Using the Device Manager

Written by Barry Dysert (last updated April 1, 2019)

1

The Windows Device Manager lets you graphically view and manage devices on your local computer. Its capabilities include:

  • Verify that your hardware is working properly
  • Change hardware configuration settings
  • Obtain device driver information
  • Change settings for devices
  • Install updated device drivers
  • Enable, disable, and uninstall devices

How you invoke the Device Manager depends on the version of Windows you are using. If you are using Windows 7, click the Start button, right-click Computer, and select Properties. If you are using Windows 8, display the Charms (press Win+C), click Settings, and click PC Info. If you are using Windows 10, display File Explorer, right-click This PC, and select Properties.

Regardless of the version of Windows you are using, a Control Panel screen appears that displays some information about your system. At the left side of the screen click Device Manager. Windows displays the Device Manager dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Windows Device Manager

Note that if you are using Windows 10, you can go directly to the Device Manager by typing "Device Manager" (without the quotes) in the search box and select Device Manager from the displayed results.

The Device Manager uses a hierarchical display, meaning that you can expand or collapse different groups of items displayed in the window. For instance, if you wanted to see what disk drives were installed in your system, you would click the small triangle just to the left of the Disk Drives entry. Clicking the triangle again would collapse the category.

With the actual devices in your system on display, you can do things like update driver software, uninstall the device, look at the device's properties, etc. Just right-click on the device you're interested in and choose the appropriate option from the Context menu. When you are finished, close the Device Manager dialog box.

 This tip (12628) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Barry Dysert

Barry has been a computer professional for over 35 years, working in different positions such as technical team leader, project manager, and software developer. He is currently a software engineer with an emphasis on developing custom applications under Microsoft Windows. When not working with Windows or writing Tips, Barry is an amateur writer. His first non-fiction book is titled "A Chronological Commentary of Revelation." ...

MORE FROM BARRY

Creating a CD/DVD Archive

CDs and DVDs are good for creating archives of files you want to keep over the long term. They are a great way to back up ...

Discover More

Modifying or Deleting a Program's Schedule

Windows makes it easy to define tasks and to run them on a regular schedule. If you later want to modify or delete a ...

Discover More

Saving a Windows Search

Windows has a built-in search utility that allows you to search for strings inside of files. You can even save your ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

What are Modern Apps?

The capabilities of apps changed with Windows 10. What, exactly, are modern apps and how are they different from earlier ...

Discover More

Ending a Process Using the Task Manager

One of the many functions of the Windows Task Manager is to allow you to control processes running on your system. If you ...

Discover More

Switching between Program Windows

It is not unusual for you to work with several (and sometimes many) programs at the same time. Each program is displayed ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 7 + 0?

2019-04-01 09:40:51

MIchael Armstrong

I normally run in standard user mode. Many system-level tools can be right-clicked and "Run as Administrator" selected to start the app in elevated mode. But many can't, seemingly including Device Manager. Is there a secret way to do that, and, once running, set an icon in the taskbar to startup in elevated mode?


Newest Tips