Msinfo32/System details

Msinfo32, also known as System Information, is a Windows system profiler. These activities will show you how to use msinfo32 to display hardware resources.

Preparation
To prepare for this activity:
 * 1) Start Windows.
 * 2) Log in if necessary.

Activity 1 - Display Hardware Resources

 * 1) Open  msinfo32 to display system information.
 * 2) Expand Hardware Resources.
 * 3) Select the following subcategories and observe the results:
 * 4) * Conflicts/Sharing
 * 5) * DMA
 * 6) * Forced Hardware
 * 7) * I/O
 * 8) * IRQs
 * 9) * Memory

Activity 2 - Display Components

 * 1) Expand Components.
 * 2) Select or expand the following subcategories and observe the results:
 * 3) * Multimedia
 * 4) ** Audio Codecs
 * 5) ** Video Codecs
 * 6) * CD-ROM
 * 7) * Sound Device
 * 8) * Display
 * 9) * Infrared
 * 10) * Input
 * 11) ** Keyboard
 * 12) ** Pointing Device
 * 13) * Modem
 * 14) * Network
 * 15) ** Adapter
 * 16) ** Protocol
 * 17) ** Winsock
 * 18) * Ports
 * 19) ** Serial
 * 20) ** Parallel
 * 21) * Storage
 * 22) ** Drives
 * 23) ** Disks
 * 24) ** SCSI
 * 25) ** IDE
 * 26) * Printing
 * 27) * Problem Devices
 * 28) * USB

Activity 3 - Software Environment

 * 1) Expand Software Environment.
 * 2) Select the following subcategories and observe the results:
 * 3) * System Drivers
 * 4) * Environment Variables
 * 5) * Print Jobs
 * 6) * Network Connections
 * 7) * Running Tasks
 * 8) * Loaded Modules
 * 9) * Services
 * 10) * Program Groups
 * 11) * Startup Programs
 * 12) * OLE Registration
 * 13) * Windows Error Reporting

Activity 4 - Export System Information

 * 1) Select System Information.
 * 2) On the File menu, select Export.  Save the file on the desktop and name it "System Settings".
 * 3) Close msinfo32.
 * 4) On the desktop, double-click on the System Settings file to open it in Notepad.
 * 5) Observe the extensive amount of information available.  Occasionally, when you contact Microsoft or another vendor for technical support, they may ask for a copy of the System Information export file.
 * 6) Close Notepad.
 * 7) Delete or move the System Settings file to the Recycle Bin to complete this activity.