Futility

You can pull most of those properties right from the system without opening it up. Here’s how on Windows:

1. *Basic specs - age, CPU, RAM, storage*
1. Press *Win + R*, type `msinfo32`, hit Enter.
This opens System Information. You’ll see:
- *System Model*: Tells you the exact laptop/desktop model
- *Processor*: CPU type and speed
- *Installed RAM*
- *BIOS Version/Date*: Gives you a rough idea of age
- *System Type*: 64-bit or 32-bit

2. *Storage & disk health*
1. Press *Win + X* > *Disk Management* to see drive size and partitions.
2. For health, open *Command Prompt* as admin and run:
`wmic diskdrive get status`
If it says “OK”, drive is fine. If “Pred Fail”, it’s dying.

3. *Battery health - laptops only*
Open *Command Prompt* and run:
`powercfg /batteryreport`
It creates an HTML file on your desktop. Open it and check *Design Capacity vs Full Charge Capacity*. If full charge is <60% of design, battery is bad.

4. *Performance check*
1. Press *Ctrl + Shift + Esc* to open Task Manager > *Performance* tab.
2. Check CPU, Memory, Disk usage at idle. If disk is 100% or CPU stays >80% doing nothing, it’s slow for a reason.

5. *Check for errors & age*
1. Open *Event Viewer* > Windows Logs > System. Look for repeated errors/warnings. Lots of disk or kernel-power errors = unreliable.
2. Google the *System Model* from msinfo32 to find release year.

6. *GPU and other hardware*
Run `dxdiag` in Win+R. Go to *Display* tab to see GPU model and VRAM.

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*For Mac:*
- Click *Apple logo > About This Mac* for CPU, RAM, year, storage.
- *System Settings > Battery > Battery Health* for battery.
- *Disk Utility* for drive health.

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Once you have that info, you can:
1. Google “laptop model + used price” to get resale value
2. Check if repair parts exist and cost
3. Decide using the 40-50% rule I mentioned before

If you paste the output from `msinfo32` here, I’ll tell you if it’s worth repairing or selling.