How to use Windows Device Manager

Your computer is a collection of individual components, from the motherboard to the mouse, from the keyboard to the speakers and much more. On PCs running Microsoft Windows operating system, you can monitor all these devices and their properties using a tool called Device Manager.

First unveiled in Windows 95, Device Manager is part of the popular Windows Control Panel. Once launched, Device Manager lists all the components of your computer. You can enable or disable them one by one, modify or install device drivers, and even tell Windows to ignore devices that aren't working properly. It is, in short, a central hub that allows you to configure each component.

To launch Device Manager, you can press Windows + R keys to open a Run dialog box. Then type “devmgmt.msc” (without quotes) and press Enter. Alternatively, you can simply right-click the Windows Start button on the taskbar and then click Device Manager.

You will see a list of installed hardware. Conveniently, the components are sorted by category, such as disk drives, imaging devices, batteries, and other self-explanatory titles. Advanced readers will notice that some device drivers are not listed; this is because they are hidden by default. To show them, in the View menu, click Show hidden devices, and you'll see more drivers, like low-level system drivers or third-party drivers, appear in Device Manager.

You now know how to display Device Manager. What are you supposed to do with this information?

You can get started by simply clicking on the different devices. If you see any unusual icons, these are clues to a number of problematic issues you might be experiencing.

If you see a gray arrow pointing down, a device has been disabled, probably by the user. It can also mean that the device is physically installed but does not have a working driver.

You may see a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark - this means the device is not working properly.

If you see a question mark, the device does not have the correct (or latest) driver. Instead, it is installed using a compatible driver.

In some situations, you may find that some computer components are malfunctioning. Device Manager may be able to help you.

Let's say your DVD player isn't working. In Device Manager, you browse the list until you find DVD/CD-ROM drives. You click to expand the list and see that your DVD drive has a gray down arrow icon.

You know the physical drive is installed correctly, so you check the driver. Right-click the DVD drive, click Properties, then click the Driver tab. Here you can click Update Driver, then Windows will give you two options: you can choose to let Windows find the driver automatically, or you can manually point Windows to the folder where you downloaded the correct driver.

Device Manager is not a flashy feature. It's a powerful tool for controlling your computer's hardware — and tinkering with it can help you learn how to deal with problematic components in the future.

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