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Clarify Technical Services - Tip #6

How to inventory a system with Belarc Advisor, and/or System Info for Windows (SIW).

Applies to: All Windows based PC's.
Last updated: Tuesday December 31, 2017

SUMMARY!

In order to maintain and control a customer site with multiple computers, it is imperative that we have a way of cataloguing each computer's hardware and software. This is accomplished using several tools either individually or combined depending on the requirements.

Belarc Advisor

Belarc Advisor is a system asset management tool used to take a quick inventory of a pc's hardware and software. It is free for personal use. Several large corporations use the enterprise version to track and maintain inventories of their computers so you can be assured that it is safe to use. You can get more information at www.belarc.com

PROCEDURE

  1. Download the Belarc installer here. Download Belarc Advisor.

  2. Save the file to your PC. (I suggest the desktop so it is easy to find later.)

  3. Now locate the file named advisor-V8.6.exe that you saved to your PC and run it.

  4. Click "I Agree" and then "Install". Belarc will now begin the installation process. There will be a "Check for New Definitions" pop up window asking "Would you like to check for new Advisor security definitions?" Click "Yes" You will then get a window confirming the update version. Click "OK". This will complete the install and begin the system analysis process.

  5. At the end of the analysis process Belarc will open a browser window with the results. From your browsers menu select "File" "Send" "Page by E-mail". This will open a new message window. Fill in my email address and send.

  6. You can now close the browser window and delete the file called advisor-V8.6.exe.

SIW (System Info for Windows)

SIW is similar to Belarc Advisor but goes into much greater detail. It is also free for personal use. You can get more information at www.gtopala.com

PROCEDURE

  1. Download the SIW utility here. Download SIW.

  2. Save the file to your PC.

  3. Now locate the file named SIW Standalone (English-Only).exe that you saved to your PC and run it.
    This will run the SIW program and open the System Info window.

  4. From the menu select "File" "Create Report File" "HTML" and save the file to your My Documents folder.

  5. You can now close the SIW program window.

  6. Now you can email me the file you saved to your My Documents folder It will be called SIW_2010.......