System Properties Overview - Control Panel

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

System Properties overview - Control Panel

You can use System in Control Panel to do the following:

  • View and change settings that control how your computer uses memory.

  • Find information about hardware and device properties, as well as configure hardware profiles.

  • View and change driver signing options that determine how Windows handles unsigned device drivers.

  • View information about your network connection and logon profile.

You can change performance options that control how programs use memory, including paging file size, or environment variables that tell your computer where to find some types of information. Startup and recovery options indicate which operating system your computer uses when it starts and which actions it performs if the system stops unexpectedly.

Information about hardware and devices is also available in System. Use the Add Hardware Wizard to install non-Plug and Play hardware. Device Manager shows you which devices are installed on your computer and allows you to change device properties. You can also create hardware profiles for different hardware configurations.

Using System, you can view and modify network and logon information, such as your computer name or DNS domain name. You can also view or modify information about your domain or workgroup membership. A user profile contains the personal settings associated with your logon configuration.

You can configure your computer to report operating system, unplanned shutdown, and program errors to Microsoft or your system administrator so they can track and address the errors.

You must be logged on as an administrator to the local computer or have appropriate network permissions to make certain changes in System.

You can set many system properties on remote computers using System Properties in the Computer Management snap-in.

See Also

Concepts

Setting environment variables
Managing your computer's performance
Choosing recovery actions if Windows stops unexpectedly
System and program error reporting overview
Driver signing for Windows
System Properties overview
Hardware profiles overview