to find it: Under the Adapter tab of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility Information section.

What it means: BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System, and it contains systematic instructions on how to properly start and set up a computer system or component when you first turn the power on.  In this case, the VGA BIOS is part of the graphics card, and it contains the instructions on how to first set up the computer display and configure the internal settings of the card.


Hardware Components

Function:  Lists the graphics and video hardware components that are currently installed in the computer.

Where to find it: Under the Adapter tab of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility Information section.

What it means: The graphics hardware of the computer includes the graphics adapter and any other separate graphics or video input or output components, such as a TV input device, a TV output add-on card, or a DVD/MPEG-2 accelerator card.  The diagnostic utility searches for any installed graphics or video components and lists them in this section.


Video Memory

Function:  Displays the amount of local memory on the graphics card, the type of memory used, and how much of the local memory is currently free.

Where to find it: Under the Adapter tab of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility Information section.

What it means: To redraw the contents of the screen smoothly and seamlessly, the Intel graphics card uses a relatively small amount of fast memory right on the graphics card itself for the most critical display information.  The Intel Graphics Diagnostic Utility reads the total amount of memory found on the graphics card and the type of memory technology used on this particular card.  It also reads how much of the local memory currently is being used to hold the display and buffer data, and subtracts that from the total for the amount of "free" video memory.


Available Graphics Modes

Function:  Lists the combinations of viewable display area (resolution), color depth and refresh rate that the graphics card and monitor are capable of using.

Where to find it: Under the Adapter tab of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility Information section, second entry from the bottom.

What it means: The diagnostic utility polls the graphics card and the monitor to find out what resolution and color depth capabilities the computer has.


Current Graphics Mode

Function:  Lists the combination of viewable display area (resolution) and color depth that the graphics card and monitor are currently using.

Where to find it: Under the Adapter tab of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility Information section, at the bottom.

What it means: The diagnostic utility reads the display settings of the computer to find out the current resolution and color depth.


Monitor Tab

Click below on a feature of the Monitor tab for a description of its function and purpose.

Note:  the Monitor tab is unavailable under Windows NT 4.0.

More:

Current Monitor Type

General Information

Maximum Image Size

Display Data Channel (DDC)

Display Power Management System (DPMS)


Current Monitor Type

Function:  Displays the type of monitor that the operating system is currently configured to use.

Where to find it: Under the Monitor tab of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility Information section, at the top.  Note:  the Monitor tab is unavailable under Windows NT 4.0.

What it means: The diagnostic utility reads the monitor name and manufacturer information that is currently listed in the operating system registry.


General Information

Function:  Lists the type, product serial number, and gamma value of the display.

Where to find it: Under the Monitor tab of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility Information section, second entry from the top.  Note:  the Monitor tab is unavailable under Windows NT 4.0.

What it means: The graphics card is able to poll the computer monitor for this information using the Display Data Channel (DDC) protocol. The diagnostic utility records part of that information in this section:

•	The display type lists the signal type (either 'Analog' or 'Digital') and color type ('Monochrome/Grayscale', 'RGB' or 'Non-RGB').

•	The gamma value is a number that ranges from 1.00 to 3.55; the value refers to the exponent in an equation between the display input voltage and brightness. Typically, a personal computer monitor has a gamma value of around 1.8.


Maximum Image Size

Function:  Lists the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the largest image that the screen can fully display.

Where to find it: Under the Monitor tab of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility Information section, the middle entry. Note:  the Monitor tab is unavailable under Windows NT 4.0.

What it means: The diagnostic utility polls the display for the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the screen's viewable area.


Display Data Channel (DDC)

Function:  Shows the level of support that the display has for DDC protocol.

Where to find it: Under the Monitor tab of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility Information section, second entry from the bottom. Note: the Monitor tab is unavailable under Windows NT 4.0.

What it means: The Display Data Channel (DDC) protocol allows interaction between the graphics adapter and the monitor, so that the computer can learn the capabilities of the display and use optimal settings for it. In this section, the diagnostic utility reads the DDC protocol level (one, two, or none) that the current monitor supports. The Intel graphics card supports DDC-2B protocol.


Display Power Management System (DPMS)

Function:  Lists the computer monitor's capabilities for different power-saving modes according to the Display Power Management System (DPMS) specification.

Where to find it: Under the Monitor tab of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility Information section, at the bottom. Note: the Monitor tab is unavailable under Windows NT 4.0.

What it means: The Display Power Management System (DPMS) specification details three modes of power-saving in a computer monitor:

•	Standby: RGB guns off, power supply on, tube filaments energized (screen-saver mode)

•	Suspended: RGB guns off, power supply off, tube filaments energized

•	Active Off: Only a small auxiliary circuit stays on to enable power on when data needs to be displayed on the screen


Drivers Tab

Click below on a feature of the Drivers tab for a description of its function and purpose.

More:

Display Driver Name

Driver Files

File Details


Display Driver Name

Function:  Gives the name of the display driver that is currently installed.

Where to find it: Under the Drivers tab of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility Information section, at the top.

What it means: The display driver is the set of files that provide a software interface between applications on a computer and the graphics adapter. There are different display drivers for different manufacturers and models of graphics adapters, so that display instructions can be understood and optimized for that adapter. When a display driver is installed into the computer, its name gets entered into the computer's system registry. The diagnostic utility reads this entry and displays the contents here.


Driver Files

Function:  Lists all of the files that comprise the currently installed display driver in the computer.

Where to find it: Under the Drivers tab of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility Information section, in the middle.

What it means: The diagnostic utility reads an index file for the drivers to find the full directory path and names for all of the display driver files that are currently installed, and lists the results here.


File Details

Function:  Lists the manufacturer, version number and version date of the files that make up the currently installed display driver in the computer.

Where to find it: Under the Drivers tab of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility Information section, at the bottom.

What it means: The diagnostic utility reads the information from the display driver files and displays it for the file that is selected in the Driver Files list.


PCI/AGP Tab

Click below on a feature of the PCI/AGP tab for a description of its function and purpose.

More:

PCI Configuration

AGP Master

AGP Target


PCI Configuration

Function: Reads the PCI vendor identification (ID), device ID and revision number of the graphics adapter in the computer. Also lists the revision numbers for the PCI bus and for AGP in the computer, and displays the base memory and base I/O address for the graphics card.

Where to find it: Under the PCI/AGP tab of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility  Information section, at the top.

What it means: There are registers on the graphics adapter that store specific codes to identify the adapter vendor, the accelerator device and the revision number. Other registers in the computer store information on the implemented versions of PCI and AGP. The diagnostic utility reads the information from these registers through the PCI configuration space of the graphics adapter.

The base memory and I/O (input/output) addresses are used by the operating system to recognize the graphics card in relation to other components in the computer.


AGP Master

Function:  Lists information about the AGP master controller in the graphics adapter:  AGP traffic enabled or disabled, 1X or 2X data transfer rate, sideband addressing enabled or disabled, and depth of the AGP command request queue.

Where to find it: Under the PCI/AGP tab of the Intel®  Graphics Diagnostic Utility Information section, second entry from the bottom.

What it means: The bus controller chipset on the motherboard is the AGP Master in the computer.  The diagnostic utility polls the chipset for its current AGP configuration.

•	AGP traffic: when enabled, the chipset recognizes AGP and data can travel over the port to and from the graphics adapter.

•	Data transfer rate: refers to the speed by which data is able to travel over AGP. In the 2X transfer rate, data is sent across the port twice per clock cycle.

•	Sideband addressing: when this AGP feature is enabled, the graphics adapter is able to send requests and receive data simultaneously from main memory.

•	Request queue depth: refers to the number of requests for data the AGP Master is able to line up and remember. It will answer these requests when it can, without the AGP Target needing to wait for each.


AGP Target

Function:  Lists information about the AGP target device on the graphics adapter: 1X or 2X data transfer rate, sideband addressing support, and maximum number of AGP command requests it can manage.

Where to find it: Under the PCI/AGP tab of the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility Information section, at the bottom.

What it means: The AGP Target in the computer is the Intel graphics card. The diagnostic utility polls the card for its AGP configuration.

•	Data transfer rate: refers to the speed by which data is able to travel over AGP. In the 2X transfer rate, data is sent across the port twice per clock cycle.

•	Sideband addressing: when this AGP feature is enabled, the graphics adapter is able to send requests and receive data simultaneously from main memory.

•	Maximum requests: refers to the number of outstanding requests for data the AGP Target is able to give.


What's in the Report section?

The Report section lets you create and save a text file of the information displayed in the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility. You can view the text file on the computer display using the Notepad application. You can also attach, copy or print the information to submit it to customer support.

To open the Report section, click the Report button in the blue left-hand column of the diagnostic utility.

More:

How to generate a report

Report Options


How to generate a report

Follow these steps to generate a report:

1.	View the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility.

2.	Click the Report button in the blue left-hand column.

3.	Select the information you want to be included in the report in the "Detail Level"  (Click here for help on the options.)

4.	In the text box labeled "Enter additional information here:", type in anything else that you want to be included in the report, such as a description of other components in the system or a problem description to help in communication with technical support.

5.	If you want to view the report immediately, click the box labeled "Show report after generating". If the box is not selected, the report will be saved to a file.

6.	Click the "Generate…" button.

7.	View the results in the Notepad application. If you chose to save the results to a file, browse to the destination folder in the "Save As" window, enter the file name, and click the Save button.


Report Options

You can change how much information will be included in the report generated by the Intel® Graphics Diagnostic Utility by making a selection in the Detail Level box in the Report section:

•	Detail Level: This controls what details from the Information section the diagnostic utility will write to the report. If "Detailed" is selected, then all information from the Adapter, Monitor, Drivers and PCI/AGP tabs of the Information section is included. If "Summary" is selected, then the lists of available graphics modes and driver files will not be included.


Glossary of Terms

2D

3D

AGP

BIOS

bitmap

bits

BLT

brightness

color depth

contrast

desktop

DirectDraw

DirectX

display drivers

Display Properties application

DPI

engine

font

gamma

GDI

graphics card

hardware

hue

Hz

palette

PCI

pixel

refresh

refresh rate

register

rendering

resolution

RGB

SVGA

VGA

video memory

virtual desktop


2D

2D stands for two-dimensional, meaning an object that can be represented with only height and width.


3D

3D refers to three-dimensional, meaning an object or space that has height, width and depth.


AGP

AGP is the Accelerated Graphics Port, a high-speed port developed specifically for the transfer of graphics data. For more information, see the website for Intel Corporation at http://www.intel.com.


BIOS

BIOS is the Basic Input/Output System information. It contains all the details that are needed to start up a device in your computer when you turn the power on. On the Intel® graphics card, there is a VGA BIOS which instructs the computer how to set up a basic display.


bitmap

A bitmap is a method of storing an image in the computer. The color values of each pixel in the image are simply stored in the bitmap.


bits

A bit is the smallest representation of information in a computer. Bit stands for binary digit, and holds the value 0 or 1.


BLT

BLT stands for Block Level Transfer. It is a transformation of a rectangular block of pixels:  rotating or shifting the block would be an example of a transformation.


brightness

Gamma correction is done by adjusting three attributes of a color component:  gamma, brightness and contrast. The brightness attribute of a color component determines how dark or light it is, with the maximum value producing the lightest result.


color depth

Color depth refers to the size of the color palette that is available for each pixel of the screen. It is expressed either as the number of memory bits used to store the color information for each pixel, or as the number of colors that each pixel could possibly represent. When the color depth is increased, the graphics card uses more memory to store the color information for each pixel:  the number of possible colors for each pixel increases, and the quality of complex color images on the display improves.


contrast

Contrast is a measure of the difference between light and dark on a display. If the contrast is increased, the difference between light and dark is increased, so that something that is white on the display will be very bright and something that is black will be very dark. If the contrast is decreased, the difference between light and dark on the display will become less severe.  Contrast is one of the three attributes of gamma correction, along with gamma and brightness.


desktop

The desktop is the Windows* work area. Clicking on the desktop means moving the mouse pointer to an empty spot on the background wallpaper, away from any icons or open windows, and then depressing one of the mouse buttons.

*Other brands and names are the properties of their respective owners.


DirectDraw

DirectDraw* is one component of the Microsoft DirectX* package of programming interfaces.

* Other names and brands are the properties of their respective owners.


DirectX

Microsoft's DirectX* drivers provide the programming interface between applications, the Windows* operating system, and the computer hardware. When a program which uses the DirectX programming interface is run on your computer, the DirectX drivers translate the information from that program into instructions that can be recognized by the components of the computer, including the Intel® graphics card.

* Other names and brands are the properties of their respective owners.


display drivers

Display drivers provide a software interface for information to be exchanged between applications on a computer and the graphics adapter. There are specific display drivers for different manufacturers and models of graphics adapters, so that display instructions can be understood and optimized for that adapter. Make sure that you use drivers written for the Intel® graphics card when it is installed.


Display Properties application

To launch the Display Properties application, right-click on an empty spot on the desktop, away from any windows or icons. In the pop-up menu, select Properties.


DPI

Dots Per Inch (DPI) is used as a measurement to represent font and screen quality.  More dots per inch means that more detail can be used to draw higher quality images or fonts on the display.


engine

An engine in a graphics accelerator is the part that performs the calculations for a particular function or group of functions.


font

The font type describes the size, shape and look of text characters that appear on the screen.


gamma

Gamma correction is done by adjusting three attributes of a color component: gamma, brightness and contrast. The gamma attribute affects the strength or degree of the color, so that increasing the gamma value for the red component produces a greater red tint to the display, for example.


GDI

GDI stands for Graphics Device Interface, a Windows* specification for representing graphical objects and transmitting them to an output device such as a monitor or printer.

* Other names and brands are the properties of their respective owners.


graphics card

The graphics card is the hardware in your computer that increases its graphics display speed and capabilities, and sends display data to the monitor.


hardware

Hardware refers to the physical devices that make up the components of a computer.


hue

The hue setting determines which color dominates the graphics adapter color palette. Depending on the hue setting, the display can have a greater red, green, or blue tint.


Hz

Hz (Hertz) is used to measure the frequency, or number of times per second, that something occurs. For a computer display, this measurement unit is used to express the refresh rate.


palette

The color palette is a listing of all of the colors that the graphics adapter is currently set to be able to display. The palette size is determined by the color depth setting. A larger color palette means that more memory is required to represent the color information for each pixel, but that a greater variety of colors is possible.


PCI

PCI stands for Peripheral Component Interconnect. The PCI bus is the main interface between peripheral components in the computer.


pixel

A pixel is the minimum size "dot" of color that can be displayed.


refresh

A refresh happens when the display adapter redraws or updates the entire picture on the screen.  The refresh rate is the number of times per second (the frequency in Hz) that screen updates happen.


refresh rate

The refresh rate is the frequency, or number of times per second, that the screen contents are redrawn. There are two parts to the refresh rate. The first is the horizontal refresh frequency, which is the number of times per second that the graphics adapter can scan a single horizontal line on the display. The second is the vertical refresh frequency, which is the number of times per second that all of the lines on the entire screen are redrawn. The vertical refresh rate is what you can change in the Display Properties window.  If this is set too low, your eyes may notice flickering on the screen.


register

A register is a small area of information storage within a computer chip.


rendering

Rendering refers to the process of taking a snapshot of three-dimensional objects from a particular camera angle. This produces the view of a 3D scene that gets displayed on the monitor at any particular moment.


resolution

Resolution refers to the number of pixels that are sent from the graphics adapter to the monitor for one full screen of information. It is expressed by two numbers as X x Y, where X is the number of pixels counting horizontally and Y is the number counting vertically. When the resolution is increased, the graphics adapter calculates and sends a greater number of pixels out for a single screen: objects on the screen appear smaller and the total viewing area is increased, effectively "zooming out" on the display.


RGB

RGB stands for Red, Green and Blue, the three components that are put together to form each color pixel on the display. An RGB monitor uses separate red, green and blue light guns to display color images.


SVGA

Super Video Graphics Array (SVGA) is a graphics display standard that allows higher resolutions than VGA.


VGA

VGA is the Video Graphics Array, a standard that defines the baseline interactions between the computer's graphics adapter and the computer monitor.


video memory

Video memory is the internal storage capacity on a graphics card.


virtual desktop

Virtual desktop describes the computer display when the total area of the desktop is larger than the screen viewing area. Only part of the desktop is seen at any moment; the rest is remembered in the computer as "virtual" display beyond the edges of the screen view. This can be useful if you do not want application windows to overlap on the desktop or if a window is larger than the resolution that your graphics can support.