Looking for a low-cost PC auditing tool

Is there a low-cost PC auditing tool that can run from a command line to send sysinfo-like system information to a central location by e-mail or by writing to a network share or SQL database?

Aida32 is a free system audit tool (www.aida32.hu) that provides GUI and command-line interfaces. It runs on everything from Windows 95 through Windows 2003 Server and can write reports to local disk, network share, e-mail or ADO database connections in text, CSV, HTML or XML formats. The program can fit on a diskette and be launched by a batch file containing the command-line switches needed to send the audit report home. It runs faster from CD or if packaged by an installer such as Inno Setup (www.jsrsoftware.org) for download to the hard drive from a Web page. To run a minimal version, rename the aida32.bin file to aida32.exe and copy it, along with the aida32.ini file and your batch file, to your distribution medium. For a basic hardware report in a text e-mail, your batch file should launch “aida32 /E /SUM /TEXT.” Replacing /SUM with /AUDIT yields a more extensive report (includes installed patches list). The aida32.ini file contains e-mail settings that can be configured by using the GUI.

Blass is a network architect at Change@Work in Houston. He can be reached at dr.internet@changeatwork.com.