Skip to content

TechRepublic

  • Top Products Lists
  • AI
  • Developer
  • Payroll
  • Security
  • Project Management
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • Innovation
  • Cheat Sheets
  • Cloud
  • 5G
  • Big Data
  • TechRepublic Premium
  • Top Products Lists
  • AI
  • Developer
  • Payroll
  • Security
  • Project Management
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • Innovation
  • Cheat Sheets
  • Cloud
  • 5G
  • Big Data
  • See All Topics
  • Sponsored
  • Newsletters
  • Forums
  • Resource Library
TechRepublic Premium
Join / Sign In
Software

Five Apps: Audit your PCs information for free

By Jack Wallen August 16, 2013, 12:25 PM PDT

Image
1
of 11

106_blackbird_02.jpg
106_blackbird_02.jpg
Five Apps: Audit your PCs information for free

Five free apps that collect PC information

Five free apps that collect PC information

This gallery is also available as a TechRepublic article.

If you’re looking to audit your PCs, you need to have thernright tools to handle this task. If you’re in a very small company, with one orrntwo PCs, gathering this information isn’t a challenge to your schedule. If,rnhowever, you’re looking at 10 or more machines to be audited, you’ll want tornhave a hand in the process of collecting this data.

rnFortunately, there are plenty of software titles outrnthere to help you out with this task. I have gathered up five such tools so yourndon’t have to go searching for them. Out of these tools, there will certainlyrnbe one or two that will stand up to your needs. Let’s dive in and see what eachrnhas to offer.

rnrn

Credit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic.

a1_belarc_1.png
a1_belarc_1.png
Five Apps: Audit your PCs information for free

Belarc 1

Belarc 1

Five apps

rnrn

1. Belarc Advisor

rnrnBelarcrnAdvisor is often considered the go-to tool for auditing/profiling a systemrnu2013 and with good reason. Belarc makes short shrift of gathering all therninformation about hardware and software on a system, as well as missingrnMicrosoft hotfixes, state of anti-virus apps, and security bench marks. Oncernthe application is run, it will display the results in a local web page. Belarcrnwill run on most versions of the Windows platform (from Windows 95 to Windows 8rnu2013 both 32 and 64 bit). The report generated by Belarc will display in your defaultrnbrowser u2013 it does not require Internet Explorer.

rnrn

Credit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic.

a2_belarc_2.png
a2_belarc_2.png
Five Apps: Audit your PCs information for free

Belarc 2

Belarc 2

Credit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic.

b1_msinfo32_1.png
b1_msinfo32_1.png
Five Apps: Audit your PCs information for free

MSInfo 1

MSInfo 1

2. MSIfo32.exe

rnrnMSInfo32.exernis the Windows built-in information gathering tool. This easy to use toolrngathers the following information: The version of Windows, OEM SystemrnInformation, type of CPU, amount of memory and system resources, BIOS version,rnlocale, time zone, user name (only present if the computer is configured to logrninto a domain), boot device, and the path to the Page file. The application canrnbe run by clicking Start and then entering msinfo32.exe. The tool is very quickrnto gather information and displays more than you’ll ever need in an easy tornread window.

Credit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic.

b2_msinfo32_2.png
b2_msinfo32_2.png
Five Apps: Audit your PCs information for free

MSInfo 2

MSInfo 2

Credit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic.

c1_produkey_1.png
c1_produkey_1.png
Five Apps: Audit your PCs information for free

Produkey 1

Produkey 1

3. Produkey

rnrnProdukey isrnthe tool you need when you have to dig up the product IDs and CD-keys forrnMicrosoft software. This tool quickly (and reliably) grabs the information forrnWindows, Microsoft Office, Exchange Server, and SQL Server. Nothing is morernreliable when you’ve lost your keys for installed Windows software. One caveatrnto Produkey is that you might find your anti-virus solution prevents it fromrnrunning. If this is the case, temporarily disable your anti-virus and run thernapp.

Credit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic.

c2_produkey_2.png
c2_produkey_2.png
Five Apps: Audit your PCs information for free

Produkey 2

Produkey 2

Credit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic.

d1_lookinmypc_1.png
d1_lookinmypc_1.png
Five Apps: Audit your PCs information for free

LookInMyPC 1

LookInMyPC 1

4. LookInMyPC

rnrnLookInMyPC isrnanother tool that generates quite a bit of information about system hardwarernand software. One very nice feature of LookInMyPC is that many of the reportsrnoffer links to Google searches, so you can quickly find out more details onrnwhat some of the more obscure results mean. LookInMyPC makes no changes to yourrnPC and can be run from a portable device. As well, you can generate a handyrnzipped file and send it as an email (from within the tool itself). LookInMyPCrnalso includes command line support and auto report archiving.

Credit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic.

d2_lookinmypc_2.png
d2_lookinmypc_2.png
Five Apps: Audit your PCs information for free

LookInMyPC 2

LookInMyPC 2

Credit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic.

e1_speccy_1.png
e1_speccy_1.png
Five Apps: Audit your PCs information for free

Speccy 1

Speccy 1

5. Speccy

rnrnSpeccy is anrninformation gathering tool created by Piriform and is called an electronicrnu201cWhat’s insideu201d sticker for your PC. Speccy will give you all the standardrnissue about your computer, plus: CPU, Motherboard, RAM, Graphics Cards, HardrnDisks, Optical Drives, device temperatures, SMART data retrieval, and Audiornsupport. Speccy is run from a self-contained executable, so it can be used as arnhandy, portable tool. The one downfall of Speccy is that it’s not going torngather as much detailed information as the other tools. But for the averagernneed, Speccy does a fine job.

Credit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic.

e2_speccy_2.png
e2_speccy_2.png
Five Apps: Audit your PCs information for free

Speccy 2

Speccy 2

Bottom line

rnrnGathering PC information can make your life as anrnadministrator far easier. If your company isn’t large enough to use anrnenterprise tool that gives you a constant heads up on PC information for anrnentire network, you will need to use the right tools to extract that datarnquickly. Any one of the tools listed would be an outstanding addition to yourrnalready growing admin tool kit. With these applications you’ll have every piecernof PC information you need at the tip of your fingers.

Credit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic.

  • Software
  • Account Information

    Share with Your Friends

    Five Apps: Audit your PCs information for free

    Your email has been sent

Share: Five Apps: Audit your PCs information for free
Image of Jack Wallen
By Jack Wallen
Jack Wallen is an award-winning writer for TechRepublic, The New Stack, and Linux New Media. He's covered a variety of topics for over twenty years and is an avid promoter of open source. For more news about Jack Wallen, visit his website jackwallen.
  • Account Information

    Contact Jack Wallen

    Your message has been sent

  • |
  • See all of Jack's content

TechRepublic Premium

  • TechRepublic Premium

    Checklist: Network and systems security

    Cybersecurity demands and the stakes of failing to properly secure systems and networks are high. While every organization’s specific security needs form a unique and complex blend of interconnected requirements, numerous security fundamentals almost always apply to each of these groups. It stands to reason that cybersecurity pros who effectively identify network and systems risks ...

    Published:  June 1, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT Modified:  June 2, 2023, 7:48 AM EDT Read More See more TechRepublic Premium
  • TechRepublic Premium

    How to host multiple websites on Linux with Apache

    In this guide from TechRepublic Premium we’re going to explore the various things you can do with a Linux server. We won’t leave out any steps, so you won’t have to refer to another tutorial to complete the process. The only step we will leave out is the installation of Linux, as we’ll assume you ...

    Downloads
    Published:  May 31, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT Modified:  June 1, 2023, 7:45 AM EDT Read More See more TechRepublic Premium
  • TechRepublic Premium

    How to deploy an application with Kubernetes

    If you want to deploy applications into a Kubernetes cluster, be warned — it’s not the easiest task. There are a lot of moving pieces that go into these scalable containers. Don’t you wish you had a complete roadmap, from start to finish, to walk you through the process of deploying the Kubernetes cluster, deploying ...

    Downloads
    Published:  May 31, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT Modified:  June 1, 2023, 7:51 AM EDT Read More See more TechRepublic Premium
  • TechRepublic Premium

    Cross-training tool kit

    The more flexibility you can create in your technology workforce, the better you’ll be equipped to manage tomorrow, whatever the future brings. Too often, we focus on helping our teams become technical specialists who know volumes about a single technology, but quickly lose sight of how that technology connects with others. This makes their skills ...

    Downloads
    Published:  May 30, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT Modified:  May 31, 2023, 4:50 PM EDT Read More See more TechRepublic Premium

Services

  • About Us
  • Newsletters
  • RSS Feeds
  • Site Map
  • Site Help & Feedback
  • FAQ
  • Advertise
  • Do Not Sell My Information

Explore

  • Downloads
  • TechRepublic Forums
  • Meet the Team
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • TechRepublic Premium
  • Resource Library
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • TechRepublic
  • TechRepublic on Twitter
  • TechRepublic on Facebook
  • TechRepublic on LinkedIn
  • TechRepublic on Flipboard
© 2023 TechnologyAdvice. All rights reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Property of TechnologyAdvice