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I have a PC running MS-DOS (i.e. no Windows). How can I retrieve a list of all hardware present on the PC? Something like Everest for Windows, or something simpler, like lspci from Linux.

Indrek
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ricardomenzer
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    There's no cmd.exe in MS-DOS. You've already confused one person with that error. – JdeBP Mar 10 '14 at 20:20
  • that was before OP clarified that he really meant DOS, removing it – Shekhar Mar 10 '14 at 20:48
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    DOS in itself is not aware of PCI as such. You may be able to do it with some 3rd party DOS utility. You might also look into booting Linux. What is currently stopping you from booting Linux? What kind of access do you currently have to the machine? (Such as ability to copy files to the HDD.) – nitro2k01 Mar 10 '14 at 21:12
  • nowhere did the OP say cmd.exe where did you get that from @JdeBP ? – barlop Mar 10 '14 at 21:35
  • +1 for asking what you meant. He wrote "I mean a really DOS system, there's no Windows available" – barlop Mar 10 '14 at 21:35
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    Well it was definitely in the question when I read it. And the person who put it there has definitely confused one person with that error. (-: – JdeBP Mar 10 '14 at 23:22
  • IN the answers below I see lot of answers for the PCI parts. But the BX chips is from an era where motherboards also had ISA cards (e.g. an Adaptec 1542fc or a NE2000). I am missing how to detect those. – Hennes Mar 10 '18 at 10:41
  • Granted, the answer probably is 'no way to detect' or 'check you paper list which also shows how jumpers on the cards are configured with IRQs, IO ports etc. But BX era is close enough that use of classic (non pnp) ISA cards is realistic. – Hennes Mar 10 '18 at 10:43

5 Answers5

14

You can use HWiNFO, available for DOS.

Hardware Info (HWiNFO) is a powerful system information utility designed especially for detection of hardware.

Download here(Look HWiNFO v5.5 for DOS).

enter image description here

stderr
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SOLUTION-1:

There is a free tool from FreeDOS, which is very similar to 'lspci'. This tool should be compatible with MS-DOS. Download it from: http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/freedos/files/distributions/1.2/repos/pkg-html/pcisleep.html

And use it as: 

pcisleep L

this will list devices on PCI bus...

addr vendor:type  vendor description
-----------------------------------
xxxx [8086:7111]  Intel  IDE Controller
xxxx [9999:9999]  AMD    LAN Ethernet
...

SOLUTION-2 (only for Network Cards on PCI):

There is a free tool, called 'nicscan.exe' which scans PCI for Network cards available. Donwload from here: https://www.jumpjet.info/Application-Software/DOS/Hardware/2/NICSCAN/NICSCAN.zip

nicscan.exe

it will list something like:

Bus: 2     Device: 0          Function: 0

PCI vendor: 1022 = Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]
PCI device: 2000 = 79c790 [PCnet32 LANCE]

The result shown above is the VMWare NIC AMD 79c790 10Mbps

Victor Kirov
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In the DOS days there where a bunch of 3rd party tools for DOS available that did a hardware scan and showed some system information. Many where distributed as shareware.

Here is a list:

  • checkIt!
  • DRHARDWARE (still available to buy for Retro PCs)
  • HWINFO (also called Hardware Info, FreeWare today)
  • sysinfo
  • PC Analyser
  • Peak Computing CINFO
  • RudiSoft RSInfo
  • SysChk
  • TestIT

Microsoft shipped a Tool called Microsoft Diagnostics (MSD) with MS-DOS 6.x. IBM shipped QCONFIG with PC DOS 6.x (IBM DOS). And Norton Utilities did also have a system information and diagnostic functionality.

Hint 1: If you can't find them as shareware on the Internet, you can find many of them as shareware version on older sharware CD-ROM collections or on archive.org.

Hint 2: Since these diagnostic tools perform very complex functions, they may not run in some virtual machines or emulators and crash. (i tested some of them in QEMU version 7)

Coder
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Another option (for DOS) may be Quarterdeck's QEMM may have Manifest (mft.exe)

The term "system profiler" may be useful when searching for additional alternatives for general hardware detection. Additionally, there are specific methods to detect specific types of hardware, so if you need something specific, do clarify.

It looks like some more software for ports may be found from I/O port programs (see file listing at ../../menu/io_mouse.txt ; I can't put a direct hyperlink there because I've only recently registered so I'm limited to only 2 links total). I can't 100% vouch for the software there, but vague memory suggests to me that WhatPort may be good for detecting COM ports.

If you want more, please elaborate (like describing just what hardware you're looking for). Otherwise, there you go.

TOOGAM
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-1

In the case you mean cmd when you say DOS
type the following into at the prompt

systeminfo

you can also launch a GUI version of the tool by typing msinfo32 at the prompt

For difference between DOS and cmd see here

Edit
Slightly changed the wording for people who landed here looking cmd instead of DOS

Community
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Shekhar
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    I mean a really DOS system, there's no Windows available. – ricardomenzer Mar 10 '14 at 20:15
  • have you checked if systeminfo works ? – Shekhar Mar 10 '14 at 20:50
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    -1 for pretending that he meant something else and answering the wrong question. You should be answering the question asked. This is a question and answer database not a help site. And besides, he actually DID mean what he asked. So by answering something else, you're doubly wrong. – barlop Mar 10 '14 at 21:37
  • @barlop yea, that was wrong speculation on my part - a lot of people mistake between the two, and hence the clarification before answering. I will still leave this answer here , in case someone lands here who actually has the misconception. – Shekhar Mar 10 '14 at 21:57
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    @barlop Please try to extend to other users the courtesy of good faith. In the absence of specific information to the contrary, assuming DOS means cmd.exe seems like a fair assumption to make, those two are often used interchangeably. – Indrek Mar 10 '14 at 22:04
  • A quick search lead me to the Microsoft Technet article about the command. Although the info in it refers to Windows XP as a baseline, I don't seem to have it in Home Edition. – Doktoro Reichard Mar 10 '14 at 22:42
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    @Indrek If you think he meant something other than what he asked, then you should -still- answer the question he asked, but then add that if he meant something else, you answer for that as a side note. But first and foremost you should answer what he asked, even if you think he probably made a mistake. As I say, it's not a help site it's a QnA database. – barlop Mar 10 '14 at 22:59
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    @barlop Not sure what you're trying to say — Super User is all about helping people by getting answers to their questions. – slhck Mar 11 '14 at 07:48
  • The 2nd sentence of Indrek's highly-upvoted comment is still only write because of the weasel language ("seems", "are often used"). They are not properly interchangeable. DOS does not include Windows NT's CMD.EXE. The hovertext of the MS-DOS tag specifically says this is not "about Windows command line". Trying to appease CMD-seekers has the negative side effect of blurring a proper distinction between MS-DOS (which uses up far less system requirements) and the Microsoft Windows environment, which are different environments. (Keep in mind, some people don't prefer the MS Windows environment.) – TOOGAM Jun 09 '17 at 13:46