Windows XP in a Nutshell

Name

System Properties — \windows\system32\sysdm.cpl

Synopsis

View and modify many general Windows settings.

To Open

Control Panel → [Performance and Maintenance] → System

right-click on the My Computer icon → Properties

Command Prompt → control sysdm.cpl

Description

The System Properties window contains settings that affect hardware, system performance, networking, and other Windows features. The tabs in this dialog are as follows:

General

This information-only tab displays the current Windows version, the edition (Home, Professional, Server, Advanced Server), the registered user, the speed of the processor, and the amount of installed memory (see Figure 4-87).

Figure 4-87. Get a quick overview of your Windows version, amount of installed memory, and registered user with the General tab

Computer Name

These settings affect how your computer is identified on your network, such as the computer’s name and whether or not you’re connected to a Windows NT domain system (referred to as a business network here). The Computer description field is for entering a comment only; it has no effect on any networking settings. See Chapter 7 for more information.

Hardware

The AddHardware Wizard and Device Manager are discussed elsewhere in this chapter. The Driver Signing Options dialog allows you to instruct Windows to accept or deny unsigned device drivers; see the Signature Verification Tool, discussed ...