This is on my new/used hp nc8230 laptop,
latest FF, XP Pro sp2.

My desktop with Asus board has a nice little utility
that monitors temps, RAM usage, fan speeds, etc.

I'm sure there's something comparable for a laptop?

Thanks!

OH - how do I get that to start automatically when I boot
and make it show a small icon in that small tray at the
very bottom right of the screen? (What's that "tray"
called?) FWIK I have to go into msconfig, but then what
(IF that's the right place to go).

You can try SpeedFan but I've had iffy luck with it, especially with laptops. The plus side is that it's free, so there's no loss if you don't like it . There is definitely an option to run certain sensor monitors in your system tray with that just read the Help file that comes with it.

To load it on startup copy and paste the .exe to C:\Documents and Settings\*Your Account Name Here*\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.

To Zenosincks/Macx I found "Intel Desktop Utilities" (free) a useful monitor,don't know if it works on laptops.......Don

Once again - Mr Z to the rescue!
You're a busy boy tonite! :-)

It's obviously not a critical must have, but I'm kind
of anal about knowing how my machine is doing -
(I'm the same way with my hot rods ;-)) - I research
everything to death, but I have learned a thing or 2
in the process.

Bottom line, probly not a whole lot that can be
achieved with the info anyway, but I have done
things such as get a laptop stand to get it off the
desk surface which supposedly aids in cooling -
not to mention it's "ergonomically correct" now ;-)
(Side note - my last employer required I go thru their
CBT on ergonomics, but then I had to buy my own
laptop stand to comply with their training (!)

And thanks (again) for the info on how to get something
into that startup bar - that note I will save - (I'm forgetful
specially about things I don't use very often)

And Don - thanks for that tip, too. Now I've got 2
options to try if one of them doesn't work well.

I know what you mean about being anal with your devices .

Meh, there isn't much reason to monitor the temperatures of your PC unless you're overclocking or you are having an issue which is potentially the result of overheating.

If you're interested in "shopping around" for some applications that will report temperatures and such, take a look at download.com's search results for "cpu temperature" (already filtered for free licenses).

I'm at work, trying to kill some time.