Device Manager In Windows XP

Device Manager provides a graphical view of the hardware that is installed on the computer, as well as the device drivers and resources associated with that hardware. Using Device Manager provides a central point to change the way the hardware is configured and interacts with the computer's microprocessor.


Using Device Manager to manage devices and their drivers require the following permissions, all of which are granted to Administrators:

1. The Load\Unload Drivers privilege.

2. The permissions needed to copy files to the system32\drivers directory.

3. The permissions needed to write settings to the registry.

Device Manager allows the following functionality:

1. Determine if the hardware on your computer is working properly.

2. Change hardware configuration settings.

3. Identify the device drivers that are loaded for each device and obtain information about each device
driver.

4. Change advanced settings and properties for devices.

5. Install updated device drivers.

6. Disable, enable, and uninstall devices.

7. Reinstall the previous version of a driver.

8. Identify device conflicts and manually configure resource settings.

9. Print a summary of the devices that are installed on your computer.

Typically, Device Manager is used to check the status of computer hardware and update device drivers on the computer. If you are an advanced user, and you have a thorough understanding of computer hardware, you can use Device Manager's diagnostic features to resolve device conflicts, and change resource settings.

To access Device Manager, use any of the following methods:

1. Click Start--> click Run--> and then type devmgmt.msc.

Or

2. Right-click My Computer--> click Manage--> and then click Device Manager.

Or

3. Right-click My Computer--> click Properties--> click the Hardware tab--> and then click Device Manager.

4. Type the following command at a command prompt:

start devmgmt.msc

If you want to access Device Manager on a local or remote computer:

1. Click Start--> click Run--> and then type mmc.

2. Click Add/Remove Snap In on the File menu (or press CTRL+M)--> click Add--> and then click Device Manager.

When you use this procedure, a shortcut to Device Manager is created that you can use to open Device Manager.

Viewing information about a device driver

To get information about the driver for a device, perform the following steps:

1. Double-click the type of device you want to view.

2. Right-click the specific device and then click Properties.

3. On the Driver tab--> click Driver


Views and characteristics

The views and their characteristics are available in the following options with descriptions:

1. Devices by Type: displays devices by the type of device installed, such as Monitor or Mouse. The connection name is listed below the type.

2. Devices by Connection: displays devices by how they are connected in your computer. Each device is listed under the hardware to which it is connected. For example, if a small computer system interface (SCSI) card is listed, the devices attached to the SCSI card will be listed beneath it.

3. Resources by Type: displays the status of all allocated resources by the type of device using these resources. The resources are direct memory access (DMA), channels, input/output ports (I/O ports), interrupt request (IRQ), and memory addresses.

4. Resources by Connection: displays the status of all allocated resources by connection type. The resources are: DMA channels, I/O ports, IRQ, and memory addresses.

5. Show Hidden Devices: includes non-Plug and Play devices (devices with earlier Windows device drivers).