How to open and view System Information panel in Windows 11

To open the System Information panel in Windows 11, press Win + R, type msinfo32 and press Enter.

System Information (msinfo32.exe) is the built-in Windows tool that shows a full view of your hardware, system components and software environment. This guide covers every way to open it, how to read System Summary, how to save a report, and what to do when details are missing.

How to open and view the System Information panel in Windows 11/10

Opening the Run box is the quickest route on Windows 11 and Windows 10, and it works from any screen.

1. Press Win + R to open the Run box.
2. Type msinfo32 in the Open field.
3. Press Enter or select OK.
4. Select System Summary in the left pane to view your operating system, processor, memory and security details on the right.
5. Expand the other categories in the left pane to view hardware resources, components and the software environment.

Typing msinfo or msinfo32 in the taskbar search box and pressing Enter opens the same window.

Which way to open System Information should you use?

Your situation	Use this	Why
You just want to look at your PC's details	Win + R, type msinfo32, press Enter	Three keystrokes, no menus
You need accurate driver and service status	Start search, right-click System Information, Run as administrator	The driver cache only updates with administrator rights
You are already in Command Prompt or PowerShell	Type msinfo32 and press Enter	Opens the window without leaving the console
You need a file to send to support	msinfo32 /report or msinfo32 /nfo from Command Prompt	Writes a .txt or .nfo file you can attach
You manage another PC on the network	msinfo32 /computer <name>	Reads the remote PC if you have WMI permissions on it
You only need the Windows edition, RAM and processor	Settings > System > About	The short answer without the full report

Open System Information as administrator from Start search

Microsoft recommends running System Information with administrator rights. Without them, some drivers can show as stopped when they are actually running, because the cache for that information needs administrator rights to update.

1. Select Start or the search box on the taskbar.
2. Type System Information or msinfo32.
3. Right-click System Information in the search results.
4. Select Run as administrator.
5. Select Yes in the User Account Control prompt.
6. Select System Summary to view the details.

Open System Information from Command Prompt or PowerShell

The msinfo32 command works in both Command Prompt and PowerShell on Windows 11 and Windows 10. Start the console as administrator if you want the elevated view.

msinfo32

Opens the System Information tool with a full view of the hardware, system components and software environment on the local computer.

You should see: The System Information window opens with System Summary selected in the left pane.

To elevate the console first, type cmd in the search box, right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.

In Windows Terminal, the same command works in a PowerShell or Command Prompt tab: right-click Start, select Terminal, type msinfo32 and press Enter.

What the System Information panel shows in Windows 11

The left pane is a category tree and the right pane lists each Item with its Value. These are the parts most readers open the tool for.

Where to look	What you find there	Typical use
System Summary	Operating system name and version, processor, installed memory and other core details	Check what Windows build and hardware the PC has
System Summary (bottom of the list)	Available and enabled virtualization-based security (VBS) features	Confirm memory integrity and related protections
System Summary > Device Encryption Support or Automatic Device Encryption Support	Whether the PC meets the Device Encryption prerequisites, or the reason it does not	Find out why Device encryption is missing in Settings
Components > problem devices	Devices Windows reports a problem with	Spot a failed or unrecognized device
Resource categories: conflicts and forced hardware	Resource conflicts and manually assigned hardware resources	Diagnose two devices fighting over one resource
Software Environment	Drivers, services, loaded modules and other software details	Check whether a driver or service is running

Some categories hold a lot of data, so the right pane can take a few seconds to fill after you select them.

msinfo32 command switches for System Information

Switches let you open System Information on one category, hide slow categories, or write the results straight to a file.

Switch	What it does	Example
/nfo <path>	Saves the information as an .nfo file and adds the .nfo extension if it is missing	msinfo32 /nfo syssum.nfo /categories +systemsummary
/report <path>	Saves the information as a text file, named exactly as typed	msinfo32 /report C:\Temp\Test.txt
/computer <name>	Opens System Information for a remote computer by UNC name, IP address or full computer name	msinfo32 /computer BIGSERVER
/showcategories	Shows category IDs instead of the friendly names, for example SWEnv for Software Environment	msinfo32 /showcategories
/category <ID>	Opens the tool with one category selected	msinfo32 /category <categoryID>
/categories	Shows and exports only the listed categories	msinfo32 /categories +all -loadedmodules
/pch	Opens the System History view	msinfo32 /pch
/?	Displays help for the command	msinfo32 /?

Save a System Information report to a .txt or .nfo file

A saved report is what support technicians usually ask for. A .txt file opens in any text editor, while an .nfo file reopens in System Information with the same category tree.

1. Type cmd in the search box, right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
2. Type msinfo32 /report "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\sysinfo.txt" and press Enter to save a text report to your desktop.
3. Or type msinfo32 /nfo "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\sysinfo.nfo" and press Enter to save an .nfo file instead.
4. Wait for the command to finish. A full report can take a minute or more because some categories are large.
5. Open the file from your desktop to check it contains your system details.

To skip a slow category, add a /categories filter, for example msinfo32 /report "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\sysinfo.txt" /categories +all -loadedmodules.

View System Information on a remote computer

System Information can read another PC on your network. You need permission to access WMI on the remote computer, which usually means an administrator account on it.

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
2. Type msinfo32 /computer PCNAME, replacing PCNAME with the remote computer's name, IP address or UNC name.
3. Press Enter.
4. Select System Summary in the window that opens to view the remote PC's details.

Maintain an inventory of system specs for a fleet of Windows devices

System Information shows one PC at a time. To get complete visibility of hardware and software across a small IT infrastructure without extra software, collect systeminfo output from each PC into one CSV file.

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator with an account that has permission on the remote PCs.
2. Type systeminfo /s PC01 /fo csv > "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\inventory.csv", replacing PC01 with the first computer's name, and press Enter. This writes the column headers and the first PC's specs.
3. For every other PC, type systeminfo /s PC02 /fo csv /nh >> "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\inventory.csv" and press Enter. The /nh switch leaves out the repeated headers.
4. To run a query as a different account, add /u domain\username /p password after the computer name.
5. Open inventory.csv in Excel or another spreadsheet app to sort the fleet by OS version, RAM or processor.
6. Repeat the commands after hardware changes or Windows updates so the inventory stays current.

When one device in the list needs a closer look, open its full report with msinfo32 /computer PCNAME.

System Information vs Settings About vs systeminfo: where to find your PC details

Windows has several places that show system details. The About page answers the common questions, and System Information covers everything else.

Tool	How to open it	What it shows best
System Information	Win + R, type msinfo32	Full hardware, component, driver and software inventory, plus VBS and Device Encryption status
Settings About page	Right-click Start, select Settings > System > About	Device name, model, Windows edition, version and OS build, processor, installed RAM and 32-bit or 64-bit
Settings Storage page	Settings > System > Storage	Used and free disk space, with Advanced storage settings for other drives
winver	Type winver in the search box and press Enter	A quick Windows version and build dialog
systeminfo command	Type systeminfo in Command Prompt or PowerShell	Operating system configuration, security information, product ID, RAM, disk space and network cards as text
Advanced System Settings	Win + R, type SystemPropertiesAdvanced	Performance settings, user profiles and environment variables you can change

If you only want the memory figure, the About page is enough to check RAM on Windows 11.

Check the Windows version with systeminfo in Command Prompt

The systeminfo command, one of the built-in Command Prompt commands, prints most of the System Summary as text, which is handy over a remote session or in a script. This filter shows only the operating system name and version.

systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /B /C:"OS Version"

Runs systeminfo and keeps only the lines that start with OS Name and OS Version.

You should see: Two lines appear, showing your Windows edition and its version and build number.

Add /fo list or /fo csv to systeminfo to change the output format, or /s <computer> to query a remote PC.

How to check System Information is showing full hardware details

1. Make sure Windows is not running in Safe Mode, because System Information cannot show hardware details there.
2. Open System Information with Run as administrator so driver and service status is current.
3. Select System Summary and confirm the right pane lists Item and Value entries for your processor and memory.
4. Scroll to the bottom of System Summary and check that the virtualization-based security entries appear.
5. Expand Software Environment and open the drivers list to confirm the drivers you expect show as running.

Fix System Information showing wrong or missing details

Drivers show as stopped when they are running

System Information was opened without administrator rights, so its driver cache did not update.

1. Close System Information.
2. Type msinfo32 in the search box.
3. Right-click System Information and select Run as administrator.
4. Check the driver status again under Software Environment.

No hardware information appears

Windows is running in Safe Mode, where System Information only shows system components and the software environment.

1. Restart the PC normally so it leaves Safe Mode.
2. Open System Information again with msinfo32.
3. Select System Summary and check the hardware entries.

msinfo32 /computer cannot read the remote PC

Your account does not have permission to access WMI on the remote computer.

1. Sign in with an account that is an administrator on the remote computer, or ask its administrator for WMI access.
2. Check the name you typed. It can be a UNC name, an IP address or a full computer name.
3. Run msinfo32 /computer PCNAME again from an elevated Command Prompt.

Device Encryption Support does not say Meets prerequisites

The value names the missing requirement, such as the TPM, Windows Recovery Environment or Secure Boot.

1. Open System Information as administrator and select System Summary.
2. Find Automatic Device Encryption Support or Device Encryption Support and read its value.
3. If it says TPM is not usable, the PC has no TPM or the TPM is turned off in the BIOS or UEFI.
4. If it says WinRE is not configured, Windows Recovery Environment is not set up on the PC.
5. If it says PCR7 binding is not supported, Secure Boot is off in the BIOS/UEFI, or a peripheral such as a docking station or external graphics card is connected during boot.

A full report takes a long time or seems to hang

Some categories, such as loaded modules, hold large amounts of data.

1. Give the report a few minutes before closing it.
2. Leave out the large category with msinfo32 /categories +all -loadedmodules.
3. Export only what you need, for example msinfo32 /nfo syssum.nfo /categories +systemsummary.

System Information panel in Windows 11 FAQ

How do I open System Information in Windows 11?

Press Win + R, type msinfo32 and press Enter to open System Information in Windows 11. You can also type System Information in the taskbar search box and select it, or run msinfo32 from Command Prompt or PowerShell.

What is the command to open system info?

The command is msinfo32. Type it in the Run box, the taskbar search box, Command Prompt or PowerShell and press Enter. Typing msinfo in the search box also opens the System Information window.

How do I view the operating system on my PC?

Open Settings, select System and then About. Under Windows specifications you see the Windows edition, version and OS build. System Information shows the same details under System Summary, and winver opens a short version dialog.

Is System Information the same as systeminfo?

No. System Information (msinfo32) is a window with a category tree covering hardware, components and software. The systeminfo command prints operating system configuration, security information, product ID and hardware properties as text in Command Prompt or PowerShell.

Should I run System Information as administrator?

Yes, when you need accurate driver and service status. Without administrator rights, System Information can show some drivers as stopped when they are running, because its driver cache needs administrator rights to update.

Can System Information run in Safe Mode?

Yes, but it cannot show hardware information in Safe Mode. It only displays system components and the software environment. Restart Windows normally to see the full hardware details.

How do I save System Information to a file?

Run msinfo32 /report followed by a file path to save a text file, or msinfo32 /nfo followed by a path to save an .nfo file. The /nfo switch adds the .nfo extension if you leave it out.

How do I view open programs on Windows?

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager, which lists running apps and shows CPU, memory, disk and network use. System Information lists running tasks and services too, but Task Manager is the tool for managing them.

What is msinfo32.exe?

Msinfo32.exe is Microsoft System Information, a tool included with Windows. It gathers information about your computer and displays a full view of the hardware, system components and software environment, which you can use to diagnose problems.

Bottom line: the fastest way to view System Information in Windows 11

The one thing to take away: use Win + R and msinfo32 to view System Information, and switch to Run as administrator from Start search when you are checking drivers or services. The Run box is the shortest route, while the elevated window is the only one that reports driver status accurately. For quick facts such as edition or RAM, the Settings About page is faster than either.