Windows 7 / Getting Started

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Understanding the System Utility

Clicking the System icon in Control Panel lets you access a useful set of utilities and tasks that allow you to configure remote access, system devices, system protection, and the computer name, just to name a few.

Let's look at the information that can be viewed and the tasks that can be configured in Control Panel:

Windows Edition The Windows Edition section shows you which edition of Windows the machine is currently using. The Windows Edition section also shows whether service packs are installed.

System The System section shows information about the system hardware. The System sections also shows:

• Rating
• Processor
• Installed Memory (RAM)
• System Type
• Pen and Touch

Computer Name/Domain Changes In the Computer Name, Domain, and Workgroup setting section, you can change the name of the computer system and also change the workgroup or domain.

Windows Activation The Windows Activation section allows you to activate your Windows 7 operating system. The Windows Activation section also allows you to change your product key before activating.

Remote Settings The Remote Settings section allows you to set the Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop properties for the Windows 7 system. Windows Remote Assistance allows you to connect to a machine and control the mouse and keyboard while the user is on with you. This option can be enabled or disabled.

Remote Desktop allows you to have your own session on the Windows 7 operating system. While you are logged on to the Windows 7 operating system through Remote Desktop, the user of the machine can't view the session. You can choose from the following three Remote Desktop options:

Don't Allow Connections From This Machine Choosing this option prevents anyone from connecting to this machine through Remote Desktop.

Allow Connections From Computers Running Any Version Of Remote Desktop (Less Secure) This setting allows any computer running Remote Desktop to connect to this Windows 7 machine. These machines do not need to use network-level authentication, and that makes this connection type less secure.

Allow Connections Only From Computers Running Remote Desktop With Network Level Authentication (More Secure) Network-level authentication is a new method used for Remote Desktop (Windows Vista and higher). It allows Remote Desktop users to connect to the Windows 7 operating system securely.

You also have the ability in Remote Desktop to specify which users have access to the Windows 7 machine through the use of Remote Desktop.

System Protection The System Protection tab allows you to configure restore points and recoverability for the Windows 7 operating system. You can also manage disk space and manage all your restore points on the System Protection tab.

Advanced System Settings The Advanced System Settings tab allows you to set up such items as visual effects, processor scheduling, memory usage, virtual memory, desktop settings, system startup, and recoverability.

There are three main sections on the Advanced System Settings tab:

Performance The Performance section allows you to configure the Visual Effects, the virtual memory, processor scheduling, and data execution prevention for the Windows 7 operating system.
The virtual memory is a section of the hard drive that is used by the system and RAM. Think of RAM as a pitcher of water. As the water fills up the pitcher, the pitcher fills. Once full, the water would overflow. The virtual memory is the overflow for RAM. When RAM fills up, the oldest data in the RAM gets put into the virtual memory. This way, the system does not need to look at an entire hard drive for that data. It finds it in the virtual memory.
The Data Execution Prevention section helps protect against damage from viruses and other security threats.

User Profiles The User Profiles section allows you to copy, delete, or move a user's desktop profile to another location or user account.

Startup And Recovery The Startup And Recovery section, allows you to configure which operating system will be booted by default (important for dual-booting machines) and what should happen when the system gets a startup error.

You can also configure the Device Manager from the System item. Let's now take a look at configuring some of the options using the System utility.

Changing a Computer Name

Perform the following steps to change the computer name:

1. Open the System utility by clicking Start → Control Panel → System.
2. In the resulting window, in the Computer Name, Domain and Workgroup section, click the Change Settings link.
3. Click the Change button in the To Rename This Computer section.
4. In the Computer Name field, enter a new name for your computer. Click OK.
5. A dialog box asking to reboot the machine appears. Click OK.
6. Click Close. Click the Restart Now button.

Now that we have renamed the computer, let's take a look at how to configure performance options.