HWiNFO

Version documented: 7.72 Installer type: .exe (NSIS) / Portable Hives written: HKCU, HKLM

📁 Registry Paths

Path	Hive	Purpose
`SOFTWARE\HWiNFO64`	HKCU	User preferences and layout
`SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\HWiNFO64_is1`	HKLM	Uninstall entry

🔑 Keys

HKCU\SOFTWARE\HWiNFO64

Value Name	Type	Example Data	Description
`SensorsOnly`	REG_DWORD	`0`	Start in Sensors Only mode (1=yes)
`SensorsSM`	REG_DWORD	`0`	Write sensor data to Shared Memory
`SMMemSize`	REG_DWORD	`262144`	Shared Memory size (bytes)
`StartMinimized`	REG_DWORD	`0`	Start minimized to tray (1=yes)
`MinimizeSensors`	REG_DWORD	`0`	Minimize sensors window on start
`AutoRun`	REG_DWORD	`0`	Start with Windows (1=yes)
`PollInterval`	REG_DWORD	`2000`	Sensor poll interval (ms)
`UpdateCheckEnabled`	REG_DWORD	`1`	Check for updates at startup
`MainWindowLeft`	REG_DWORD	`100`	Main window X position
`MainWindowTop`	REG_DWORD	`50`	Main window Y position

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\HWiNFO64_is1

Value Name	Type	Example Data	Description
`DisplayName`	REG_SZ	`HWiNFO 7.72`	Display name
`DisplayVersion`	REG_SZ	`7.72`	Version
`Publisher`	REG_SZ	`REALiX`	Publisher
`InstallLocation`	REG_SZ	`C:\Program Files\HWiNFO64\`	Install path
`UninstallString`	REG_SZ	`"...\unins000.exe"`	Uninstaller

📝 Notes

Portable version writes no registry keys; settings go to HWiNFO64.INI alongside the .exe.
SensorsSM = 1 enables Shared Memory export for integration with tools like RTSS, Rainmeter, or custom scripts.
AutoRun = 1 adds an entry to HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.

# Enable Shared Memory for sensor data export (e.g., Rainmeter integration)
$path = "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\HWiNFO64"
if (-not (Test-Path $path)) { New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null }
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name "SensorsSM" -Value 1 -Type DWord

# Enable sensors-only mode with minimized start (headless monitoring)
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name "SensorsOnly" -Value 1 -Type DWord
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name "StartMinimized" -Value 1 -Type DWord

🗑️ Cleanup

# Remove HWiNFO user preferences
Remove-Item -Path "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\HWiNFO64" -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

# Remove startup entry if set
Remove-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" `
  -Name "HWiNFO64" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

📦 Package Managers

Manager	ID / Command
winget	`winget install REALiX.HWiNFO`
Chocolatey	`choco install hwinfo`
Scoop	`scoop install extras/hwinfo`