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Full Workstation Checkup Guide

A reference for the DeskTest.net Full Workstation Checkup. One click runs six quick checks in your browser and rolls them into a single dashboard with an overall readiness score you can hand to IT. This guide explains what each check looks at, how the score is built, and how to read and share the result.

Open the checkup ->

What the checkup does

The Full Workstation Checkup runs six quick checks inside this browser tab - browser, system, performance, network, web apps, and clock - and gathers the results into one dashboard with a single overall readiness score shown in a ring. It is a fast, plain-language "is this workstation ready to work?" snapshot for a non-technical user to run in a few seconds, not a deep diagnostic. Each check gets its own tile you can expand for detail, and the whole run can be copied or emailed to your IT team.

The six checks

Every run performs the same six checks, in order. Each is graded Good (green), Attention (amber, needs a look) or Problem (red, likely to cause real issues). Four of the six run entirely on your machine and send nothing.

What touches the network: only the Network and Clock checks leave the browser. Each makes a small request to edge.desktest.net - DeskTest.net's own server - to confirm you can reach the internet and to check your clock against a trusted timestamp. Browser, System, Performance, and Web apps are fully local and contact nothing.

1. Browser (local)

Identifies your browser and version, confirms the page is loaded over a secure HTTPS connection, and checks that the modern web features vendor apps depend on (fetch, Promises, WebSocket, and structured cloning or mutation observers) are present. A Good result means a current, secure browser with all four feature groups. It flags Attention if one feature is missing or the page was not opened over HTTPS, and reports a Problem when two or more features are missing - a sign the browser is too old for modern apps and should be updated.

2. System (local)

Reads the two hardware hints the browser is willing to share: the number of processor threads and an approximate, privacy-rounded memory figure (memory is Chromium browsers only). Ample threads and memory earn Good. A low core count, or roughly 2 GB or less of reported memory, earns Attention - the machine is on the low end for demanding web apps but still usable. These are only the values the browser exposes, rounded for privacy, not a full hardware inventory.

3. Performance (local)

Runs a fixed, repeatable compute workload (several million math operations) and times how long it takes, then turns that into a rough throughput figure. Fast or typical timing is Good; a slow result is Attention; a very slow result is a Problem. This is a browser-level indicator, not a full benchmark - a virtual machine, a remote session (Citrix or RDS), or a machine that is already busy will score lower, which is expected.

4. Network (reaches edge.desktest.net)

First reads whether the browser thinks it is online. If it is, the check makes one small request to edge.desktest.net and measures the round-trip time, then reports whether you reached the internet, how long the round trip took, and whether your connection is IPv4 or IPv6 (and which Cloudflare edge answered). Reaching the internet quickly is Good; a round trip over roughly 400 ms is Attention (online but slow); no reply at all is a Problem, usually a firewall, proxy, web filter, or browser content blocker in the way. Latency is measured here, inside the Network check - there is no separate latency check.

5. Web apps (local)

Confirms the browser storage that vendor web apps need to sign you in and keep you signed in: cookies, local and session storage (verified with a real write-and-read), clipboard copy support, and how third-party cookies are handled. If cookies or storage are blocked - common in private/incognito mode or under strict tracking protection - the check reports a Problem, because apps cannot keep you logged in. Blocked desktop notifications earn Attention. Everything available earns Good. (Partitioned third-party cookies are the modern browser default and are not a problem.)

6. Clock (reaches edge.desktest.net)

Compares your system clock against a trusted timestamp from edge.desktest.net and estimates how far off it is, allowing for the round-trip delay. Within about 45 seconds is Good. An offset of 45 seconds or more is Attention. Five minutes or more is a Problem: a badly wrong clock breaks HTTPS, logins, and 2FA. If the time server cannot be reached, this shows Attention and usually rides along with a network problem above. The fix is almost always to turn on automatic time sync.

How the health score works

Each check is scored Good, Attention (needs attention), or Problem, and each carries a weight so the checks that matter most to real work count for more - Network weighs the most, then Browser, while System and Performance weigh the least. A Good result counts in full, an Attention counts a little over half, and a Problem counts zero. The weighted results are combined into a single percentage: the number in the ring at the top of the dashboard, labeled Health.

Treat the ring as a quick readiness indicator, not a precise benchmark. A high score reads as healthy, the middle range means a few things need attention, and a low score - or any hard Problem - means something is likely to cause real issues. The point is to tell you at a glance whether this workstation is ready to work, and to point you at the specific tile to open when it is not.

Reading the result and handing it to IT

Every check appears as a tile you can expand for the specifics - the exact values it read and, when something needs attention, a plain-language "What to do." Below the dashboard are three buttons:

A View report toggle shows the exact text the two buttons use, so you can read it before sending. The report includes your browser's user agent and the page origin, but no files, credentials, or business data.

White-label for IT teams

Two optional URL parameters let an IT team hand staff a branded, pre-addressed version of the checkup - no build step, just a link:

Combine both in one link. For example:

https://desktest.net/checkup/?org=Acme%20Property&[email protected]

opens the checkup branded for Acme Property, with "Send to your IT" pre-addressed to the help desk. The organization name is length-capped and only ever displayed; the parameters are read from the URL and never leave the browser except in the email the user chooses to send.

When to run it

Run the checkup as first-line triage, before opening any of the individual tools. When someone reports that "the computer is acting up" or a web app will not load, one click here tells you which area to look at - browser, hardware, network, storage, or the clock - and produces a report to attach to the ticket. If a tile comes back with a Problem, open the matching single-purpose tool below for the deep dive.

The checkup is a fast summary of six tools that each go much deeper. Open the one a tile points you to:

See also About DeskTest.net and the DeskTest.net home.