Hardware Clinic 1.0.0-rc8 — Save my files

Which file do I download? Windows: Make-Hardware-Clinic-Stick.exe · Mac: Make-Hardware-Clinic-Stick.command and hardware-clinic-1.0.0-rc8.img · Linux: hardware-clinic-1.0.0-rc8.img · virtual machine: hardware-clinic-1.0.0-rc8.iso. All files are under Assets at the bottom of this page.

The two Source code links GitHub adds to every release contain only this repository's documentation and helper scripts — the Hardware Clinic OS source code is not published.

Security re-issue — 15 September 2026. The original downloads for this release contained a private signing key. The .img, .iso and .exe were replaced with versions that contain no key (new checksums below). If you downloaded before 15 September, flash your stick again or delete KEY.BIN from its root folder. Details and the compromised public key: security policy.

Updated 15 September: the macOS stick maker now works on macOS 26 (new Make-Hardware-Clinic-Stick.command, checksum below).

Computer won't start and your files are on it? Boot the stick, press f, plug in a USB drive. It finds your photos and documents, copies them across, and tells you where they went. Nothing on the computer is changed.

Hardware Clinic is a from-scratch ~360 KB UEFI OS on a USB stick. It boots in about a second on any UEFI PC or Intel Mac — no Windows, no Linux, no install.

⚠️ This tool can permanently erase data (secure-wipe, clone, partition repair). Provided as-is, no warranty — see LICENSE.txt. Free for personal use; business use needs a licence (COMMERCIAL.md).

New in rc8

• One-click stick makers: Make-Hardware-Clinic-Stick.exe (Windows, self-contained, USB-only, admin-elevated, locked writes) and Make Hardware Clinic Stick.command (macOS, native dialogs). Both beta: built and structurally verified, not yet run on real machines
• Save my files: new first menu item and mode = savefiles. Surveys every user's folders on every NTFS/ext4/APFS drive and counts by kind (photos, videos, documents, music), estimates time, waits for a USB drive to be plugged in (hot-plug detection), checks free space, copies with a progress bar and ETA, and ends with a plain-language result. Encrypted drives explained in plain words. Nothing on the computer is written
• Filesystem readers report file sizes (for the survey and progress)
• The technician tool is now Advanced rescue (key a)
• Regression: 3g wizard scenario with a hot-plugged drive, byte-identical check (40 checks)

Make a stick

• Windows: download and run Make-Hardware-Clinic-Stick.exe (admin prompt + SmartScreen warning — More info → Run anyway; it is new and unsigned).
• macOS: download Make Hardware Clinic Stick.command and the .img into the same folder, then double-click the .command (right-click → Open the first time).
• Manual: sudo dd if=hardware-clinic-1.0.0-rc8.img of=/dev/rdiskN bs=1m (macOS) / of=/dev/sdX bs=1M conv=fsync (Linux) / Rufus in DD mode (Windows).

Then boot it: PC — boot-menu key (F12/F9/Esc) → UEFI: USB; Intel Mac — hold Option. Secure Boot must be off. Not Apple Silicon.

Heads-up on what is not yet proven

rc8 passes the full QEMU/OVMF regression bench but has not yet run on a physical machine. "Save my files" and both stick makers are new and real-hardware-untested. If you boot it on anything, a machine report is the most useful thing you can send.

Checksums (SHA-256)

134fd9077dfdecc40d58762fdab6dcd36482d9ddf3601826b3dfa109e65d57c1  hardware-clinic-1.0.0-rc8.img
8986a3839519952acbc4cd3584454777af6f49a8195345b11a50b0c6fee6035d  hardware-clinic-1.0.0-rc8.iso
0448893a43a537dab291535bf69d8ecc8917c24ba7941d3997b932eaff70f82e  BOOTX64.EFI
908e4b6b2922e7e1a5221cd7e25189c9d11ecd7556a8fe50da002b5d99aef02d  Make-Hardware-Clinic-Stick.exe
51c9abea78b7ae40911dd128f0e1bca47470a6ec0db664498fbdb967c70ac024  Make-Hardware-Clinic-Stick.command

Hardware Clinic 1.0.0-rc7

This is an older release — get the current version from 1.0.0-rc8.

The two Source code links GitHub adds to every release contain only this repository's documentation and helper scripts — the Hardware Clinic OS source code is not published.

Security re-issue — 15 September 2026. The original downloads for this release contained a private signing key. The .img and .iso were replaced with versions that contain no key (new checksums below). If you downloaded before 15 September, flash your stick again or delete KEY.BIN from its root folder. Details and the compromised public key: security policy. Newer release: 1.0.0-rc8.

Boot-and-test hardware diagnostics on a USB stick. Plug it in, boot, and in one second you have a full diagnostic bench — no OS, no install. Works on any UEFI PC and Intel Mac.

⚠️ This tool can permanently erase data (secure-wipe, clone, partition repair). Provided as-is, no warranty — see LICENSE. Free for personal use; business use needs a licence (see COMMERCIAL.md).

Install

1. Download hardware-clinic-1.0.0-rc7.img and verify it against the checksum below.
2. Write to a USB stick (this erases the stick):
   • macOS: diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskN && sudo dd if=hardware-clinic-1.0.0-rc7.img of=/dev/rdiskN bs=1m
   • Linux: sudo dd if=hardware-clinic-1.0.0-rc7.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1M conv=fsync
   • Windows: Rufus or balenaEtcher in DD/image mode.
3. Boot it: PC — boot-menu key (F12/F9/Esc) → UEFI: USB; Intel Mac — hold Option. Disable Secure Boot if it does not appear.

What changed in rc7

• SMART behind Intel RST: the RAID-mode controller (8086:282a and friends) is now detected and named, with the exact BIOS change needed (storage mode → AHCI, with the Windows safe-mode step) instead of "no drives found"
• AER: the same correctable bit on every endpoint is recognised as ASPM link-power noise and no longer counted as errors (the Nitro logged 5/5 identical)
• TPM: larger capability buffer for firmwares with a bigger struct; fallback to the ACPI TPM2/TCPA tables when no protocol is offered (the Nitro reported "none" with a TPM present)
• verify.py finds a detached signature under .JSON.SIG, _JSON.SIG or .SIG (a renamed file verified as "NOT SIGNED")
• REFERENCE.CSV now ships seeded with the first real machine (i5-10300H: 216 Mops/s per core, 7139 MB/s memory read)
• First real-hardware results confirmed: memtest 16 GB clean on 8 cores, stress 70°C stable with 1% core spread, VRAM clean, 144 Hz AUO panel, Windows 11 22H2 detected off the drive, all four peripherals detected

Checksums (SHA-256)

20fdbaac5fb4ce1c4b20439d243d38180e55d74da5dd3dfd69e374189357af7f  hardware-clinic-1.0.0-rc7.img
23f8513ee5cae9aa60a1d17534998ad0dd939881d356149c304de174d0e3a552  hardware-clinic-1.0.0-rc7.iso
f2318502f72698cd567c8b19d284452dbe2d076c2f1dceebd60e7b7582593ba8  BOOTX64.EFI