Hardware Inspector is a Windows application for managing an organization’s computers, components, software licenses and related IT assets. It keeps records of where equipment belongs, how it was acquired and what happened to it during use. Devices, licenses, support requests and maintenance work share the same inventory, so an asset’s record can continue through transfers, repairs and retirement.
How Hardware Inspector organizes assets
The inventory is organized around workplaces within a department tree. A second map view represents physical locations, such as buildings, floors and rooms. These views link organizational responsibility with location. Within a workplace, components have their own hierarchy: a processor can belong to a motherboard, which in turn belongs to a chassis.
Each device has an individual record containing identifiers such as its model, serial number, barcode and inventory number. Installation details, accounting information, warranty, technical parameters and retirement data belong to that record too. Hardware Inspector separates the model catalog from individual devices, allowing several units of the same model to retain their own purchase details and histories.
Software licenses have separate records for identifiers, installation, accounting details, subscription periods and maintenance. A license can be assigned to a workplace or to a particular device, such as a chassis or hard drive. Transfers between workplaces become part of the history of each affected device or license, and an asset transfer form can accompany the move.
Configuration audits
Hardware Inspector can build device records from CSV files or system information reports produced by ASTRA, ASTRA32, EVEREST Corporate Edition and AIDA32. Manual entry is also available. The import process adds manufacturer and model information to the catalogs before placing a device in its workplace. Aliases accommodate variations in manufacturer or model names without requiring duplicate catalog entries.
Computer auditing compares those reports with the inventory already held in the database. It checks model names and hardware serial numbers to identify devices, then separates new equipment, matched equipment, missing devices and items associated with other workplaces. Network-setting changes can also appear among the differences.
The results form a tree whose contents can be narrowed to the aspects being audited. Import rules control how incoming data is processed. From the results, operators can import new devices or transfer recognized devices to the current workplace, including processing several devices together. An outdated report can produce a location discrepancy.
Barcode inventory
Physical inventory sessions compare equipment found at a workplace with its assigned records. Devices can be identified using a barcode, inventory number, serial number or specification number. Scanning or entering an identifier moves the matching device into the inventoried list, while unchecked records remain in a separate list.
Hardware Inspector also distinguishes equipment registered elsewhere from equipment assigned to the current workplace but found in another location. Session status shows progress and results, and each device retains its inventory history.
Labels can use manufacturer barcodes or codes generated by the program. A label designer supports organization logos and additional information, with output to an A4 laser printer or a barcode printer.
Service desk and maintenance records
The built-in service desk records requests sent to the IT department, including message histories and attachments. Filters, customizable fields and automatic assignment help organize the request queue. A request can link to the maintenance history of a device or workplace and become the basis for a maintenance report.
Maintenance records capture the service type, time spent and technician. The same entry can initially be created for a selected group of devices, after which each device’s history can be edited independently. Work affecting a whole workplace, such as software installation or user training, can instead be recorded against that workplace.
Consumables
Consumable stock has its own purchase, transfer and retirement records. Hardware Inspector tracks items issued from storage and returned to it, with search tools for following their movement. The demand report shows consumption expenses for a selected period, providing past usage figures for planning future supplies.
Network connections
The network inventory represents devices through their ports and connections. Operators define port counts or wireless capability in the model catalog, then create connections, assign ports and enter markings. The connection form respects the port count specified for each model.
Cable tracing follows the sections making up a route and shows the intermediate connection points. This lets the inventory describe a path through network equipment, rather than retaining only a pair of endpoint names.
Inventory reports
Built-in reports cover device and workplace specifications, licenses, inventory numbers, IP addresses and services performed. A report designer lets operators modify templates or create their own. Reports export to PDF, Word, Excel and OpenOffice formats.
Search filters narrow devices and consumables using several criteria, with wildcard matching in text fields. The database query tool provides more detailed filtering, can include data beyond the device list and saves queries for reuse. Results can be displayed, printed or exported through report templates.
Shared inventory
The standard Hardware Inspector product uses file access to a database that several operators can share on a file server. Permissions apply to program functions, workplace-tree nodes and device types, with rights assigned to individuals or groups. Device property changes retain the responsible user and modification time.
Related products and license tiers
Hardware Inspector Client/Server is a separate product that adds client-server operation and a single database for remote offices. The browser interface belongs to the separate Hardware Inspector Service Desk product; the standard application already includes its own service desk.
Paid Hardware Inspector licenses differ by workplace capacity: Lite covers 15, Standard 50, Pro 200 and Elite has no workplace limit. Storage locations also count as workplaces. The unregistered copy limits each database to a 30-day trial and 25 workplaces.
