Accessing Hardware specs on ones system

[cato40]

This is the question :
For one to be able to upgrade their hardware on their pc, How can you access your system to know what you have.
e.g. If I have a 13.2 Gb Harddrive, I would like to know if it is IDE ot SATA ?
THe Ram, What type and whether they would be able to be upgraded, say from 387Mb to 512 or 1-2 Gb, etc.
same with sound 7video cards,power supply.
Thanking you,
cato40

[garda]

You can get most hardware information using softwares, one of them is lshw. To use it, enter this in a Terminal window:

Code: Select all

sudo lshw > ~/hardware.txt

And you will get an abundance of hardware information in a file named hardware.txt in your home directory. If you prefer a GUI utility, you may want to install hardinfo through Synaptic.

Softwares, however, can not get the type of RAM you have along with its manufacturer string, information about the power supply unit, and a few other limitations. To obtain such type of informations not accessible through softwares, you may either open up your computer case and have a close look inside or refer to the users manual that comes with your computer.

[cato40]

Thanks, will try.
cato40

[cato40]

Hi:
when I enter the sudo lshw >~/hardware.txt into a terminal ,it says something about a :superuser "
what is that ?
sorry, I am a bit dense .
cato40

[Fred]

cato40,

The command garda gave you should work but if it doesn't try typing in a terminal:

sudo su

Then do the:

lshw >~/hardware.txt

You should find the information collected in your home folder in a file called "hardware.txt"

Fred

[garda]

Cato,

Notice the space between the right angled bracket and the tilde. There should be a prompt asking for a password after you hit the Enter key, at which point you should enter your login password. One more thing to note, you will not see any blinking cursor while typing in your password.

[cato40]

By Jove, You hit the nail on the head. Thank you very much.

Superior Skill and Knowledge win over Fear and Superstition,Author not known.
cato40

[Fred]

garda,

I have seen several incidents lately where people insist on using "sudo" to start GUI programs instead of "gksu". When they do this, problems tend to crop up later with not being able to use sudo to gain root privileges for the user profile. I don't know exactly what is happening, just that it does happen.

Just a heads up in case you run across the same thing.

Fred

[cato40]

Thank s to all for the timely help.
cato40