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Windows Sensor External Components

This document lists the external runtime components required by Windows native sensor collection. It is an operational checklist, not a hardware fact source. The clean-room implementation remains derived from the pinned docs/specs/sensors/** implementation-ready specs and this repository.

Phase 1 CPU Package Temperature

Windows CPU package temperature collection through PawnIO requires an existing local PawnIO installation. HardwareVisualizer does not install, bundle, or bootstrap PawnIO in Phase 1.

Required components:

  • A working PawnIO driver installation that pawnio_open can open.
  • PawnIOLib.dll, loaded dynamically from the existing installation.
  • One CPU-specific PawnIO module blob:
    • Intel package temperature path: IntelMSR.amx or IntelMSR.bin.
    • AMD Family 17h / 19h package temperature path: RyzenSMU.amx or RyzenSMU.bin.

The CPU-specific module blob is not installed by the PawnIO runtime itself. Users must download a release asset from https://github.com/namazso/PawnIO.Modules/releases, extract the module blob, and place the required file under C:\Program Files\PawnIO.

The collector prefers the implementation-ready spec names (*.amx) and then falls back to the installed module names observed during local validation (*.bin). The module extension is an operational compatibility detail only; it does not change the CPU register decode path.

The process that opens PawnIO must have enough Windows privileges to access the driver. On the local Phase 1 validation machine, the PawnIO kernel driver service was installed and running, but a non-elevated process still failed at pawnio_open with 0x80070005. Running the same probe elevated allowed the driver open, module load, and CPU package temperature sample to succeed. Until HardwareVisualizer has an elevated helper or service, users who want PawnIO-backed CPU package temperature collection across launches should enable Elevated Startup Mode so the whole app process starts as administrator.

The current collector searches these locations:

  • InstallLocation under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\PawnIO.
  • %ProgramFiles%\PawnIO.
  • %ProgramW6432%\PawnIO.
  • %ProgramFiles(x86)%\PawnIO.

Within each candidate root, the collector searches recursively for PawnIOLib.dll and the selected module file. If the DLL or module is missing, if the DLL cannot be loaded, if the driver cannot be opened, or if the module cannot be loaded, CPU package temperature falls back to the existing ACPI thermal-zone path.

If both PawnIO and ACPI thermal zones are unavailable, the collector reports an unavailable reason instead of publishing a CPU temperature. Example reasons include:

  • PawnIOLib.dll not found.
  • IntelMSR.amx or IntelMSR.bin not found.
  • RyzenSMU.amx or RyzenSMU.bin not found.
  • pawnio_open failed: ....
  • pawnio_load failed: ....

Scope Boundaries

The Phase 1 implementation uses read-only CPU package temperature paths:

  • Intel: MSR_TEMPERATURE_TARGET and IA32_PACKAGE_THERM_STATUS through IntelMSR.
  • AMD: SMN 0x00059800 through RyzenSMU, enabled only for Family 17h and Family 19h.

The motherboard sensor implementation also uses a read-only PawnIO LpcIO path for the scoped Nuvoton NCT6799D Super I/O bank-4 temperature and direct RPM registers. It requires LpcIO.bin or LpcIO.amx and the same process-level ability to open the PawnIO driver. A non-elevated process can fail at pawnio_open with 0x80070005; in that case the Dashboard surfaces pawnio:motherboard-sensors:v1 guidance and offers the existing elevated startup action.

The following are not covered by this runtime checklist or by the Phase 1 implementation:

  • Installing PawnIO.
  • Bundling PawnIOLib.dll or module blobs.
  • Driver installer integration or bootstrapper work.
  • AMD Family 1Ah / Zen 5 enablement.
  • AMD per-CCD temperatures or SMU PM-table metrics.
  • Threadripper / EPYC multi-die-specific behavior.
  • Super I/O chips outside the scoped NCT6799D read path.
  • Fan control, PWM writes, voltage sensors, and embedded-controller sensors.

If a future release bundles PawnIO components, update the Windows third-party notices and release packaging documentation before shipping those artifacts.