For anyone who has rebuilt or reinstalled Windows once knows what a monumental task this can be. Especially after a period of time has passed and a mountain of applications, programs and utilities have been installed.
One way to help ease the process and make it less difficult, is to take an inventory of your current system configuration before starting the rebuild process. This will give you a documented snapshot of your Computer that will include hardware component information, system configuration, and what software has been installed.
One tool that can help is PC Wizard from cupid.com. PC Wizard will scan and detect all hardware components, software, network, etc, along with the latest technologies (DirectX) installed on your System, allowing you to save the report as Text, HTML, PDF or CSV format.
After launching PC Wizard, all information will be displayed in four tabs in the sidebar. Categories include: Hardware, Configuration, System Files, and Resources.
Under each category are individual components, when clicked on, will display in the upper window. You can then click on each item in the window for detailed information that displays in the window below. The Hardware category includes memory, processor(s), disk drive(s) and peripherals.
Each category report needs to be saved separately by clicking on the Save As disk icon in the toolbar. Here you can select the file format and parameters (circled).
Reports can also be emailed or printed by selecting File from the menu.
PC Wizard also includes a configuration option to change how the utility behaves. To view the Options window and make changes to your preferences, click on Tools \ Options from the menu.
Another nice feature included with PC Wizard is Benchmarking. Here you can check your Computer overall performance and video capability with the DirectX 3D test, that includes texture, 3D particles, vertex, and billboard in frames per second. Other Benchmarks include, L1 and L2 caching, DVD, Ram and Memory Global Benchmarking.
Monthly updates are available that include updated hardware profiles and data (make sure you check for any updates before running the tool).
As if all this is not enough, PC Wizard is free and a true portable utility that can run from a USB Drive
(or it can be installed directly onto your hard drive).
Comments on Need To Reinstall Windows? Take Hardware And Software Inventory Before Starting
I think this tool can be very useful for individual users, thanks for advice. For enterprise users, especially in big networks you need something else. Some desktop management systems includes built-in inventrory features. For example, sms should have some basic ones. But my personal favourite is desktop authority. It has very powerful set of software and hardware inventory reports.
@Pharell
Excellent point. PC Wizard would not be a good tool for larger corporations. For home users, it will give them the needed information similar to what an enterprise inventory tool can do (like the two you mentioned).
Im new a computers and i think i do need to re-install .How does this inventory work when i re-install windows,as i have a ton of software and hardware ill need to put back in? I know nothing or very little about computers,lol,just an old army vet. Thanks if you reply! Steve
@Steve
The inventory is just a list that you can reference.
Effectively managing pc inventory across the LAN, WAN, and now more than ever, the Internet, can be a daunting or even impossible task. I talk with IT Managers who struggle to understand what it is they have out there to manage. Successful IT support starts with knowing what you have. If you are looking for a solution that provides the reporting and detailed inventory of every system I would highly recommend looking at the computer inventory software from Kaseya.
helpful article, thanks