Dependencies Checker Diagnostics utility using C#

Question

Update:

I want use any WinForms application to validate my computer configuration and diagnostics utility that can be ran by an end user or by technical support personnel to determine whether a user's machine is configured correctly for a given application.

I would like found references inspired by day-to-day regarding how to troubleshoot a workstation for a given application. Although checklists and guidelines have proved very useful the manual processes involved are somewhat tedious. Better to expidite the initial troubleshooting and reduce turnaround times.

I use VS 2010, C#, Win7 and WinXP.

I only found Ndiagnostics in codeplex, but is dead project

For example, how can I determine this configurations, like Sql Server 2008 R2 installer does (SQL Server Setup validates your computer configuration before the Setup operation completes).

• Checks OS version, specific version of the .NET Framework, IIS version, system platform.for the 64-bit platform.

• Checks java version, visual J# runtime version, visual C++ runtime version is installed

• Checks if a pending computer restart is required.

• Checks whether the computer meets minimum operating system version requirements.

• Checks whether the account that is running SQL Server Setup has administrative privileges on the computer.

• Checks whether the WMI service is started and running on the computer.

• Checks to see if the computer is connected to the Internet.

• Checks whether the computer is a domain controller.

• Checks whether Windows PowerShell is installed.

• Checks for previous releases of Visual Studio 2008 or if it has already been upgraded to SP1.

• Checks if the existing performance counter registry hive is consistent.

• Checks whether SqlServer version or SQL Server Services is installed.

• Checks for .NET: smtp and proxy configuration, ...

• Checks if a user is an machine Administrator, verify that a user belongs to a specified group/role, etc..

• Determines whether a specific "URL" is available (can verify web page or web service).

• Determines whether a specific Server is available (can verify any server in intranet).

---

Customs for:

• Checks for the existence of a specific folder,

• Determines whether a specific process is running

• Test connection sqlserver-oracle-checks for connection to specified database;-, test email smtp connection, etc

and more...

any suggestions, code samples, tips, sample applications, etc ?

Update: Request in Microsoft All-In-One Code Framework
http://1code.codeplex.com/workitem/10118

good idea is Diagnostics Tool for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 but it's specific only for CRM
http://crmdiagtool2011.codeplex.com/

Answer 1

If the only job of the winforms app was to check prerequisites you could achieve this quite easily but building you own custom rule engine and then just create classes for each type of rule you want to apply.

Of course then you run into problems like the winforms app wont run unless .net is installed etc.

It would be a better idea to investigate some of the technologies I mentioned as they have some form of "prerequist" checking built in, although I believe in the case of sql this is most likely a chunk of custom code that microsoft has written and provided in the SQL 2008 msi.

I believe sql 2008 msi is built using wix, if so and Microsoft hasn't obfuscated it in any way you may be able to decompile the msi with the tools on the wix codeplex page and then view the code that microsoft used to generate such an interface.