Windows XP in a Nutshell, Second Edition

Name

Device Manager — \windows\system32\devmgmt.msc

Synopsis

Configure all hardware installed in or attached to a computer.

To Open

Start → Programs → Administrative Tools → Computer Management → Device Manager

Control Panel → [Performance and Maintenance] → System → Hardware tab → Device Manager

Command Prompt → devmgmt.msc

Keyboard shortcut: Windows logo key + Pause/Break

Description

Device Manager is the central interface for gathering information about and making changes to all the hardware installed in a system. Device Manager has an Explorer-style tree listing all of the various hardware categories, as shown in Figure 4-21; expand any category branch to display all installed devices that fit in that category. For example, expand the Network adapters branch to list all installed network cards in the system. Right-click any device and choose one of the following actions:

Update Driver

If you have a newer driver than what is currently installed (find out by using Properties), select Update Driver to locate and install the new driver. This is the preferred way to update drivers in Windows XP, though some devices may have proprietary installation programs and don’t support their drivers being updated in this way.

Note that if you’ve got a driver disk or have downloaded updated drivers for a device, choose the second option, “Install from a list or specific location” on the first page of the Hardware Update Wizard (see Figure 4-22). If you choose the first option, “Install the software ...