Windows Management

System Tools

The System Tool folder contains the various utilities that help you in maintaining your PC system.

To run the system tools do the following

Click the Start button, highlight Program then highlight accessories and choose System Tools. The system tools are given in the table.

System Tool	Description
Backup	This utility recompresses your files
Disk Cleanup	Automatically clears not required files from your hard disk
Disk Defragmenter	Rearranges the files and programs on your hard disk
Schedule Tasks	Allows scheduling of tasks at predetermined times
System Information	Displays information about software and hardware of the system
Character Map	To print and use special characters

Administrative Tools and the MMC

To configure advanced options for the computer go to Start > All Programs > Administrative Tools. Other ways to open this window are

Click Start; then right-click Computer and select Manage.
In Run dialog box type compmgmt.msc

Extension ‘.msc’ is Microsoft Management Console Snap-in Control file, or Microsoft Console. MMC (Microsoft Management Console) acts as a shell for Computer Management and other console windows. It controls remote computers and local PC. Windows XP uses Version 2.0 and to create an MMC, in Run dialog box type MMC. Empty MMC opens and now add consoles (known as snap-ins) by

Click File on the menu bar; then click Add/Remove Snap-in.
Select components needed by selecting them and clicking the Add button. Click OK when finished.
Save the MMC.

Device Manager – It is an MMC to manage devices and has categories for each type of device so, expand to see specific devices on PC. It can search for drivers automatically, or manually install driver by browsing for file. It can be opened as

In Computer Management, click on System Tools, and select Device Manager.
In System Properties window of control panel, click the Hardware tab, and select Device Manager button.
In Run dialog box type devmgmt.msc.

Driver Signing – Device driver files which are digitally signed by Microsoft to ensure quality.

System Information Tool – It is for showing device details like IRQ used and is accessed by going to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools and clicking on System Information, or by typing msinfo32.exe in run dialog box.

DxDiag – Analyze and diagnose video card and is accessed by typing dxdiag in run dialog box