Noting down PC info....

[polo]

Just wondering if the following is a good practice:

When you buy a brand new machine you should note the apps listed in CTRL-ALT-DEL so that you can monitor any new apps which appear in the future. Some manufacturers, say Dell, might have a specific setup or software install which has some non-standard apps appearing. So to make life easiers keep a note of them.

Also things like size of win.ini system.ini, number of files in c:\windows, c:\windows\system etc for e.g. Win95/98. Can anyone think of other things to keep track of please?

[dangitall]

Good idea, Polo but, rather than jotting down the simple list generated by 'the three-finger salute', I'd suggest jotting down the data from a program such as Mike Lin's StartUp CPL, which would give you not only where everything runs from, but also the full path to it.
And, why just file sizes for win.ini and sys.ini? Print these, along with config.sys and autoexec.bat (if present), nail 'em with a three-hole punch and stick them in a readily accessible binder. I've done this with all of the machines I've built for others, and it's been a huge help.

[Tassie_Devils]

HI Polo...

and in addition to dangitall's advice, I also suggest a very nice proggy to keep track of all Patches/Updates/System Info/Programs/Software/ etc. etc. etc.

Belarc Advisor HERE (http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html)

This is a free program, it 'generates' a very DETAILED HTML profile of your system [completely private, does NOT send any info home, actually you can do it offline anyhow] and then save the HTML page for comparison later on.

Tells you lots of info you never knew I guarantee. :o

It also gives a little * which will open up the path to the selected program/file, etc.

Pic is very small portion of Profile of my Printers. ;)

Cheers, TAS

EDIT: Operating Systems: Runs on Windows 95/98/Me, NT 4, Windows 2000, XP and Windows Server 2003.
Browsers: Requires IE 3 or Netscape 3, and higher versions. Also runs on Opera, Mozilla, and Firebird.
File size: 594 KB.
License: The license associated with this product allows for free personal use only.

[polo]

-{ Quote: "Good idea, Polo but, rather than jotting down the simple list generated by 'the three-finger salute', I'd suggest jotting down the data from a program such as Mike Lin's StartUp CPL, which would give you not only where everything runs from, but also the full path to it.
And, why just file sizes for win.ini and sys.ini? Print these, along with config.sys and autoexec.bat (if present), nail 'em with a three-hole punch and stick them in a readily accessible binder. I've done this with all of the machines I've built for others, and it's been a huge help." }-

Is this free - URL please? Sorry I was just thinking off the top of my head. What about all the other .ini files and other stuff. A lot of virus produce their files in c:\windows once your PC is infected. So keeping a count of that or doing a find all files by date sort or "dir/od/a" is good?

[dangitall]

The URL for StartupCPL is http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml . My apologies.

-{ Quote: "What about all the other .ini files and other stuff. A lot of virus produce their files in c:\windows once your PC is infected. So keeping a count of that or doing a find all files by date sort or "dir/od/a" is good?" }-

I suppose you could print copies of every *.ini, *.bat and *.sys file on the machine if you so desired, but the ones I mentioned strike me as being the 'crucial' ones. As for keeping track of the size and/or content of C:/Windows because of malware that make entries there, well, so do quite a few legitimate programs. I don't think I'd bother.

Tassie_Devils' recommendation of Belarc is a good one but, for a detailed inventory of a system, I prefer SiSoft's sandra (http://www.sisoftware.net/) . There are both free and paid versions, and the 'Create a Report' wizard is highly customizable.



url's repaired==bigc

[Tassie_Devils]

Well golly darn dash, dangitall, that link gives me the good 'ol 404 :'(

Is it working for you mate?

Maybe I will try later, could just be a hiccup at this particular point.

Oh, sorry.... the link I was referring to is the SANDRA one.

Cheers, TAS

[bigc73542]

-{ Quote: "Well golly darn dash, dangitall, that link gives me the good 'ol 404 :'(

Is it working for you mate?

Maybe I will try later, could just be a hiccup at this particular point.

Oh, sorry.... the link I was referring to is the SANDRA one.

Cheers, TAS" }-

thanks tassie I went and tried belarc. it works pretty well. Oh I repaired the links in Dangitall's post. ;)

[Tassie_Devils]

Hi bigc, thanks for that. Yep worked.

TAS

[dangitall]

Sorry, but I could swear that I tested that link after I put it there.