In a previous tutorial, we’ve shown how System Information works. Even though it is a pretty thorough tool in showing all there is to know about your system’s components (hardware and software), I don’t necessarily like the way it displays the information. Personally, I prefer a much simpler tool, called Device Manager. Why? Because, with very few clicks, it allows you to: see and manage the devices installed on your system, the devices for which you did not install drivers, view and manage “hidden" devices, such as the system beep. If I made you curios to learn more, check out this tutorials, as it shows all you need to know about using the Device Manager.

Launching the Device Manager

First, let’s find out how to open the Device Manager: search for the word "device" in the Start Menu search box. Then, click on the Device Manager in the search result.

NOTE: Device Manager can also be found as a separate section under: "Control Panel -> System and Security -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management".

The Device Manager window now opens. You will see in it all your computer’s hardware components (both real, physical components and emulated hardware components by the software you installed). The components are grouped by category. For example, in the screenshot below, you can see under Disk drives that I have two hard disks installed. You can also see their exact model and type.

If you want to view more info about a device, simply right click on it and select Properties. You will a window with info about the device. However, it might not be as complete as the info shown by System Information.

Finding Missing Drivers for Your Components

One very good use for Device Manager is finding out if there are any hardware components for which you missed installing the appropriate drivers. If there are any components without drivers, there will be a category called Other devices, as shown in the screenshot below.

Inside this section, you will (hopefully) find very few devices listed and a generic name for them. For example, Device Manager tells me that it has found an unknown USB20 Camera. Looking on my computer I noticed my Microsoft LifeCam, for which I forgot to install a driver.

Installing Drivers for Your Components

Let’s see how you install drivers, both for components without appropriate drivers and with drivers installed. Simply right click on the device and select "Update Driver Software".

The Update Driver Software wizard now starts and you are given two options: let Windows 7 search for an updated driver (it will search both your computer and the Internet) or you can browse your computer and select the driver yourself. Let’s say you select the first option.

The Update Driver Software wizard searches for the driver on your computer. If it doesn’t find a good one, it searches online for it. Wait for it to do its job.

If a driver is found, it gets automatically installed. Wait for the process to end.

When done, you are announced if the driver was successfully installed or not.

Now you can view the device nicely shown under the appropriate category. It is no longer shown under Other devices.

If the Update Driver Software wizard cannot find a driver, it notifies you. In this scenario, there’s nothing left for you to do in the Device Manager. Simply close the wizard. If Device Manager tells you the name of the device, simply download the drivers for it and install them. If it says “Unknown device", start thinking. For which devices you have not installed any drivers?

In my case, it turns out I forgot to install drivers for the computer’s motherboard and for the UPS (Uninterruptible power supply) to which my computer is connected. The best next step is to go to the websites of the manufacturers of these components, download the appropriate drivers and install them via their setup programs.

Viewing Hidden Devices in Device Manager

Another less know use for Device Manager is that it can show you the so called “hidden devices" - generally drivers installed by the software you are using on your computer. To see the, click on the View menu and check the option "Show hidden devices". Now you can see a category of devices called "Non-Plug and Play Drivers".

Here there’s a very long list of drivers for things such as the system beep, drivers for your sound card, “drivers" for your Windows Firewall, virtual machine drivers, etc.

Disabling or Enabling Devices

Even though I would not recommend you doing this, you can disable devices from the Device Manager. By doing so, you prohibit your operating system from using them. Therefore... be careful what you disable.

How do you disable a device? Simply right click on it, select Disable and confirm you want to do this operation. Then you might be asked to restart your computer. If you are, close any open applications and restart.

Enabling back a device, is done the same way. You just click on Enable, instead of Disable.

Device Manager - Very Useful Isn’t It?

At the end of this tutorial, I hope you will agree with me when I say - Device Manager is a very useful tool in managing your system’s components. For other useful tips on how to manage the hardware components in your system, check out the list of recommendations below.

Related articles:

How to Manage Your Disks using the Disk Management Utility
What is the Devices and Printers Panel and How to Use it
The Basics About Working with the Event Viewer in Windows
System Information - Find Out All There is to Know About Your Computer Configuration