Information about all computer hardware. How to see what components a computer consists of

Good day friends. Recently, one of my friends asked me a question: .

Of course, I explained everything to him. Without thinking twice, I decided to write a short article on how to do this using several programs and methods.

Also for video lovers, I shot and posted a small video lesson at the end of the article on how to find out the characteristics of a computer. In the last issue of the blog, we considered the problem.

View characteristics

Probably every person who has a computer should understand a little what he has to work on or just use as needed.

I will give examples that can be used in two operating systems, Windows XP and Windows 7.

We look at when you turn on the computer.

Of course, the very first and basic information of your computer can be viewed when it is loaded using DOS or in the BIOS.

Quick view of the information we are interested in

We turn on our computer, go to Menu >>> Start.

Right-click on My Computer.

In the window that appears, go to the very bottom and go to Properties.

You should exit System Properties, General tab (for windows XP). System and Security > System (for windows 7). Listed here short list characteristics of our computer.

Counters and performance tools.

Display and print detailed computer and system performance information.

Characteristics of performance tools.

Command line and dxdiag program

Go to Menu >>> Start >>> Run… or press the key combination Win + R.

The Run Program (Run) window should appear.

We enter the command and click OK.

The DirectX Diagnostic Tool appears.

Various tabs System, Display (Screen) and so on will be displayed at the top. We go into each in turn and find out the information we need.

Everest or Aida

The features shown with these programs are the most extensive and include almost everything about your computer.

For example, if you do not have any driver loaded, you can see what kind of device, what kind of driver you need, what manufacturer and where you can find and download all this. When I worked in the service center, I often used the Everest program for its intuitive interface and the ability to find desired characteristics computer in the shortest possible time.

Windows tools and msinfo32 command

Easy to enter, clear and accessible interface and button navigation. Press the keyboard shortcut again and enter the command .

Anyone, even an inexperienced computer user, can deal with the msinfo32 command.

Everything is very accessible and simple. If you do not know about Windows updates, then this information should come in handy.

How to find out the characteristics of a computer | site

A few words from the author

Today we have considered several different ways to find out the characteristics of a computer. Everyone will choose for themselves a more convenient and practical method of viewing. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them below in the comments to this article.

Thank you for reading me

There are development teams that dig a topic deep enough. However, they are not limited to just one platform or operating system. On the contrary, having conquered the next height, they strive higher. So the CPU-Z program considered today for analyzing the hardware components of the system is authoritative both on Windows platform, so recently it feels good and on mobile devices running Android.

CPU-Z Capabilities

It would seem that it is difficult to write a program that will show the insides of your computer or tablet? The most difficult thing is to make an application that will correctly process the data on all possible combinations of system components. In addition, the constant emergence of new processors, memory modules and other modules generates complexity. Therefore, in this class of programs, the indicators of quality and authority are the relevance of the database. known devices and components, as well as the ability to work on all computers or tablets.

CPU-Z for Windows

There is a lot of work on a computer for CPU-Z: processor, memory, video card, and so on. What useful can be learned from this purely technical information? With this program, you can easily figure out that the laptop you purchased has an overclocked processor. And this means that in six months, when the ventilation holes are clogged with dust, you will have problems with processor cooling. In addition, when diagnosing faults, you can find out the features of the operation of a particular component based on system data. And when updating hardware, it is important to make sure that the installed piece of hardware is really the one that is written on the box.

Also, CPU-Z will help to expose a not very honest seller, reporting all the information about the processor and memory size of the unit you are purchasing. Sometimes it's great to bring down the price or just avoid buying one hundred percent rubbish. At auctions for the sale of used laptops or computers, it is the CPU-Z information that is a kind of passport for the unit being sold.

Information on motherboard will allow you to find the manufacturer's website and check for the latest BIOS versions or drivers, which is very important for ensuring the stable operation of the computer as a whole.

In general, the CPU-Z program tells the whole truth about the insides of a computer without having to take it apart.

The Android version does everything the desktop version does. She also reports the most detailed information about the components of your phone or tablet. From the information given by the program about my phone, I saw, for example, that one core of my dual-core processor is cut off to save power. It's nice.

I also saw the real size random access memory, since the information for my phone model is different on different sites.

Many will find useful information about the battery of the device: its type, temperature and state of charge are indicated. If the last two parameters may not be very necessary, then knowing the type of battery is very important if you want to extend its life.

On the "Sensors" tab, I found out that my phone has a proximity sensor ("Proximity sensor"), which is not used by the system. However, you can download a program that allows you to use this sensor.

Publication of results

Both desktop and mobile version It is possible to publish your configuration on the Internet. This is necessary, for example, to communicate your configuration to people who want to help you on some forum or technical support service.

When posting, you must provide a username and, optionally, your email. If you specify an address, then mail will come link to publication.

Conclusion

CPU-Z has become a kind of standard that both ordinary users and reputable publications trust when conducting different reviews and device tests. Now it is also in Google Play! During testing, no inaccuracies were found in determining the configuration of the phone, tablet and computer. Moreover, the presence of a sensor on the phone, about which I myself did not know, was discovered. The only thing missing is a GPS and Wi-Fi test. Many competing test programs already do this.

Surely today, any more or less trained user can easily name the parameters of his computer or information about the system, including the installed “OS”, the type and frequency of the processor, the amount of RAM, disk, etc. But not many people know that this is just, so to speak, the surface part of the iceberg. And if you need to know the mode of operation of the DMA channel? What to do then? Now let's talk about how to find out all the parameters in detail.

General information about the system

Many users, of course, may be indignant, they say, why are the parameters called by right-clicking on the computer icon bad, where you can view basic information on your terminal or laptop?

The answer lies in the question itself. The information presented in this section is very superficial and does not give a complete picture of the configuration.

The same applies to the standard "Device Manager". Of course, in it you can see all the "iron" or virtual components available in the system, even if they are disabled in the BIOS or those in which there are malfunctions or conflicts. However, in some cases, in order to identify the causes of failures and eliminate emerging problems, you need to have more complete information about both the hardware and the software environment.

System Information: Windows OS program

In any operating system Windows families has its own of this type, regardless of the version of the system itself.

There are quite a few different options here. Of course, some of them are not needed by an ordinary user in everyday work, but for specialists who are engaged in repair or assembly computer terminals, such information can say a lot. In this case, you should pay attention that the built-in utility collects information about the system in an instant reacting to the slightest configuration change at all levels. And this largely makes the "native" Windows utility simply irreplaceable.

How to view system parameter data?

Now let's see how exactly you can view system information. There are at least three ways to do this in Windows.

The most common method is to use the Start menu and then select either Utilities or Administrative Tools, where the desired partition is located (the difference in location is due to different versions the operating system itself).

The second and third methods are also simple. But many users either forget about them or simply do not know about them. You can use the Run menu (Win + R), where the msinfo32 command is written. You can also go the other way by first calling the command line (Win + R + cmd) and then typing system info. In principle, how exactly this program will be called does not play a special role. Who is more comfortable.

Basic Menu Components

Now let's look at what interesting things can be found in the "System Information" section. Here are some of the main categories. Immediately pay attention to the line of general information. It contains not only information about the Windows system, but also many parameters associated with it. For example, version, assembly, disk location, bootloader, etc. Here you can also view the current versions of installed BIOS and SMBIOS, user and geolocation data, information on the “RAM” and virtual memory or even the status of the Hyper-V module, if there is one. Next comes the hardware resources section. Regular user hardly understand what kind of data it is. But the system administrator can easily view some important characteristics to eliminate this or that failure at the hardware level.

The components section is very interesting. It is somewhat reminiscent of the "Device Manager", but the data presented in it is more detailed. After all, here you can see not only the name of the component, but information about the driver files. In addition, for multimedia, all codecs and decoders installed in the system are listed, for network devices- their advanced options, for disk drives and controllers - their own information, etc. In general, you can learn a lot more from such information than from the one presented in the manager. Separately, you should pay attention to devices with conflicts (malfunctions). Windows OS itself cannot always provide such information even in the dispatcher, but here for each failed component it can be obtained as much as possible.

Finally, in the software environment section, you can find all the data of interest to the user about drivers, modules, installed and automatically loaded applications and services. And even error information. In outdated "OSes" you can find more sections of browser settings - everything related to the Internet or installed Office components. In general, as they say, there is enough information. But few people know that in the environment of this program, you can view the parameters of remote computer terminals or save information about the system in a single text file with the .nfo extension (the program can also work with the .cab or .xml formats).

Third-party utilities for viewing system information

Among third-party utilities, the most popular programs can be noted. This is, for example, PC Wizard from the CPUID developer, familiar to many from the CPU-Z utility, or small applications like SIW, System Spec, FreeSysInfo, etc.

They often have interesting features related to setting up or testing equipment, which makes them very popular in their field.

Conclusion

In general, it can be noted that information about the system is not particularly useful to most users in their work. But here system administrators, developers of compatible software, or just professionals involved in manual assembly or repair, such data will be extremely important. Although some users may also find them useful. Let's say, in a situation where you need to do it manually and the user does not know where to look for it.

System information is required by the user to obtain information about hardware and software components computer. Basic information about your computer is displayed in Windows settings, which can be easily accessed by going into Windows Settings.

In some cases, the information provided about the Windows system in Settings operating system, are insufficient. Therefore, you need more detailed information that you can use to solve problems or get help.

How to get system information? General information information about the system can be obtained using the built-in tools of the operating system, or using specialized programs from third-party developers.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to use this computer services third party programs. Therefore, in the article I will tell you how to get system information using the built-in tools, using the example of Windows 10 (on other operating systems, the tools work similarly).

msinfo32.exe Utility (System Information)

The msinfo32.exe (System Information) utility allows you to get detailed information about your computer: hardware resources, components, software environment.

1. To run the msinfo utility, type "msinfo32" (without the quotes) in the Search Windows field.
2. The search will return the best match. Run classic app"System Information".

The second way to run the msinfo32 utility:

1. Press "Windows" + "R" keyboard keys at the same time.
2. In the "Run" window, in the "Open" field, enter the expression "msinfo32" (without quotes), and then click on the "OK" button.

After that, the collection of system information will begin, the System Information utility window will open, which displays basic information about the Windows operating system, hardware and components.

For a typical user, this information is usually sufficient.

Specialists can look at other system parameters: hardware resources, components, software environment. Each section contains subcategories that display detailed information about all system parameters.

The resulting information can be saved to a file on your computer. Enter the "File" menu, click on the "Save" item ("Ctrl" + "S") to save the information in a system information file (*.NFO), or on the "Export" item to save the data in a text file (format *.TXT).

Obtaining system information using the systeminfo command

You can use the console utility to view system information.

Run command prompt as administrator. Enter the command "systeminfo" (without quotes). After that, general information about the system will be displayed in the command line interpreter window.

To save system information to your computer, type in command line the following command:

Systeminfo>C:\systeminfo.txt

After executing the command, the “systeminfo” file in the “TXT” format will be saved on the “C” drive of the computer.

It is better to open this file not in Notepad (there will be problems with encoding Russian letters), but in an alternative text editor, such as Notepad++ which supports various encodings.

System Information in Windows PowerShell

You can get acquainted with the necessary data about the operating system using the built-in tool Windows systems PowerShell.

Run Windows PowerShell on your computer, type "systeminfo" (without the quotes), and then press the "Enter" key on your keyboard.

AT Windows window PowerShell you will see general information about the system.

Article Conclusions

The user can obtain information about the system using the Windows operating system tools: using the msinfo32.exe utility, or by running the systeminfo command in a console utility or in Windows PowerShell.

There are situations when you need to find out the exact model of a video card or any other component. Not all necessary information can be found in the device manager or on the hardware itself. In this case, come to the rescue special programs, which help not only to determine the model of components, but also to get a lot of additional useful information. In this article, we will consider several representatives of such software.

Both advanced users and beginners can use this program. It helps not only to get information about the state of the system and hardware, but also allows you to do some tuning and check the system with various tests.

Everest is distributed absolutely free of charge, does not take up much space on your hard drive, has a simple and intuitive interface. You can get general information right in one window, but more detailed data can be found in special sections and tabs.

AIDA32

This representative is one of the oldest and is considered the progenitor of Everest and AIDA64. The program has not been supported by developers for a long time, and updates are not released, but this does not prevent it from performing all its functions properly. With this utility, you can instantly get basic information about the state of your PC and its components.

More detailed information is in separate windows, which are conveniently sorted and have their own icons. You don’t have to pay anything for the program, and there is also a Russian language, which is good news.

AIDA64

To help in diagnosing components and conducting performance tests, this popular program. It combines the best of Everest and AIDA32, improves and adds a few extra features that are not available in most other similar software.

Of course, you will have to pay a little for such a set of functions, but this will only need to be done once, there are no subscriptions for a year or a month. If you can’t decide on a purchase, then a free one is available on the official website trial version with a period of one month. For such a period of use, the user will definitely be able to draw a conclusion about the usefulness of the software.

HWMonitor

This utility does not have big set functions, like previous representatives, but it has something of its own unique. Its main task is not to show the user all the detailed information about his components, but to allow him to monitor the state and temperatures of the iron.

Display voltage, load and heat certain element. Everything is divided into segments to make it easier to navigate. The program can be downloaded absolutely free from the official website, but there is no Russian version, but even without it, everything is intuitive.

Speccy

Perhaps one of the most extensive programs presented in this article, in terms of its functionality. It combines a lot of diverse information and ergonomic placement of all elements. Separately, I would like to touch on the function of creating a system snapshot. Other software also has the ability to save test or monitoring results, but most often it is only in the TXT format.

All the features of Speccy simply cannot be listed, there are really a lot of them, it’s easier to download the program and view each tab yourself, we assure you that learning more and more new things about your system is a very interesting thing.

CPU-Z

CPU-Z is a narrowly focused software that is focused only on providing the user with data about the processor and its condition, conducting various tests with it and showing information about RAM. However, if you need to get just such information, then additional functions are simply not needed.

The developers of the program are the company CPUID, whose representatives will be described in this article. CPU-Z is available for free and does not require a lot of resources and hard disk space.

GPU-Z

Using this program, the user will be able to get the most detailed information about the installed graphics adapters. The interface is designed as compactly as possible, but at the same time all the necessary data fit on one window.

GPU-Z is great for those who want to know everything about their graphics chip. This software is distributed absolutely free of charge and supports the Russian language, however, not all parts are translated, but this is not a significant drawback.

System Spec

System Spec - developed by one person, freely distributed, but updates were not enough long time. This program does not require installation after downloading to your computer, you can use it immediately after downloading. She provides a large number of useful information not only about the hardware, but also about the state of the system as a whole.

PC Wizard

Now this program is not supported by developers, respectively, and updates are not released. However, the latest version can be comfortably used. PC Wizard allows you to find out detailed information about components, track their status and conduct several performance tests.

The interface is quite simple and clear, and the presence of the Russian language helps to quickly understand all the functions of the program. You can download and use it absolutely free.

SiSoftware Sandra

SiSoftware Sandra is distributed for a fee, but for its money it provides the user with a wide range of functions and capabilities. What is unique about this program is that you can connect to a computer remotely, you just need to have access to do so. In addition, it is possible to connect to servers or just to a local computer.

This software allows you to monitor the state of the system as a whole, find out detailed information about the hardware. You can also find sections with installed programs, various files and drivers. All of this can be edited. Loading latest version in Russian is available on the official website.

BatteryInfoView

A narrowly focused utility, the purpose of which is to display data about the installed battery and monitor its condition. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know anything else, but she completely fulfills her task. Flexible configuration and a number of additional functionality are available.

All detailed information is opened with one click, and the Russian language allows you to master the work of the software even faster. You can download BatteryInfoView from the official website for free, there is also a crack with installation instructions.

Is not full list all programs that provide information about PC components, however, during testing they showed themselves quite well, and even a few of them will be enough to get all possible detailed information not only about components, but also about the operating system.