stickies

Indoril Nerevar · 06-25-2006, 06:59 AM

Members,

Due to the varying nature of computer problems, one of the most important things you can provide when posting a problem is a list of your system specs. Keep in mind that the more info we have, the better we can help with the problem. Here is a list of the specs which will help us most.

Power Supply – brand, model, size (watts) and, most importantly, number of amps on +12V rail(s).

Motherboard – brand, model and socket type.

CPU – brand, model, socket type and speed/frequency (GHz).

RAM – brand, type (SD/DDR/DDR2/etc.), speed/frequency (MHz) and size (Mb/Gb).

Video Card(s) – brand, model, type (PCI/AGP/PCI-Express), size (Mb/Gb), SLI/Crossfire.

Hard Drive(s) – brand, type (IDE/SATA/etc.) and size (Gb).

Operating System - eg: Windows XP Pro

If anything is overclocked, please include that information too.

Although not all of this information will necessarily be needed for each problem, please try to cover as many of the above aspects as possible, to ensure that we have the information we need to accurately help you.

There are several programs which you can use to determine all of the above specs, except for the power supply. They are available for free download here:

Everest Home Edition

System Spec

For a brief tutorial on how to use each program, see these threads:

Everest Tutorial

System Spec Tutorial

All the info for the power supply can (in most cases) be found on the side of the power supply itself.

You can save yourself the trouble of posting these specs each time you post a problem: for instructions on how to fill out the "My System" drop-down box under your name, see here.

Thankyou for helping us help you.

**MunkyPhil** · 07-13-2006, 06:18 AM

Also with RAM it would be useful to state what modules are in which slots on the motherboard if possible. Speedfan in my signature will tell you this if Everest doesn't.

It's generally not a problem but just in case.

chauffeur2 · 09-18-2006, 08:02 AM

Introduction:
Whenever you are asked to give your system specs usually you wouldn’t have a clue as to how to find them, so this Information Sheet will give you a step-by-step guide in using a free downloadable utility called “SysSpec©”.
SysSpec© is designed for the easy displaying of Computer System Information.
This information will be invaluable to both yourself for future reference and to those here at TSF that are assisting you with your computer problem.

Step – By – Step User Guide:
Firstly, go to this site to download the program, and save it to the desktop for easy access.

Once downloaded, and before SysSpec© is used for the first time, it is recommended that you do these two things before opening it…Right click on the desktop icon and scan it with your anti virus program; then, right click it again and select Properties. There will be a button marked Unblock near the bottom of the pane. Unblock the program and click OK. Now we are ready to use SysSpec©. To open the program, simply double click on it.

Open Screen:
Operating SysSpec© is very user friendly; to find particular information, it is a matter of simply clicking on one of the ‘Buttons’ across the top of the screen.
When the program is first opened, the screenshot will look like this…
Attachment 8427

System:
Now click on the “System” button and some of your computer specifications will be displayed, and the screen should be similar to this…
Attachment 8428

Memory:
Attachment 8429
The viewed image gives details about the amount of memory [RAM] that is installed in the machine.
For example say you have 2x512Mb sticks [1024Mb] of RAM on board, and SysSpec© only shows that there is 959Mb physical memory. This is because about 64Mb of RAM is required for the display graphics; it is also shown as shared memory in the BIOS.

Display:
Attachment 8430
This screenshot gives details about the display adapters [both onboard and PCI]. To display any extra adapters [video cards], click on the Down Arrow next to “Adapters” and the options will be displayed.
When you have any display issues, this information will assist the TSF members that are helping you.

Devices:
Attachment 8431
The Devices screenshot displays the Device Driver details, including the Provider and Version of the Driver.

Programs:
Attachment 8432
The main program information that might be required generally is found by clicking on the Down Arrow next to the Programs Button. This will reveal the Start Up programs. These are the programs that start when Windows® starts.
Warning: Do NOT attempt to delete or modify any of these programs unless you know what you are doing, or are instructed to do so by a TSF Member, because accidental deletion of some start up programs could cause serious operational instability!

Network:
Attachment 8433
You may at some time have networking issues. This section of the utility displays some essential information to assist those helping you.

Sound:
Attachment 8434
This screenshot shows Sound Cards [both on board and PCI], and is information will be needed should you ever have a sound or audio problem.

Power Supply Unit:
Attachment 8435
Although not part of the SysSpec© utility, a screenshot of a Power Supply Unit Information Data Sticker is shown, as this information is usually needed as part of ‘supplying full system specs’.
This is located on the Power Supply Unit within the Computer Case.

Footnote:
You will notice that I have not included screenshots of “Personal; Drives: CPU: and Programs”.This is for a number of reasons:

‘Personal’: In this section of SysSpec© are details of your Windows® Product ID and Registration Numbers. This information is PERSONAL and you will never be asked to give such details to anyone here at TSF. In the event that you are ever asked to give this information DON’T, and immediate report the matter and the members’ name to the Administrators…this is located at the top of the main TechSupport Forum Page under Site Map “contact us”, or by clicking on the exclamation mark at the bottom of the particular thread page.
The Forum Rules are quite specific about such infringements, and they are there to protect you.
‘Drives: CPU’: The information here is duplicated under “System” hence the exclusion.
‘Programs’: Specific program details such as those given in this section are not usually required, and should any information of this kind be needed, then the member will ask you for specific program information only.

Conclusion:
Now you have the “tools” for supplying “System Specs”, the next question is, ‘How do I give it to TSF?’ This can be done in two ways: Firstly, by copying the requested information to your clipboard and copy and paste it into your posting, or: Secondly, by doing a “Print Screen” and uploading the image as a .jpeg file to your post.
When you have done this and checked your spelling, post your reply and in no time you will have a friendly TSF member assisting you!

©2006 techsupportforum.com

Indoril Nerevar · 09-19-2006, 03:53 PM

To show your system specs in a "My System" drop-down box under your name, you need to fill them out in your options.

Click User CP at the top left of the page, then click Edit Options. Scroll down, and under Thread Display Options, you will see boxes where you can enter all the details of your computer. Make sure you change the System Specs: box to "YES" - this will enable the "My System" drop-down box under your name. When everything is filled out, click Save Changes at the bottom of the page. Your system specs will now be shown under your name every time you post.

**linderman** · 11-20-2006, 05:16 PM

nice work fellas

dai · 11-21-2006, 01:40 PM

for general and indervidual component cleaning tips
http://www.computerhope.com/cleaning.htm

**linderman** · 11-22-2006, 03:07 AM

Great reading; very informative

**TheMatt** · 02-24-2007, 08:58 PM

For those of you who are running any GUI Linux on your computer, there is a way to monitor temperatures just like in Windows. Linux includes free utilities that can be downloaded, although they are usually included with the installation of the distro you are using. If there is no utility, look for it in your package manager.

In KDE, there is KSysGuard, which can monitor many different hardware aspects, including CPU temperature and usage.

To get the temperature, create a new worksheet. Then Drag in localhost > ACPI > Thermal Zone > THRM > Temperature
You can get the clock speed for each CPU/CPU core by dragging in localhost > CPU0 (CPU1, CPU2, CPU3, etc.) > Clock Frequency
There are two types of loads for each CPU core. System loads (typically smaller) and User loads (typically larger and are where games take place). These are from two types of processes, System Processes and User Processes. To get the System Load, drag in localhost > CPU0 (CPU1, CPU2, CPU3, etc.) > System Load. To get the User load (usually more important), drag in localhost > CPU0 (CPU1, CPU2, CPU3, etc.) > User Load.

You can create each of these as four different things. There are Signal Plotter, Multimeter, Bar Graph, and Sensor Logger.

Signal Plotter is a line graph of the history of the activity. This is useful for System and User Loads, as well as CPU Temperature.
Multimeter is just a number. This is useful for CPU Temperature and Clock Frequency, as well as System and User Loads.
Bar Graph is a single bar graph that indicates a percent. This is useful for System and User Loads.
Sensor Logger is a log of the percent of number for a field. It is a combination of the Signal Plotter and Multimeter. This is useful for CPU Temperature, as well as System and User Loads.

If you don't have KDE, KSysGuard is avaliable for GNOME as well.

**TheMatt** · 02-24-2007, 09:28 PM

Since there is no Everest or CPU-Z for Linux, there are other utilities. These are free and either come with a distro or can be downloaded through package manager. There are two types of hardware identification tools for Linux: Command Line and GUI tools.

I usually prefer Command Line tools. They are more comprehensive and detailed IMO. My two favorite tools for the Command Line are lshw and cpuid

lshw is an all around tool for identifying hardware. It is usually correct, although it sometimes can make mistakes. It is also a bit confusing, as some fields can be mistaken for others. Also, lshw should be run as a root user or superuser.
First you must download lshw. Type it into your package manager if it isn't already installed.
To run it in GNOME, type this command:

Code:

gksu lshw

To run it in KDE, type this command:

Code:

kdesu lshw

In most Debian-based distributions, you can use sudo, which means "Super User Do".

Code:

sudo lshw

cpuid is good for detailed info on your CPU(s). It usually must be downloaded from the package manager, so do that before you try to run it. Unlike lshw, cpuid does not need to be run as a root user or superuser.
As with lshw, download cpuid from your package manager first.
To run cpuid in any desktop environment, type this command:

Code:

cpuid

GUI utilities are good for people who are new to Linux and are not familiar with the command line. They can be downloaded from a package manager. My favorite is HardInfo.

HardInfo is an excellent GUI that has almost as much information as lshw, as well as kernel information and a couple of benchmarking tools for the processor. HardInfo can be downloaded from the package manager like all programs.

**linderman** · 03-08-2007, 09:17 AM

Nice work matt

**TheMatt** · 03-09-2007, 07:19 PM

If you are running a laptop, it is especially important to post the information. Posts the specs from Everest, as well as the exact model number. This can often be found on the bottom of the laptop.

**linderman** · 04-13-2007, 02:47 PM

A+ effort

**blackduck30** · 04-13-2007, 04:30 PM

Great stuff Joe

06-25-2006, 06:59 AM	#1 (permalink)
Indoril Nerevar Hero of Vvardenfell & Manager, Games Team Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 3,653 OS: XP Pro 32-bit SP2, Vista Home Premium 32-bit, Vista Home Premium 64-bit My System	Posting System Specifications Members, Due to the varying nature of computer problems, one of the most important things you can provide when posting a problem is a list of your system specs. Keep in mind that the more info we have, the better we can help with the problem. Here is a list of the specs which will help us most. Power Supply – brand, model, size (watts) and, most importantly, number of amps on +12V rail(s). Motherboard – brand, model and socket type. CPU – brand, model, socket type and speed/frequency (GHz). RAM – brand, type (SD/DDR/DDR2/etc.), speed/frequency (MHz) and size (Mb/Gb). Video Card(s) – brand, model, type (PCI/AGP/PCI-Express), size (Mb/Gb), SLI/Crossfire. Hard Drive(s) – brand, type (IDE/SATA/etc.) and size (Gb). Operating System - eg: Windows XP Pro If anything is overclocked, please include that information too. Although not all of this information will necessarily be needed for each problem, please try to cover as many of the above aspects as possible, to ensure that we have the information we need to accurately help you. There are several programs which you can use to determine all of the above specs, except for the power supply. They are available for free download here: Everest Home Edition System Spec For a brief tutorial on how to use each program, see these threads: Everest Tutorial System Spec Tutorial All the info for the power supply can (in most cases) be found on the side of the power supply itself. You can save yourself the trouble of posting these specs each time you post a problem: for instructions on how to fill out the "My System" drop-down box under your name, see here. Thankyou for helping us help you. __________________ Donating to the forum keeps TSF free for all. • Posting System Specs • Power Supply Info • Common Game Issues • • NVIDIA Drivers and Info • ATI Drivers and Info • Thermal Paste Guide • • Futuremark Game Advisor • System Requirements Lab • • Everest • Prime95 • DirectX • Cheatbook • AMD Drivers • • Memtest86 • SensorsView • Driver Cleaner • Add-Remove • I do not give help via PM. Please post your question on the forum. Last edited by justpassingby : 12-23-2007 at 02:35 PM. Reason: corrected links to the tutorials

07-13-2006, 06:18 AM	#2 (permalink)
MunkyPhil Mentor Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Liverpool, England Posts: 1,112 OS: Win XP Pro SP2 My System	Also with RAM it would be useful to state what modules are in which slots on the motherboard if possible. Speedfan in my signature will tell you this if Everest doesn't. It's generally not a problem but just in case. __________________ "Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds." - J. Robert Oppenheimer, July 16th 1945. CPU-z -- Memtest -- Speedfan -- Prime95 -- SandraLite Important Power Supply Info -- Applying Thermal Paste -- Posting System Specs Last edited by MunkyPhil : 07-13-2006 at 06:19 AM.

09-19-2006, 03:53 PM	#4 (permalink)
Indoril Nerevar Hero of Vvardenfell & Manager, Games Team Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 3,653 OS: XP Pro 32-bit SP2, Vista Home Premium 32-bit, Vista Home Premium 64-bit My System	Filling out the "My System" box To show your system specs in a "My System" drop-down box under your name, you need to fill them out in your options. Click User CP at the top left of the page, then click Edit Options. Scroll down, and under Thread Display Options, you will see boxes where you can enter all the details of your computer. Make sure you change the System Specs: box to "YES" - this will enable the "My System" drop-down box under your name. When everything is filled out, click Save Changes at the bottom of the page. Your system specs will now be shown under your name every time you post. __________________ Donating to the forum keeps TSF free for all. • Posting System Specs • Power Supply Info • Common Game Issues • • NVIDIA Drivers and Info • ATI Drivers and Info • Thermal Paste Guide • • Futuremark Game Advisor • System Requirements Lab • • Everest • Prime95 • DirectX • Cheatbook • AMD Drivers • • Memtest86 • SensorsView • Driver Cleaner • Add-Remove • I do not give help via PM. Please post your question on the forum.

11-20-2006, 05:16 PM	#5 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 11,951 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	nice work fellas __________________ IF YOUR HARD DRIVE DIED RIGHT NOW; WOULD YOU CRY ??? ASK US FOR HELP DEVELOPING A DATA BACK-UP METHOD Last edited by linderman : 04-19-2007 at 07:50 AM.

11-21-2006, 01:40 PM	#6 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 35,834 OS: vista 32x ultimate retail	computer cleaning information for general and indervidual component cleaning tips http://www.computerhope.com/cleaning.htm __________________ Last edited by dai : 05-10-2007 at 10:03 AM.

11-22-2006, 03:07 AM	#7 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 11,951 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Great reading; very informative __________________ IF YOUR HARD DRIVE DIED RIGHT NOW; WOULD YOU CRY ??? ASK US FOR HELP DEVELOPING A DATA BACK-UP METHOD Last edited by linderman : 04-19-2007 at 07:53 AM.

02-24-2007, 08:58 PM	#8 (permalink)
TheMatt Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,583 OS: Windows 3.1, 98, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Monitoring your Temperatures in Linux For those of you who are running any GUI Linux on your computer, there is a way to monitor temperatures just like in Windows. Linux includes free utilities that can be downloaded, although they are usually included with the installation of the distro you are using. If there is no utility, look for it in your package manager. In KDE, there is KSysGuard, which can monitor many different hardware aspects, including CPU temperature and usage. To get the temperature, create a new worksheet. Then Drag in localhost > ACPI > Thermal Zone > THRM > Temperature You can get the clock speed for each CPU/CPU core by dragging in localhost > CPU0 (CPU1, CPU2, CPU3, etc.) > Clock Frequency There are two types of loads for each CPU core. System loads (typically smaller) and User loads (typically larger and are where games take place). These are from two types of processes, System Processes and User Processes. To get the System Load, drag in localhost > CPU0 (CPU1, CPU2, CPU3, etc.) > System Load. To get the User load (usually more important), drag in localhost > CPU0 (CPU1, CPU2, CPU3, etc.) > User Load. You can create each of these as four different things. There are Signal Plotter, Multimeter, Bar Graph, and Sensor Logger. Signal Plotter is a line graph of the history of the activity. This is useful for System and User Loads, as well as CPU Temperature. Multimeter is just a number. This is useful for CPU Temperature and Clock Frequency, as well as System and User Loads. Bar Graph is a single bar graph that indicates a percent. This is useful for System and User Loads. Sensor Logger is a log of the percent of number for a field. It is a combination of the Signal Plotter and Multimeter. This is useful for CPU Temperature, as well as System and User Loads. If you don't have KDE, KSysGuard is avaliable for GNOME as well. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides Last edited by TheMatt : 04-19-2007 at 04:27 PM.

02-24-2007, 09:28 PM	#9 (permalink)
TheMatt Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,583 OS: Windows 3.1, 98, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Identifying your Hardware in Linux Since there is no Everest or CPU-Z for Linux, there are other utilities. These are free and either come with a distro or can be downloaded through package manager. There are two types of hardware identification tools for Linux: Command Line and GUI tools. I usually prefer Command Line tools. They are more comprehensive and detailed IMO. My two favorite tools for the Command Line are lshw and cpuid lshw is an all around tool for identifying hardware. It is usually correct, although it sometimes can make mistakes. It is also a bit confusing, as some fields can be mistaken for others. Also, lshw should be run as a root user or superuser. First you must download lshw. Type it into your package manager if it isn't already installed. To run it in GNOME, type this command: Code: gksu lshw To run it in KDE, type this command: Code: kdesu lshw In most Debian-based distributions, you can use sudo, which means "Super User Do". Code: sudo lshw cpuid is good for detailed info on your CPU(s). It usually must be downloaded from the package manager, so do that before you try to run it. Unlike lshw, cpuid does not need to be run as a root user or superuser. As with lshw, download cpuid from your package manager first. To run cpuid in any desktop environment, type this command: Code: cpuid GUI utilities are good for people who are new to Linux and are not familiar with the command line. They can be downloaded from a package manager. My favorite is HardInfo. HardInfo is an excellent GUI that has almost as much information as lshw, as well as kernel information and a couple of benchmarking tools for the processor. HardInfo can be downloaded from the package manager like all programs. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides Last edited by TheMatt : 03-19-2007 at 01:15 PM.

03-08-2007, 09:17 AM	#10 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 11,951 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Nice work matt __________________ IF YOUR HARD DRIVE DIED RIGHT NOW; WOULD YOU CRY ??? ASK US FOR HELP DEVELOPING A DATA BACK-UP METHOD Last edited by linderman : 04-19-2007 at 07:55 AM.

03-09-2007, 07:19 PM	#11 (permalink)
TheMatt Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,583 OS: Windows 3.1, 98, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Information for Laptop users If you are running a laptop, it is especially important to post the information. Posts the specs from Everest, as well as the exact model number. This can often be found on the bottom of the laptop. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides

04-13-2007, 02:47 PM	#12 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 11,951 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	A+ effort __________________ IF YOUR HARD DRIVE DIED RIGHT NOW; WOULD YOU CRY ??? ASK US FOR HELP DEVELOPING A DATA BACK-UP METHOD Last edited by linderman : 04-19-2007 at 07:56 AM.

04-13-2007, 04:30 PM	#13 (permalink)
blackduck30 Moderator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Wollongong/Australia Posts: 4,227 OS: XP pro SP3/Vista Ultimate My System	Re: How to Post Your Screen Shot Great stuff Joe __________________ Blackduck30 Time is like money and milk, It's always running out Any Donations Help Keep TSF Free For All Last edited by blackduck30 : 04-13-2007 at 04:32 PM.