How to find the device manager on a laptop. Via a remote computer

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Windows Device Manager

IN Windows Device Manager collected information about the status of all hardware on your computer. Device Manager is used to obtain information about all devices installed on the computer, update their drivers, or remove a device from the list so that it is no longer perceived by the system. Device Manager reports if there are problems connecting to hard drive, mouse, video card, network card or any other available equipment.

There are several ways to open Device Manager in Windows XP:

1. Open the Start menu → Control Panel → Performance and Maintenance → System (Start → Control Panel→ Performance and Maintenance → System). As a result, the “System Properties” dialog box will appear on the monitor screen, in which you need to go to the “Hardware” tab and click on the “Device manager” button.

2. In the “Start” menu, move the mouse cursor over “My Computer”, right-click, and select “Properties” from the pop-up menu. The “System Properties” → “Hardware” → “Device Manager” window will appear.

Click on the "Device Manager" button. Its dialog box will be displayed.

Note:
By the way, to call Device Manager, you can simply use the command devmgmt.msc. To do this: “Start” → “Run” → “OK” (or the “Enter” key on the keyboard). The Device Manager window appears.

In the program dialog box you will see a list of all equipment connected to the computer.

In the list under the computer name you can see all categories installed equipment. For each category you can get a list of devices installed on your computer of this type. To do this, click on the icon + next to the category you are interested in, opening the list. For example, the figure shows that the computer has one network Realtek board, which, by the way, is disabled.

On the General tab, find a section called Device Status. If the system has problems with this particular device, then the relevant information will appear in this section. You will also see an error message or other information about the source of the problem.

At the bottom of the General tab is a drop-down menu that allows you to disable the device, which is sometimes necessary when diagnosing a computer problem.

Windows Device Manager is used to manage all devices connected to your computer and their drivers. They are treated as internal components, for example, a video adapter or LAN card, and external: USB drives, printers, mice and keyboards. A similar tool is present in all modern versions Windows: XP, 7, 8 and 10. This article describes how to launch the utility, as well as the basics of working with it.

Running on Windows 10

Unlike older versions (XP and 7), in Windows 10 you cannot call the manager through context menu Computer icon. But the developers have added several other, faster and more convenient methods to the OS:

• Present in Windows 10 menu quick access "Quick Access Menu". It can be called up by clicking right click mouse on the " Start"or simultaneously press the Win + X buttons; find and click “” in the list;
• In Windows 10, in the lower left corner of the screen there is an icon with the image magnifying glass: This is a convenient search system, click on the icon and in the input field write “device manager” in whole or in part and press Enter. In the list found you will see what you were looking for;
• Next we will consider alternative options launch through various OS tools, which you can access, for example, through quick access menu(highlighted in the figure with thin red rectangles:
  

Working with the dispatcher

By using of this instrument Windows OS users can manage installed drivers, and search necessary information about current devices. The utility's interface has remained virtually unchanged between versions XP and 10. Only the design itself differs.

The main page of the tool is list of categories. Each category can be opened to see all its elements. For example, in the “Video adapters” category your video card (discrete or built into the motherboard) will be located.

To find out more information about the object, you need to open it double click mice. Alternative way– open the context menu and select the option “ Properties».

In the window that appears you can find 3-4 tabs:

Running on Windows XP

Login using My Computer

To open Device Manager in XP, you need to right-click on the “ My computer" on the menu " Start» or on your desktop.

The window “ Properties of the system" Go to the tab " Equipment" - the necessary service is located there.

Launch via Control Panel

Command "devmgmt.msc"

Windows 7, 8

For 7: Right-click on the " Computer" (or " My computer") on the menu " Start» or on your desktop. In the drop-down list, select " Properties».

For 8: Right-click on the " Start" and press " System».

You will be taken to your system details page. There is a menu on the left side of the window. Click on the hyperlink "" to launch it.

An alternative way is to use the “ Execute" This special utility For quick launch system tools And installed programs. Call up the dialog using the Win + R key combination. In a small window you need to enter the line “devmgmt.msc” and press Enter.

Video on the topic

It often happens that some element of the PC refuses to work or functions incorrectly. For example, without visible reasons You cannot listen to music while the audio player is installed and working. This means that the problem is not in him, but in the machine itself, or rather in its equipment. You can fix many problems with your computer hardware yourself. Device Manager. This is very useful tool control consoles. Let's look at what it is device Manager, what it is intended for, and how to enter it from different versions Windows.

What is he like?

It appeared in Windows 95 and, starting from version 2000, is standard element control consoles. It shows operative information about all devices installed on this machine, their status and the availability of drivers. In the case given in the preface, the problem may have arisen in the driver sound device, therefore, knowing how to turn on the dispatcher, it can be used to easily find the reason for the lack of sound.

In it you can see: whether this or that system component is working correctly, whether its driver is installed. And also determine the device name, path to it and driver release date. It is possible to start updating drivers or device configuration. The computer itself will find the newest versions in its memory or on the Internet. You can also turn off a particular device if it is faulty, or to save energy. The latter is relevant for laptops, for example, why keep it always on? optical drive, if you use it only once a year. It is possible to remove an unnecessary component altogether.

Please note: you can log in to it under any account, check the functionality of the elements, and change settings only with administrator rights.

By the way, to changes made started to be applied, in some cases it is necessary to restart the machine. Device Control Manager is sometimes confused with Task Manager but it's absolutely different applications. The first manages exclusively the physical components of the system, such as monitors, drives, input devices, memory, and the second is designed to work with software and running applications.

Go to the manager in Windows XP

In order to enter device Manager Windows XP, you should follow these steps:

The second way to open device Manager in Windows XP, - through the system command input line:

There is a third way to find this application:

On Windows 7

You can enter from Control panels by following these steps:

There is another way to start the dispatcher:

The third answer to the question of how to open device Manager in Windows 7, - through the search bar:

In the eighth and tenth Windows

For the eighth and tenth versions of the OS, the entire opening can be done in two clicks:

1. Right-click on Start.
2. A menu opens and select the desired application.

If you are not looking for simple ways, then the second way is how to open device Manager on Windows 10 or Windows 8, you can do it with:

1. The famous simultaneous pressing of Win and R opens the search window.
2. The command “devmgmt.msc” or simply typing the words “Device Manager”.

Conclusion

We will be glad if this short article helped you learn new things about your computer, its capabilities, suggested where the dispatcher is located, and the simplest way to solve the problem of logging into it.

Video on the topic

Device Manager is present in all versions of Windows and allows you to manage all devices connected to your computer. Thanks to it, you can work with drivers, connect or disconnect external and internal devices, and also find detailed information about them. To open it, built-in OS tools are used.

How to open Device Manager in Windows 7

In Windows 7, there are several ways to navigate to the Manager to get started with it. Most of the manager launch options are configured by default, but you can add one more manually to get the fastest access to the program.

Via My Computer

Expand the Start menu.

Go to the Start menu

Right-click on the “Computer” block and select “Manage” from the menu that opens.

The computer management menu will open, in which you can go to the “Device Manager” item to find yourself in the desired window.

Go to the “Device Manager” section in computer management

Through computer control

Expand your computer's control panel.

Select the "System and Security" block.

Go to the “System and Security” section

In the “System” subsection, click on the “Device Manager” button.

Go to the device manager through the “System and Security” section

Via Explorer

Open File Explorer via the Computer shortcut.

Open the “Computer” shortcut

While on the main section hard drive on which the operating system is installed, go to Windows folder, and from it to the system32 subfolder.

Go to the system32 folder

Open the devmgmt.msc file to open the manager.

Open the file devmgmt.msc

Via quick access program

Hold down the Win+R keys on your keyboard and open the Run program.

Press the Win+R keys

Execute the command devmgmt.msc

Through command execution

From the Start menu, expand All Programs, go to Accessories, and select Command Prompt.

Open the command line

Use the devmgmt.msc command to start the manager.

Run the command devmgmt.msc on the command line

Video: opening the dispatcher

Manually adding another method

If you want the manager to be open directly from the context menu that appears when you right-click on the “Computer” icon, then follow these steps:

While in the Run window, use the regedit command.

Run the regedit command

You've moved to the Registry Editor, now open the 20D04FE0–3AEA-1069-A2D8–08002B30309D folder using the folder tree on the left side of the Registry.

Go to the path HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\(20D04FE0–3AEA-1069-A2D8–08002B30309D)

Right-click on the Shell subfolder and in the context menu that opens, go to “Create” - “Section”. Name the section you are creating as convenient for you, for example, “Device Manager”.

Click on the item “Create” - “Section”

In the created section, create another subsection named command.

Create a command subsection

Create a parameter by right-clicking on empty space in the command folder and selecting “Create” - “String parameter”. Leave the name as default and assign the value to mmc devmgmt.msc. Ready, new item The context menu that appears when you click on the “Computer” icon has been added.

Create a parameter and set the value

How to show hidden devices

Some devices are hidden in the manager by default for the following reasons:

The device connected to the computer was manufactured a long time ago, and therefore does not have a Plug and Play function that allows the dispatcher to recognize the device. In this case, the device can work fully if the corresponding drivers are installed, but it will be hidden in the manager;

the device was removed using an unsafe removal method, the “Remove Device” button was not pressed before it was pulled out. Or the computer turned off automatically after a power outage, and because of this, all connected devices were turned off incorrectly;

Let's say you had a modem plugged into one port, and then for some reason you moved it to another, and the computer recognized it as a new device. In this case, the “old” modem connected to the first port will be hidden, and the new one will be displayed in the manager;

The hidden group sometimes includes temporary storage devices: flash drives, phones and cameras connected in external storage mode.

To display all hidden devices, follow these steps:

While in Device Manager, expand the View tab.

Expand the “View” tab

Turn on the "Show hidden devices" feature. Done, everything before hidden elements appear in the list, you may have to open and close the manager to update the list.

Enable the “Show hidden devices” feature

What to do if it doesn’t open

Some users experience that the manager does not open when they try to launch it different ways. Sometimes, the dispatcher disappears from all sections or stops responding immediately after launch. Follow the instructions below one by one to restore access to the registry.

Diagnostics for viruses

First of all, make sure that there are no viruses on your computer, as this is one of the most common causes of breakdowns. Open the antivirus installed on your computer and run full diagnostics, and remove any viruses found. After the analysis, restart your computer and try to launch the manager. If it doesn't help, then move on to the next step.

Removing viruses from your computer

Checking the startup file

Perhaps a virus or careless user actions deleted the file responsible for launching the manager. It is located along the path Primary_disk:WINDOWS\sistem32. If the devmgmt.msc file is missing in the destination folder, then transfer it from another computer on which the same version is installed operating system with the same bit depth. If this file is in place, then proceed to the next step.

Checking if the devmgmt.msc file is in place

Disabling programs

Remember what programs, games, processes or themes you installed in Lately. Perhaps they are the ones blocking the dispatcher, intentionally or not, by conflicting with him. Remove elements that could be blocking the dispatcher and try to start it.

Changing registry settings

Through the Run window, open the registry by running the regedit command.

Use the regedit command to open the registry

Using the folder tree on the left side of the registry, navigate to the System folder. If it is not in the Policies folder, then create it manually.

Go to the path HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies|System

In the destination folder, find the DisableTaskMgr parameter and change its value to 0.

Change the DisableTaskMgr parameter to 0

Restart your computer and try opening the manager.

Reboot the computer

Executing commands

The manager may not open due to some DLLs damaged, to restore them, follow these steps:

Launch Command Prompt using administrator rights.

Open a command prompt with administrator rights

Run cd C:WINDOWS\sistem32 one by one, and then one by one the commands Regsvr32 Msxml.dll, Regsvr32 Msxml2.dll, Regsvr32 Msxml3.dll. Please note that each command must be executed separately.

Execute the command cd C:WINDOWS\sistem32 and the rest

Run the exit command to close the command prompt, then restart your computer and try starting the manager.

We leave from command line

What to do if nothing helps

If none of the above instructions helped you launch Explorer, then there is only one option left - reinstalling or restoring the system. When using the first option, you will lose all files stored on your computer, but you will receive a 100% guarantee that everything will work. When using the second method, you have a chance to roll back the system to the moment when the manager worked normally, and only those programs that were installed after the last working restore point were created will be lost.

What to do if the manager is empty

There are times when the manager is completely empty or very few devices are displayed. There may be several reasons for this, and if you do not know which of them is relevant in your case, then follow all the instructions below sequentially.

Virus removal

There is a virus called Apropos, which can cause an error in the device manager. To get rid of this virus, download the AproposFix program. Turn off the computer and turn it on in safe mode, to do this, at the very beginning of boot, press the F8 key on the keyboard, and then select from the list that opens safe mode downloads. Install the program, go to the folder where you installed it and open the RunThis file with bat extension. Program in automatic mode will get rid of the virus and provide you with a file with a report on what changes have been made.

Turn on the computer in safe mode

Activation of Plug and Play service

The Plug and Play service is responsible for recognizing devices connected to the computer. If it is disabled, then all or some devices will not be displayed in the manager, so this function must be checked and activated manually:

From the Start menu, expand the Run shortcut program.

Open the “Run” window

Use the services.msc command to navigate to managing services.

Execute the command services.msc

In the general list, find the Plug and Play service and double-click on it with the left mouse button.

Selecting the Plug and Play service

Start the service if it is deactivated and select automatic type launcher so that in the future it will turn on independently.

Turn on automatic switching on Plug and Play services

Changing registry settings

Perhaps the fact is that not all rights are assigned to your account or system. To change this, you will have to work in the registry editor:

Using the Run box, go to the editor by running the regedit command.

Run the regedit command to go to the editor

Moving along the folder tree on the left side of the window, go to the CurrentControlSet folder.

Go to the path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet

Right-click the Enum folder and go to the Permissions section.

Select "Permissions"

In the list of users, select "Everyone" and give this group read-only rights, and give the user "System" full access and reading. If you don’t have a group, add it yourself by clicking the “Add” button.

We issue permissions for the system and the “Everyone” group

Go to additional permissions.

Save all changes and reboot the system. Done, all devices should appear in the manager.

Click the “Save” button

How to recognize an unidentified device

The manager may detect a device that is not signed in any way. If you do not understand what kind of device it is, you will find out by updating its drivers via automatic search them on the Internet, or by searching for information about him using his ID on the Internet:

Open the properties of the unidentified device.

Open device properties

Ports are not displayed

COM and LPT ports may not be displayed in the manager for the following reasons:

working with ports is disabled in the BIOS; on some computers it is disabled by default. To fix the problem, go into the BIOS and change the SMART LAN setting to desired port, not to Disable;

ports are physically absent from the computer, in this case there is only one way out - to purchase adapters for the ports you need;

For motherboard connected to the computer are not installed latest versions drivers, download and install drivers from the official website of the company that created your board to get rid of the problem;

some programs created virtual ports that replaced real ones. Remove all virtual ports from the manager, reboot your computer, and the real ports will appear.

The manager does not see the device

The manager may not see the connected device for the following reasons:

The connected device is not working. Connect it to another computer and see if it works there. If yes, then the problem is in the first computer, if not, then the problem is in the device, and you need to break it;

The port to which the connection is made is not working. Connect to it any other working device and check if it works with it;

the device is hidden in the manager, read about this above in the same article in the paragraph “How to display hidden devices”;

drivers are not installed for the device, fix this by downloading and installing drivers from the official website of the company that manufactured your device. Also, the drivers may not be updated or damaged, update them, and if they are damaged, then first remove the drivers and then install them again;

the device is disabled at the BIOS level, go into it and check the settings;

the device has been replaced by an unknown person or virtual device, remove all such devices, and after rebooting, the real device will appear in the manager.

These reasons and solutions to them are relevant for all types of devices: video cards, mice, flash drives, monitors, printers, disk drives, etc. If you checked all the points, but they did not help you, then there is only one thing left to do - reinstall the system or roll it back to the moment when everything was fully displayed in the dispatcher.

What to do if the drive does not see

For disk drives, there is another solution to the problem:

While in the Run shortcut, use the regedit command to access the Registry Editor.

Enter the regedit command and execute it

Device Manager - convenient standard program, which allows you to manage connected devices. Some devices in it may be hidden, and some may not be recognized, but these problems can be solved on your own. The main thing is, before delving into the system and the manager, make sure that the problem is not in the connected device itself.

Device Manager provides users with information about all equipment connected to the computer (laptop) and allows them to be managed software. How is this useful in practice? Knowing how to enable the manager, you can check whether a device is detected and installed correctly, disable it, update, roll back or remove drivers, and perform a number of other useful actions.

This window system utility(or rather, the MMC console snap-in) contains a list of all detected devices, divided into specific sections. By opening tabs, users find the equipment they need and work with its software.

Launch methods

Now let's figure out how to open the device manager to take advantage of all the functions that it offers.

Important: if you do not have administrator rights, when you try to launch the snap-in, a message will appear stating that you cannot make changes to the operation of the equipment. Click "Ok" to open the utility in reading mode.

There are many ways to launch the system utility to work with connected equipment, so we will describe only the main ones:

Since we went to the “Computer” context menu, let’s explore another option at the same time:

You can go more the long way, implying the use of the “Control Panel”. Startup varies depending on Windows versions, but these changes are insignificant. For example, on Windows XP:

1. Switch to classic look in the "Control Panel".
2. Open the "System" item.
3. Go to the "Hardware" tab and run the utility.

In Windows Vista, Windows 7 and all subsequent versions, the path has become a little shorter - here the utility icon for working with connected equipment is displayed directly in the control console window if you select the “Large Icons” display mode.

There is another option - go to the “Hardware and Sound” section and launch the manager from here.

Don't forget to use the built-in Windows search– write “Device Manager” in the line and the system will immediately show you a link to the required utility.

Using the Command Prompt, Run Menu, and Program Shortcut

If the methods described above do not satisfy your curiosity, and you want to know how else you can start the device manager, then we have a couple more methods in store. Let's start by running it via the command line:

1. Find and open Command Prompt.
2. Enter "devmgmt.msc".
3. Press Enter.

Knowing the command to call the hardware manager, you can launch it through the “Run” menu. This method works in all versions, from XP to Windows 10.

By the way, devmgmt.msc is not just some command, but the name of the equipment manager. The utility itself for working with connected devices has a specific storage location - the C:\Windows\System32 directory. Knowing this, you can launch the dispatcher directly using its shortcut.

By the way, if you right-click on the shortcut, several more options for displaying it in the system will appear: pinning it to the Start menu or on the taskbar, sending it to the desktop. Use these tools to make launching the dispatcher faster and more convenient.

Adding an item to the context menu

When you right-click on the “Computer” icon, a context menu appears - you have already used it by calling the “Manage” tool. If you change it a little system registry, then you can add a link to the hardware manager directly to this menu.

All you have to do is change the “Default” parameter of the “command” section, assigning it the value “mmc devmgmt.msc”. After saving the changes and closing the registry, open the “Computer” context menu - you will see that the “Device Manager” item appears, clicking on which opens a utility for working with connected equipment.