This page is the deep symptom → cause → fix guide. For quick answers see the FAQ; for the two interfaces the plugin reads, see Data sources.

Every claim here matches the plugin’s actual behaviour. HWiNFO must be running on the same Windows machine: this is a Windows-only plugin with no telemetry; nothing here phones home or needs the internet.

First check, always: is HWiNFO running, and is it publishing on at least one interface (Shared Memory Support or Gadget reporting)? Most status screens trace back to this. See Data sources.

How to read a status screen

When a key can’t show live data it renders a two-line, true-black status screen instead of a value. Dials show an equivalent two-line touchscreen message. The exact text tells you what’s wrong:

Key shows	Dial shows	Meaning
Start HWiNFO / not detected	Start HWiNFO / not detected	Nothing found on either interface.
Shared Memory / is off	Shared Memory off / enable in HWiNFO	Mapping exists but HWiNFO marked it disabled.
Not updating / check sharing (or) check Gadget	HWiNFO stalled / check sharing (or) check Gadget	Values frozen; the sub-line names the source in use.
Access denied / un-elevate	Access denied / un-elevate HWiNFO	Privilege mismatch between HWiNFO and Stream Deck.
Tick sensors / in Gadget	Gadget empty / tick sensors	Gadget reporting is on but no sensors are ticked.
Pick a sensor / in settings	HWiNFO / rotate to pick	No sensor selected on this key/dial yet.
Sensor missing / pick again	Sensor missing / rotate to pick	The saved sensor isn’t in HWiNFO’s current output.
Needs x64 / Windows	Needs x64 Windows	32-bit or Windows-on-ARM: unsupported.
HWiNFO error / restart HWiNFO	HWiNFO error / restart HWiNFO	Header didn’t validate (mid-restart or incompatible build).

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Keys show “Start HWiNFO”

The plugin found HWiNFO on neither interface. In order of likelihood:

1. HWiNFO isn’t running. Start it. If you use the free version, run it in Sensors-only mode.
2. HWiNFO is running but publishing on neither interface. Open HWiNFO → Settings and tick Shared Memory Support. On the free version you can instead right-click sensors and tick “Report value in Gadget” (no 12-hour limit); see Data sources.
3. Portable HWiNFO window was closed. The portable build only publishes while its window is open, and nothing auto-starts it. Reopen it (and add it to autostart yourself if you want it always on).
4. Wrong bitness. This plugin reads 64-bit HWiNFO. Use HWiNFO64, not the 32-bit build, on 64-bit Windows.
5. HWiNFO just launched. It can take a few seconds after start to create the shared-memory mapping. Wait, then the key recovers on its own; the plugin re-probes every tick.

Keys show “Shared Memory off”

HWiNFO’s shared-memory mapping exists but its header is flagged disabled (internally a DEAD marker). Causes:

1. Shared Memory Support was turned off in HWiNFO Settings. Re-enable it.
2. Free version’s 12-hour timer expired. The free build auto-disables shared memory 12 hours after start and leaves the dead mapping behind. Toggle Shared Memory Support off and on to restart the timer, or restart HWiNFO. HWiNFO Pro removes the limit entirely.
3. You don’t want to keep toggling it. Enable Gadget reporting instead (tick “Report value in Gadget” on the sensors you need). In the default Auto data source the plugin falls back to the Gadget registry by itself when shared memory dies, and upgrades back automatically when it returns.

Note: If your Data source (Advanced) is set to Shared Memory only, the plugin will not fall back. Set it to Auto to get automatic Gadget fallback.

Values are frozen / “Not updating”

The reading stopped changing for more than ~15 seconds, so the plugin flags it stale. The sub-line names the source: check sharing (shared memory) or check Gadget (Gadget registry).

1. HWiNFO’s Sensors window was closed or HWiNFO was minimised to tray without sensor polling. Reopen the Sensors window; HWiNFO must keep polling to update either interface.
2. Not the free version’s 12-hour timer. Expiry doesn’t freeze values: it marks the shared-memory mapping DEAD, which shows “Shared Memory off” or silently falls back to the Gadget registry in Auto mode. (Pro removes the limit.)
3. HWiNFO itself crashed or hung. Restart it. The plugin re-probes a fresh handle every 5 seconds while stale and recovers automatically.
4. Confusing a slow refresh for a freeze. HWiNFO updates on its own poll cycle (default ~2 s). If your plugin poll interval is faster than HWiNFO’s, you’ll see the same number repeat between HWiNFO updates; that’s normal, not a freeze. The plugin only calls it stale after 15 s of no change.

Keys show “Access denied”

Windows refused to open HWiNFO’s shared memory. This is always a privilege mismatch: specifically HWiNFO is running elevated (“Run as administrator”) while Stream Deck is not.

The fix is to make the two match:

HWiNFO	Stream Deck	Result
Normal	Normal	✅ Works
Elevated	Elevated	✅ Works
Elevated	Normal	❌ Access denied
Normal	Elevated	✅ Works (lower can’t be blocked here)

Easiest fix: restart HWiNFO without “Run as administrator.” If you genuinely need HWiNFO elevated (some low-level sensors require it), run Stream Deck elevated too.

Free-version escape hatch: the Gadget registry lives in HKCU and is readable across privilege levels, so enabling Gadget reporting sidesteps this mismatch entirely.

Keys show “Sensor missing”

A sensor is selected, but it isn’t in HWiNFO’s current output. The saved identity (sensor-id : instance : reading-id) no longer resolves. Causes:

1. Hardware or driver change: you added/removed a GPU, drive, or peripheral, or a driver update renamed the sensor.
2. You renamed the sensor or its reading in HWiNFO (custom labels change the resolved identity on the Gadget source).
3. HWiNFO profile / config change, or you switched between shared memory and Gadget sources (the two expose different sensor sets).
4. The sensor simply isn’t present yet, e.g. a GPU that’s asleep, or a drive that spun down.

Fix: open the key’s settings and pick the sensor again. On a dial, rotate to pick a reading from a source that is present.

Picker is empty or shows “No sensors reported”

The settings-panel sensor list is populated live from whatever source is active:

1. HWiNFO isn’t up yet. Start HWiNFO, then click the ⟳ refresh button next to the search box.
2. On the Gadget source with nothing ticked: the key shows “Tick sensors / in Gadget.” In HWiNFO’s sensor window, right-click each value you want and tick “Report value in Gadget.” The registry key exists but is empty until you do.
3. Shared memory is disabled/expired and you’re forced to Gadget only; same fix as above.
4. Search filter too narrow. Clear the search box; the list groups readings by source (CPU, GPU, drives…).

Plugin shows nothing at all / the action is missing

1. Actions not visible in Stream Deck. Look for the HWiNFO Sensors category in the actions list; drag Sensor Reading onto a key (or Sensor Dial onto a Stream Deck + encoder).
2. Stream Deck too old. This plugin requires Stream Deck software 6.9 or newer. Update it.
3. Not on Windows / wrong architecture. The plugin is Windows x64 only; macOS and Windows-on-ARM are unsupported (you’ll see “Needs x64 Windows” if it loads at all).
4. Install got corrupted. Remove the plugin and reinstall by double-clicking the .streamDeckPlugin file, then restart Stream Deck.

Temperatures show the wrong unit

Each key/dial has a per-key Unit checkbox: “Show temperatures in °F.” It only affects °C readings (the only meaningful conversion in HWiNFO data). If a temperature reads in the wrong unit, toggle that checkbox on the specific key. Sparkline shape is unaffected; it’s stored in native units and just relabelled.

Thresholds (warn/critical) don’t fire

Two gotchas cause almost all of these:

1. Thresholds are in display units. The warn/critical fields are compared against the value as shown on the key. If you enabled °F, enter the threshold in °F (e.g. 176), not °C (80). The placeholder text says “display units” for exactly this reason.
2. Wrong direction. By default the key alerts when the value goes at or above the threshold. For things where low is bad (fan RPM, free disk space, remaining battery), tick Direction → “Alert when value drops below thresholds.”

Other notes:

• Alerts always track the live value, even while the key is showing MIN/MAX/AVG (a key press cycles the displayed stat, not what’s tested).
• On dials, only the range bar’s fill flips to the alert color; the touchscreen slot is too small for a full field flip. On keys, the whole key flips (amber field at warn, red field at critical).
• Leave a field blank to disable that level. Both accept a locale decimal comma (70,5).

Dial gestures do nothing

1. You’re on a plain Stream Deck, not a Stream Deck +. The Sensor Dial action needs a Stream Deck + encoder (dial + touchscreen). Regular keys use the Sensor Reading action instead.
2. No sensor picked yet: a fresh dial shows “rotate to pick.” Rotate to select a reading, or pick one in the settings panel.

Dial gesture reference: rotate cycles readings of the same sensor source · push resets session min/max/avg · touch cycles current/min/max/avg · long touch returns to the live value.

High memory, high CPU, or a stuck process

The plugin runs one poller regardless of how many keys are visible, and is designed to idle when no keys are shown.

1. Perceived high CPU. Lower the poll rate: Advanced → Poll every (default 1 second; options 250 ms–5 s). There’s no benefit polling faster than HWiNFO’s own update cycle (~2 s by default).
2. Process lingering after Stream Deck quits. The plugin watches its parent and exits when Stream Deck dies; if you ever find an orphaned plugin.js/Node process, ending it is safe and Stream Deck respawns it on next launch. If it recurs, capture the log (below) and file an issue.
3. Memory climbing. The plugin is memory-stable under long soaks in testing. If you observe real growth, note how many keys/dials are live and attach the log.

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Reading the plugin log

Stream Deck writes this plugin’s log to its own folder:

com.lawrensen.hwinfo.sdPlugin/logs/

On a normal install that folder lives under your Stream Deck plugins directory, typically:

%APPDATA%\Elgato\StreamDeck\Plugins\com.lawrensen.hwinfo.sdPlugin\logs\

Files rotate as com.lawrensen.hwinfo.0.log (newest) through .9.log. Each line is TIMESTAMP LEVEL Scope: message, for example:

2026-07-05T19:22:50.649Z INFO  HwinfoPoller: Started (1000 ms interval)
2026-07-05T19:22:50.650Z INFO  HwinfoPoller: Opened HWiNFO data source: gadget
2026-07-05T19:29:12.294Z INFO  HwinfoPoller: Stopped (no visible actions)

Useful lines to look for:

• Opened HWiNFO data source: shared-memory / gadget: which interface is actually in use.
• A Shared memory returned line: auto-fallback recovered and upgraded from the gadget registry.
• HWiNFO unavailable [<reason>]: … names the exact failure reason (not-running, disabled, access-denied, gadget-empty, invalid, unsupported-platform).
• Deck theme = … (source: …): the resolved deck-wide theme.
• Stopped (no visible actions): the poller correctly idled (no leak).

Note: The log is local-only: the plugin has no telemetry and never uploads anything. You choose what to share.

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Before you file an issue

Run through this first; most problems resolve here:

• HWiNFO is running and its Sensors window is open.
• At least one interface is enabled: Shared Memory Support or Gadget reporting (“Report value in Gadget” on the sensors you need).
• Data source (Advanced) is Auto unless you have a specific reason otherwise.
• HWiNFO and Stream Deck are at the same elevation (both normal, or both admin).
• Stream Deck 6.9+, 64-bit Windows 10+.
• You re-picked the sensor if it went missing after a hardware/driver change.
• Threshold values are in the displayed unit, with the right Direction.

If it still fails, open an issue at the project repository and include:

1. What you see: the exact status-screen text (e.g. “Access denied / un-elevate”) or a photo of the key/dial.
2. HWiNFO version and edition (free or Pro), and which interface(s) you enabled.
3. Plugin version (see the Marketplace listing or manifest.json).
4. Stream Deck software version and device model (regular vs Stream Deck +).
5. Windows version.
6. The relevant lines from the log (com.lawrensen.hwinfo.0.log), especially any HWiNFO unavailable […] and the Opened HWiNFO data source lines.
7. Whether either HWiNFO or Stream Deck is running elevated.