Tip: View Advanced System Information on a Remote Computer
Follow Our Daily Tips
• facebook.com/TechNetTips
• twitter.com/TechNetTips
• blogs.technet.com/tnmag
When you want to get detailed system information or check computer information, you can use the System Information tool (Msinfo32.exe). To access system information: click Start, type msinfo32 into the Search box, and press Enter. You can then view system summaries by selecting the System Summary node. All the configuration statistics provided are collected using the WMI service.
To browse configuration information for a remote computer:
1. Open the System Information tool.
2. Select Remote Computer on the View menu (or press Ctrl+R). This displays the Remote Computer dialog box.
3. In the Remote Computer dialog box, select Remote Computer On The Network.
4. Type the computer name in the field provided, and then click OK.
The account you use must have appropriate administrator access permissions for the domain or the local machine. If you have other problems obtaining information from a remote system, you may need to check the namespace used by the WMI service.
The System Information tool provides detailed information on several major areas of the operating system:
Hardware Resources
Provides detailed information on input/output (I/O), interrupt requests (IRQs), memory, direct memory access (DMA), and Plug and Play devices. A key area you’ll want to check if a system is having a device problem is the Conflicts/Sharing node. This area provides a summary of devices that are sharing resources or causing system conflicts.
Components
Provides detailed information on installed components, from audio codecs to input devices to universal serial bus (USB) ports. A key area you’ll want to check if a system is having a component problem is the Problem Devices node. This area provides information on components that have errors.
Software Environment
Provides detailed information on the running configuration of the operating system.When you are troubleshooting prob-lems with a remote system, you’ll find the Software Environment area to be extremely useful.In addition to drivers, environment variables, print jobs, and network connections, you can check running tasks, services, program groups, and startup programs.
Tip adapted from Windows 7 Administrator’s Pocket Consultant by William R. Stanek
Looking for More Tips?
For more tips on Microsoft products and technologies, visit the TechNet Tips library.