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Using Advanced System Management Tools : Finding and Decoding Information in System Information

3/17/2011 4:47:01 PM
System Information displays a wealth of configuration information in a clear display, as shown in Figure 1. You can search for specific information, save information, view information about other computers, and even view a list of changes to your system.

To start System Information, type msinfo32 at a command prompt, or click Start and choose All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Information.

Figure 1. System Information is for viewing configuration information only; you can't use it to actually configure settings.


You navigate through System Information much as you would through Windows Explorer or an MMC console: click a category in the left pane to view its contents in the right pane. To search for specific information, use the Find What box at the bottom of the System Information window. (If the Find bar is not visible, choose Edit, Hide Find.) The Find feature is basic but effective. Here are a couple of things you should know:

  • Whenever you type in the Find What box to start a new search, Find begins its search at the top of the search range (the entire namespace unless you select Search Selected Category Only)—not at the current highlight.

  • Selecting Search Category Names Only causes the Find feature to look only in the left pane. When this check box is cleared, all text in both panes is searched.

1. Exporting System Information

Using System Information, you can preserve your configuration information—which is always helpful when reconstructing a system—in several ways:

  • Save the information as an .nfo file. You can subsequently open the file (on the same computer or on a different computer with System Information) to view your saved information. To save information in this format, choose File, Save. Saving this way always saves the entire collection of information.

  • Save all or part of the information as a plain text file. To save information as a text file, select the category of interest and choose File, Export. To save all the information as a text file, select System Summary before you save.

  • You can print all or part of the information. Select the category of interest; choose File, Print; and be sure that Selection is selected under Page Range. To print every thing, select All under Page Range—and be sure to have lots of paper on hand. Depending on your system configuration and the number of installed applications, your report could top 100 pages.

Regardless of how you save your information, System Information refreshes (updates) the information immediately before processing the command.

Inside Out: Save your system information periodically

Saving system configuration information when your computer is working properly can turn out to be very useful when you have problems. Comparing your computer's current configuration with a known, good baseline configuration can help you spot possible problem areas. You can open multiple instances of System Information so that you can have the current configuration displayed in one window and a baseline configuration displayed in another.



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