Althrough HWiNFO32 is developed for Win32 subsystem, it is designed for NT technology, which means it achieves best results while running under Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 or Windows XP. However, you can run HWiNFO32 under Microsoft Windows 9X, but some features may not be reported correctly and some components can't be found.
The installation of a kernel driver requires local administrative rights. This is required only the first time the program (driver) is installed on a computer or updated.
| Operating system | Unsupported features |
| Windows XP, 2000 | No known issues |
| Windows NT 4.0 | DDC Monitor identification, USB support |
| Windows Me, 98, 98SE, 95 | Multi-Processor Support, Disk benchmark, COM/LPT ports, PnP devices, Video memory size (sometimes) |