Your result
Build a private hardware record. No membership, email submission, model download, paid tool or hardware purchase is needed. This guide reads information; it does not install apps or change drivers or security settings.
Use the Windows computer you intend to learn on. Mac setup is deferred. Finding your hardware is useful even when the full setup is untested on your machine.
1. Check your computer
Do Open Start, search About your PC, and open it. Or use Settings > System > About. Record these fields:
- Windows edition and version.
- Processor name.
- Installed RAM.
- System type: x64-based processor, ARM-based processor, or unknown.
Check The values come from this computer. If work or school manages it, confirm installation permission before any later setup.
Fix Mark unfamiliar fields unknown. Keep device IDs, product IDs, serial numbers and account names out of your record. Do not bypass device controls.
2. Separate RAM from storage
RAM is working memory for Windows, apps and model data. Storage holds apps, model files and saved work. A graphics card may have dedicated memory called VRAM.
Do Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc for Task Manager. Select Performance > Memory and record available RAM if shown. Then open File Explorer > This PC. Record free space and the letter of the drive you expect to use.
Check Installed RAM, currently available RAM and free storage have separate lines. Available RAM changes as apps run. Check free space, not total drive capacity; apps can use different drives.
Fix If memory is tight, save your work and close only your own extra apps. Do not end unfamiliar system processes. A 386 MB download is not a 386 MB total memory requirement: the runtime, interface, dependencies and conversation also need room.
3. Record every graphics device
Do In Task Manager > Performance, select each GPU. Record its exact name, dedicated GPU-memory total and driver version where shown. A laptop may list more than one GPU. Leave missing fields unknown; do not install a driver utility for this exercise.
Check You have exact names, not just a brand such as NVIDIA or AMD. Keep shared GPU memory separate from dedicated VRAM and installed RAM. Do not add the memory of separate graphics cards together.
Fix No GPU page? Record that observation; it does not prove there is no graphics hardware. A device name does not prove acceleration. A later runtime check must confirm CPU, GPU or mixed placement.
4. Choose your next step
Do Check every applicable line below, including storage and permission. These are course planning targets, not certified compatibility bands. Keep your GPU result separate.
- Unknown Windows version, architecture, RAM or storage: finish the record before choosing a download.
- No installation permission: try the no-install sample while asking the owner or administrator.
- Below 4 GB RAM: below the course's current local testing target. Use the sample; no local-success promise applies.
- 4-6 GB RAM: an experimental tiny-model route. The complete stack may not fit; no matching low-memory end-to-end result is established.
- 8-12 GB RAM: a small-model candidate needing a matching full-stack test and memory headroom. This is not a supported-hardware guarantee.
- 16 GB or more: begin small. RAM alone does not establish a supported OS, working GPU or useful output quality.
- Below 10 GB free storage: below the initial screening target. Even 10 GB is not a confirmed installation allowance; check full-app requirements and temporary-download headroom later.
Check Your next step accounts for all the relevant limits, not only RAM.
Fix If GPU or driver support is unverified, leave acceleration unverified. Check the publisher's exact device, OS and driver requirements before installing later.
5. Understand the evidence
Do Keep the tested result and your own computer's unknowns separate.
The Windows course has a native Odysseus setup and local chat test on one existing high-memory desktop. That isolated run used CPU-only Ollama, existing model files and disabled optional services. Small models also failed instructions and invented details.
Check This was not a fresh Windows installation, a 4 GB or 8 GB computer test, or proof of support for your GPU. The course does not promise every old computer will run the complete setup, dependable answers, or a completed Mac route.
Fix Treat open weights, an open-source license and hardware compatibility as separate questions. Use the course to check limits rather than assume them away.
Your private readiness note
Copy these labels into your own note. Keep personal identifiers out of any sharing copy.
Windows version / system type: Processor: Installed RAM / currently available RAM: Drive and free storage: GPU name(s) / dedicated memory / driver: Installation permission confirmed? Yes / No / Unknown My next step: Still unknown:
You are finished when
- I can distinguish RAM, VRAM and storage.
- I saved the values I found and marked unknowns honestly.
- I can explain my next step and what remains unverified.
Continue with the free sample lesson to practice saving and reopening this record. Completing this guide is not enrollment or compatibility approval.
Publisher references
YOUR OWN STARTING POINT
Build your hardware note.
Record what you found. Leave anything unchecked as “Unknown.” This tool organizes your observations; it does not inspect your computer or decide compatibility.
Private to this page. No upload or saved state. Reloading clears your entries.
Your note will appear here when JavaScript is enabled.
Record exact processor, GPU and driver names in your own Notepad file. Keep personal identifiers out of any sharing copy.
KEEP THE MOMENTUM
Save it. Reopen it. Make it yours.
The sample lesson puts your hardware note into practice.
Try the sample lesson