Displaying Key System Properties

Another place to turn when you want to know more about the pieces and parts of your system is the System Properties utility. You can open this utility from the Control Panel (click the System icon) or by right-clicking My Computer on your desktop and then selecting Properties from the pop-up menu.

CAUTION

You should avoid changing your computer's name if you're connected to a network. If you change the name, the other computers on the network won't be able to recognize your computer!

In Windows XP there are now seven tabs in the System Properties window. Here's what you'll find on each:

• General. This tab (shown in Figure 24.6) displays basic information about your system what type of computer you're using, what version of Windows you're running, and your user name.

  Figure 24.6. Access a variety of system properties and information from the System Properties dialog box.

  

  
  

• Computer Name. This tab displays the name and description of your PC as it appears to other computers on your network. Click the Change button to change this information.

• Hardware. This tab serves as a gateway to a variety of hardware-related tools and utilities, including the Add New Hardware Wizard, the Device Manager (discussed next), and Hardware Profiles.

• Advanced. This tab serves as a gateway to performance, user profile, and startup and recovery settings.

  NOTE

  If you're familiar with the Device Manager from Windows 9X/Me, you might be surprised at its slightly different look in Windows XP as well as its new location. (It used to be a tab on the System Properties dialog box, now you have to click a button to get to it.)

  
  

• System Restore. This tab lets you turn off and on and configure the System Restore tool.

• Automatic Updates. This tab lets you configure how Windows Update works in the background to find and download updates to the operating system.

• Remote. This tab is where you configure the settings for the Remote Assistance feature.