System Properties
System Properties has four categories of information that can be
accessed by clicking on the tabs:
- General
– General information about the system such as version of Windows
98 installed, total RAM, type of CPU, percentage of used system
resources (useful but not very accurate), and so on. The type of
information may vary, depending on computer manufacturer (such as HP
or Dell).
- Device Manager
– Hardware devices installed and their status.
- Hardware Profiles
– Most PCs have no need for different
hardware profiles. However, a laptop used at different locations,
such as at home and at work, may need different profiles. The
Hardware Profiles option allows for the creation of various
profiles to select different hardware configurations when the
system boots up.
- Performance
– Shows how the system is configured to work (usually for
maximum performance), percentage of resources being used, and so
on.
Identifying Special Icon Symbols Using Device Manager
The Device Manager is included with Windows 98, and allows the
user to manage, view, and change computer resources. The Device
Manager in Windows provides a graphical interface representation
of the devices configured in the system. This utility is used to
identify installed ports, update device drivers, and change I/O
settings on the computer. It can also be used to manually isolate
hardware and configuration conflicts. The Device Manager allows
examination of any problem device to see where the conflict is
occurring. To view the icons in the Device Manager right-click on
My Computer and select Properties.
From the Device Manager menu, it can be determined whether
there are any problems with installed devices on the system.
Within the device, problem conditions are indicated by either an
exclamation mark, a red X, or an "Other device" notation:
- An exclamation point (!) inside a yellow circle – A
device is experiencing a direct hardware conflict with another
device.
- A red "X" appearing at the device's icon –
The device has been disabled, removed, or Windows is unable to
locate the device.
- "Other Devices" appears in place of icon –
Windows cannot recognize the device being installed. This means that
the drivers have not been installed properly, they have been
uninstalled, or the device is not working correctly and the driver
needs an upgrade.
The Device Manager Properties page provides tabs to access
general information, device settings, device drivers information,
and device resources requirements and usage. The system resources
can also be viewed in the Device Manager. Typically, if there are
hardware conflicts (for example, if two devices assigned the same
IRQ), click on the offending device in the listing. Make sure the selected
device is the current device in the computer. Also examine the
other conflicting device to make sure that the same device has not
been installed twice.
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