
By selecting Properties in Disk Administrator, you can see a graphical representation of the amount of space left on the system.
Performance Monitor is a tool for measuring and viewing in graphical format the performance of your computer or other computers on a network. You can view the behavior of objects such as the microprocessor, the system's random-access memory (RAM), the hard drive, and various system processes. For each of these objects, information is available about device usage, delays, and other benchmarks that measure how efficiently information is being accessed and processed. Performance Monitor accumulates this data and displays it in graphical format.
For the uninitiated, Performance Monitor can be rather daunting. With a little patience, however, this utility can offer an excellent introduction to the intricacies of system performance.
Establishing benchmarks: When you open Performance Monitor, you're presented with a blank slate on which to chart your system. Go to Edit, Add To Chart. A window appears with pop-up menus that allow you to select which object and counters you want to chart. Selecting System and Registry Quota In Use will guarantee a recurring blip on the scale. Now, choose a few more. As you select your criteria, you can change line width, style, and color. By clicking the Details button, you'll be instructed as to what each specific counter measures. This is where the learning takes place.
You now can save the chart variables for future reference. You also can choose to view system alerts, output log files, and report data. But, unless you are well-versed in system troubleshooting, you'll never get this far. You can, however, learn a lot about your system while viewing its ongoing performance in an attractive, graphical format.
Disk Administrator is a tool for managing disks and viewing them in a graphical format. It is only available to users with system administration clearance. The utility allows you to create and remove partitions on a hard drive, and to create logical drives within a designated partition. It also reads information about drives such as the amount of free space and volume labels and performs drive-checking, basic backups, and drive defragmentation if that option has been installed.
To view disk information: When you open Disk Administrator, you are presented with a basic display indicating any drives present on the system. Click the Volumes button, which is under the View menu. A display appears indicating drive letter, size, free space, and other variables. If you click any drive in either view, and go to Tools, Properties, the graphical display appears. Here, you'll see a pie chart, which represents your drive, showing available space and other information. By clicking the Tools file tab, you can perform backups, drive checking, and defragmentation, if available.
You've now learned about the basic operations available in Windows NT's administrative and system tools. There are other, more complex functions that you may need down the road, but if you've learned enough to need them, you won't need us to explain them. In the meantime, enjoy.