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:
   • Conflicts/Sharing
   • DMA
   • Forced Hardware
   • I/O
   • IRQs
   • Memory

Activity 2 - Display Components

1. Expand Components.
2. Select or expand the following subcategories and observe the results:
   • Multimedia
     • Audio Codecs
     • Video Codecs
   • CD-ROM
   • Sound Device
   • Display
   • Infrared
   • Input
     • Keyboard
     • Pointing Device
   • Modem
   • Network
     • Adapter
     • Protocol
     • Winsock
   • Ports
     • Serial
     • Parallel
   • Storage
     • Drives
     • Disks
     • SCSI
     • IDE
   • Printing
   • Problem Devices
   • USB

Activity 3 - Software Environment

1. Expand Software Environment.
2. Select the following subcategories and observe the results:
   • System Drivers
   • Environment Variables
   • Print Jobs
   • Network Connections
   • Running Tasks
   • Loaded Modules
   • Services
   • Program Groups
   • Startup Programs
   • OLE Registration
   • 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.

References

• Microsoft TechNet: Msinfo32