Frequently Asked Questions
Licensing and price​
Is O&O DeskInfo really free?​
Yes. O&O DeskInfo is freeware. There is no trial period, no license key, no registration and no paid edition. You may use it on any number of computers, privately and commercially, and pass it on unchanged.
Is there a Pro or Premium version with more features?​
No. Every feature described in this documentation is part of the free version — there is nothing held back.
If you are looking for centralised management across many machines, that is a different product rather than a bigger DeskInfo: have a look at O&O Syspectr, our cloud-based monitoring and management service, which is free for a number of computers as well.
My download came with an installer or with other software. Is that normal?​
No, and it is a violation of our terms of use. O&O DeskInfo needs no installation and never bundles other software. Please download it from www.oo-software.com and let us know where you got the other copy so that we can take action.
Installation and start​
Do I need administrator rights?​
No. Standard user rights are enough for everything described here, including the autostart entry, which is written for the current user only.
Where does O&O DeskInfo store its settings?​
In %LocalAppData%\OO Software\OO DeskInfo\OODeskInfo.cfg. If a file named OODeskInfo.cfg exists next to OODeskInfo.exe, that one is used instead — which is how portable operation from a USB stick works. See Where the configuration file is stored.
Can I run it from a USB stick?​
Yes. Copy OODeskInfo.exe to the stick and, if you want your settings to travel with it, put an OODeskInfo.cfg next to it.
Does it start with Windows?​
Only if you ask it to. Enable Start with Windows in the tray menu, or use SetAutoRun for an unattended rollout.
Display​
The information is not visible on my desktop. What now?​
Work through these points in order:
- Is the application running? Look for the tray icon in the notification area — it may be hidden behind the small arrow.
- Is it on another monitor? Check the Monitor submenu in the tray menu, or choose All monitors.
- Is the text invisible against the wallpaper? Set View settings → Text color to a fixed color that contrasts with your background, and raise Opacity of the display to 100 %.
- Is desktop integration failing? Switch View settings → Show integrated with the Desktop off. The information then appears in a sliding window that is independent of the desktop.
The display disappeared after Windows Explorer restarted.​
It should come back by itself — O&O DeskInfo detects an Explorer restart and re-attaches to the desktop. If it does not, switching desktop integration off and on again in the tray menu rebuilds the display.
Why can I not click on the display?​
Because that is the point of it. In desktop-integrated mode the panel is click-through, so it never interferes with your desktop icons or your work. All interaction happens through the tray icon. If you want a clickable window, switch to the sliding-window mode.
Can I move the display anywhere I like?​
No — you choose one of the four screen corners. Fine positioning is done with the four margin settings in the configuration file; see Distance from the screen edges.
The display is cut off or the columns look unbalanced.​
Try a smaller font size, or reduce the number of categories in your profile. If you use manual column assignments, remember that a category pinned to a column cannot be moved by the automatic balancing — set the ones you do not care about back to Auto. See Column layout.
My monitors are arranged unusually and desktop integration does not work.​
Desktop integration requires the primary monitor to start at a non-negative X coordinate. If a screen sits to the left of the primary monitor, Windows cannot map the panel onto the desktop background reliably. Rearrange the monitors in the Windows display settings, or use the sliding-window mode.
Information and values​
Why are the battery values missing?​
Because the device has no battery. Battery rows hide themselves on systems without one.
Why is there no GPU utilization?​
Some environments — in particular certain remote desktop sessions — do not provide the data O&O DeskInfo needs. The GPU rows then hide themselves regardless of your profile and of the GPU usage graph setting.
Why does the GPU sometimes show dedicated and sometimes shared memory?​
Because that is what is meaningful for the adapter. Discrete graphics cards report their dedicated video memory; integrated GPUs use shared system memory. O&O DeskInfo shows whichever applies.
A network drive is marked with a cross.​
The drive is currently unreachable — the server is offline, the VPN is down, or the credentials have expired. O&O DeskInfo marks it instead of hanging, and picks it up again as soon as it answers.
Which network adapter do the network values refer to?​
To the one O&O DeskInfo considers active, which is normally the adapter Windows uses for outbound traffic. You can pin a specific adapter under Network adapter in the tray menu.
Can I show my Windows product key on the desktop?​
You can — add the OSProductKey and OSOEMProductKey keys to a custom profile — but we recommend against it. A key visible on the desktop is a risk during screen sharing and remote support. Use Show Windows Product Key in the tray menu when you actually need it.
Settings​
I changed the configuration file. Do I have to restart?​
No. O&O DeskInfo watches the file and applies your change about a second after you save it. Four settings — Monitor, ShowOnAllMonitors, NetworkAdapter and ShowDriveActivity — make the application restart itself, because they depend on resources that are only initialised once per process. Everything else is applied by rebuilding the display, which keeps the graph history.
I edited the file and now all my settings are gone.​
The file could not be parsed, so O&O DeskInfo started over with defaults. Your original is still there: look for a file with a timestamp and the extension .invalid in the same folder, find the error — usually a missing closing tag or a misspelled element name — and copy your values back.
A menu entry shows "Custom". What does that mean?​
That the active value does not correspond to any of the presets in the menu, because it was set in the configuration file. The entry is purely informative; clicking it does nothing.
The tray menu is missing entries, or there is no menu at all.​
Then the configuration file restricts it. Check TrayMenu and IsRestricted. On a company computer this is usually intentional — ask your IT department.
Why do some changes restart the application?​
Changing the monitor, the network adapter or the drive activity indicators requires re-reading system data and re-initialising performance counters. Restarting is faster and more reliable than rebuilding all of that in place. Changing the language or the desktop integration mode only rebuilds the windows, which preserves the collected graph history.
Performance​
How much does O&O DeskInfo cost in CPU and memory?​
Very little. Efficiency Mode is on by default, which asks Windows to run the process at low priority and, on suitable hardware, on efficiency cores. If you want to reduce the load further, set the update speed to Slow and switch off the graphs you do not need.
Do the graphs survive standby?​
Yes. All timers and performance counters are suspended when Windows goes to sleep and resumed on wake-up, so the graphs are not distorted by a gap.
How much history is kept?​
1024 samples per metric by default — roughly 17 to 34 minutes at typical update intervals. This can be changed with MaxHistoryItems.
Support​
How do I report a problem?​
- Enable logging with
LogEnabledand reproduce the problem. - Use Copy info to clipboard to capture your system data.
- Send both to O&O Support or to support@oo-software.com.
The log is written to %LocalAppData%\OO Software\OO DeskInfo\Logs\OODeskInfo.log.
Which Windows versions are supported?​
Windows 11 and Windows 10, as well as Windows Server 2016 and later, on x86, x64 and ARM. See System Requirements.