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Mattscreative edited this page Dec 5, 2025 · 2 revisions

Linux Hardware Detection Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to hardware detection on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including identifying hardware, installing drivers, and troubleshooting hardware issues.

Table of Contents

  1. Identifying Hardware
  2. PCI Devices
  3. USB Devices
  4. Hardware Information Tools
  5. Driver Installation
  6. CachyOS CHWD Tool
  7. Troubleshooting

Identifying Hardware

List All Hardware

Check hardware:

# Install hardware detection tools
sudo pacman -S hwdetect lshw

# Detect hardware
sudo hwdetect

# Or use lshw
sudo lshw -short

CPU Information

Check CPU:

# CPU info
lscpu

# Detailed CPU
cat /proc/cpuinfo

# CPU model
grep "model name" /proc/cpuinfo

Memory Information

Check RAM:

# Memory info
free -h

# Detailed memory
cat /proc/meminfo

# Memory modules
sudo dmidecode -t memory

Disk Information

Check disks:

# List disks
lsblk

# Disk info
sudo fdisk -l

# Disk usage
df -h

PCI Devices

List PCI Devices

Check PCI:

# List PCI devices
lspci

# Detailed info
lspci -v

# Kernel drivers
lspci -k

Graphics Card

Check GPU:

# List GPUs
lspci | grep VGA

# Detailed GPU
lspci -k | grep -A 2 VGA

USB Devices

List USB Devices

Check USB:

# List USB devices
lsusb

# Detailed info
lsusb -v

# USB tree
lsusb -t

Hardware Information Tools

inxi

Install inxi:

# Arch/CachyOS
sudo pacman -S inxi

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install inxi

# Fedora
sudo dnf install inxi

Use inxi:

# System info
inxi -Fxz

# Hardware summary
inxi -b

hwinfo

Install hwinfo:

# Arch/CachyOS
sudo pacman -S hwinfo

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install hwinfo

# Fedora
sudo dnf install hwinfo

Use hwinfo:

# Full hardware info
sudo hwinfo --short

# Specific hardware
sudo hwinfo --gfxcard

Driver Installation

Graphics Drivers

See Graphics Drivers for detailed guide.

Other Drivers

Install drivers:

# Check what's needed
lspci -k

# Install appropriate drivers
sudo pacman -S driver-package

CachyOS CHWD Tool

What is CHWD?

CHWD (CachyOS Hardware Detection) is a CachyOS-specific tool for hardware detection and driver management.

What it does:

  • Detects hardware: Identifies hardware automatically
  • Installs drivers: Automatically installs correct drivers
  • GPU migration: Switches between GPUs easily
  • Driver management: Manages graphics drivers

Using CHWD

Detect hardware:

# Detect and show hardware
sudo chwd -h

# Auto-detect and install
sudo chwd -h -a

See CachyOS Tools Guide and CachyOS CHWD GPU Migration for detailed CHWD usage.

Troubleshooting

Hardware Not Detected

Check kernel messages:

# Check dmesg
dmesg | grep -i hardware-name

# Check logs
journalctl -k | grep -i hardware-name

Driver Issues

Check loaded drivers:

# Check modules
lsmod

# Load module
sudo modprobe module-name

Summary

This guide covered hardware detection for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions, including identification, driver installation, and CachyOS-specific CHWD tool.

Next Steps

This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. CachyOS-specific CHWD tool is highlighted where applicable.

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