Home Software Drivers Windows Device Manager – What It Is & How To Use It?

Windows Device Manager – What It Is & How To Use It?

Last Updated: January 7, 2023

Everything You Need To Know About Windows Device Manager 🖥

Windows Device manager is an important Windows utility that offers a broader view on the installed hardware on your computer. And it is the place from where you can make required changes in the hardware.

Installed hardware such as Mouse, Keyboard, USB Device, Hard Disk Drive etc. are being controlled and managed through the device manager.

So, whether it is to configure the hardware, disabling or enabling them, managing the conflict between them, all can be handled by accessing the Device manager.

The Device manager is present in every Windows computer and they are included by default, so you do not have to download or install them separately.

Also, this Windows utility is present in every version of Windows starting from the older version, Windows 95, 98, XP, Vista, Windows 2000, Windows 7, 8 and in the latest version Windows 10.

All you have to do is to access the Device manager from the required place on your computer and that’s it.

Any hardware related issues such as the touchpad is not working, the keyboard is not responding properly or the sound is not clear in your laptop, all can be checked going to the device manager.

The Windows Device Manager is used to solve numerous problems. But its main uses are outlined here.

#Uses of Windows Device Manager: 🤓

The first use of device manager is that it let you check if any hardware is working fine on your computer.
Also, you can use the same utility if there is a need to make some hardware configuration.
The advanced settings and properties for each and every hardware installed on your system can be changed through the Device Manager.
You can again choose to go for updating any device driver from here. It comes to help in case any of the hardware is outdated and needs to be updated soon to get it back to the normal operating condition. As you choose to update the driver software, ensure the internet connection is available. By doing so, the new driver of the device will be downloaded and updated automatically if any new driver for that specific device is available.
When some hardware such as the mouse or keyboard does not work as expected, uninstall them from the device manager will help most of the times. The device is wiped and it will no longer work then. However, as the system is shut down once and restarted, the device will be detected once again as new hardware and will be installed automatically.

Roll back driver is another option available in the Device manager and this option will be available for every hardware. This comes to work when you want to get back to the previous driver. The entire device driver gets updated automatically with the Windows update. But in case you find a new driver is not compatible with your computer and is not working at all, just choose to roll back to the previous version and the issue will get resolved most probably.

Suggested Link: How To Roll Back a Driver in Windows?

When you add a new hardware on your computer and unfortunately that is not identified by the computer, Device Manager comes to help again. Go to device manager and choose to ‘scan for new hardware’ which will detect the driver and will start installing if there are no other issues involved here.
The devices based on their connection to the computer, type or by the resource used by them can be viewed easily in the Device Manager.
You can also enable or disable any device from here only if required.

So, these are the main uses of Windows Device Manager. Even though device manager is used to solve countless issues that are related to the installed hardware on your computer, you should know before the process to access this Device Manager utility. So, here is the process to open that Device Manager.

#Process to Access the Device Manager:💻

There are mainly two easy ways to open the device manager. The first process is through the Control Panel while the second method requires opening the command prompt. Both the process is explained here in detail.

Method 1: Through Control Panel

First, open the Control Panel.
Next, you need to click on the “Administrative tools” to get the more options.
Here search for the option named ‘Computer Management’ and double-click on it. Once this option is available to you, you can do the necessary changes in the required device drivers.

Method 2: Through the Run Command

This is the easiest and quick way to have access to the Device Manager. The command prompt is same for every Windows version.

Open the run command first and it can be opened by pressing the Windows + R Key.
Then type ‘devmgmt.msc’ and press OK. It will launch the device manager.

Now, once you have accessed the Windows Device Manager, you can easily perform the required task in all the device driver. However, the process to use this Device Manager is explained here in more detail.

#How to Resolve Any Hardware Issue Using Device Manager🤔

The Device Manager has a clear list of all the Devices in different categories which make it easy to find out the hardware you are searching for.

The categories can be expanded further to see what all devices lies inside them. The categories you will find out are Audio Inputs and Outputs, Display adapter, Disk drives, Network adapters, DVD/CD-ROM drives, Printers and Sound etc.

Under the categories, once you find the right hardware, double-click on that to have more information of the driver.

If any of the device drivers has some trouble associated with it, it will be displayed with yellow color exclamation symbol or else an unusual icon will be displayed along with it.

Similarly, double-click on that device driver to reveal more information. Once the problem is known to you, the required task can be performed to resolve the issue.

Not just exclamation symbol, most of the times people also find their device in the ‘Other Devices Category’ too. And in both of the above problems, it’s the drivers who is causing the problem.

#Suggested Links

So, this is all about the Windows Device Manager which plays an important role in the computer and you can use it to resolve all kind of issues in the installed hardware.

“And that’s all for now, thanks for sticking with the article, and you know it will always good to let me know about the tutorial, in the comments down below.” 🙂