View Your PC’s Basic, Advanced, and Technical Information

There are lots of ways to find out what you PC includes, and one of them is to take a look around. You’ll be able to see components like a rewriteable DVD burner, a TV tuner, and a mouse and keyboard, but what about what’s on the inside? Sometimes you’ll want a more in-depth look at what’s included with your PC, like how much hard drive space you have, how much RAM you have, and more.

To view basic information about your computer, such as how much RAM you have, what processor (CPU) is installed, and what edition of Vista you’re running:

1. Click Start, and click Control Panel.
2. Select System and Maintenance.
3. Select System.

Here you’ll see the Windows Experience Index score which is based on your CPU, RAM, graphics, gaming graphics, and your primary hard disk hardware and features. You can also get basic information from the Welcome Center. Click Start>All Programs>Accessories, and look for Welcome Center. In the Welcome Center, select View Computer Details.

You can view advanced information about your PC with Device Manager. To open Device Manager:

1. Click Start, and click Control Panel.
2. Select System and Maintenance.
3. Select System.
4. In the Tasks pane, select Device Manager.
5. In Device Manager, click View and click Devices by Type.
6. Expand any item in the list to see the installed components. Double-click any component to get more information about it.

There are lots of options for viewing advanced information. I prefer using System Information.

To open System Information:

1. Click Start, and in the Start Search window type System Information.
2. In the results under Programs, select System Information.
3. Expand Components, and select or expand subcomponents.
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   Here you can see the size and space of all your drives.

You may need to access this information when troubleshooting hardware resources, components, or your software environment. Generally, the only time you’ll be doing that is when/if you’re ever on the phone with a company’s technical support line.