The use of computers in work, study and everyday life makes people gain new knowledge and skills during their operation. Many users of Microsoft's Windows operating system are confronted with a number of problems associated with the embedded and peripheral devices of a computer / laptop. It happens that some of the devices simply “fell off” and refuses to work, or when the new device is connected to the computer via USB or some other ports, it is not recognized by the computer and does not work. Also, many users are faced with such a reality that installing the operating system on a computer is only half the battle, and you still need to install drivers. To understand all this, you need to understand what the device manager in Windows 7 or 8 is and what it is for. This knowledge will make it possible to find the problem and solve it selectively and precisely. Before you learn how to enter the device manager, you need to understand in more detail what it is.
What is a device manager?
This is a list of all devices installed on the computer with the resources allocated to it.
Why do I need a device manager in Windows 7, 8 or XP? And it is needed so that the user can see the entire list of equipment connected to the computer and make their own adjustments.
Depending on the version of the operating system, the application data interface is slightly different, but basically it looks like this:
- A small window opens that can be expanded.
- In the upper part there is a menu bar and additional functional buttons, among which: go forward / backward, hide the console on the left, export the list of devices, help and hide the panel on the right.
- In the left pane, a list of standard tools for administering the operating system.
- The name of the computer is displayed in the main window, and the devices themselves are displayed in a hierarchical list.
- These devices can be a hard disk, disk drive, video card, sound card, network card, mouse, keyboard, game devices, webcam, printers and scanners, external storage devices (external hard disk or flash memory), other devices.
- When there are several similar devices, they are grouped and displayed as an icon with collapsed content.
- When you select any equipment icon in the list of additional buttons, a button "Search for Plug and Play devices" (or an update of the hardware configuration) appears under the menu.
By opening the device manager in Windows 7, 8 or XP, the user can configure the selected equipment. To do this, double-click the left mouse button on the device icon in the list. Then in the open window you can change the following settings for the item:
- Update driver.
- Roll back the driver to an earlier version.
- Uninstall the driver (and the device itself).
- Or just turn off the device.
Also, in an open dialog box, you can view the necessary information about the equipment, including identification number, driver or firmware version, release date, manufacturer and more.
How to open device manager
How to enter the device manager? Yes, very simple. To do this, go to the control panel and when you see the display of items with small icons, open the "Administration" section. In the dialog box, you need to find the item "Computer Management". After that, in the window that appears in the left pane, find and click once on "Device Manager".
It is also possible to reduce the number of actions. To do this, right-click on the “My Computer” icon (on the Desktop) once and select “Management”, which will open the “Computer Management” window indicated above. Well, then, as in the first version.
Windows 7 Device Manager
The device manager in Windows 7 does not have any significant differences from other versions of this family, starting with Windows XP and above. Therefore, the above description is the same.
If necessary, in the task manager, the user can turn off the device or change the driver for it either automatically or manually, indicating a specific settings file.
The device manager on Windows 7 is a very important and necessary element for monitoring and tuning the entire computer equipment system.
Windows 8 Device Manager
With the advent of the new operating system from the American company Microsoft - Windows 8 - new functions were added and unnecessary old ones disappeared, and the system interface also changed. It is noteworthy that the Windows 8 device manager has not changed much and has for the most part exactly the same functions as in the above Windows 7.
What to do if it does not start
In a well-tuned operating system, everything works quickly and smoothly. But what if the device manager is not displayed? Reasons and solutions can be:
- Windows account restriction. In this case, the system administrator serving the computer specifically limited access so that the user could not change anything himself. Usually accompanied by pop-up information about a call to the system administrator of the device. So it should be done.
- The operating system was attacked by malware and the element responsible for the task manager was damaged. It will help to restore the system to an earlier control point or to manually restore the structure of system elements (only for experienced users who can work with the registry).
- Temporary failure of one of the Windows services. It is treated by rebooting the computer.
- Using a pirated version of the operating system, the user should be prepared for the fact that such an element as the task manager can be deleted initially, so it is better to use a license.
Useful Tips
Windows 8, 7 or XP device manager allows you to see and understand which device is working, which is disabled and for which the driver is not installed.
If the inscription "Unknown device" is present in the list of devices and its icon has a yellow exclamation point, then for this equipment you need to install the driver. To understand what kind of device it is, you need to find the device identification number in the "Details" tab and look for information on it on the Internet. Having learned what kind of device it is, you need to either download and install the driver for it from the official site, or install it from the disk.
If the device’s icon is gray and has a down arrow, then this item is disabled and you can use it manually. If the device has a regular icon without additional signs, then it works and performs its function.