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Can I tell the difference between windows desktop and server in C# [duplicate]

I am looking for an elegant way to get the OS version like: "Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1" or "Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition" etc.
Is there an elegant way of doing that?
I am also interested in the processor architecture (like x86 or x64).

You can use WMI to get the product name ("Microsoft® Windows Server® 2008 Enterprise "):
using System.Management;
var name = (from x in new ManagementObjectSearcher("SELECT Caption FROM Win32_OperatingSystem").Get().Cast<ManagementObject>()
select x.GetPropertyValue("Caption")).FirstOrDefault();
return name != null ? name.ToString() : "Unknown";

You should really try to avoid WMI for local use. It is very convenient but you pay dearly for it in terms of performance. This is quick and simple:
public string HKLM_GetString(string path, string key)
{
try
{
RegistryKey rk = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(path);
if (rk == null) return "";
return (string)rk.GetValue(key);
}
catch { return ""; }
}
public string FriendlyName()
{
string ProductName = HKLM_GetString(#"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion", "ProductName");
string CSDVersion = HKLM_GetString(#"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion", "CSDVersion");
if (ProductName != "")
{
return (ProductName.StartsWith("Microsoft") ? "" : "Microsoft ") + ProductName +
(CSDVersion != "" ? " " + CSDVersion : "");
}
return "";
}

Why not use Environment.OSVersion? It will also tell you what operating this is - Windows, Mac OS X, Unix, etc. To find out if you are running in 64bit or 32bit, use IntPtr.Size - this will return 4 bytes for 32bit and 8 bytes for 64bit.

Try:
new ComputerInfo().OSVersion;
Output:
Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise
Note:
Add reference to Microsoft.VisualBasic.Devices;

For me below line works which gives me output like:
Microsoft Windows 10.0.18362
System.Runtime.InteropServices.RuntimeInformation.OSDescription
It can be used to get information like architecture as well
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.runtime.interopservices.runtimeinformation?view=netframework-4.8
Properties
FrameworkDescription: Returns a string that indicates the name of the .NET installation on which an app is running.
OSArchitecture: Gets the platform architecture on which the current app is running.
OSDescription: Gets a string that describes the operating system on which the app is running.
ProcessArchitecture: Gets the process architecture of the currently running app.

Little late, but this is how I did it. Might help someone in the future.
using Microsoft.Win32;
RegistryKey registryKey = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey("Software\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\CurrentVersion");
string pathName = (string)registryKey.GetValue("productName");

Sample output:
Name = Windows Vista
Edition = Home Premium
Service Pack = Service Pack 1
Version = 6.0.6001.65536
Bits = 64
Sample class:
class Program
{
static void Main( string[] args )
{
Console.WriteLine( "Operation System Information" );
Console.WriteLine( "----------------------------" );
Console.WriteLine( "Name = {0}", OSInfo.Name );
Console.WriteLine( "Edition = {0}", OSInfo.Edition );
Console.WriteLine( "Service Pack = {0}", OSInfo.ServicePack );
Console.WriteLine( "Version = {0}", OSInfo.VersionString );
Console.WriteLine( "Bits = {0}", OSInfo.Bits );
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
Source code for OSInfo class: http://www.csharp411.com/determine-windows-version-and-edition-with-c/ However there is an error in the code, you will need to replace the "case 6" statement (it's just before #endregion NAME) with this:
case 6:
switch (minorVersion)
{
case 0:
switch (productType)
{
case 1:
name = "Windows Vista";
break;
case 3:
name = "Windows Server 2008";
break;
}
break;
case 1:
switch (productType)
{
case 1:
name = "Windows 7";
break;
case 3:
name = "Windows Server 2008 R2";
break;
}
break;
}
break;
And if you want to go a step further and see if your program is running in 64 or 32 bit:
public static class Wow
{
public static bool Is64BitProcess
{
get { return IntPtr.Size == 8; }
}
public static bool Is64BitOperatingSystem
{
get
{
// Clearly if this is a 64-bit process we must be on a 64-bit OS.
if (Is64BitProcess)
return true;
// Ok, so we are a 32-bit process, but is the OS 64-bit?
// If we are running under Wow64 than the OS is 64-bit.
bool isWow64;
return ModuleContainsFunction("kernel32.dll", "IsWow64Process") && IsWow64Process(GetCurrentProcess(), out isWow64) && isWow64;
}
}
static bool ModuleContainsFunction(string moduleName, string methodName)
{
IntPtr hModule = GetModuleHandle(moduleName);
if (hModule != IntPtr.Zero)
return GetProcAddress(hModule, methodName) != IntPtr.Zero;
return false;
}
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
extern static bool IsWow64Process(IntPtr hProcess, [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)] out bool isWow64);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
extern static IntPtr GetCurrentProcess();
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
extern static IntPtr GetModuleHandle(string moduleName);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Ansi, SetLastError = true)]
extern static IntPtr GetProcAddress(IntPtr hModule, string methodName);
}

One thing to be careful of is this information is usually localized and will report differently depending on the language of the OS.
You can get a lot of info from WMI look for the Win32_OperatingSystem class

Note that the processor architecture question is complex:
do you mean (higher numers require lower numbers to be true):
The CPU is capable for handling 64bit (in the sense that it supports AMD/intel x64 or Itanium)
The Operating system is 64bit
GPR and pointers are 64bits, i.e. XP 64, Vista 64, a 64 bit server release or a 64bit OS for mono
The currently executing process is a 64 bit process (not executing under Wow64 for example)
if you are happy that all 3 must be true then
IntPtr.Size == 8
Indicates that all three are true

You can use Visual Basic Devices to get version information.
Code:
using Microsoft.VisualBasic.Devices;
var versionID = new ComputerInfo().OSVersion;//6.1.7601.65536
var versionName = new ComputerInfo().OSFullName;//Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate
var verionPlatform = new ComputerInfo().OSPlatform;//WinNT
Console.WriteLine(versionID);
Console.WriteLine(versionName);
Console.WriteLine(verionPlatform);
Output:
6.1.7601.65536
Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise
WinNT
Note:
You will need to add a reference to Microsoft.VisualBasic;

I know it is no direct answer to the question and it's also a little bit late, but for those who are only looking for a way to determine whether the OS is a Client OS or a server there is a way to use the following: (you need to include the System.Management reference)
using System;
using System.Management;
ManagementClass osClass = new ManagementClass("Win32_OperatingSystem");
foreach (ManagementObject queryObj in osClass.GetInstances())
{
foreach (PropertyData prop in queryObj.Properties)
{
if (prop.Name == "ProductType")
{
ProdType = int.Parse(prop.Value.ToString());
}
}
}
while the variable ProdType is an integer that was initialized before. It will contain a value between 1 and 3 while 1 stands for Workstation, 2 for Domain Controller and 3 for a server.
This was taken from Accessing the properties of Win32_OperatingSystem and changed a little bit...

Disclosure: After posting this, I realized that I am depending on a Nuget extension method library called Z.ExntensionMethods which contains IndexOf()
using Microsoft.VisualBasic.Devices;
string SimpleOSName()
{
var name = new ComputerInfo().OSFullName;
var parts = name.Split(' ').ToArray();
var take = name.Contains("Server")?3:2;
return string.Join(" ", parts.Skip(parts.IndexOf("Windows")).Take(take));
}
Faster performance using System.Management;
string SimpleOSName()
{
var name = new ManagementObjectSearcher("SELECT Caption FROM Win32_OperatingSystem")
.Get().Cast<ManagementObject>()
.Select(x => x.GetPropertyValue("Caption").ToString())
.First();
var parts = name.Split(' ').ToArray();
var take = name.Contains("Server")?3:2;
return string.Join(" ", parts.Skip(parts.IndexOf("Windows")).Take(take));
}
output example:
Windows 7
Windows Server 2008

print device configuration page programmatically under windows

I'm trying to get the total pages count from all the printers connected to a computer. To do that i try in different ways but nothing give me the expected result:
SNMP: Very useful but impossible use it on a local printer.
Win32_printer: No way to get the total page count of a network printer and more of the local printers not store the page count on it.
printui.dll: total page count not supported.
Now i'm trying a different approach: there is a way to programmatically print the device configuration page (Example: THAT) to a file? you can print it whitout connect the printer to a PC's so it shoud be stored somewhere in some digital format. the only thing i found on internet is the Bidi Communication but i can't found any documentation that can help me... I not need a particular programming language, but if possible i prefere c#,c++ or java.
#Soner Gönül: Ok, so i choose c# just because is the language that i use to write the snmp test, but examples in other languages are appreciated:
SNMP:
SNMP snmp = new SNMP();
// Aprire la connessione verso la stampante
try
{
snmp.Open(IPAddressOfPrinter, CommunityString, Retries, TimeoutInMS);
} catch {
MessageBox.Show("Unable to reach the printer");
}
//Sides Counter
lblSides.Text = snmp.Get(".1.3.6.1.2.1.43.10.2.1.4.1.1").ToString();
rtbLog.Text += "Printer Counter: " + lblSides.Text;
rtbLog.Text += " Sides.\n";
That code give me the number of sides printed by the printer, that is ok, but need that the printer is a network printer, on a USB printer i can't use SNMP.
Win32_Printer:
ConnectionOptions options = new ConnectionOptions();
ManagementScope scope = new ManagementScope(#"\\" + System.Environment.MachineName.ToString() + #"\root\cimv2"); //yeah... i know #"root\cimv2" is enought, i notice only now...
scope.Connect();
ObjectQuery PRNquery = new ObjectQuery("SELECT * FROM Win32_Printer");
ManagementObjectSearcher PRNsearcher = new ManagementObjectSearcher(scope, PRNquery);
ManagementObjectCollection PRNqueryCollection = PRNsearcher.Get();
foreach (ManagementObject m in PRNqueryCollection)
{
MessageBox.Show(m["JobCountSinceLastReset"].Tostring());
//But the result is Zero or random error the 90% of the times.
}
priuntui.dll:
If i launch
rundll32 printui.dll PrintUIEntry /something
or try to export the report with:
public static class PrintTest
{
[DllImport("printui.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)]
private static extern void PrintUIEntryW(IntPtr hwnd,
IntPtr hinst, string lpszCmdLine, int nCmdShow);
public static void Print(string printerName)
{
var printParams = string.Format(#"/f C:\test.dat /Xg /n{0}", printerName);
PrintUIEntryW(IntPtr.Zero, IntPtr.Zero, printParams, 0);
}
}
i not found a page count report, but only generic information.

Check printer if connected to pc or not

I need to write some code that would prompt a message "printer is connected" when the printer is plugged into the computer and also prompt a message "printer not connected" when I plug out the printer from computer. I also want to list the printers available through a combobox. How can I do this in C# using Visual Studio?

You should use Winspool.lib
C# Signature :
[DllImport("winspool.Drv", EntryPoint = "OpenPrinterA", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Ansi, ExactSpelling = true, CallingConvention = CallingConvention.StdCall)]
public static extern bool OpenPrinter([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPStr)] string szPrinter, out IntPtr hPrinter, IntPtr pd);
EDIT:
You can also use this
foreach (string printer in System.Drawing.Printing.PrinterSettings.InstalledPrinters)
{
//Add in combo box
}

to immediately get the pop-up that new Printer Found/Disconnected... you must have to run some code in background continuously Windows Service is the best for that.. and using the below code you can get the installed printer so first store the currently installed printer in list and after each 10(or any you want) second get the installed printer again if difference found propmt the message accordingly..
this is the snippet to get the installed printer..
private string[] GetAvailablePrinters()
{
var installedPrinters = new string[PrinterSettings.InstalledPrinters.Count];
PrinterSettings.InstalledPrinters.CopyTo(installedPrinters, 0);
var printers = new List<string>();
var printServers = new List<string>();
var searcher = new ManagementObjectSearcher("SELECT * FROM Win32_Printer");
foreach (var printer in searcher.Get())
{
var serverName = #"\\" + printer["SystemName"].ToString().TrimStart('\\');
if (!printServers.Contains(serverName))
printServers.Add(serverName);
}
foreach (var printServer in printServers)
{
var server = new PrintServer(printServer);
try
{
var queues = server.GetPrintQueues();
printers.AddRange(queues.Select(q => q.Name));
}
catch (Exception)
{
// Handle exception correctly
}
}
return printers.ToArray();
}
You might need to add the System.Management, System.Drawing, System.Printing references in you project..

DirectShow Audio Device has no pins

I want to mux webcam capture with audio capture in an avi mux and write that file to disk.
This works in graphedit.
I try to recreate this in c# with directshowlib. This works so far but the only without the microphone capture. My microphone filter is created but has no pins. I tried this on two different laptops. My code for the microphone filter:
Guid microphonFilter = new Guid("{E30629D2-27E5-11CE-875D-00608CB78066}");
IBaseFilter pMikrofonRealtekHighDefinitionAudio = (IBaseFilter)Activator.CreateInstance(Type.GetTypeFromCLSID(microphonFilter));
hr = pGraph.AddFilter(pMikrofonRealtekHighDefinitionAudio, "Mikrofon (Realtek High Definition Audio) ");
I also tried:
IBaseFilter microphonFilter = (IBaseFilter) new AudioRecord();
My code for finding pins:
static IPin GetPin(IBaseFilter filter, string pinname)
{
IEnumPins epins;
int hr = filter.EnumPins(out epins);
checkHR(hr, "Can't enumerate pins");
IntPtr fetched = Marshal.AllocCoTaskMem(4);
IPin[] pins = new IPin[1];
while (epins.Next(1, pins, fetched) == 0)
{
PinInfo pinfo;
pins[0].QueryPinInfo(out pinfo);
bool found = (pinfo.name == pinname);
DsUtils.FreePinInfo(pinfo);
if (found)
return pins[0];
}
checkHR(-1, "Pin not found");
return null;
}

Audio (and video) capture devices like this cannot be instantiated using CoCreateInstance (using CLSID - Activator.CreateInstance in C#). You have to create them using monikers, typically through enumeration, as described on MSDN (with source code snippet): Selecting a Capture Device.
Below is code snippet from DirectShow.NET samples for video capture, you need similar for audio device category.
// This version of FindCaptureDevice is provide for education only.
// A second version using the DsDevice helper class is define later.
public IBaseFilter FindCaptureDevice()
{
// ...
// Create the system device enumerator
ICreateDevEnum devEnum = (ICreateDevEnum) new CreateDevEnum();
// Create an enumerator for the video capture devices
hr = devEnum.CreateClassEnumerator(FilterCategory.VideoInputDevice, out classEnum, 0);
DsError.ThrowExceptionForHR(hr);
// The device enumerator is no more needed
Marshal.ReleaseComObject(devEnum);
// If there are no enumerators for the requested type, then
// CreateClassEnumerator will succeed, but classEnum will be NULL.
if (classEnum == null)
{
throw new ApplicationException("No video capture device was detected.\r\n\r\n" +
"This sample requires a video capture device, such as a USB WebCam,\r\n" +
"to be installed and working properly. The sample will now close.");
}

get mac address from default gateway?

Is there a way to resolve the mac address off the default gateway using c#?
update im working with
var x = System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces()[0].GetIPProperties().GatewayAddresses;
but I feel like I'm missing something.

Something like this should work for you, although you probably want to add more error checking:
[DllImport("iphlpapi.dll", ExactSpelling = true)]
public static extern int SendARP(uint destIP, uint srcIP, byte[] macAddress, ref uint macAddressLength);
public static byte[] GetMacAddress(IPAddress address)
{
byte[] mac = new byte[6];
uint len = (uint)mac.Length;
byte[] addressBytes = address.GetAddressBytes();
uint dest = ((uint)addressBytes[3] << 24)
+ ((uint)addressBytes[2] << 16)
+ ((uint)addressBytes[1] << 8)
+ ((uint)addressBytes[0]);
if (SendARP(dest, 0, mac, ref len) != 0)
{
throw new Exception("The ARP request failed.");
}
return mac;
}

What you really want is to perform an Adress Resolution Protocol (ARP) request.
There are good and not soo good ways to do this.
Use an existing method in the .NET framework (though I doubt it exists)
Write your own ARP request method (probably more work than you're looking for)
Use a managed library (if exists)
Use an unmanaged library (such as iphlpapi.dll as suggested by Kevin)
If you know you only need remote to get the MAC adress of a remote Windows computer within your network you may use Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)
WMI example:
using System;
using System.Management;
namespace WMIGetMacAdr
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
ManagementScope scope = new ManagementScope(#"\\localhost"); // TODO: remote computer (Windows WMI enabled computers only!)
//scope.Options = new ConnectionOptions() { Username = ... // use this to log on to another windows computer using a different l/p
scope.Connect();
ObjectQuery query = new ObjectQuery("SELECT * FROM Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration");
ManagementObjectSearcher searcher = new ManagementObjectSearcher(scope, query);
foreach (ManagementObject obj in searcher.Get())
{
string macadr = obj["MACAddress"] as string;
string[] ips = obj["IPAddress"] as string[];
if (ips != null)
{
foreach (var ip in ips)
{
Console.WriteLine("IP address {0} has MAC address {1}", ip, macadr );
}
}
}
}
}
}

You'll probably need to use P/Invoke and some native Win API functions.
Have a look at this tutorial.