helping Teacher w/ comp. Need command in Win XP to probe all the hardware
 

My Spanish teacher started asking me about computer stuff today, and want's to know if he should get a new Mac (if so, what kind and I'm clueless), all he's ever used. I'm thinking Linux. He says that he has some huge PC that he bought in 2000 that the salesperson said would 'last him for a decade' and it sounds like he has a server (which he does internet/e-mail only on!). That aside before I can do anything I need to know what he has. I can't really go to his house and don't really want to (other stuff to do; lazy) but I read once in PC World I think that there is a command that you can run in Windows that will probe all of your hardware. The idea being you could work out compaibility problems with Linux (it was an article about going Linux). Does anyone know what it is? I've googled but didn't find anything.

Windows has a few of them commands. For WinXP, you can use these....

Start / Run / msinfo32 or Start / Run / winmsd

or Start / Run / msconfig.

There is also a free program which displays info on software and hardware pretty much what you get from those previous commands. I just can't remember what it's called.

:scratch:

If he puts Linux on it, a circa 2000 computer just might last him a decade! Lots of 10-year-old machines today can run Linux.

Another way to find out about hardware is to go to the "System" portion in the Windows Control Panel; it lists all the currently installed hardware. It might not be quite as useful as the other utilities homey mentioned, but it's a good way to get an overall picture.

Of course, the ideal way to find out what hardware he has is to look through the manuals and stuff that came with his computer (if indeed there are any); opening up the box and looking at the actual hardware can sometimes help too.

Hold down the Windows/meta/tux key and press pause. Don't teach him linux, I know that sounds sacreligious, but linux takes a while to learn, and he's probably busy with other things.

?? What's wrong with you man? If you use something for Internet/E-mail, it's virtually the same in any OS.

What's wrong with me?
 

It's because that that statement is simply a fallacy. You can't survive in linux, even for basic use without knowing a pretty damn good amount about computers. Futhermore, I doubt the school would even let him. The school's network isn't going to allow a Unix system if it runs on windows, and the teachers must be connected to all the computers. Specific software, i.e. a grade managment program is required. And there's a 99% chance it won't run in Linux. And I don't think she is being paid to learn how to run it under wine. I will say this again. I don't care what anyone says on this site or any other site: For the average user, Windows is by far the superior OS.

It's just my opinion. If you don't like it, too bad. (that's a rather harsh note to end on isn't it?)(as an alternative, think about tux sliding away on a big mountain during a snowy night.)

ibm5_25, if you don't find what you need in the windows commands, burn a knoppix cd for the teacher. He can then find alot of info on computer and see what linux is all about at the same time.

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You can't survive in linux, even for basic use without knowing a pretty damn good amount about computers.

I have survived and I did not know alot about computers when I started using linux.

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Futhermore, I doubt the school would even let him.

If you read the post, this is a personal/home computer.

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I will say this again. I don't care what anyone says on this site or any other site: For the average user, Windows is by far the superior OS.

Again, I was an average computer user when I started using linux, and was not that hard. If linux is set up like windows is on a computer, an average user should not have too many problems using linux. I know you do not want to hear this, but you are wrong.:tisk:

I run my Linux laptop in school. They have Windows like everywhere... and I have not had any problems. None of the guards has ever kicked me away from school... even when everyone knows I use Linux. Actually some Linux secret-fans have helped me a lot :P

And I don't see any falacy, my friend...

You can observe the basic logical deduction there... :) If you think my statement is invalid, then you might want to contradict an investigation made at my school... setting E-Mail / Internet tasks to people who were not good at either Windows or Linux on KDE ? The result... yeah...the average time for people to accomplish tasks was smaller in Linux.

:) Where's the fallacy now?

And yeah... maybe you could give him a Live CD (Knoppix) to see what he thinks about it =)

Thanks for the information everyone, that was just what I was looking for.
trickykid- sorry, I didn't even KNOW there was plain General forum.

Thanks also for the suggestion of KNOPPIX. I need to arm myself with one of those CD's and show people what Linux is all about. I've actually got a few DSL cd's but those aren't immediately impressive to your Average Joe.

Just so you know - if you want to see your hardware, right click My Computer, select Manage, from the list in the next window, select Device Manager. This will show you all of your hardware, you it's by and what it is. No need to go grabbing programs.

Another nice utility is aida32:
http://www.aida32.hu

It generates great reports which can then be saved as csv, html etc.

Re: What's wrong with me?
 

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Originally posted by Squall I will say this again. I don't care what anyone says on this site or any other site: For the average user, Windows is by far the superior OS. It's just my opinion. If you don't like it, too bad. (that's a rather harsh note to end on isn't it?)(as an alternative, think about tux sliding away on a big mountain during a snowy night.)

It has its advantages, everyone knows it. I just think the disadvantages outweigh a bit. I really love a kernel based OS with a powerful CLI. And I agree with your sig, XP is extremely pretty.:)