What’s Going On Inside Your PC?
By Bob Rankin
Do you know every component that’s inside of your PC? Most people don’t, and most of the time they don’t need to know. But there are occasions when a detailed inventory of a PC’s components comes in handy. Read on to learn some surprising reasons why you should know what’s under the hood of your computer, even if you’re not a techie…
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If you need to call tech support, you may be stuck when a rep asks for the make and model of your video card, or the type of RAM that’s installed on your PC. If you want to buy a memory upgrade, you’ll need to know what sort of RAM memory is already in your PC to get the compatible kind. If you ask for help with an unknown problem in any online forum, the first responses you get will probably be along the lines of, “What’s under your hood?” If you are selling or buying a used computer, it’s important to have a list of what’s inside of it.
Microsoft Windows includes a “System Information” utility that displays information about many devices and processes on a PC. But it’s limited; often, it won’t tell you what you need to know. Fortunately, there are more helpful system information utilities out there. Here are two examples that are free and powerful, yet easy on novices. And if you read this article to the end, I’m pretty sure you’ll want to download and try at least one of them.
Excerpt shared with permission from Bob Rankin.
