Currently, there are a huge number of programs that help the user to test a computer, as well as to obtain, summarize and analyze information about the system. With similar purposes, such utilities often differ quite a lot in their implementation, user-friendliness of the interface, set of diagnostic tools, and functionality in general. Among such programs, there are both highly specialized, designed for a detailed examination of one of the computer subsystems, and making it possible to diagnose and test the system as a whole and all its subsystems separately. Developers often include test modules in diagnostic and monitoring utilities that allow, based on simple, and most importantly, short synthetic tests, to get a more complete picture of a computer system and make a well-thought-out decision regarding ways to increase its performance. Yes, and a simple collection of systematic detailed information about the system can sometimes open the user's eyes to the causes of certain problems that arise when working with a PC.
IN this review an attempt was made to describe the most popular diagnostic and testing utilities today, while in addition to such requirements as the most friendly, convenient and intuitive interface, ensuring a high degree of information content and functionality, when choosing utilities, we put forward the condition that the programs be free and available for free downloads on the Internet. So, our attention was given to the following programs:
- EVEREST Home Edition v. 2.0;
- SiSoftware Sandra Lite 2005.SR1;
- PC Wizard 2005;
- CPU-Z Version 1.28;
- PCMark04 Build 1.3.0.
Before proceeding to detailed description of these utilities, we will give them a general description. The first two utilities EVEREST Ultimate Edition v. 2.0 and SiSoftware Sandra 2005 are similar in many ways. The SiSoftware Sandra 2005 utility is a classic of the genre. It provides a huge set of diagnostic tools, allowing you to collect comprehensive information about the system, and in addition, it includes a number of tests that can be used to compare the performance of individual computer subsystems and the system as a whole with the performance of reference configurations.
Utility EVEREST Ultimate Edition v. 2.0 has a lot in common with the SiSoftware Sandra utility, especially in terms of tools for collecting information about the system.
The PC Wizard 2005 utility, as well as the SiSoftware Sandra 2005 and EVEREST Ultimate Edition v. 2.0, is a PC diagnostic tool, and in addition, contains a number of built-in benchmarks with which you can evaluate the performance of individual PC subsystems.
The CPU-Z Version 1.28 utility is intended primarily for diagnosing the operation of the processor subsystem. It is able to initialize almost all x86 processors that exist today (including processors with AMD 64 architecture) and most modern chipsets.
The PCMark04 utility is a synthetic benchmark that allows you to conduct fairly detailed testing of various PC subsystems. This package is primarily intended for conducting express PC testing at home.
EVEREST Home Edition v. 2.0
The EVEREST utility is the successor to the well-known AIDA32 utility written by Tamas Miklos. As a rule, all good things are quickly taken over, which, in fact, happened with the AIDA32 utility. Now, in a slightly updated version, this utility is known as EVEREST and is today one of the most successful PC diagnostic and monitoring programs. It allows you to get detailed information both about the computer as a whole and about all its subsystems, and also contains a number of additional tests.
There are three variants of the EVEREST program: EVEREST Corporate Edition, EVEREST Ultimate Edition and EVEREST Home Edition. For home users, the EVEREST Home Edition is the best choice (especially since it's free).
Let's take a closer look at the possibilities of this software product. The EVEREST Home Edition utility is relatively small (2.58 MB). This program has a traditional window interface and supports the Russian language (however, the program has serious flaws at this point and part of the text is displayed as unreadable characters). The working area of the program is divided into two windows: the main information window and the auxiliary window (located on the left), in which, thanks to a hierarchical structure similar to the tree structure of directories, you can select one or another monitoring tool that allows you to obtain comprehensive information about any component of a computer system (Fig. 1).
Rice. 1. The main window of the EVEREST Home Edition v. utility. 2.0
Let's briefly consider what information about the system can be obtained using the EVEREST Home Edition v. 2.0. When you select the "Computer" item in the auxiliary window, you can get general information about the system, BIOS, battery status (relevant for laptops or UPS), information about hardware monitoring system sensors, and even information about overclocking the processor, memory and graphics controller.
By selecting other items in the auxiliary window, you can get more detailed information about the components of the system both hardware and software.
The Motherboard category provides detailed information about the CPU, chipset, system memory, basic input/output system (BIOS), and the motherboard itself. It is difficult to name another utility that would give such complete information!
In the category "Display" it is possible to get information about everything that is in any way connected with the visual (graphical) interface of the system. It contains full information not only about the video card and monitor, but also about the desktop settings.
The Multimedia category contains information about the system's multimedia capabilities. It lists all installed audio and video codecs, MCI devices (Media Control Interface) and, of course, audio devices.
The Storage category includes a lot of useful information about the computer's disk subsystem, providing information about the storage devices used, their logical and physical structure, and, which is very useful, displays the SMART information of the system's hard drives, if, of course, this technology is supported by the available HDD. In addition, this category displays such rigid drives like spindle speed, buffer size, average seek time, spin up time, average spin up latency, number of platters in a drive, and even the physical size and weight of a hard drive.
The "Network" category allows you to get information about everything that is in any way connected with the network interface. Here you can find information about the network controller and the speed of the established network connection, current statistics of this connection (the number of received and transmitted bytes), information about TCP / IP settings and network environment.
The "DirectX" category gives the user the opportunity to get detailed information about the installed version of DirectX, namely, the DirectX files and dynamic libraries available in the system and their settings when working with video, sound, music, and input-output interfaces.
The Devices category provides information about the devices installed in the system, while information about them can be obtained both in the traditional Windows form and in a more detailed form that allows you to get an idea of the physical interface of devices and the system resources they use.
The last item that can be seen in the auxiliary window is "Test". Here you can run one of three tests that evaluate throughput memory subsystems: reading from memory, writing to memory, and memory latency. In this case, the test results are displayed in the form of a diagram and compared with the results obtained in other configurations.
One more interesting feature Utilities EVEREST Home Edition v. 2.0 is the ability to create reports according to a predefined scenario. Thus, it is possible to determine in advance what data to include in the generated report and in what format to create it.
SiSoftware Sandra Lite 2005.SR1
The long and well-known SiSoftware Sandra utility has now become a truly universal program that allows you to work with a wide range of modern computer systems, from Pocket PC ARM platforms (PDAs and smartphones) to Win64 IA64 platforms (Itanium / Itanium2-based systems), AMD 64 (systems based on AMD Athlon 64/Athlon 64 FX/Opteron processors) and, of course, the most common Win32 x86 platform today.
The SiSoftware Sandra utility is a kind of sample information and diagnostic software. The essence and purpose of this program is reflected in its name: Sandra is not a female name at all, but an abbreviation for System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant. This software is available in several versions, which differ in license terms, or, more simply, in price and, as a result, functionality. In our review, we will focus only on the free version (Lite), designed for personal use and does not require registration. This utility supports the Russian-language interface, and, unlike EVEREST Home Edition, without any "glitches".
SiSoftware Sandra Lite 2005 has a traditional window interface (Fig. 2).
Rice. 2. Main window of SiSoftware Sandra Lite 2005 utility
All monitoring and diagnostic tools of the program are divided into five categories according to their intended purpose:
- wizards (Wizard Modules);
- information modules (Information Modules);
- benchmarking modules (Benchmarking Modules);
- viewing modules (Listing Modules);
- test modules (Testing Modules).
Let's take a brief look at the diagnostic and monitoring tools provided to the user by the SiSoftware Sandra Lite 2005 utility.
- Add Modules Wizard allows you to add new modules to the utility;
- environment monitoring wizard;
- generalized performance index wizard tests the main computer subsystems: processor (arithmetic performance and multimedia performance), memory subsystem, disk subsystem and network interface, on the basis of which a generalized performance index is set. But the greatest interest, in our opinion, is the graphical representation of the results in the form of a pentagonal coverage matrix, which allows you to visually evaluate the performance of the system under test in comparison with other configurations (Fig. 3). At the same time, the user has the opportunity to create a reference configuration of the computer system himself, the performance of which he would like to compare with his PC;
- The Burn-in Wizard allows you to test your computer system for endurance by repeatedly running tests (which can be found in the Benchmarking Modules category). It is important that the system can be protected from the consequences of such severe loads by setting the test termination condition for overheating or errors, while critical temperatures and limiting parameters for the operation of cooling systems (cooling fan speed) can also be defined by the user. In addition, it is possible to select the tests that will be run, and the number of runs, and you can even set the priority of this application;
- update wizard allows you to update the utility version online;
- Performance Wizard launches all active information modules and, based on the information received, gives advice on optimizing and upgrading the system to improve the performance of the computer system. Note that you should not completely trust all the advice, although the master gives out quite helpful tips, especially concerning the possibility of switching off various services;
- Reporting Wizard helps to save the received information in the most convenient format for the user, and in addition, provides the ability to choose the place where the received report will be delivered.
In the category "Information modules" you can find tools that allow you to get comprehensive information about almost all hardware and software components of a computer system.
The "Benchmarking Modules" category includes a number of well-known and fairly frequently cited synthetic tests that allow you to evaluate the performance of the most important computer subsystems (with the exception of the video subsystem). This category contains the following test utilities:
- arithmetic test processor (CPU Arithmetic Benchmark) allows you to evaluate the performance of arithmetic calculations and floating point operations in comparison with other reference computer systems;
- processor multimedia test (CPU Multi-Media Benchmark) makes it possible to evaluate the performance of the system in working with multimedia data when using SIMD instruction sets supported by the processor in comparison with other reference computer systems;
- Removable Storage/Flash Benchmark provides an opportunity to evaluate system performance (read, write and delete speed, on the basis of which the generalized index is calculated) when working with removable drives in comparison with other reference computer systems;
- file system test (File System Benchmark) allows you to determine the performance of the disk (file) subsystem of the computer in comparison with other reference computer systems;
- CD-ROM/DVD Benchmark provides an opportunity to evaluate the performance of optical drives (CD-ROM/DVD) in comparison with other reference computer systems;
- memory bandwidth test (Memory Bandwidth Benchmark) allows you to determine the bandwidth of the memory subsystem (a bunch of "processor chipset memory") when performing integer and floating point operations in comparison with other reference computer systems;
- cache and memory test (Cache & Memory Benchmark) makes it possible to determine the bandwidth of the memory subsystem (a bunch of "processor cache chipset memory") in comparison with other reference computer systems;
- network bandwidth test (Network/LAN Bandwidth Benchmark) allows you to determine the bandwidth of a network connection with a selected network node.
In addition, among the test modules, you can find two test utilities that evaluate the speed of the Internet. The first of them "Internet Connection Benchmark" allows you to evaluate the connection speed with the Internet provider, and the second "Internet Peerage Benchmark" the connection speed with various Internet sites. We also note that, based on the results of each test, the user is given recommendations on how to improve system performance.
Modules of the "Test modules" category are not available in the Lite version, and the information they provide (information about system interrupts used by devices, about the allocation of system memory resources, etc.) will probably be useful mainly to advanced users and professionals.
The Viewers category provides access to tools for viewing the most important system files that define the configuration of the system environment. However, in the Lite version, most of the modules in this category are not available to users.
PC Wizard 2005
The PC Wizard 2005 utility resembles the EVEREST Home Edition utility in many ways and is intended primarily for collecting information about a PC. However, unlike the programs EVEREST Home Edition and SiSoftware Sandra Lite 2005, it does not have a Russian-language interface. The program has a window interface, and the working area of the program is divided into two windows: information and auxiliary (located on the left), in which you can select one or another monitoring tool (Fig. 4).
There are five tabs in the auxiliary window of the program: Hardware; configuration; system files; Resources and Benchmark, grouping information modules by topic. The first tab (Hardware) allows you to access information related to the PC hardware. By selecting the System Summary, Mainboard, Processor, Video, IO Ports, etc. icons, you can access the related detailed information.
The Configuration tab allows you to access information modules that display information about the operating system, Web browser, installed apps, services, etc.
The System Files tab allows you to view (but not modify) various system files.
The Resources tab allows you to view information about the interrupts used and the controllers installed in the system.
Benchmark tab contains enough a large number of the simplest synthetic tests that allow you to evaluate the performance of individual PC subsystems: processor, L1 cache, L2 cache, L3 cache, memory in general, hard drive, optical drive, video card, as well as compression of audio files into MP3 format.
CPU-Zv. 1.28
The CPU-Z utility is a small, no-installation program with a user-friendly interface that provides the user with access to information grouped into categories.
The first tab CPU , as you might guess, contains detailed information about the central processor of the computer system (Fig. 5). This window displays information about the processor core, as well as information about the current supply voltage, system bus frequency, FSB, the set processor multiplier, and the current clock frequency of the processor core. Here you can also find data on the size of the cache of the first (L1), second (L2) and third (L3) levels.
The second tab Cache contains more detailed information about the structure and operating parameters of the cache memory.
The Mainboard tab includes information related to the motherboard (information about the manufacturer of the motherboard, the name of the chipset, the name of the southbridge chip, the name of the I / O controller chip used (Super I / O), etc.).
On the Memory tab, you can get information about the RAM: its size, set timings, as well as the current memory frequency.
The SPD tab displays information about each installed memory module (manufacturer, memory type, and the contents of the SPD table).
And the last tab About in addition to the traditional information about the author allows you to save the report in an HTML document.
Another useful tool, which comes with the CPU-Z utility, is a Latency test that can be used to determine memory latency.
PCMark04 Build 1.3.0
Unlike all the utilities discussed earlier, Futuremark Corporation's PCMark04 is focused specifically on PC testing. This utility includes a variety of synthetic tests that allow you to test the PC processor subsystem, memory subsystem, graphics subsystem and hard disk performance. Perhaps the PCMark04 testing utility available for the home user is the most versatile and at the same time very powerful tool.
So, the PCMark04 utility allows you to evaluate the performance of the PC as a whole (System), calculating a certain integral performance result, the performance of the processor subsystem (CPU), memory performance (Memory), the performance of the graphics subsystem (Graphics) and the performance of the data storage subsystem (HDD).
Note that the PCMark04 utility is available in several versions: a free version of PCMark04 Free and two commercial versions of PCMark04 Professional and PCMark04 Business Edition.
The free version allows you to perform tests on the PC as a whole with the output of the final result and the ability to view the details of the test results, while PCMark04 Professional and PCMark04 Business Edition, in addition, allow you to conduct individual tests of memory, graphics subsystem, hard drive and create your own test scenario (select tests and number of runs).
The PCMark04 utility requires the following applications to be installed on the system in order to work correctly:
- Internet Explorer 6;
- Media Player 9;
- Media Encoder 9;
- DirectX 9.0.
Moreover, the correct operation of this test package is provided only for the Windows XP operating system.
Working with the utility is very simple. After starting the program, we get to the main dialog box (Fig. 6). In the simplest case, it remains only to press the Run PCMark button and wait for the test results.
In the main dialog window of the program, you can also view information about the system by clicking on the Details… button, and to create a test scenario, you must click on the Select… button (Fig. 7).
overall system performance
and its individual subsystems
In total, PCMark04 utility includes 44 tests, of which 10 are used to measure overall system performance, 7 to measure CPU performance, 16 to measure memory performance, 7 to measure graphics performance and 4 to measure hard disk performance.
It is important that the PCMark04 utility was specially developed for testing home computers, and in this sense, the selection of tasks and the methodology for calculating the integral test result are based on the assumption that the computer is used at home (Home PC Usage).
Typical tasks solved using the PCMark04 utility and their weighting coefficients are presented in the table.
Based on typical tasks performed on a home PC, PCMark04 uses tests that have a medium to high priority. The benchmark uses third-party utilities: Crypto+ 5.0 for file encryption, F-Secure's virus scanner, Grammar Parser v4 for spell checking, Havok physics engine v 2.1 for graphics, etc.
When testing the overall system performance, 13 tests are used, with three test pairs being run in multi-threaded mode. The test run order is shown in Fig. 8.
As you can see, there are no tests that measure the performance of a hard drive in the tests for measuring the integral performance of the entire system as a whole. That is, it must be taken into account that both for a PC with a high-performance hard drive and for a PC with a slow drive, the integral performance result will be approximately the same.
The integral performance result is calculated as the geometric mean of the results (execution time) of individual tasks:
PC Mark Score= 66 x (File Compression x File Encryption x File Decompression x Image Processing x File Decryption x Virus Scanning x Grammar Check x Audio Conversion x Web Page Rendering x WMV Video Compression x DivX Video Compression x Physics and 3D x Graphics Memory) 1/13 .
When testing the processor, nine tests are used, and two pairs of tests are run in multi-threaded mode. The test run order is shown in Fig. 9.
As you can see, the test suite in this case similar to the set of tests used to measure the overall performance of the system as a whole, with the exception of Virus Scanning, Grammar Check, Physics and 3D and Graphics Memory.
The generalized result of testing the processor is calculated as a geometric average using the formula:
CPU Score= 110 x (File Compression x File Encryption x File Decompression x Image Processing x File Decryption x Grammar Check x Audio Conversion x WMV Video Compression x DivX Video Compression) 1/9 .
To test memory, a set of tests is used, which allows you to get a result that does not depend on the performance of all other PC subsystems. The memory subsystem of a PC includes RAM (main) memory, a first-level (L1) processor cache, and a second-level (L2) processor cache. The set of tests used includes reading, writing and copying blocks of memory data and random access to data. Depending on the size of the data block, either the main memory, or the L1 cache, or the L2 cache is used. Before starting each next test, the cache is cleared. Read, write and copy operations use data blocks of 4 and 8 MB, which allows using the main memory, as well as data blocks of 4 and 192 KB, which makes it possible to use the cache memory of the first and second levels, respectively. Each memory test is performed continuously for 5 seconds and the data transfer rate expressed in megabytes per second (MB/s) is used as the result.
Random access to memory uses data of 64 bytes in size, and the access itself is performed within 4 and 8 MB, which allows using the main memory, or within 4 and 192 KB, which allows using the cache of the first and second levels.
The generalized result of memory performance is calculated by the formula:
Memory Score= 0.9 x (Read 8M x Read 4M x ((Read 192k + Read 4k)/2) x Write 8M x Write 4M x ((Write 192k + Write 4k)/2) x Copy 8M x Copy 4M x (( Copy 192k + Copy 4k)/2)) x Random Access 8M x Random Access 4M x ((Random access 192k + Random access 4k)/2)) 1/12 .
When testing the PC graphics subsystem, a set of tests is used to minimize the impact of all other PC subsystems on the final result. The testing uses both 2D and 3D tests.
The 2D benchmark suite includes benchmarks that measure typical windowing, video memory, and video playback performance.
The 3D test suite includes tests that measure the speed of filling and processing polygons. Fillrate is the rate at which textures are drawn on 3D objects. The fill rate is measured in millions of texels per second (MTexels/s) (a texel is a texture element (set of pixels)). The speed of polygon processing determines the performance of the video card when playing three-dimensional primitives triangles. Polygon processing speed is measured in millions of triangles per second (MTriangles/s).
The generalized result of the performance of the graphics subsystem is calculated by the formula:
Graphics score= 0.5 x transparent windows + 0.4 x ((video memory 16 lines + video memory 32 lines)/2) + 0.6 x ((fill rate single texture + fill rate multitexture)/2) + 50 x ( (polygon throughput single light + polygon throughput multiple lights)/2).
When testing the performance of a hard drive, a set of four tests created on the basis of the RankDisk utility from Intel is used. These tests include Windows XP boot time, application load time (Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat Reader 5, Windows Media Player, 3DMark 2001SE, Leadtek Winfast DVD, Mozilla Internet Browser), typical file copy operations (400 MB file to copy) and measuring hard drive usage for tasks such as opening a Word document, checking spelling, saving and closing a document, zipping and unzipping files using the Winzip archiver, and so on.
The generalized performance result is calculated by the formula:
HDD Score= (XP Startup Trace x 120) + (Application Load trace x 180) + (File Copy Trace x 28) + (General Usage x 265).
In conclusion of the description of the PCMark04 test utility, we emphasize once again that it is one of the best today for express PC testing at home. However, one cannot fail to note the disadvantage of this utility, which is a kind of consequence of express testing. We are talking about poor repeatability of results, which is inevitable with such a short testing time. Therefore, to ensure at least some acceptable reliability of the result obtained using the PCMark04 utility, it is necessary to repeat the test at least five times and consider the average test result.
Nowadays, diagnosing a car using a smartphone is not new at all. With certain inexpensive hardware and phone apps, it is quite possible to make a diagnosis when the car dashboard lights up. check icon engine. Today we’ll talk about how to make car diagnostics via phone, about the history of research on this issue and about diagnostic devices: GoPoint Technology GL1 and BT1, iOBD and BlueDriver.
Research History
Since the early 1980s, most vehicles have been equipped with on-board computers with an on-board diagnostic socket (OBD). And since 1996, new connectors with OBD-II began to appear on many cars - modern standard connection (which is often located in the cabin, near the steering column), compatible with any personal computer. For the EU market, cars with OBD-II have been produced since 2001, gasoline, and since 2004 - diesel, and for the Japanese market since 2004. At that time, in order to analyze data from the electronic system of the machine, expensive equipment was needed. But today it is the 21st century, and thanks to the data that the computer of a modern car gives out, you can track anything through special applications installed on your smartphone. Such programs allow you to improve machine control, and even save money.
Interesting to know! Prior to OBD-II, there was a version of OBD-I in 1989, but it was not widely used.
What do we have today
It is possible to check the condition of the gearbox and engine of the car in a car service using computer diagnostics, but a smartphone is the same computer, therefore, using a cable for the diagnostic connector and special programs he is completely up to the task. In addition, you can observe how the engine works in motion, which they will not do in a car service. Important: There are different variants connecting devices for car diagnostics: using a cable, via Bluetooth and via Wi-fi.
GoPoint Technology GL1 and BT1
These are two devices for testing and diagnosing a car: GL1 is a cable, and BT1 is a Bluetooth transmitter, and in all other respects they are functionally the same. According to the manufacturers, these devices are certified by Apple and are compatible with the iPhone. The devices come with their native GoPoint program, which reads and resets error codes ( check engine) and also sets engine speed, coolant temperature, machine speed during quick scan. The application can also perform real-time diagnostics and apply data after caching.
Do you know? To date, a new version of OBD-III vehicle diagnostics is in the state of refinement.
iOBD
The device allows you to connect your car to your smartphone by simply inserting it into the car's OBD connector and connecting via Wi-Fi to your smartphone. iOBD has a rich user interface and can be applied to all OBD-II compliant vehicles. The device reproduces fault codes, describes them and resets them. iOBD makes it possible to diagnose the electronic parameters of a car via a phone, such as: fuel and engine sensors (coolant temperature, lambda probe, pressure in fuel system and manifold), the number of engine revolutions. Monitoring of the engine operation is performed on the basis of data from the cache or in real time. iOBD has two diagnostic modes: sport and cruise, and is compatible with both Android and iOS devices.
BlueDriver
This is another device for testing and diagnosing a car, which can be bought on the official website of the manufacturer, and it only works with the BlueDriver utility from Lemur Vehicle Monitors and Apple mechanisms. This device is the simplest of all mentioned and is not overloaded with unnecessary information. BlueDriver logs various fault codes for further troubleshooting and alerts when the speed increases.
Important! BlueDriver has the option to import car system scan results to Facebook wall and send tweets.
What options do these devices have?
With the help of such devices, you can diagnose the car yourself, without going to the bus station. By installing just a few applications on your phone, you can get a lot of information hidden from you while driving a car, and make a complete professional test of all electronic systems a car that you could previously get only by going to a car service for diagnostics. The capabilities of the devices depend on the use of the software. Often this is a diagnosis of the transmission and engine of a car, but there are also commercial programs that support additional protocols from car manufacturers that allow you to work with other car blocks.
What cars are supported
Mobile diagnostics is supported by cars that have an OBD-II port, and, as you already know, most cars manufactured since 1996 are equipped with this port. You can name such cars: Acura, Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Buick, Byd, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chery, Chrysler, Citroen, Daihatsu, Daewoo, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Isuzu, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Oldsmobile, Opel, Peugeot, Pontiac, Porsche, Renault, Saab, Saturn, Scion, Seat, Skoda, Smart, SsangYong, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo, Lada Priora, Chevrolet Niva, VAZ 2105, 2107, 2110, 2114, 111740, VAZ Kalina, and others.
This is interesting! The first versions of the OBD in case of malfunctions lit the MIL lamp - a malfunction indicator lamp, but it did not provide any information about the nature of the damage. Master key: car diagnostics with smartphone.
How to diagnose a car
To diagnose a car through a phone, you must first insert the adapter into the OBD connector of the car, and then set up the network. To do this, go to the Wi-Fi settings, select the WiFiOBD network and enter the data: IP Address, subnet mask. Next, set up the program: open it and go to the settings. Then you need to establish a connection with the machine.
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An article on how to diagnose a car engine. Principles, methods and subtleties of the process. At the end of the article - a video about self-computer diagnostics of a car.
The content of the article:
Even the most quality car with the most careful use, sooner or later it will begin to falter. Regular engine checks allow you to notice problems in time and fix them before a minor breakdown leads to more serious consequences.
When is Engine Diagnostics Necessary?
It is best to monitor the operation of systems constantly - for this, there is a special equipment. Machines should also be regularly subjected to professional diagnostics in the workshop or, when there is enough knowledge and skills, on their own.
An urgent check of the motor is necessary if:
- the engine warms up slowly;
- failures occur regularly in the system;
- power drops;
- increased fuel consumption;
- there are difficulties when starting the engine;
- exhausts are black, white or gray;
- increased oil consumption;
- there was a smell of burning in the exhaust gases;
- appeared extraneous knocks and noises.
Which is better: do it yourself or go to the salon
Of course, professional inspection and repair is always preferable, as a specialist will cope with the tasks set much better than even an experienced motorist.
But that's in theory. Practice shows that a large number of "professionals" and "specialists" in diagnosing are ordinary mechanics with average quality equipment and a minimum of knowledge about working with it.
And only a small percentage of workshops have real professionals in their staff who have passed special training, which includes the skills of a computer check of the car.
Therefore, you should carefully approach the choice of a diagnostic center and, being sure of its decency and professionalism, regularly drive the car away for a deep check of all systems.
And what pseudo-specialists offer is quite within the power of any car owner who has a more or less tolerable idea of \u200b\u200bthe operation of the engine. To do this, it is enough to acquire the same equipment that any unfortunate mechanic has.
4 reasons to buy diagnostic equipment
- You will be able to independently monitor the condition of the car and the stability of the engine.
- You can save a significant amount on the services of dubious professional diagnosticians.
- Even having a reliable service station in mind and conducting regular diagnostics there, you will be able to constantly monitor the state of the propulsion system, reducing the risk of serious breakdowns, noticing and eliminating minor problems in time.
- A dishonest workshop will be harder to deceive you. The “let’s replace this part, and if it doesn’t work, replace this one, and then another one” scheme will no longer work, since the owner will know exactly what is causing the problem.
Computer diagnostics of the engine yourself
Automakers are strenuously trying to protect the owner from "excessive" information, removing sensors and devices that they do not need. Everything seems to be true - the car should be checked in the cabin and paid a certain amount. Perhaps, somewhere such a system is acceptable, but the Russian car owner prefers to independently monitor the operation of his car. The reasons for this are very different, starting with an old habit and ending with a cramped financial situation. And the reluctance to be deceived by a dishonest mechanic is also a convincing argument.
To diagnose yourself, it is not necessary to have a set professional equipment. It is enough to acquire a functional and inexpensive device for special purposes.
Adapter
A device that has a universal connector for connecting to OBD-2 and transmits data to a computer, tablet or smartphone. To make the system work, you just need to connect the adapter to the OBD connector in the car and download the necessary program to your mobile device.
The adapter displays all data on the state of the engine on a smartphone (which is very convenient). The screen receives both basic information (program code, block number, ECU code, etc.), and operating parameters, ranging from coolant temperature to voltmeter readings, which automakers have abolished, deciding that an ordinary motorist does not need such data .
When choosing an adapter, you should pay attention to what program it needs on the phone / PC and how versatile this device is. Many of them even have ADC channels designed for professionals.
On-board computer
Modern cars are equipped with regular on-board computers, which are positioned as diagnostic. But in general, this is a weak resemblance to real diagnostic CD. Therefore, if you want to know about everything that happens under the hood, you will have to acquire a narrowly focused device.
The advantage of the BC is that it can be used to track parameters and changes in the process of movement. The devices are designed in such a way that it is convenient to work with them while driving.
Choosing on-board computer for a car with carbureted engine, you should make sure that it will fit this type of car. Better pay attention to products domestic production, often even BCs designed for new foreign cars can be installed on old-style carbureted cars. You should also check if there is an instruction with the decoding of code signals in the kit.
Diagnostic Scanner
It is with their help that dubious professionals most often diagnose cars. A small professional gadget for an average price will tell the owner the same thing as a mechanic at a service station, and maybe more.
Information is displayed on the screen in an encoded form, but instructions with decoding are attached to the device. For complete confidence, you should check this before buying.
The bulk of the scanners are intended for foreign cars of a new type, so you should check whether this or that model is suitable for a domestic car.
Connecting and using all the devices listed above does not present any difficulties. Unless it is advisable to install an on-board computer in a service center if you are poorly versed in all the intricacies.
Visual and auditory diagnostics of engines
It is not always possible to resort to computer diagnostics, and often this is not required. You can notice the problem by listening to your iron friend or examining him.
carbureted engine
In carbureted engines, fuel is supplied by suction through the carburetor, and not by injection, as in injection engines.
The main problems of carburetor engines:
Car won't start
Causes:
- dead battery;
- starter malfunction.
In both cases crankshaft will not work.
If it rotates, then the cause of the "dead" engine can be: - lack of spark;
- failures in the process of supplying fuel to the carburetor (the reason is most likely a malfunction of the fuel pump);
- excessive fuel supply, as a result of which the spark plugs were flooded.
Increased oil consumption
Causes:
- seals are worn out (crankshaft seals, valve gasket, camshaft seal), resulting in oil leakage;
- crankcase ventilation is clogged, therefore, increased pressure is formed in the propulsion system, which contributes to the displacement of oil through the gaskets;
- piston rings coked or sagged after excessive load, which also leads to an increase in pressure and squeezing out the oil mixture;
- worn piston rings;
- worn cylinders and/or rings; in this case you will need overhaul propulsion system.
Unsatisfactory engine performance
Main reasons:
- uneven work gasoline pump;
- the size of the gap between the contacts of the breaker does not meet the requirements, for example, as a result of wear;
- jet blockage;
- failed spark plugs;
- there were malfunctions in the functioning of high-voltage wires;
- foreign air enters the carburetor;
- problems with the solenoid valve.
Black exhaust gases
The cause is a broken carburetor or excessively enriched fuel.
Blue tinted exhaust
The most likely cause is the presence of oil in the combustion chamber. To determine if there is an oil leak, the spark plugs must be removed and inspected. If there are no oily smudges, then the problem is the wear of the valve caps.
Knocks at increased engine loads (during acceleration, afterburner, etc.)
Such a phenomenon is a sign of detonating, that is, exploding, and not burning, fuel. The reason is refueling with low-quality fuel and abundant carbon deposits in the combustion chamber.
injection engine
Unlike carburetor, injection engine fuel is supplied by injection under pressure (hence the second name of the engine - injection). This way of delivering fuel increases the performance of the car and helps to reduce fuel consumption.
Main problems:
Jerks while driving, uneven engine operation, black exhaust gases
Deviations indicate a malfunction of the air flow sensor.
Car won't start
Causes:
- failure of one or more elements of the injection system;
- malfunction of sensors;
- damage to the insulating layer on the isolated elements of the system;
- loose connectors, negative wires etc.;
- misplaced harnesses.
Engine running unevenly
It often happens that the car seems to start, but its work leaves much to be desired - constant interruptions, the engine stalls, the car does not start on the first try.
Causes:
- the fuel pump is faulty;
- the air filter is dirty;
- Faulty or dirty injector nozzles.
diesel engine
Unlike gasoline, diesel is not as prone to breakdowns and wear. Most often, secondary parts fail, and with careful careful operation a diesel engine will last for many years without any serious damage.
It is enough to carry out diagnostics 1-2 times a year, preferably during the preparation of the car for the winter and summer seasons. It is better to entrust deep analysis to specialists, but the main problems can be detected on your own.
The process of checking a diesel engine, like gasoline engines, can be divided into two stages: analysis of noise and exhaust gases.
Checking for Extraneous Noises
To achieve the most accurate results, you should protect yourself as much as possible from the natural sounds of the propulsion system. To do this, you need to do three things:
- Squeeze out the clutch. Thus, the noise coming from the gearbox is neutralized.
- Take into account the noise coming from the oscillation of the suspension, intake system and crankcase.
- Remove the alternator belt, thereby eliminating the noise accompaniment of the water pump and the generator itself.
- Low knock at high rpm. The main reason is excessive cushioning of the cylinder-piston section, or the crankshaft journals.
- Loud knocking sounds at the top of the engine. The problem lies in the valve mechanism - it may break, depreciate, or it was incorrectly adjusted.
- Metallic rattling sound during RPM up/down. The reason is poor timing belt tension.
Exhaust check
- Black smoke with a burning smell. Reason: oil mixture entering the combustion chamber and, as a result, increasing oil consumption.
- Excessive emission of exhaust when increasing speed. Cause: wear/defect of valve stem seals.
- Smoke "knocks" out of the chimney all the time. Reason: worn-out parts of the cylinder-piston compartment.
Video about self-computer diagnostics of a car:
If your computer has broken down or started to malfunction, then it's time to make an independent diagnosis! How to produce computer diagnostics on your own? Necessary knowledge!
You have probably already encountered failures, lags more than once and used the services of a service center! It would be easier if you yourself could correctly recognize the malfunction of your PC. In order to identify a malfunction, sometimes you do not need specific education and deep PC skills. It is enough to know the basic concepts, have information about the hardware and understand a little about the programs!
Self-diagnosis of a personal computer!
All of us, when we were at the doctor, and went through the stage of a pre-medical check, this check can be called a diagnosis. You will not be given an accurate diagnosis in the pre-medical office, but they will perform an examination and perform those procedures that will help the doctor make the correct diagnosis. A correct diagnosis is more than half the battle! So why don't you acquire the knowledge that will help you diagnose a computer problem. So you can protect yourself from unnecessary expenses and it will be more difficult to deceive you! Do you want to learn the basics of diagnostics? Take 10 minutes of your precious time!
10 minutes to the honorary title of "Computer Doctor"
The starting point for PC diagnostics is the condition of your PC. Your computer even ? There is a high probability that the problem lies in the hardware of the computer! In general, all computer malfunctions are usually divided into groups. The first such group will be software malfunctions, the second group is considered to be hardware malfunctions.
Finding the source of a software malfunction will be quite difficult. What it will be: non-working, the absence of one small Windows file, and of course the work may well cause the failure of your entire system. The only reason that most people find it difficult to identify a software malfunction is not knowing how and where to look for it. Strange as it may seem, diagnosing such a malfunction is best done using programs, both built-in (task manager) and special ones (AIDA, PC Wizard). Study the task manager, download some diagnostic programs, having studied them, you will make a leap towards knowing and understanding your computer.
Diagnostics of the software part is worth making if you have:
- unstable PC operation;
- slow PC performance;
- ;
- several programs do not work correctly;
- lost settings;
- critical BSOD errors.
Computer hardware diagnostics
Software diagnostics is complicated by the lack of basic knowledge, but hardware diagnostics often comes down to visual observation, and logic where you do not need to have special knowledge. When conducting such diagnostics, basic knowledge of computer architecture will be enough!
PC hardware failures:
The computer does not turn on and the display does not even light up:
no power or defective
a short circuit has occurred
motherboard problem
possibly out of order
computer randomly shuts down:
motherboard failure
accumulated dust
no image on monitor:
out of order
Faulty monitor or power adapter
USB ports not working
strayed
there is a problem with the motherboard
operating system stopped loading:
out of order HDD
corrupted files appeared
LAN, wifi not working
defective wifi module
broken driver
If you cannot identify the problem yourself. You can always turn to a friend or acquaintance, in addition, you can always count on getting a free professional consultation in one of the!
The first thing to find out if your computer is “ill” is the nature of the disease, because the cause can be both software and hardware. And if you can deal with software errors on your own, following our advice from, then with hardware malfunctions you will have to contact the service or replace the faulty PC elements yourself.
1 RAM failure
In the MemTest86+ utility, designed to check the performance of RAM modules, testing is carried out from the DOS operating environment, and not from Windows
If the symptoms of a problem indicate a malfunction of the RAM modules, it is enough to run the memtest86+ test from a USB flash drive or a bootable CD. If red error messages appear on the blue interface of the running utility, the faulty memory modules should be replaced. Typically, in case of slight damage to the RAM, errors may not appear immediately, but during the operation of the system when performing memory-demanding tasks: for example, such as unpacking large archives.
2 HDD diagnostics
If programs freeze while performing file operations, there is a good chance that this is caused by problems with the hard drive. In this case, you need to check the HDD using the Checkdisk utility built into Windows. You can run it by going to "My Computer", right-clicking on the appropriate section of the HDD, selecting the "Properties" item and clicking the "Service" tab on the "Run a test" button.
Also, if you suspect a problem with the hard drive, you need to check the output of the information from the built-in diagnostic utility S.M.A.R.T. To do this, use the free Speccy utility.
3 Overheating of system components
The easiest way to determine that your computer is overheating is to go into the BIOS (or UEFI interface on modern motherboards) and look at the CPU and chipset temperatures in the Health or Power section. If the values exceed 50-60°C at rest, then the problem is most likely overheating.
You can also find out information about the temperature using the already mentioned Speccy utility, which shows the temperature of everyone from all the sensors on your computer, including the processor, memory, motherboard and video chip.
To fix the situation, as a rule, it is often enough to simply clean the PC components from dust with a can of compressed air and a vacuum cleaner. If the computer is under warranty and sealed, then you can blow compressed air through the cooling radiators through the vents. In rare cases, if the computer has been around for several years, it makes sense to disconnect the heatsink and replace the CPU and video card thermal paste. As a rule, this must be done after 3 years of operation of the PC.
4 Motherboard failure
If traces of electrolyte are visible on the motherboard capacitors, then it is better to immediately replace it with a new one.
The most difficult thing to diagnose problems caused by the failure of the elements of the motherboard. In this case, her physical examination will help you. If traces of temperature effects are observed on the surface (discoloration of the coating) or there are electrolyte spots on the capacitor section, it is better to replace such a board immediately. If a physical examination of the motherboard did not help, but you are sure that it is malfunctioning, try, if possible, connect guaranteed working components (CPU, RAM, power supply) to it from another PC to check its performance.
A good way to diagnose hardware problems is with the Ultimate Boot CD. By burning it to a CD or USB flash drive, you can download it at any time and perform diagnostics on individual systems of your PC.
5 Don't forget about backups
Before you start trying to fix the state of your computer, we strongly recommend that you back up your data and transfer personal information from the system partition. It is also desirable to activate the creation of restore points for the operating system. In Windows 8, this is done through the extended menu "System Properties": keyboard shortcut Win + X -> System -> Advanced system settings -> System protection. In this tab, enable system disk protection and then click the "Create" button. After that, when the system boots, you can press the F8 button to get to the system recovery menu and use the created checkpoint.
6 What can you do yourself?
In the event of a breakdown of any hardware, if the device is under warranty, you should take it to the service. Otherwise, the most you can fix yourself is to replace the memory modules and the hard drive, as well as vacuum and blow the components of the system unit with compressed air in case of overheating. For other problems, it is better to contact specialists.
PHOTO: manufacturing companies; diosmic, Gewoldi, ermingut, ludinko/Istockphoto.com
