Copyright: Monday, April 30, 2001 12:41:11


Click Help Topics for a list of Help topics.


Displays which version of Windows is installed on your computer.


Displays which version of Windows is installed on your computer.


Specifies registration information for this copy of Windows. This information was entered during Windows Setup.


Specifies the type of processor and the total physical memory of your computer.


Specifies the type of processor and the total physical memory of your computer.


Specifies the type of processor and the total physical memory of your computer.


Specifies the type of processor and the total physical memory of your computer.


Specifies the type of processor and the total physical memory of your computer.


Specifies the type of processor and the total physical memory of your computer.


Click to display information about the company that manufactured your computer.


Use the Add Hardware Wizard to detect new hardware, view and change device properties, or repair a device that is not working.


Click to start the Add Hardware Wizard.


Use Device Manager to change the properties and resource settings of hardware devices on your computer.


Click to start Device Manager.


Use Hardware Profiles to copy or rename a hardware profile and specify how long Windows should wait for a user to select a profile at startup.


Click to change your computer’s hardware profiles.


Click to set the signed file protection level to use when installing software.


Lists the hardware profiles set up on your computer.

Hardware profiles tell which drivers to load when the available hardware changes. For example, a portable computer might have different hardware available depending on whether it is docked.


Click to display properties for the selected hardware profile, and if the computer is portable, indicate if it is docked.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to make changes to hardware profiles.


Click to copy the selected hardware profile to a new hardware profile. You can use Device Manager to customize device settings for hardware profiles. This is useful if, for example, you don’t want device drivers loaded when you select not to use the network.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to make changes to hardware profiles.


Click to rename the selected hardware profile. This is useful when, for example, you want to use the same device settings for another hardware configuration.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to make changes to hardware profiles.


Click to delete the selected hardware profile from the list. You cannot delete the current profile.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to make changes to hardware profiles.


Provides hardware profile options that specify how Windows should load a profile during startup.


Specifies whether this profile will always be displayed in the Available Hardware Profiles list during startup. If this option is not checked, Windows might still include the profile in the list if it cannot automatically determine that it should not be used.


Specifies whether Windows will wait until the user selects a profile.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to make changes to hardware profiles.


Specifies whether Windows will automatically select the first profile in the Available hardware profiles list within the specified number of seconds at startup.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to make changes to hardware profiles.


Provides a space for you to type the number of seconds. You can also click the arrows to set the number of seconds.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to make changes to hardware profiles.


Provides a space for you to type the number of seconds. You can also click the arrows to set the number of seconds.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to make changes to hardware profiles.


By clicking Settings, you can change how your computer assigns processor resources to foreground and background programs. You can also set the size of your computer’s paging file, change visual effects, and set preferences for memory usage.


Click to change settings for program resources, paging file, visual effects, and memory usage.


By clicking Settings, you can copy or delete user profiles. You can also define a user profile as local or roaming.


Click to copy or delete a user profile, or define a user profile as local or roaming.


Use to change environment variables such as drives, paths, or file names to associate them with symbolic names that can be used by Windows.


Click to change environment variables for user and system.


By clicking Settings, you change the default operating system that starts when you turn on your computer. You can also select which action Windows should take when the system stops unexpectedly.


Click to change the default operating system for your computer and to change the recovery action you want Windows to take when the system stops unexpectedly.


Specifies the distribution of processor resources between running programs.


Specifies that more processor resources are given to the foreground program than to the background program.


Specifies that all programs receive equal amounts of processor resources.


Specifies virtual memory paging file information for all drives on the computer. Click Change to specify the size of the paging files.


Click to change the paging file size for each drive.


Use the x86 Programs utility to manage the optimization of an x86-based program. An x86-based program will run significantly faster after it has been optimized.


Click to start the x86 Programs utility.


Lists system environment variables defined by Windows, which are the same no matter who is logged on to the computer.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to change values or add new variables.


Lists user environment variables (such as a path where files are located) that are defined by you or by programs.


Specifies the variable name you are adding or changing.


Specifies the value for the variable shown in the Variable Name box.


Click to add a new user variable and specify its value.


Click to change a user variable and its value.


Deletes the selected user variable.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to delete user variables.

Important:  When you click Delete, the selected user variable is deleted immediately. Click Cancel to restore settings.


Click to add a new system variable and specify its value.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to change values or add new variables.


Click to change a system variable and its value.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to change values or add new variables.


Deletes the selected system variable.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to change values or add new variables.

Important:  When you click Delete, the selected system variable is deleted immediately. Click Cancel to restore settings.


Specifies the default operating system at startup and the amount of time allowed before it starts automatically.

When you start your computer, the default operating system starts automatically if you do not select a different system from the list.


Lists the available operating systems installed on your computer. To change the default operating system, click one of the systems in the list.


Specifies how much time will elapse at startup before the default operating system starts automatically. Type the number of seconds in the list, or click the arrows to select the time.


Provides a space for you to type the number of seconds or click the arrows to select the time that will elapse at startup before the default operating system starts automatically.


Provides a space for you to type the number of seconds or click the arrows to select the time that will elapse at startup before the default operating system starts automatically.


Specifies which recovery actions Windows performs when the system stops unexpectedly.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to set recovery options.


Specifies whether Windows will write event information to the system log when the system stops unexpectedly.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to set recovery options.


Specifies whether Windows will send an alert to administrators when the system stops unexpectedly.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to set recovery options.


Specifies whether Windows will write the contents of system memory to a log when the system stops unexpectedly. The contents of this log file can then be used to understand why the system stopped.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to set recovery options.


Provides a space for you to type the name of a log file that Windows can use to write the contents of system memory when the system stops unexpectedly.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to set recovery options.


Specifies what type of information Windows should record when the system stops unexpectedly, and the name of the file that holds this information.


Specifies what type of information Windows should write to the specified dump file.

Small Memory Dump records the smallest set of useful information that will help identify why the system stopped unexpectedly. This option requires a paging file of at least 2 MB on the boot volume of your computer and specifies that Windows will create a new file each time the system stops unexpectedly.  A history of these files is stored in the directory listed under Small Dump Directory.

Kernel Memory Dump records only kernel memory, which speeds up the process of recording information in a log when the system stops unexpectedly. Depending on the amount of RAM in your computer, you must have from 50 MB to 800 MB available for the paging file on the boot volume.

Complete Memory Dump records the entire contents of system memory when the system stops unexpectedly. If you choose this option you must have a paging file on the boot volume large enough to hold all of the physical RAM plus one megabyte (MB).

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to set recovery options.


Specifies whether to overwrite any existing log file with the file specified in the Write debugging information box.

If this check box is cleared, Windows will not overwrite the current log file name. To create a new log file, type a new file name.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to set recovery options.


Specifies whether Windows will automatically reboot whenever the system stops unexpectedly.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to set recovery options.


Displays the currently selected hardware profile on your computer.


Displays the computer manufacturer’s Dock ID, if available.


Displays the computer manufacturer’s serial number, if available.


Displays the computer manufacturer’s Dock ID for this computer, if available.


Displays the computer manufacturer’s serial number for this computer, if available.


Specifies whether your computer is a portable computer.


Specifies that Windows is not able to identify the docking state of your computer for this hardware profile.


Specifies that your computer is docked when you use this hardware profile. If Windows recognizes that the computer is docked, you will not be able to change this setting.


Specifies that your computer is not docked when you use this hardware profile. If Windows recognizes that the computer is not docked, you will not be able to change this setting.


Displays the name of the profile you are copying.


Use to move the selected profile up one position in the Available hardware profiles list.

The preference of the hardware profiles is based on their ordering in the list, from top to bottom. The first profile in the list is loaded during startup, unless you select the Wait until I select a hardware profile check box under Hardware profiles selection.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to change the preference of hardware profiles.


Use to move the selected profile down one position in the Available hardware profiles list.

The preference of the hardware profiles is based on their ordering in the list, from top to bottom. The first profile in the list is loaded as the default hardware during startup.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to change the preference of hardware profiles.


Provides a space for you to type a new name for the hardware profile you are copying.


Displays the name of the profile you are renaming.


Provides a space for you to type a new name for the hardware profile.


Lists the user profiles set up on your computer.

User profiles instruct Windows to use the correct preferences and desktop settings when you log on.


Deletes the selected user profile.


If you have a roaming user profile, click to specify whether to use the local user profile or the roaming user profile when you log on from this computer. A roaming user profile enables you to log on to other computers under a saved profile.


Click to copy the selected user profile to a new user profile.


If your Windows account includes a roaming user profile, you can click Local profile to use and change only a local user profile for this computer. Click Roaming profile to use the roaming user profile when you log on to Windows and save any changes to it when you log off.

If Roaming profile is unavailable, your account doesn’t have a roaming user profile. If you need a user profile for more than one computer or installation of Windows, you should have your Windows system administrator create a roaming user profile for you.


Specifies that the selected user profile is a Local profile. You can use and change the local user profile for this computer.


Specifies that the selected user profile is a roaming profile. You can use and change the profile and save any changes to it when you log off. If this is unavailable, you don’t have a roaming profile.


Specifies whether to use a cached user profile. Use a cached profile if you have a slow network connection when you log on to Windows.


Provides a space for you to type the path to the folder for the copied user profile. You can also click Browse to select the path.


Click to select the path for the copied user profile.


Displays the user or group permitted to use the copied user profile. To select a different user or group, click Change.


Click to select a different user or group that is permitted to use the copied user profile.


Lists the available drives and displays information about the paging file size on that drive.


Displays the current initial and maximum sizes for the paging file on a drive in megabytes (MB).


Displays the drive selected in Drive [Volume Label].


Displays the amount of free space available on the selected drive in megabytes (MB).


Provides a space for you to type the initial size in megabytes (MB) for the virtual-memory paging file on the selected drive, and then click Set.

For best performance, set the initial size to be equal to or greater than the Recommended size under Total paging file size for all drives.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to specify paging file sizes.


Provides a space for you to type the maximum size in megabytes (MB) for the virtual-memory paging file on the selected drive and then click Set.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to specify paging file sizes.


Applies the initial and maximum size settings you specified for the paging file on the selected drive.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to set paging file sizes.


Specifies the minimum required paging file size. The minimum required size is 2 MB.


Displays the recommended size for virtual-memory paging files, which Windows identifies as the size that ensures the best performance. It is equivalent to 1.5 times the amount of RAM available on your system. However, the size of the file also depends on the amount of free space available on your hard disk when the paging file is created.


Displays the current size of the virtual-memory paging file for all drives.


Displays the current size of the registry on your computer.


Provides a space for you to type the maximum size for the registry on your computer. Setting the registry size doesn’t guarantee that the space will be available for the registry; it only sets the maximum size that can be used when it is needed.

When you set a registry size limit, it limits both the page pool size and the amount of disk space that can be used by the registry.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to set the registry size.


Identifies your full computer name on the network.


Identifies the workgroup or domain to which your computer belongs.


Click to start the Network Identification Wizard.


Click to change the identifying information for your computer.


Provides a place for you to type a computer name. The new name cannot be the same as another computer or the name of a Windows domain. See Rename a computer in Help.


Displays the new full computer name based on your changes.


Specifies that your computer is a member of a Windows secure domain. To join a domain or change an existing domain membership, type a name in the space provided. See Join a domain in Help.

You must be logged on as an administrator to the local computer to join a domain or change domain membership.


Provides a space for you to type the domain name where this computer has an account.

You must be logged on as an administrator to the local computer to join a domain or change domain membership.


Specifies that your computer is a member of a workgroup. To join a workgroup or change an existing workgroup, type a name in the space provided. See Join a workgroup in Help.


Provides a space for you to type the name of the workgroup to which this computer is a member.


Click to specify the primary Domain Name System (DNS) suffix for your computer and view its Net BIOS computer name.


Provides a space for you to type the Domain Name System (DNS) suffix for this computer. If this computer belongs to a group with a Group Policy enabled on Primary DNS suffix of this computer, the string specified in the Group Policy is used as the primary DNS suffix. The local setting is used only if Group Policy is disabled or unspecified. See Change the DNS suffix of your computer in Help.


Specifies whether to automatically update the Domain Name System (DNS) suffix when you change domain membership. The DNS suffix can be automatically updated only on Windows domains.


Displays the Net BIOS name for your computer.


Use to select the user or group permitted to use a new user profile.

Click one of the following for more information:

 List Names From

 Names

 Add

 Show Users

 Members

 Search

 Add Name

Note

If you are not logged on as a member of the Administrators group, you cannot create new user profiles.


Displays the name of the domain or computer whose groups are shown in Names. An asterisk (*) following the name indicates that local groups for that domain or computer are shown.

To display groups and users in another domain or on the computer, select another domain or select the computer.


Displays the groups or users belonging to the current domain or computer.

To add groups or users to the permissions list, select them in Names, and then click Add.


Click to add the selected groups or users to the permissions list.


Click to display the names of users belonging to the current domain or computer selected in Names.


Click to see the contents of the group selected in Names.


Click to find the domain to which a group or user belongs. To add a group or user, you must know the domain that contains the account for the group or user.


Displays the name of the group or user that you are adding to the permissions list.


Use to assign permissions to one member of a group.

Click one of the following for more information:

 Members of Global Group

 Add


Displays members of the group.

Click the member to whom you want to give permission, and then click Add.


Use to search for a user or group in one or more of the Windows domains listed in this dialog box.

Click one of the following for more information:

 Find User or Group

 Search

 Search All

 Search Only In

 Search Results

 Add


Provides a place for you to type the user or group name that you want to find.


Use to search for the user or group in the selected domains.


Use to search in all listed domains.


Use to select the domains you want to search.


Displays the results of the search. Click the user or group that you want to be permitted to use the profile, and then click Add.


Provides a place for you to type a description for this computer. You can use up to 48 characters in the description.


Lists the user variables available for editing. To change a user variable, click one in the list.


Click to restart or log off the computer you are managing.


Specifies that all device drivers are installed regardless of whether they have a digital signature.


Specifies that a warning is displayed when attempting to install any device driver without a digital signature. The installation process stops briefly so that you can decide whether to cancel or continue the installation process.


Specifies that device drivers without a digital signature cannot be installed. The installation process stops when attempting to install an unsigned device driver.


Specifies that the file signature verification setting is applied as the default setting for all users who log on to this computer.

You must be logged on as an administrator or as a member of the Administrators group to select this option.


Displays the Error Reporting dialog box, which allows you to set the defaults for system and program error reporting. When a system error occurs all computer operations stop. When a program error occurs, the program stops working.


Select to disable error reporting. When this option is selected, error reports will not be generated.


Select to enable error reporting. When this option is selected, error reports will be generated.


To report errors in the Windows operating system, select the Windows operating system check box. To report errors in your programs, select the Programs check box.


Click to specify programs to include or exclude from error reporting.


Lists the Windows components you want error reports created for. If a check mark is next to a component, a report is created when an error occurs in that component.


Click to include all programs in error reporting.


Displays a list of programs that are included in error reporting. Reports are created only for the programs on this list.


Click to specify programs to exclude from error reporting.


Click to remove a program from the list.


Click to specify which programs to include in error reporting.


Lists the programs that are excluded from error reporting. Click Add to specify a program to exclude from error reporting. Click Remove to delete a program from the list.


Click to add programs to include in error reporting.


Click to remove programs from error reporting.


Enter the program’s executable name. For example, to include or exclude Microsoft Word, type winword.exe. If you don’t know the program’s executable name, click Browse and navigate to the folder where the program resides. Do not enter the path to the program, only the program’s executable name.


Click to browse to a folder where the program resides.


Click to enable Remote Desktop on this computer.


The users in this list have permissions to connect to this computer remotely. To add a user to the list, click Add.


Click to add a user to the Remote Desktop Users group. This allows the user to connect to this computer remotely.


Click to remove a user from the Remote Desktop Users group.


Click this option to automatically download updates. Windows will notify you when they are ready to be installed.


Click this option to be notified before updates are downloaded, and to be notified again when the downloads are ready to be installed.


Click this option to turn off automatic updating. If you choose this option, you will have to update your computer manually.


Windows saves updates that have been previously rejected and marks them as "hidden." By clicking this button, you can "unhide" these updates and install them.


Select this option to have Windows notify you when a critical error occurs, even if you have disabled Error Reporting.


Select All programs to report errors in all your programs. Select All programs in this list to include programs from Microsoft, Windows components, or individual programs in error reporting.


Provides a space for you to type a descriptive name for your computer.


Provides a space for you to type the new name of the hardware profile.


Click to turn on all of the visual effects settings.


Click to turn off all of the visual effects settings.


Click to restore the visual effects settings to those chosen by Windows.


placeholder text for the “optimize for” text in Performance Options/Advanced tab/Memory usage.


Click this option if you are using this machine as a workstation, rather than as a server. Your programs will work faster and your system cache size will be the default size that came with Windows XP.


Click this option if you are using this machine as a server, or if you use programs that require a large system cache.


Click to specify the initial size and maximum size in megabytes (MB) of the virtual memory paging file. For best performance, the initial size on all drives should total at least the Recommended size under Total paging file size for all drives.


Click to have Windows choose the best size of the paging file.


Click to disable the paging file on this drive. Microsoft strongly recommends that you do not disable the paging file.


Microsoft strongly recommends that you do not modify the boot options file (boot.ini). Doing so may render your computer unusable.


Click to manually edit the boot options file. Microsoft strongly recommends that you do not modify the boot options file (boot.ini). Doing so may render your computer unusable.


To turn on some visual effects but not others, select the check boxes below for the visual effects you want to use.