Back in the good old DOS days there were several software packages that would provide system information such as what hardware was in the machine, what drivers were running, what TSRs had crept into memory, and what applications you had. My all time favorite was SYSINFO, it was the magical hardware probing that I was after. I’d create a special boot disk and instantly be able to tell what was in a friend’s machine.
Problem is, as Windows got bigger and “better” that kind of direct hardware probing became forbidden by the operating system. I’ve been searching for its equal ever since for the Windows world.
Sure, there’s a handful of tools that come with Windows or Office, but all seem to be lacking, and nothing that just generates a single pretty report. systeminfo and msinfo just don’t cut it for me.
A friend turn me on to Belarc Advisor. This thing is amazing. It will do everything from tell me what kind of memory is in which slot on my motherboard to exposing the software keys to the software I have installed. It produces a sleek report viewable by any HTML browser, very nice.
Walt gives Belarc Advisor a thumbs up!
If you happen to know of any other favorites that do the same kind of thing, I’d love to hear from you.