FAQ: How do I retrieve hardware device information on a machine via WMI?

Question

How do I retrieve hardware device information on a machine via WMI?

---

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help.
Welcome to the All-In-One Code Framework! If you have any feedback, please tell us.

Answer 1

First, Add Reference System.Management.dll to your project and import system.Management namespace.

Code sample: Retrieve device info from hard disk, motherboard and CPU.

Prerequisites: Drag&drop Button1, Button2, Button3 and ListBox1 onto Form1.

 

Imports System.Management
Public Class Form1
    'Retrieve HardDisk information
    Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
                        ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
        ' Get the hardware Model anf Type info
        Dim searcher As ManagementObjectSearcher = _
                        New ManagementObjectSearcher("SELECT * FROM Win32_DiskDrive")
        For Each wmi_HD As ManagementObject In searcher.Get()
            ListBox1.Items.Add("Model:" & vbTab & wmi_HD("Model").ToString())
            ListBox1.Items.Add("Type:" & vbTab & wmi_HD("InterfaceType").ToString())
        Next wmi_HD

        ' Get the hardware SerialNumber info
        searcher = New ManagementObjectSearcher("SELECT * FROM Win32_PhysicalMedia")
        For Each wmi_HD As ManagementObject In searcher.Get()
            If wmi_HD("SerialNumber") Is Nothing Then
                ListBox1.Items.Add("Serial No:" & vbTab & "None")
            Else
                ListBox1.Items.Add("Serial No:" & vbTab & wmi_HD("SerialNumber").ToString())
            End If
        Next wmi_HD
    End Sub

    'Retrieve MortherBoard information
    Private Sub Button2_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
                        ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button2.Click
        Dim searcher As ManagementObjectSearcher = _
                        New ManagementObjectSearcher("select * from Win32_BaseBoard")
        For Each oReturn As ManagementObject In searcher.Get()
            ListBox1.Items.Add( _
             "MortherBoard Serial No." & Constants.vbTab & ": " & oReturn("SerialNumber").ToString)
        Next oReturn
    End Sub

    'Retrieve CPU information
    Private Sub Button3_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
                        ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button3.Click
        Dim searcher As ManagementObjectSearcher = _
                        New ManagementObjectSearcher("select * from Win32_Processor")
        For Each oReturn As ManagementObject In searcher.Get()
            ListBox1.Items.Add("CPU ID" & Constants.vbTab & ": " & oReturn("ProcessorId").ToString)
        Next oReturn
    End Sub
End Class

Additionally, the WMI Code Creator tool is helpful.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=2CC30A64-EA15-4661-8DA4-55BBC145C30E&displaylang=en  

 

The WMI Code Creator tool allows you to generate VBScript, C#, and VB .NET code that uses WMI to complete a management task such as querying for management data, executing a method from a WMI class, or receiving event notifications using WMI.

 

Related threads:

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/Vsexpressvb/thread/f393708f-d7e3-4aa3-a624-7e8c6662f343/

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en/vbgeneral/thread/8724deae-d9d9-4cd9-829b-ef4eefcb4617/

 

For more FAQ about Visual Basic .NET General, please see Visual Basic .NET General FAQ

 

---

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help.
Welcome to the All-In-One Code Framework! If you have any feedback, please tell us.