How to uninstall HWiNFO on Windows

HWiNFO keeps very little outside its program folder: its window and sensor preferences sit in one registry key under your user profile. If you customised the sensor layout, alerts or logging, note those settings, and copy any sensor logs you saved to a folder of your own choosing, before you remove it. This guide covers HWiNFO64 installed machine-wide from the REALiX.HWiNFO winget package.

Quit HWiNFO first

Close the sensor window and the main window, and exit HWiNFO from its notification area icon if you set it to minimise there. Check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) for any HWiNFO64.exe still listed before you uninstall. It added no startup entry in this test.

Remove the app with its own uninstaller

Go to Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find HWiNFO64, and choose Uninstall, or run:

winget uninstall --id REALiX.HWiNFO

A machine-wide install asks for administrator access.

Where the data lives

Location	What it holds	What to do
`%ProgramFiles%\HWiNFO64`	The program	Removed by the uninstaller
Start Menu `HWiNFO64` folder	Shortcuts	Removed by the uninstaller
`HKCU\SOFTWARE\HWiNFO64`	Your HWiNFO preferences	Keep it if you might reinstall; safe to remove for a clean start

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the uninstall finishes:

Get-Process HWiNFO64 -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget list --id REALiX.HWiNFO
Test-Path "$env:ProgramFiles\HWiNFO64"
Get-ItemProperty "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\HWiNFO64" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

No output from Get-Process only means this query observed no matching process; a suppressed error leaves the running state unknown.
A completed winget list query with no match means the package record is gone; a matching row means the uninstall did not finish.
Test-Path returning False means the program folder is gone; True means files remain there.
Get-ItemProperty printing values means your preferences key is still there, which is expected unless you removed it yourself.

If you installed it with winget

winget uninstall runs the same uninstaller Settings › Apps uses and removes the same program files; it does not touch HKCU\SOFTWARE\HWiNFO64.

What Mole lists

For HWiNFO64 installed machine-wide from winget:

The program folder goes with the app row. The Start Menu HWiNFO64 folder and a row grouping Windows' own records of when you opened the program are selected by default.
HKCU\SOFTWARE\HWiNFO64 is listed but not selected, since it holds your preferences. Mole backs it up to a .reg file before removing it.

What this test covered

Tested on September 28, 2026 with HWiNFO64 installed through winget, machine scope. The uninstaller removed the program folder and the Start Menu folder before Mole's own step ran. Every listed row was ticked and removed in this test. Not verified: sensor logging to a file, and the paid Pro license.