Windows 8

1. Navigate to the Start screen and type Control Panel.
   • Category View
     1. Click on Hardware and Sound.
     2. Click on Device Manager.
   • Classic View
     1. Click on Device Manager.

For more information, see Windows 8 - Accessing the Control Panel.

Windows Vista/7

1. Click on Start and then click Control Panel.
   • Category View
     1. Click on Hardware and Sound.
     2. Click on Device Manager.
   • Classic View
     1. Click on Device Manager.

Windows XP

1. Click on Start > Control Panel. In Classic View, click on System to open the System Control Panel Window.
2. Click on the Hardware tab.
3. Click on the Device Manager button to open the Device Manager

Device Manager is NOT a list of installed devices, it's a list of installed protected-mode device drivers. This means that while certain devices may be installed correctly, it will not appear in this list unless Windows has the drivers necessary to recognize it.

In Device Manager, devices are sorted by type, that is, the various "categories” of hardware that are installed. In this document, Network Adapters will be used as an example of a device one might need to troubleshoot using Device Manager. So in this example, Network Adapters is the type of device, and the specific network cards installed are the physical device.

Locate the device type (e.g. Network Adapters) in this listing and click on the + sign or downward arrow in front of it. This will display the current network devices that are detected by windows. In our example, there are three devices, one of which is the Intel(R) Network Connection. This is the network card, which can have many different names depending on the computer, but usually contains Ethernet or Network in its description.

In this example, the network card appears to be in working order. One of the following will appear in the Device Manager if there is a problem (using the network card as the example):

• The network card does not appear at all, or the Network Adapters icon cannot be found in the Device Manager. In this case the network card may not be installed correctly, as Windows should detect almost all cards put into the computer.

  1. You should power down your computer and if possible, locate the physical hardware on your computer. Verify it is installed correctly, and restart your computer. Once you have restarted your computer, Windows should automatically recognize the hardware and go through an installation process. You may be asked to provide drivers during this installation. Please note that some hardware cannot be located without opening the computer. Doing this may damage your computer and is NOT recommended by the DoIT Help Desk.

  2. Check any physical connections between the missing device and your computer. In our example, this could involve checking the Ethernet jack on the wall as well as in the back of the computer. If you verify that the hardware is installed correctly but still does not appear in Device Manager, continue to the next bullet.

• There is a listing for "Other Devices" in the Device Manager which has a Yellow Question Mark (?) icon next to it. Check this listing to see if there is an item that may be the network card. If this is the case, the drivers could not be found by Windows, so the device it detected was placed in the other devices category. Windows does not currently know what the device is, so updating the drivers to the correct ones will help resolve this. Follow the instructions below clicking instead on this "Other device".

• The device appears but has a yellow *exclamation* point or a red X, or a black downward arrow over the icon:
  • or One of these icons will appear on devices that have been disabled. Right-click on the hardware and click Enable. Your hardware should no longer have a red X or black arrow. If you are still having problems with hardware after you enabled it, continue to the next section.

  • This icon appears on devices that aren't responding or whose drivers aren't installed properly. Follow the directions listed in the next section to resolve the problem.

• There are multiple devices cards with the same name, but there is only one such device card installed in the machine. In our example, you may see two (or more) of the same network cards listed even though only one is installed. One or both of the devices may have one of the above icons on it.

  1. To correct this, you should remove all instances of the duplicated device. In this case, double click on the network card, select the Drivers tab, and click . Do this for each card that appears until there are no more cards listed.

  2. Close the Device Manager and restart the computer when prompted. Windows should detect only one device when it boots up.

Highlighting a device and clicking Properties or double-clicking a device (not a device type) will bring up its properties. An example is shown below.

The above shows a network card driver that is installed properly. Device Status reports that the device is working properly. If an error message is displayed here, contact the DoIT Help Desk for assistance.