THIS is for the budding Geek. I know you think about this in the wee hours of the morning. Come on, don't try and pretend otherwise!
Okay, at the very least you should know what operating system you're using (Windows... 95? 98? Me? NT? 2000?) And you should know how much memory is installed, and how big your hard drive is. Other than that, who gives a flip?
Well, some of us do. So here's the incredible geeksters guide to becoming a guru. Let's take a look at...
Dr. Watson!
Now, the doctor won't give you the details about what's inside your computer, but he'll do a checkup while you wait. If he finds anything amiss, he'll give you the report. I've only tried this on Windows 98, so if you're still using Win 95, give it a whirl and see if it works.
From the Start menu, click Run. In the Run dialog box, type 'drwatson' without the quote marks. Then click OK or press Enter. (What else is there to do at that point? Go out for Pizza?)
You won't see anything happen! That's a very important point. But if you observe closely, you'll see a new icon appear in the system tray (next to the clock). It's the Dr. Watson icon!
Right click the magically appearing icon and choose the first line item, 'Dr. Watson.' A bunch of lights and sirens go off, and a system snapshot is taken. A report will appear on your screen, saying 'you've got a real mess on your hands' or 'everything's cool.' Something like that, anyway.
So what is Dr. Watson good for? A few things. If you've got problems, he'll diagnose them. He won't fix them, however, unlike a real doctor.
Um, maybe very much like a real doctor! Depends on your perspective.
You can leave him running there in the system tray, do your thing, then check back for an updated report. If stuff is still working right, you'll get the same old 'everything's cool' report.
Now, what if you want to see all the stuff that's in your computer without taking it apart? Check this out....
It's called System Information and it's under System Tools (Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Information.)
Start it up, and watch the show. You'll see everything and more than everything. Stuff that boggles your mind and reminds you to be thankful for the Techies who created this monster you call a computer. I call it a pain in the backside.
But then, I'm in love with it, so I put up with the pain. Like I said in the beginning, we're working on building that love relationship.
Ah, true love.
And now you know.... some more of the story.
Copyright 2001 Roglan International All Rights Reserved
Tom Glander and Joe Robson of The Newbie Club have produced heaps of easy to understand , FREE eBooks and tutorials. To take advantage of these join the Newbie Club without delay - that's also free. To find out exactly what's on offer simple click on Newbie Club