How to Open Device Manager

Here’s where to find Device Manager in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, or XP

There are plenty of reasons you might need to open Device Manager in Windows but usually, it’s to troubleshoot some kind of problem with your computer’s hardware.

It doesn’t matter if you’re updating device drivers, adjusting system resources, finding Device Manager error codes, or even just checking in on a device’s status—you’ll need to open Device Manager before you can do any of it.

Device Manager isn’t listed next to your regular programs, so it can be difficult to find if you don’t already know where it is. The Control Panel method is probably the most straightforward way to get there, but we go over all your options below.

Follow the easy steps below to open Device Manager in Windows:

Instructions in this article apply to Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

Time Required: Opening Device Manager should only take a minute or so, no matter which version of Windows you’re using. See Other Ways to Open Device Manager towards the bottom of the page for some other, arguably faster ways in at least some versions of Windows.

How to Open Device Manager via Control Panel

In Windows 10 and Windows 8, assuming you’re using a keyboard or mouse, the fastest way is through the Power User Menu—just press the WIN (Windows) key and the X key together.

In some versions of Windows 10, you may also be able to open Device Manager directly from the Start menu, as a submenu under Control Panel.

Depending on your version of Windows, Control Panel is usually available from the Start menu or Apps screen.

What you do next depends on what Windows operating system you’re using:

• In Windows 10 and Windows 8, select Hardware and Sound. You could also jump right to Device Manager through the Power User Menu and not have to go through Control Panel.
• In Windows 7, choose System and Security.
• In Windows Vista, select System and Maintenance.
• In Windows XP, pick Performance and Maintenance.

If you don’t see these options, your Control Panel view may be set to Large icons, Small icons, or Classic View, depending on your version of Windows. If so, find and choose Device Manager from the big collection of icons you see and then skip to Step 4 below.

From this Control Panel screen, look for and choose Device Manager:

In Windows 10 and Windows 8, check under the Devices and Printers heading. In Windows 7, look under System. In Windows Vista, you’ll find Device Manager towards the bottom of the window.

In Windows XP, you have a few extra steps since Device Manager isn’t as easily available in your version of Windows. From the open Control Panel window, select System, choose the Hardware tab, and then use the Device Manager button.

With Device Manager now open, you can view a device’s status, update the device drivers, enable devices, disable devices, or do whatever other hardware management you came here to do.

Other Ways to Open Device Manager

If you’re comfortable with the command-line in Windows, specifically Command Prompt, one really quick way to start Device Manager in any version of Windows is via its command:

The command-line method really comes in handy when you need to bring up Device Manager but your mouse won’t work or your computer is having a problem that prevents you from using it normally.

While you probably won’t ever need to open Device Manager this way, you should know that it’s also available in all versions of Windows via Computer Management, part of the suite of built-in utilities called Administrative Tools.

Device Manager takes on a slightly different look in Computer Management. Just select it from the left margin and then use it as an integrated feature of the utility on the right.

Another way to open Device Manager, at least in Windows 7, is through GodMode. This is a special folder that gives you access to tons of settings and controls found throughout the operating system. If you already use GodMode, opening Device Manager there might be your preferred way to use it.

How to Access Device Manager From the Command Prompt

Use Command Prompt to open Device Manager with this trick

What to Know

• The Device Manager run command is handy to know for starting the Device Manager, updating drivers, and more.
• To use the Device Manager run command enter devmgmt.msc into a command prompt.
• You can also open Device Manager in Windows 10, 8, 7, and Vista using a Control Panel applet.

One really easy way to start Device Manager in any version of Windows is from the Command Prompt.

Just type the devmgmt.msc command, or one of the other three we describe below, and voilà. Device Manager starts right up!

Instructions in this article apply to Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

Besides being one of the fastest ways to open it, knowing the run command for Device Manager should come in handy for other things, too. Advanced tasks like writing command-line scripts would call for the Device Manager command, as well as other programming tasks in Windows.

Are you uncomfortable working with commands? You shouldn’t be, but there are plenty of other ways to start Device Manager, too. See How to Open Device Manager in Windows for help.

How to Access Device Manager From the Command Prompt

Time Required: Accessing Device Manager from Command Prompt, or another command-line tool in Windows, should take less than a minute, even if this your first time executing commands.

Follow these easy steps to access Device Manager from the Command Prompt:

Open Command Prompt. It’s as simple as searching for cmd in the Start menu or search bar in most versions of Windows.

You could also do so with administrative privileges by opening an elevated Command Prompt, but you don’t need to open Command Prompt with admin rights in order to get to Device Manager from the command line.

Command Prompt is the most all-inclusive way to run commands in Windows, but the following steps could be performed via the Run tool, or even from Cortana or the search bar in newer versions of Windows.

The primary way to open the Run dialog box is with the keyboard: press and hold the Windows key and then press R once. Another way is through Task Manager, which you might do it the Windows desktop has crashed and you can only open Task Manager; to do that, go to File > Run new task, and then enter one of the commands below.

Once either Command Prompt or the Run box is open, type either of the following, and then press Enter:

Both work equally well but must be executed from Command Prompt or the Run dialog box, not from Cortana or other universal search boxes.

No matter how you get it to open—via Control Panel, Run, a desktop shortcut, Command Prompt, a BAT file, PowerShell, etc.—Device Manager works the same, looks the same, and has the exact same features. You’re just picking one of several shortcuts to open the file.

Device Manager Resources

Here are some articles with more information and tutorials regarding Device Manager:

How To Open Windows Device Manager?

Windows Device Manager is used to list hardware and software devices in the current system. Device Manager also used to check drivers, firmware, and configuration of the devices. In this tutorial, we will learn how to open and list hardware information with Device Manager on Windows XP, Windows ME, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019. There are plenty of ways of opening the Windows Device Manager. We will look at the most useful and practical of them.

Open Device Manager From Start Menu

The start menu provides a lot of useful functionality. We can open Device Manager from the start menu. We will just type the Device Manager to the start menu where the matched programs will be listed.

This will work for all different versions without problem.

Open Device Manager From Control Panel

Control Panel provides access to the Administrative tools like Keyboard, Mouse, User Accounts etc. We can also access to the Device Manager from Control Panel like below.

Open Device Manager From MS-DOS Command-Line with devmgmt.msc

MS-DOS Commandline seems a nightmare for most of the users. But MS-DOS provides very useful and practical shortcuts for regular jobs like opening Device Manager. We can use devmgmt.msc command in order to open Device Manager like below.

Open Device Manager From PowerShell

PowerShell is the new way to manage Windows systems from the command line. It provides a lot more than MS-DOS. We can use most of the MS-DOS commands from PowerShell so we can use devmgmt.msc command in order to open Device Manager.

Open Device Manager From Run Dialog Box

We can also open Device Manager from Run Dialog Box. Run Dialog box execute given command in the command line. So we will use devmgmt.msc in order to open Device Manager from Run Dialog Box.

Open Device Manager From Computer Management Console

Computer Management Console is used to manage core Windows components. We can also use the Computer Management Console in order to open the Device Manager. Device Manager will be opened inside Computer Management windows like below.

How to open the Device Manager in Windows 10

The Device Manager in Windows 10 provides a central and organized view of all the Microsoft Windows recognized hardware installed on a computer. The Device Manager helps change hardware configuration options, manage drivers, enable or disable hardware, identify conflicts between hardware devices, etc. Device Manager also helps troubleshoot devices when they don’t work properly. Let us see how to open the Device Manager in Windows 10. You may need to be logged in using an administrator account.

How to open the Device Manager in Windows 10

The Device Manager in Windows 10 can be opened in the following ways:

1. Using the WinX Menu
2. Using Windows 10 Search
3. Using Run box
4. Using Command-line
5. Using Control Panel
6. Using Computer Management
7. Using File Explorer

We will now learn about all these methods in detail.

1] Using the WinX Menu

You can open the WinX Menu by using the keyboard shortcut Windows Key + X. You can also right-click on the Start Menu and then select the option ‘Device Manager’.

2] Using Windows 10 Search

To open the Device Manager using the Search option, click on the ‘Search icon’ or ‘Search box’ next to the Start button. Type in ‘Device Manager’ in the search box and then simply select the option.

3] Using Run box

You can open the Device Manager using the Run box method with the help of any one of the three Run commands- devmgmt.msc or control hdwwiz.cpl in the open field. Simply press the Windows Key + R. Type in any one of the mentioned commands in the Open field and then select OK.

4] Using Command-line

Execute one of the folowing command in CMD or PowerShell:

5] Using Control Panel

Open Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers > Device Manager.

You can also access it using Control Panel’s Icon View

Open Control Panel > All Control Panel Items. To do that, click on the View by drop-down menu, and choose Large icons or Small icons, depending on your preference. All the Control Panel items will appear. Select the ‘Device Manager’ option.

6] Using Computer Management

Open the Computer Management Tool on your Windows 10 PC.

Under System Tools, click on Device Manager to launch it.

7] Using File Explorer

Go to File Explorer on your Windows 10 PC. You will see ‘This PC’ in the left navigation pane. Right-click on This PC and select ‘Manage’ from the Context Menu.

The Computer Management Tool window will open. Click on System Tools > Device Manager.

So, these are the various ways to open Device Manager in Windows 10. Hope this was helpful for beginners!

If you know of any more ways to open the Device Manager on your Windows 10 PC, do let us know in the comments down below.

Date: October 24, 2020 Tags: Devices

Related Posts

Audio Input and Output device uninstalled upon restart in Windows 10

This device is currently waiting on another device (Code 51)

How to enable or disable Tablet PC touch input in Windows 10

[email protected]

Disha is an MBA who loves to dabble with computers. Her love for Windows and Office has now compelled her to start blogging here with us.