How to Check Computer Configuration
There are several different types of configurations on your computer. You can check the configuration of your hard drive, printers, network and/or browsers, which is necessary when installing new software/hardware or troubleshooting a problem. The following demonstrates how to check your BIOS (hard drive) and browser configurations.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
Check the BIOS Configurations for Windows NT and XP
-
1
Enter the Setup Utility. You will need to reboot the computer, or power it up if it is turned off. Once the system starts to reboot, hit the Delete key to enter the Setup Utility. Check with your system; some systems require that you hit another key to enter the Setup Utility. If you don't know, just read the screen when the computer is powering up.
-
2
Click on the Advanced tab once you are in the Setup Utility.
-
-
3
Click on the Boot Features button from the Advanced tab.
-
4
Check your configurations. On the Boot Features"page of the Setup Utility, you will see all of your BIOS configurations. Jot down the configuration settings that you need. If you are here to change some settings, make sure that you are familiar with what you are changing. If you are not, write down the initial setting so that you can change it back if any problems arise. After you have made your changes, hit F10 on your keyboard to save any changes.
-
5
Exit the Setup Utility, and reboot the computer to apply the new settings.
Check Your Browser Configurations
-
6
Open a new instance of your browser. You may need to check your browser configurations to make sure your computer has all the necessary components to do an online course or to go to a certain site. Many times the site sends you the link where you can check your browser's configurations to see if your browser is compatible. If you just want to check the basic configurations of your browser, continue on with the next step.
-
7
For IE or Firefox browsers---with the browser open---click on Tools from the menu bar. Choose Options (Firefox) or Internet Options (Internet Explorer). The box that comes up will have all the configurations for your browser. Click on the various tabs to see the different configuration group sets.
-
8
For Firefox or Safari browsers on a MAC machine, click on Safari or Firefox menu. The configurations windows can be brought up by click on the 'Preferences' option. Click on the various tabs to see the configurations of different settings group sets.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If you mess up the settings in the Setup Utility, hit the ESC button to restore the computer's default settings.
It is very dangerous to messing around in the computer's configurations without knowing what you are looking for. There are settings in the BIOS that can stop your computer from restarting if you change the wrong thing.
