Computer debug routines

Entering debug

Debug has been included in every version of MS-DOS as well as Windows. When running any of the debug routines it is recommended that if you have Windows that you exit or shut down to get into a real DOS prompt (unless you're running Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, or later versions). Additional information about getting into MS-DOS can be found on document CHDOS.

Once at the MS- DOS prompt, run through the below example, this example is perfectly fine to run on any PC Computer running MS-DOS / Windows and will not harm anything.

Type debug and press enter.
This should get you to a - (small dash). This is the debug prompt.
At the - type d40:00 and press enter; this will return several lines of information.
(See Testing Ports for explanation of this feedback.)
After the feedback you will be back to the debug prompt.
To exit out of debug type q and press enter. This will return you back to the MS-DOS prompt.

In some of the below debug routines you will notice that a "g" is typed, then "q". G tells the computer that the code type is not self executing and must be run at this point. If completed, the program will return Program Terminated Normally which indicates you can now quit from the debug program.

TESTING PORTS

The below debug routine will check the ports of the computer to allow you to know if ports are being detected or not.

Type debug to get to the "-"

Type D40:0

You should get several lines; however, the first line is the only important line, which should read the following:

0040:0000 F8 03 F8 02 E8 03 E8 02 - 78 03 78 02 BC 03

The above graph shows you what the feed back means as far as port, so if you see F8 03, this would be an indication that COM1 is being detected; if you see 00 00, this is an indication that it is not being detected, which could mean that hardware is bad or that it is disabled in CMOS.

Once you have finished looking at the information, type Q and press enter to get out of Debug.

The below debug routine will clear CMOS, BIOS, Passwords, Settings, Viruses, and other items residing in the CMOS. During this process you may get returned characters which are an indication that the string has gone in, if you by chance get ERROR ensure that you have typed the line in correctly, if not retype. Ensure that you do not skip any lines, that it is ALL typed in correctly to help prevent problems. Before running this Debug routine also ensure that you have read the above disclaimer.

After typing debug you will get "-" which is were you can begin by typing A and pressing enter.

A <ENTER>
MOV AX,0 <ENTER>
MOV AX,CX <ENTER>
OUT 70,AL <ENTER>
MOV AX,0 <ENTER>
OUT 71,AL <ENTER>
INC CX <ENTER>
CMP CX,100 <ENTER>
JB 103 <ENTER>
INT 20 <ENTER>
<ENTER> Note: Nothing is typed on this line
G <ENTER> By pressing G this will execute the above script, ensure you have read and agree to the above disclaimer.
Q <ENTER>

Then reboot and you will get a Setup Checksum Error. Go into setup, correct all the incorrect values, time, date...

This test will test to see if your Joystick is present or not.

Type debug from the DOS prompt once at the "-".

Type i201

If you get a FF response attempt hold one of the main buttons on your joystick, and while holding the button down type i201 and see if a different response is given, each button on the joystick should return a different response. However, some special joysticks, such as the Microsoft Sidewinder, which has more than 4-5 buttons, may not return a response for all extra buttons because these buttons are generally controlled through software.

If a FF is still given on each of the buttons on the game paddle or joystick, it is a good possibility that either the Joystick and or the Joystick port is bad. If possible, attempt these steps with another known working joystick.

Type q and press enter to quit out of debug.

Extra Note: Computer Hope has experienced issues where this debug routine may not work under Windows NT. If you are currently running Windows NT, refer to our page for Joystick installation procedures.

See Joystick Help page for additional help.

Before doing the below routine ensure that you have read our disclaimer and that you're sure that this is safe to do on your hard drive. Some computer hard drive manufacturers may void your warranty if this routine is ran or in some situations this can cause damage to the hard drive. This routine is useful in clearing DDO and unknown partitions. If this routine completes successfully it will erase everything in Sector 2.

In the below debug routine, only type what is in bold from line 3 to 9, you will get a response if typed in properly. If you get a response continue to type the bold text as shown below in the below example.

A:\>debug

-FCS:200 400 0<enter>
-ACS:100<enter>
-xxxx:0100 mov ax,302<enter>
-xxxx:0103 mov bx,200<enter>
-xxxx:0106 mov cx,2<enter>
-xxxx:0109 mov dx, 80<enter>
-xxxx:010a int 13<enter>
-xxxx:010c int 20<enter>
-xxxx:0110 <enter>(without typing anything)
-g <enter>
Program terminated normally.
-q <enter>

This debug routine is used to erase all partition information on the hard disk drive and is only recommend for experienced users or users who are unable to delete the partition information through fdisk.

In the below debug routine, only type what is in bold from line 3 to 8, you will get a response if typed in properly. If you get a response continue to type the bold text as shown below in the below example.

A:\>debug <enter>
-F 200 L1000 0 <enter>
-A CS:100 <enter>
xxxx:0100 MOV AX,301 <enter>
xxxx:0103 MOV BX,200 <enter>
xxxx:0106 MOV CX,1 <enter>
xxxx:0109 MOV DX,80 <enter>

 (80 for hd 0 or 81 for hd 1 )

xxxx:010C INT 13 <enter>
xxxx:010E INT 20 <enter>
xxxx:0110 <enter>
-g <enter>
Program terminated normally
-q<enter>

Once this debug routine is complete, reboot computer and all partitions should be erased. Before anything can be installed back onto the computer you must run Fdisk and recreate the partition as well as format the hard disk drive. 

Additional information about fdisk can be found on our fdisk page.

Additional information about format can be found on our format page. 

Before doing the below routine ensure that you read our disclaimer as well as are sure that this is safe to do on your hard drive. Some computer hard drive manufacturers may void your warranty or this may cause damage to the hard drive when doing the below example. This routine is useful in clearing DDO and removing possible viruses. If this routine completes successfully it will erase everything from your Hard drive as well as your reset your CMOS values.

In the below debug routine, only type what is in bold from line 3 to 17, you will get a response if typed in properly. If you get a response continue to type the bold text as shown below in the below example.

A:\>debug <enter>
-fcs:200 400 0 <enter>
-acs:100 <enter>
-xxxx:0100 mov ax, 0 <enter>
-xxxx:0103 mov ax, cx <enter>
-xxxx:0105 out 70, al <enter>
-xxxx:0107 mov ax, 0 <enter>
-xxxx:010a out 71,al <enter>
-xxxx:010c inc cx <enter>
-xxxx:010d cmp cx,100 <enter>
-xxxx:0111 jb 103 <enter>
-xxxx:0113 mov ax,302 <enter>
-xxxx:0116 mov bx,200 <enter>
-xxxx:0119 mov cx,1 <enter>
-xxxx:011c mov dx,80 <enter>
-xxxx:011f int 13 <enter>
-xxxx:012l int 20 <enter>
-xxxx:0123 <enter> (without typing anything.)
-g <enter>
program terminated normally
If you are doing this debug routine to clear out a possible virus turn off your computer and wait and turn back on.
-q <enter>
Once back at DOS, reboot your computer

When your computer comes back on from doing the above you will get an error message as booting up the computer, such as "Invalid Configuration". You must enter CMOS and set the time and date, save, and reboot again. Once rebooted, you will then need to run fdisk and recreate the partitions. Once created, you will then need to format the hard drive and proceed as normal.

The below debug routine is used for older laptop batteries (e.g. batteries made from 1990-1992), we do not recommend using this routine on any newer laptop batteries or any NiMH batteries

N DPDISCHG.COM <Enter>
A <Enter>
MOV DX,01E8 <Enter>
MOV AL,F9 <Enter>
OUT DX,AL <Enter>
INT 20 <Enter>
<Enter>
RCX <Enter>
10 <Enter>
W <Enter>
Q <Enter>

This will write dpdischg.com to the current directory. To run this utility type dpdischg.

Implement this debug routine to reboot your computer.

DEBUG

E 40:72 34 12
RCS
FFFF
RIP
0000
G

To create a batch file that reboots your computer without having to type the above command each time, use the below example.

GOTO BEGIN

E 40:72 34 12
RCS
FFFF
RIP
0000
G

:BEGIN
DEBUG < REBOOT.BAT

This file allows your computer to sleep for a specified amount of time. This file is not dangerous in any way; if typed improperly, more than likely the file will just not work.

Type Debug

You should get a "-" begin typing the below information; after each line you may get a response, do not press enter and type the next line after the response.

N SLEEP.COM
A 100
MOV SI,0082
MOV AX,[SI]
XCHG AH,AL
XOR AX,3030
MOV BL,AL
MOV AL,0A
MUL AH
ADD AX,BX
MOV SI,AX
MOV AH,2C
INT 21
MOV BL,DH
MOV AX,SI
AAM
OR AX,3030
XCHG AH,AL
MOV [0160],AX
MOV AH,09
MOV DX,0160
INT 21
MOV AH,06
MOV DL,FF
INT 21
JZ 014C
OR AL,AL
JNZ 013F
MOV AH,08
INT 21
MOV AL,FF
MOV DX,016C
PUSH AX
MOV AH,09
INT 21
POP AX
MOV AH,4C
INT 21
MOV AH,2C
INT 21
CMP BL,DH
JZ 012D
MOV BL,DH
DEC SI
JNZ 011A
SUB AL,AL
MOV DX,016C
JMP 0142
DB "XX SECONDS", D, 24
DB " ", D, A, 24

RCX
79
W
Q

Tip: You may cut and paste the above test into a notepad document and save the file with a .scr extension. Once saved from DOS, type debug < name of scr which should create the file; should be created SLEEP.COM.

Note: This file is also available on our utility download page.

The below debug routine is to check the date of your BIOS. All BIOS dates on PC compatible computers is stored at memory address FFFF5h. To display the date of your BIOS do the following:

At the C:\> type debug

- d FFFF:5 L 8

After typing the above command you should receive a string similar to:

FFFF:0000       30 34 2F-33 30 2F 39 38        4/30/98

The 4/30/98 would be the date of your computer BIOS.

Additional information about the computer BIOS can be found on our BIOS page.

The below debug routine will list the type of video card within your computer. This is an excellent way of determining the chipset on the card or the card within your computer without opening the computer.

At the C:\> type debug

-d c000:0040

After typing the above command you should receive several lines of text similar to:

As you can pick out in the above dump, this gives you enough information to determine the make and the year made on the video card. On line 4 you can see the make of this video card, which in this case is a N VIDIA TNT which would be the Riva TNT chipset. The next line you notice the version of the card and finally the line thereafter is the copyright or the year manufactured, generally.

If you are unable to capture any information which sounds like the video card, you can also type

-d c000:0090

The above line will give you a dump similar to the above example; however, it may have additional information about the video card. Additional information about computer video cards can be found on our Video Card page.