One of the most useful tools in the Windows Control Panel is the System Properties Applet. This tool can
be accessed from within the control panel by double clicking the
system icon. The system properties window includes a series of tabs
across the top. The default tab is the General tab
which lists
information relating to the system. This information includes
operating system version, licensing information, and system specifics
such as processor type and the amount of memory.
The next tab is the Device Manager tab.
Device
Manager provides the user with a list of all of the hardware
within the system and allows the user to view which system
resources are being used. It can also be
used to update device drivers, disable or enable devices, and
change resource settings.
The third tab from the left is the Hardware Profiles tab.
Hardware profiles allow the user to have different hardware
configurations for the same operating system. Most users will not
need to set up hardware profiles. An exception to this might be a
laptop user who may have one profile for the system when it is
docked and one when it is not docked.
Finally, the fourth tab is the Performance tab.
This tab displays information about the performance statistics of
the current system and allows access to the virtual memory and
file system settings.