Traverse the computing message boards and forums of the Internet, and there's always going to be a new post from a user struggling to identify the components that are sat inside their PC. Be it identification of something simple, such as a graphics card, through to the requirement for an exact name for a motherboard, it's a question that most of us have faced and many of us have answered.

The easiest way to head such a query off at the proverbial pass, though, is with the superb Belarc Advisor, now up to version 7.2. This is a comprehensive tool for rooting around the insides of your PC and revealing just what hardware lies within. Furthermore, there are no vagaries here: the answers you get are thorough and specific.

The program is a free-of-charge release from system management specialists Belarc, that's not even a couple of megabytes in size. Once opened, it invites you to check for security updates and then it requires generally just a minute or two to explore your computer (although it was nippier than that on our two testbed machines).

It generates a fairly formal looking report, perhaps the least user-friendly part of the program. However, the detail in the report is staggering. On top of identifying the exact nature of the hardware in the computer - right down to serial numbers if you need them - it also gives you an overview of your drives (and the remaining capacity on them), user accounts on your system (including last log-in times) and the build of your operating system.

And there's more. A lot more. Belarc Advisor digs right down into the software that's installed on the machine (including version numbers and serial numbers where appropriate), delivers a list of Windows hotfixes that have been installed and digs into the available devices on the system.

It's a staggeringly comprehensive report, that inevitably comes with a link to Belarc's system management products at the top, although it seems churlish to quibble with that given the level of information you're provided with. What's more, it's a program that answers a legitimate need, in a way that leaves you with no doubt whatsoever.

In an ideal world we'd like to see the report screen overhauled and just made a little more penetrable for the absolute novice user. But on the other hand, we admire the fuss-free way the tool uncovers, audits and reports on information without the need for fanfare or fuss. Belarc Advisor isn't a program you'll be needing very often, but it is a handy one to keep around.

A small, potentially invaluable key to unlocking the insides of your PC. Given the price, it's hard to think of any reason why you wouldn't use it when faced with the need to find out exactly what your computer is made of.