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Tips for Best HWMonitor Use
HWMonitor isn't digitally signed, so you'll get a prompt from Windows asking for your permission to run the program on Vista, unless you turn off User Account Control (UAC). If you use HWMonitor regularly, I recommend right-clicking its file entry (HWMonitor.exe) in Windows Explorer and selecting Pin to Start Menu from the resulting pop-up menu. Then you can access the program with only a single click from your Start menu.
When you build a new system or add hardware components to an existing system, it's a good idea to monitor temperatures for a day or two afterward to make sure that everything is working as it should be. This also means that you'll want to run HWMonitor for a day or two after you install it, to get a sense of the normal operating ranges for your PC(s). Only by comparing what you see at any given moment with what you've learned to expect can you tell if temperatures are climbing to levels you don't (or shouldn't) like.
Ed Tittel is the creator of the Exam Cram series of IT certification prep books and a contributor to many other computer-related books. These days, he's spending lots of time working with Windows Vista, trying to understand its many feature and functions, as well as its occasional foibles.