Your computer is made of many hardware components which need the software to work seamlessly. For example, though Windows PC needs a physical graphics or display card, it only works when compatible driver files are installed. You need to find out these hardware and software details for troubleshooting and replacement purposes. These hardware and software details are called System Information and here is how you can find the system information in Windows and Mac computers.
System Information Details
Here are some of the useful information you can find with system information:
- Model name, serial number, processor details, etc.
- Device details for printers, graphics card, hard disk, etc.
- Storage capacity, file system, volume details, etc.
- OS version, installed apps, frameworks, fonts, etc.
Find System Information Report in Mac
Mac offers your system details as a System Information report in an app.
- Click the Apple logo menu on the left corner of the top menu bar.
- Select “About This Mac” option from the menu.
- Under “Overview” tab, you can find the basic details of macOS version, processor, memory, graphics card and serial number.
- Click on the “System Report…” button to open “System Information” report.
- It has three headings – hardware- network and software.
- Click the headings to see the overview details like “Hardware overview” by selecting “Hardware” option.
- Select individual items under hardware, network or software section to view its details. For example, below screenshot shows the USB device details under hardware section.
Though you can access system information from Apple logo, it is a separate app in macOS. This comes as a default app as part of the OS which you can open by using Spotlight Search. Alternatively, press F4 key to open Launchpad and find System Information app under “Other” folder.
When you open system information from the Apple menu, it will NOT show the menu items in top bar. Simply press “Command + A” or “Command + S” keys to reveal the menu items. However, when you open the app by searching (or from Launchpad), it will show “System Information” menu items in the top bar automatically.
Download System Information or Save as PDF in Mac
You can use keyboard shortcuts or use the menu items from the top menu bar for downloading, saving or searching the data.
- Go to “File > Save” or press “Command + S” keys to download the entire System Information details. This will be saved as a .spx file, you can double click on the file to open it in System Information app. This is useful to keep system information shortcut in desktop or in the dock for quick access.
- Let’s say, you want to only download the hardware overview section details. Select the “Hardware” tab and press “Command + P” or go to “File > Print” menu. When the print dialog box opens, click on the “PDF” dropdown and select “Save as PDF”. Select the location on your Mac and save the details as a PDF file. In this way, you can download details of any particular section from system information app.
If you feel missing information in any section of the report, go to “File” menu and select “ Show More Information” option. The menu will show “Show Less Information”, if already showing all the details. You can use “Command + F” to search and find details quickly within the selected section.
Find System Information in Windows 11 PC
Windows 11 offers similar system information report like macOS.
- Click Windows Search icon in the taskbar and type “system information” in the box.
- Under “Best match”, you should see System Information app as a first item and click on it to open the app.
- The app has four sections – System Summary, Hardware Resources, Components and Software Environment.
- Only “System Summary” will show the overview details. For all other sections, you need to select the subcategory to view its details.
Save PDF or Download System Information in Windows 11
You can save any particular section of System Information report (for example – Disks details under Components > Storage section) as a PDF file. First, select that section and then press “Control + P” to open print dialog box. Select “Microsoft Print to PDF” printer and click “Print” button. Provide the file name and select the location on your computer to save the PDF file. This will save the selected section in a neat PDF file which you can share with anyone. In case if you are missing print to PDF option, then learn how to add Microsoft Print to PDF printer in Windows 11.
Press “Control + S” to save the complete system information details as a file. This will take a while for preparing your file and the file will be saved with .nfo extension. You can simply double click the file to open with System Information app.
The big difference with Windows System Information app compared to macOS is that you have a nice search option. This works to find any specific term across all categories instead of only within the selected item.
