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Windows 7

Using Windows 7 Tools to Discover System Information

6/23/2011 11:46:40 AM
Windows 7 contains many other tools to discover system information about your computer. Some of the tools you should be familiar with include the following:
  • System Information

  • Task Manager

  • Performance Information and Tools

1. System Information

You can use the System Information utility, shown in Figure 1, to show details about your hardware, software, and resources. Type msinfo32 in the Windows 7 search box to launch this utility.

Figure 1. System Information dialog box

A great deal of information is available about how to use this application. Click the fields in the left pane, and details will be displayed in the right pane. You can also search for a term by typing it in the Find What field at the bottom of the page. This utility has been available in many releases of the Windows product.

2. Task Manager

The Task Manager utility shows the applications and processes that are currently running on your computer, as well as CPU and memory usage information. To access Task Manager, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and click Start Task Manager, Alternatively, right-click an empty area in the Taskbar and select Task Manager from the context menu, or type task manager into the Windows 7 search box. The Task Manager dialog box has the following six main tabs that I discuss in the sections that follow;

  • Applications

  • Processes

  • Services

  • Performance Networking

  • Users

2.1. Managing Application Tasks in Task Manager

The Applications tab of the Task Manager dialog box, shown in Figure 2, lists all of the applications that are currently running on the computer. For each task, you will see the name of the task and the current status (running, not responding, or stopped).

Figure 2. Applications tab in Task Manager

To close an application, select it in the Task Manager window and click the End Task button at the bottom of the dialog box. To make the application window active, select it and click the Switch To button. If you want to start an application that isn't running, click the New Task button and specify the location and name of the program you wish to start.

2.2. Managing Process Tasks in Task Manager

The Processes tab of the Task Manager dialog box, shown in Figure 3, lists all the processes that are currently running on the computer. This is a convenient way to get a quick look at how your system is performing. For each process, you will see the Image Name (the name of the process), the User Name (the user account that is running the process), CPU (the amount of CPU utilization for the process), Memory—Private Working Set (the amount of memory that is being used by the process), and Description (a description of the process).

Figure 3. Processes tab in Task Manager

From the Processes tab, you can organize the listing and control processes as follows:

  • To organize the processes, click the column headings. For example, if you click the CPU column, the listing will start with the processes that use the most CPU resources. If you click the CPU column a second time, the listing will be reversed so the processes that use the least CPU resources are listed first.

  • To manage a process, right-click it and choose an option from the context menu. You can choose to end the process, end the process tree, debug the process, specify virtualization, create a dump file, or set the priority of the process (to Realtime, High, Above Normal, Normal, Below Normal, or Low), If your computer has multiple processors installed, you can also set processor affinity (the process of associating a specific process with a specific processor) for a process.

  • To customize the counters that are listed, choose View => Select Columns. This brings up the Select Columns dialog box, where you can select various information you want to see listed on the Processes tab.

Within the Processes tab in Task Manager, you can also stop a process and manage process priority.

Stopping Processes You might need to stop a process that isn't executing properly. To stop a specific process, select the process you want to stop in the Task Manager's Processes tab and click the End Process button. Task Manager displays a Warning dialog box. Click the End Process button to terminate the process. If you right-click a process, you can end the specific process or you can use the option End Process Tree. The End Process Tree option ends all processes that have been created either directly or indirectly by the process.

Managing Process Priority You can manage process priority through Task Manager. To change the priority of a process that is already running, use the Processes tab of Task Manager. Right-click the process you want to manage and select Set Priority from the context menu. You can select from Realtime, High, Above Normal, Normal, Below Normal, and Low priorities. As you might expect, applications launch at Normal priority by default.


2.3. Managing Services in Task Manager

The Services tab of the Task Manager dialog box, shown in Figure 4, lists all the services that can run on the computer. For each service, you will see the Name (the name of the service), PID (the associated process identifier), Description (a description of the service), Status (whether a process is Running or Stopped), and Group (the service group).

Figure 4. Services tab of Task Manager

To start a stopped service, click the service and select Start Service. To stop a running service, click the service and select Stop Service. You can also open the Services tool by clicking the Services button. The Services tool enables you to specify whether a process starts automatically, automatically with a delayed start, manually, or is disabled.

2.4. Managing Performance Tasks in Task Manager

The Performance tab of the Task Manager dialog box, shown in Figure 5, provides an overview of your computer's CPU and memory usage. The Performance tab is similar to the information tracked by Performance Monitor.

Figure 5. Performance tab of Task Manager

The Performance tab shows the following information:

  • CPU usage, in real time and in a history graph

  • Memory usage, in real time and in a history graph

  • Physical memory statistics

  • Kernel memory statistics

  • System totals for handles, threads, processes, uptime, and the page file

Click the Resource Monitor button to launch Resource Monitor, which you can also find in Performance Monitor.

2.5. Managing Networking Tasks in Task Manager

The Networking tab of the Task Manager dialog box, shown in Figure 6, provides an overview of your networking usage. Statistics for each adapter are displayed at the bottom of the dialog box.

Figure 6. Networking tab of Task Manager

2.6. Managing Users in Task Manager

The Users tab of the Task Manager dialog box, shown in Figure 7, shows the active and disconnected users on your computer. For each user, you will see the User (the name of the user), ID (the current user ID), Status (whether Active or Disconnected), Client Name, and Session (whether the user is connected via the console session or by another method, such as Remote Desktop).

Figure 7. Users tab of Task Manager

To send a message to a user, select the user and click the Send Message button. To connect to a user session, right-click the user and select Connect. To disconnect a user session, select the user and click the Disconnect button. To log off a user, select the user and click the Logoff button.

In addition to msinfo32 and Task Manager (taskman.exe), Windows 7 has another tool to show you how well your machine is currently working: Performance Information and Tools.

3. Performance Information and Tools

If you enjoy seeing how well your computer performs by running benchmarking applications that provide a score rating, then you will love Performance Information and Tools, shown in Figure 8. This utility provides a numerical score that lets you know how well your system performs. To launch Performance Information and Tools, click Start => Control Panel => System And Maintenance => Performance Information And Tools, or simply type Performance Information in the Windows 7 search box.

Figure 8. Performance Information And Tools window

The main pane reveals a calculated score, called the Windows Experience Index. The Windows Experience Index base score is calculated by taking the lowest subscore among five rated components:

  • Processor, based on calculations per second

  • Memory (RAM), based on memory operations per second

  • Graphics, based on Windows Aero performance

  • Gaming Graphics, based on 3D graphics performance

  • Primary Hard Disk, based on disk transfer rate

A computer with a base score of 1 or 2 will be able to perform only the most basic tasks. A base score of 3 indicates that a computer can run Windows Aero and all but the most advanced Windows 7 features. A base score of 4 or 5 should be able to run all Windows 7 features, as well as play graphically intensive 3D games.

Each component subscore determines how well each individual component performs. Because the base score is equal to the lowest component subscore, the Windows Experience Index base score should give you an overview of how well your computer should run applications. This enables application developers to give their applications a numerical rating so consumers can easily figure out whether the application will run well on their computer.

If an application requires a higher base score than your computer has, it might be time to upgrade your hardware. After you install new hardware, you can select Update My Score to have Windows 7 recalculate your Windows Experience Index base score.

The left pane of Performance Information and Tools contains useful links to help you improve the performance of your computer. Click Adjust Visual Effects to bring up the Visual Effects tab of the Performance Options dialog box, which you can use for configuring how Windows will graphically display windows, menu items, and icons. Click Adjust Indexing Options to launch Indexing Options, which can improve the speed of searching files on your computer. Click Adjust Indexing Options to launch the Indexing Options dialog box, where you can choose which resources on your Windows 7 machine are included in indexing.

Click Adjust Power Settings to launch Power Options, which you can use to adjust your power plan. Click Open Disk Cleanup to launch Disk Cleanup Options so you can clean up unnecessary files on your hard disk. Finally, click Advanced Tools to launch a list of tools that you can use to further improve your computer's performance, including the following tools:

  • Clear all Windows Experience Index Scores and re-rate the system

  • View Performance Details in Event Log

  • Open Performance Monitor

  • Open Resource Monitor

  • Open Task Manager

  • View Advanced System Details in System Information

  • Adjust the Appearance and Performance of Windows

  • Open Disk Defragmenter

  • Generate a System Health Report

The Performance Information And Tools menu is a great display of your system and a launching point for many tools within Windows 7. Another useful tool that has been around in many versions of Windows and is still available in Windows 7 is the System Configuration utility, or msconfig.
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