How to use the command 'hwinfo' (with examples)

The ‘hwinfo’ command is used to probe and retrieve information about the hardware present in the system. It provides detailed information about various hardware components such as graphics cards, network devices, disks, and CD-ROM drives. This article will illustrate five different use cases of the ‘hwinfo’ command, along with their code and example outputs.

Use case 1: Get graphics card information

Code:

hwinfo --gfxcard

Motivation: This use case is helpful when you need to identify the graphics card present in your system or gather information about it for troubleshooting purposes.

Explanation: The ‘–gfxcard’ option is used with the ‘hwinfo’ command to specifically probe and display graphics card information.

Example output:

22: PCI 100.0: 0300 VGA compatible controller (VGA)
  [Created at pci.386]
  Unique ID: _Znp.ddfXg0WUpH3
  SysFS ID: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.0/0000:01:00.0
  SysFS BusID: 0000:01:00.0
  Hardware Class: graphics card
  Model: "NVIDIA GP107 [GeForce GTX 1050 Ti]"
  Vendor: pci 0x10de "NVIDIA Corporation"
  Device: pci 0x1c82 "GP107 [GeForce GTX 1050 Ti]"
  SubVendor: pci 0x3842 "Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd"
  SubDevice: pci 0x3663 
  Revision: 0xa1
  Driver: "nvidia"
  Driver Modules: "nvidia"
  Memory Range: 0xfc000000-0xfcffffff (rw,non-prefetchable)
  Memory Range: 0xc0000000-0xcfffffff (ro,non-prefetchable)
  Memory Range: 0xd0000000-0xd1ffffff (ro,non-prefetchable)
  I/O Ports: 0xe000-0xe07f (rw)
  IRQ: 255 (no events)
  Module Alias: "pci:v000010DEd00001C82sv00003842sd00003663bc03sc00i00"
  Driver Info #0:
    Driver Status: nouveau is not active
    Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe nouveau"
  Driver Info #1:
    Driver Status: nvidia_drm is active
    Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe nvidia_drm"
  Driver Info #2:
    Driver Status: nvidia is active
    Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe nvidia"

Use case 2: Get network device information

Code:

hwinfo --network

Motivation: This use case comes in handy when you want to list and analyze the network devices present in your system.

Explanation: The ‘–network’ option is used with the ‘hwinfo’ command to probe and display information regarding network devices.

Example output:

02: None 00.0: 10701 Ethernet
  [Created at net.124]
  Unique ID: l2D4.asmtEgdFXbZ
  Parent ID: _Znp.ddfXg0WUpH3
  SysFS ID: /class/net/eno1
  SysFS Device Link: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1f.6/net/eno1
  Hardware Class: network interface
  Model: "Intel Ethernet Connection I219-V"
  Driver: "e1000e"
  Driver Modules: "e1000e"
  Device File: eno1
  HW Address: xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
  Permanent HW Address: xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
  Link detected: yes
  Module Alias: "pci:v00008086d000015BCsv00001028sd00002238bc02sc00i00"
  Driver Info #0:
    Driver Status: e1000e is active
    Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe e1000e"
  Config Status: cfg=new, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown

Use case 3: List disks and CD-ROM drives, abbreviating the output

Code:

hwinfo --short --disk --cdrom

Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to quickly list the disks and CD-ROM drives present in your system, without the need for extensive details.

Explanation: The ‘–short’ option is used with the ‘hwinfo’ command to provide an abbreviated output. The ‘–disk’ and ‘–cdrom’ options are used to specifically list disks and CD-ROM drives, respectively.

Example output:

16: IDE 02.0: 10600 Disk
  [Created at block.245]
  Unique ID: xxxx.xxxx.xxxx.xxxx
  Parent ID: x.xxx.xxxx.xxxx
  SysFS ID: /class/block/sda
  SysFS Device Link: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1f.2/ata2/host1/target1:0:0/1:0:0:0/block/sda
  Hardware Class: disk
  Model: "SAMSUNG HD204UI"
  Vendor: "SAMSUNG"
  Device: "HD204UI"
  Revision: "1AQ1"
  Driver: "ahci", "sd"
  Driver Modules: "ahci"
  Device File: /dev/sda
  Device Pointer: /dev/disk/by-id/xxxx.xxxx.xxxx.xxxx
  Device Node: /dev/sda
  Device Link: /dev/disk/by-id/xxxx.xxxx.xxxx.xxxx
  Size: 1953525168 sectors a 512 bytes
  Config Status: cfg=new, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown
  Attached to: #11 (IDE interface)
  
  66: SCSI 11.0: 10602 CD-ROM (DVD-RAM)
  [Created at block.245]
  Unique ID: UmtD.cQzO1BsHl6D
  Parent ID: ShHx.xTc3YEv0.I5
  SysFS ID: /class/block/sr0
  SysFS Device Link: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1f.2/ata3/host2/target2:0:0/2:0:0:0/block/sr0
  Hardware Class: cdrom
  Model: "HL-DT-ST DVD-RAM GH24NSC0"
  Vendor: "HL-DT-ST"
  Device: "DVD-RAM GH24NSC0"
  Revision: "LG00"
  Driver: "ata_piix", "sr"
  Device File: /dev/sr0 (/dev/sg0)
  Device Files: /dev/sr0, /dev/block/11:0, /dev/sg0
  Device Number: block 11:0 (char 21:0)
  Drive status: no medium
  Config Status: cfg=new, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown
  Attached to: #4 (IDE interface)

Use case 4: Write all hardware information to a file

Code:

hwinfo --all --log path/to/file

Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to collect comprehensive hardware information and save it to a file for future reference or analysis.

Explanation: The ‘–all’ option is used to retrieve information about all available hardware components. The ‘–log’ option is used to specify the path and filename where the information should be stored.

Example output: The hardware information is written to the specified file in a detailed format.

Use case 5: Display help

Code:

hwinfo --help

Motivation: This use case is helpful when you need a quick reference on how to use the ‘hwinfo’ command or to understand the available options.

Explanation: The ‘–help’ option is used to display the help message, which provides information about the usage, options, and other details related to the ‘hwinfo’ command.

Example output: The help message is displayed, providing detailed information about various options, their usage, and their effects.

Conclusion:

The ‘hwinfo’ command is a powerful tool to quickly probe and retrieve extensive information about the hardware present in a system. By using the different options, you can obtain specific details about graphics cards, network devices, disks, and CD-ROM drives. Additionally, you can save the complete hardware information to a file for offline analysis. The ‘hwinfo’ command comes with a useful ‘–help’ option, providing assistance on how to utilize its features effectively.