VictusControl ⚡

Lightweight, bloat-free control utility for HP Victus laptops.
Direct HP BIOS WMI communication (root\wmi, hpqBIntM). One small tray app (no Windows service), no ads, no telemetry.

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🌟 Why VictusControl?

The official HP OMEN Gaming Hub consumes hundreds of megabytes of RAM, runs multiple persistent background services, displays store ads, and drains laptop battery.

VictusControl is designed as a standalone, featherlight alternative (<20 KB single executable) that talks directly to the HP BIOS WMI layer:

Feature	HP OMEN Gaming Hub	VictusControl
Download / Install Size	~500 MB+	One small EXE
RAM Usage	200 – 400 MB	Small (not measured yet)
Background Services	4 – 6 services running 24/7	None (one tray app, no Windows service)
Dedicated Omen Key	Opens heavy Omen Hub	Opens instant Quick Flyout (Bubble)
Telemetry & Ads	Yes	None
Dependencies	UWP / Store / HSA Services	None (Built into Windows)

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✨ Features

• 🎯 Hardware "Omen" Key Support:
  Intercepts the dedicated Omen key on your keyboard to instantly pop up the sleek Quick Control Flyout (Bubble).
• 🌈 1-Zone RGB Backlight Control:
  Choose from 9 vibrant presets (White, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, Purple, Pink) or select any custom color via the native Windows color picker.
• 🔆 PWM Brightness & Dimming:
  Interactive slider with 10% steps (10% to 100%) plus quick-access preset buttons. Real-time preview as you drag.
• 🌊 Smooth Lighting Animations:
  • Breathing (Atmung): Gentle sine wave pulsation in your selected color.
  • Rainbow (Color Cycle): Smooth HSV spectrum transition across all hues (~16 FPS, <0.1% CPU).
• ⏳ Smart Inactivity Timeout:
  Turns off keyboard LEDs automatically when idle (30s, 1m, 5m, 10m, or Disabled) to save battery and reduce glare. Turns back on immediately upon key or mouse input.
• 🖥️ External Display Brightness (HDMI / Type-C):
  Adjust external monitor brightness directly from the flyout. Supports hardware DDC/CI with an automatic click-through software dimming overlay fallback (works through USB-C hubs & docks). The primary display (usually the built-in panel, at position 0,0) is excluded from DDC/CI. If your external monitor is set as primary in Windows, DDC/CI will not reach it. Make the built-in panel the primary display in Windows display settings in that case.
• 🛡️ Safe & Native:
  Interacts strictly with the HP BIOS WMI lighting interface (hpqBIntM). Zero tampering with system stability or Windows registry power plans.
• 💾 Persistent Settings:
  All your choices are saved automatically in %APPDATA%\VictusControl\settings.txt and restored upon startup, sleep resume, or session unlock.

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🖥️ The Quick-Control Flyout ("Bubble")

Press your laptop's Omen key or left-click the tray icon to summon the modern Quick Flyout:

Auto-Close: Clicking anywhere outside the bubble or pressing Escape dismisses the window cleanly.

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🚀 Installation & Building

No Visual Studio, SDK, or package manager required! Windows includes the C# compiler out of the box.

Quick Setup:

1. Clone or download this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/marka87/VictusControl.git

2. Run build.bat (Right-click → Run as Administrator).
   It will compile VictusControl.exe in under two seconds.
3. To start automatically with Windows without UAC prompts:
   Run install-autostart.bat (Right-click → Run as Administrator).

Uninstall:

Run uninstall-autostart.bat (Right-click → Run as Administrator) and delete the folder.

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🔧 How It Works

1. WMI BIOS Communication: Communicates with the root\wmi namespace using class hpqBIntM and method hpqBIOSInt128 with command signature "SECU".
   • Command 0x20009: Reads and writes RGB lighting byte buffers (bytes 25, 26, 27).
   • Command 0x20008: Controls thermal policies and fan speed triggers.
2. Omen Hardware Key: Listens to the WMI event hpqBEvnt. One key press yields one event, so the flyout opens and closes exactly once per press.
3. Inactivity Detection: Uses GetLastInputInfo in user32.dll to measure system-wide idle time without continuous polling overhead.

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💻 Hardware Compatibility

• Tested on: HP Victus 16 (16-s0xxx AMD series, 16-d/e/r series with 1-Zone RGB keyboard).
• Probably compatible with: other HP Victus models and HP laptops with 1-Zone RGB backlighting. Not tested. Reports are welcome.

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📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - free to use, modify, and distribute.