TITLE
    Mac OS 8.5: Apple System Profiler 2.1.1 Features
Article ID:
Created:
Modified: 		58108
9/14/98
4/14/00
TOPIC

    What are the features of Apple System Profiler 2.1.1?

DISCUSSION

    The Apple System Profiler (ASP) is a software application that gathers and displays information about the Macintosh computer on which it is run. This information includes data such as system software version, memory installed, types and number of hard disk volumes attached, and information on installed control panels, extensions, and applications. The goal of Apple System Profiler is to provide all who service and support Power Macintosh systems with an easily understood, consistently available, extensible, scalable and accurate profile of the computer they are working with.

    Apple System Profiler version 2.1.1 provides many new features and enhancements over previous versions. Some of the overall goals for version 2.1.1 are to add features that have been requested, to support new Power Macintosh models, and to match the Mac OS 8 appearance "look and feel" more closely.

    Features
    ASP v2.1.1 adds many changes since the v1.4 release:
    • ASP 2.1.1 supports AppleScript scripting and some, but not all, features are recordable with the Apple Script Editor. AppleScript support includes:
    • Querying or setting which data options to gather in a system profile report
    • Creating a system profile report (document)
    • Saving a report to disk
    • Printing a report
    • Retrieving the text of a report

    ASP 2.1.1 uses the Mac OS 8 Finder's "look and feel" to present its Control Panels, Extensions, and Applications file information. Additional information is provided when an item is selected (similar to the Extensions Manager). The Devices and Volumes Information now links volumes with associated drive devices, displaying this information in a graphical format.

    ASP 2.1.1 adds significantly more information, such as drive serial numbers and RAM configuration, to further assist end users and support technicians in the troubleshooting process. Compared to earlier ASP versions, ASP 2.1.1 displays the following additional information:
    • RAM configuration (location, size, and type)
    • Lists of machine names (earlier versions only said "Power Macintosh" if there were multiple versions of the same machine)
    • Device information (as applicable):
      • USB
      • SCSI and Internal ATA
      • SCSI and ATA device serial numbers, if available
      • PCI
      • NuBus
      • PC Card and Media Bay
      • Personality card name
      • Network volumes
      • Internal RAM Disk
      • Floppy
    • Additional information about cards, such as Ethernet card's hardware Ethernet addresses
    • Keyboard type
    • Driver version numbers for drives with media
    • File sharing status for each volume
    • Volume partition and disk sizes (and % full)
    • Cache sizes (backside and external)
    • Matches drives/devices to volumes
    • Desktop printer information
    • File creation, modification, file size, memory size, and "balloon help" info
    • Looks for file information on multiple volumes of the user's choice
    • Web sharing status (on/off--doesn't indicate whether installed or not)
    • QuickTime version (does indicate whether installed or not)
    • Matches display information with built-in video or display cards
    • Open Transport settings:
      • AppleTalk, TCP/IP
      • Whether single-link multihoming (Open Transport 1.3 or later) is active or not
    • Drag and Drop information onto the Finder desktop (text-clipping file), and other applications

    Additionally, ASP 2.1.1 no longer displays the OpenDoc version or the customer care code.


    System Requirements
    Minimum Hardware Requirements:

    • iMac or PowerPC Macintosh or Macintosh computer with a PowerPC Upgrade Card
    • Mac OS 8.5 memory requirements: 16 MB installed RAM, total of 24 MB through Virtual Memory

    Minimum Software Requirements
    • 4 MB memory free
    • Mac OS 7.6 or later
    • 1.4 MB free disk space

    Recommended Requirements for Maximum information:
    • Open Transport installed
    • Startup with all extensions on

    For additional information on how to use this feature, click the Help button or open the Help Center (from the help menu) and type the name of the feature. Balloon Help can also answer questions about window contents, window controls and menu items in the Finder, Control Panels and Applications, where supported. To turn on Balloon Help, choose "Balloon Help" from the Help menu in the Finder.


Document Information
Product Area: Mac OS System Software
Category: Mac OS 8.5
Sub Category: System Software Components

Copyright © 2000 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved.