Basic Hardware Inventory

Version 9.02

 

Basic Hardware Inventory, Version 9.02

Get a basic hardware inventory of any WMI enabled computer on the network

Usage:		HARDWARE.HTA [ options ] [ switches ]
Options:		These parameters can be set in the configuration file as well as on the command line (in case of conflicts, command line options prevail)
		/CHAIN		Experimental: In details windows, if a property value consists of an array of (character) numbers, show the array as well as the interpreted text; e.g. PropertyValue (array) : 83,121,110,99,77,97,115,116,101,114,0,0,0 PropertyValue (string): SyncMaster Note that not all arrays of numbers are intended to be interpreted as text, so the string may sometimes be "jiberish". For this reason, property names containing "Capability" or "Characteristic" (or their plural forms) are excluded, as they consist of arrays of numbers not representing text.
		/CM		Display monitor dimensions in centimeters instead of diagonal in inches (only in Windows Vista and later)
		/CUSTOMCOLORS:gradienttop;gradientbottom;captions;links;buttonface;buttontext;commands
				Set colors for the background gradient top and bottom, body text, links, button faces, button text, and this help screen's command code (valid with /THEME:Custom only); for valid colors, check the dropdowns in the Settings screen or visit W3Schools' list of HTML colors
		/DEBUG		Debug mode: list settings during startup process in a separate browser window
		/DMIDECODE		Use DMIDecode.exe to retrieve DMI/SMBIOS details (more information than WMI for memory, but requires third party software, and gathers information for local computer only)
		/DXDIAG		Use DxDiag.exe to retrieve sound devices, video controllers and system data (more reliable than WMI for video and sound, but slow, and gathers information for local computer only)
		/KEEPXML		Reuse existing DxDiag data saved in XML, if it exists, and do not delete the XML file when terminating the program (requires /DXDIAG)
		/NOSCORES		Do not display Windows System Assessment Tool (WinSAT) scores
		/NOUPD		Skip check for updates at startup
		/THEME:theme		Change the window background and text colors; theme can be BW (Black and White, default), Blue, Dark, Red or Custom (the latter requires /CUSTOMCOLORS:customcolors)
		/USBSTOR		Include USB drives in the harddisks list
		/VIRTUAL		Include virtual drives in the harddisks list
		/XML:xmlfile		Location where DxDiag results will be stored; if xmlfile is not specified, "Hardware.xml" in the current directory will be used (requires /DXDIAG and /KEEPXML)
		/ZOOM:zoomfactor		Zoom factor in percents for content of this window (50..250; default 100)
Switches:		These parameters can be set on the command line only
		/? or /HELP		Show this message
		/BASIC		Very basic inventory (CPU, memory, HDD)
		/COMPUTER:computername		Specify computer to be queried (starts inventory immediately)
		/COPY		Copy results to clipboard and close program (starts inventory immediately, and terminates program when results are copied)
		/NOADMIN		Skip the test for elevated privileges, just assume privileges are sufficient
		/PRINT		Print the results to the default printer (starts inventory immediately, and terminates program when results are printed)
		/SAVE:filename		Save tab delimited results; if filename is not specified or equals "*", "Hardware.computername.timestamp.txt" in the HTA's parent folder will be used; if filename is a folder followed by "\*", "Hardware.computername.timestamp.txt" in the specified folder will be used (starts inventory immediately, and terminates program if and when results are written to file)
Notes:		At startup, the program looks for a file named "Hardware.cfg" in its working directory. If it finds it, it will apply its settings first. Next, the command line settings are applied. In case of conflicts, the command line parameters will prevail. Use the "Settings" button to create or edit "Hardware.cfg". "Hardware.cfg" might look like this: /DMIDecode /DxDiag /KeepXML /USBStor
		If the program detects that it runs in a WinPE environment, neither DxDiag nor DMIDecode can be used. In that case, the switches /DMIDecode, /DxDiag, /KeepXML and /XML will all be ignored. The switch /NOADMIN will not be required in a WinPE environment, as the program will have admin privileges by default in WinPE. Note that WMI results in a WinPE environment WMI may be different from the ones returned in a "normal" Windows environment.
Examples:		HARDWARE.HTA /DxDiag /KeepXML /USBStor
		HARDWARE.HTA /NoUpd /DxDiag /Save:%ComputerName%_Full_Inventory.txt
		HARDWARE.HTA /NoUpd /Basic /Computer:REMOTEPC /Save:REMOTEPC_Basic_Inventory.txt
Keyboard:		Besides Windows' standard "global" keyboard shortcuts, this HTA supports the following keyboard shortcuts:
		F1		Help
		Backspace		Back to Main window (only when in Help or Credits window)
		Esc		Back to Main window (only when in Settings, Help or Credits window)
		Alt+B		Select Basic inventory
		Alt+C		Credits
		Alt+D		Toggle Debug mode on/off (best started with /DEBUG command line switch)
		Alt+E		Edit the configuration file (in Settings screen only)
		Alt+F		Select Full inventory
		Alt+G		Go (start the inventory)
		Alt+P		Print Preview (output in black and white)
		Alt+R		Reset (only after running the inventory)
		Alt+S		Settings
		Alt+W		Add current Window size and position to the Debug output window
		Ctrl+P		Print (output in the HTA's screen colors)

 

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Known Issues

• Harddisk/CDROM interface:
  SATA type disks may be listed as either SATA or ATA; as of version 7.00 this HTA uses the BusType property of the MSFT_PhysicalDisk class in WMI's root/Microsoft/Windows/Storage namespace to check the interface type; though much more reliable than Win32_DiskDrive's InterfaceType in WMI's root/CIMV2 namespace, it may still make mistakes.
  SATA type disks may be listed incorrectly as SCSI when the disk is connected to a RAID enabled controller.
• Floppy drive interface:
  I have not yet found a way to link a specific floppy disk drive to a specific interface.
  The HTA will count the number of floppy drives found, and the number of USB floppy drives. If these numbers are equal, it's easy: all floppy disk drives use a USB interface.
  Likewise, if there are no USB floppy drives at all, it's easy again: all floppy drives must be using the internal floppy drive controller.
  In case it's not easy, i.e. if none of the previously mentioned situations occur, the interface type will be marked "Unknown" for all floppy disk drives.
• Floppy drive capacity:
  To determine the floppy disk drives' capacities, the HTA uses their MediaType property in the Win32_LogicalDisk class.
  This property value is known to be unreliable for "special" floppy disk formats, or if no disk is inserted.
• Video resolution:
  In case of multiple monitors with different screen resolutions, connected to a single video adapter, and configured as extended desktop, only one of the screen resolutions will be listed. Rumour has it there are other (combinations of) conditions causing incorrect results too.
  The solution (inspired by Gary Johnson) is to use DirectX instead of WMI. Unfortunately, this is not only slow, but it is limited to the local computer only. If the specified computer name does not match the local computer name, the /DXDIAG command line switch and all its dependent switches will be ignored.
• Video RAM:
  The amount of video RAM returned by WMI is limited to 4GB -1.
  Besides, the amount returned by WMI as well as by DxDiag is usually incorrect for integrated controllers.
  As a work-around, the HTA will try and read the amount of video RAM from the registry, which is the most reliable. This may require elevated privileges though.
• Chrome for default browser:
  If Google Chrome is the default browser, and its first window is opened with elevated privileges, no new Chrome tabs or windows can be opened without elevated privileges.
  If, on the other hand, Chrome's first window was opened without elevated privileges, new tabs and windows can be opened with or without elevation.
  To prevent problems in case this HTA is the first to open a Chrome window (through the Details buttons), as of Hardware.hta version 9.00, just before restarting the HTA with elevated privileges, a non-elevated minimized Chrome window is started if Chrome is the default browser and no Chrome window is opened yet.
• WMI:
  This HTA uses WMI to get information on all hardware installed. WMI gets its hardware information from the hardware drivers. Sometimes these drivers may provide incorrect information (e.g. SCSI instead of SATA for drives connected to a RAID enabled controller). This is not a bug in Basic Hardware Inventory; any WMI based inventory will display the same incorrect results.
• If WinSAT scores remain empty or zero in Windows 8.1 and later: open an elevated CMD prompt and run the command winsat.exe formal once (and again after major hardware changes) to build the WinSAT scores database for your computer.
• Elevated privileges are required to access WMI's root/WMI namespace. If you run this HTA without elevated privileges, you may miss some details, i.e. keyboard, mouse and monitors.
• In WinPE or safe mode, not as much information is available as in a "full" Windows environment.
  If the HTA cannot get specific hardware information (e.g. CDROM drives, monitors, sound and video cards) using WMI in WinPE or safe mode, it will try to get that information from the registry instead. However, I did not (yet?) find a way to get as many details from the registry as WMI provides.

 

Basic Hardware Inventory,  Version 9.02
© 2005 - 2023, Rob van der Woude
http://www.robvanderwoude.com/hardware.php