Identify Hardware Requirements

Hardware requirements help you decidewhether a computer systemis a reasonable

host for a particular operating system(OS).Requirements include the CPU

model, the amount of RAM, the amount of free hard disk space, and the video

adapter, display, and storage devices that may be required to install and run

the OS. They are stated as minimums or, more recently, as recommended

minimums. Although you could install an OS on a computer with the old

minimums that Microsoft published, they were not realistic if you actually

wanted to accomplish work.With the last few versions ofWindows,Microsoft

has published recommended minimums that are much more realistic. You

will find the published minimums on the packaging and at Microsoft’s Web

site (microsoft.com).