It is very important for every computer user to have complete information about his system configuration.

Using software applications

A number of tools are available for this purpose. These tools are light in terms of file size and can be downloaded with ample ease. For instance one such tool is CPU-Z. This is a very light application and is available on a number of freeware websites. CPU-Z takes a maximum of five minutes to get installed on the system. After the installation process is complete, an icon appears on the desktop. When the user clicks this icon, a detailed picture of the system is displayed to the user. The main information displayed includes hard drive memory, RAM, processor speed, color resolutions and cache status. Hence by using this application, the user is alarmed about the status of the system before installing any new application. CPU-Z is not the only application available that provides details about the system configuration. Various other applications are available that carry out the same task. Most of these applications are free and the user does not have to pay anything to use them.

Checking the system properties

The basic information about the system can be attained by checking its properties. The user has to right click the “My Computer” icon and select the properties option. The General tab provides basic information about the system configuration like operating system version, processor speed and license details. However the hardware tab is much more extensive and important in terms of the peripherals attached to the system. The device manager button in the hardware tab provides all the details about the attached hardware appliances including printers, scanners, speakers, modem and monitor. Hence for instance, if the speaker is not working, the user can use the device manager and ensure that the driver is correctly installed.