Chapter 13: Adding and Removing Hardware

What Is the Device Manager?

To see a list of your computer's hardware, you use the Device Manager window, shown in Figure 13-1. The Device Manager lists all the devices that make up your computer and lets you see and modify their configuration. If the Add New Hardware Wizard detects a device conflict, it starts the Device Manager automatically.

Figure 13-1: The Device Manager lists the hardware in your computer.

To see the Device Manager, choose Start | Control Panel, click Performance And Maintenance, click the System icon, select the Hardware tab, and click the Device Manager button. You can view devices by type or by connection; by connection is usually better for driver debugging, since it displays each connected device separately. If hardware is having trouble, Windows displays the devices listed by type, with the type of the problematic device expanded.

Another way to see the Device Manager is within the Microsoft Management Console. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and choose Manage from the shortcut menu to see the Microsoft Management Console. Then click Device Manager in the left pane of the window.