In Windows, managing your hardware devices can be easily done via the Device Manager section. However, if you are in a server environment or if you want to control device drivers using the command line, then DevCon is a good alternative for the regular Device Manager.
DevCon is a part of Windows Driver Kit and is a command line utility which can be used to quickly disable, enable, install, remove, scan and list all the hardware devices in a local or network computer.
Using DevCon
DevCon is available for free and can be downloaded from the Microsoft website. Once downloaded, extract the executable and place it somewhere in the C drive so that you can reach it easily in the command prompt. For instance, I’ve placed the extracted files in a folder named “devcon” in my C drive.
Now open up the Command Prompt as the administrator. To do that, search for the command prompt in the Start menu, right click on it and select the option “Run as administrator.” If you are using Windows 8, simply select the option “Command Prompt (Admin)” from the power user menu (Win + X).
Once you are in the command prompt, navigate to either the 32-bit (i386) or the 64-bit (ia64) folder in the “devcon” folder using the command below. If you have placed the DevCon executable somewhere else then change the command accordingly.
Now, if you want to know the syntax, different commands and arguments used by the Devcon utility, use the command below to get some help.
To get a list of the devices, you can use the
find command with the wild card entries. Since DevCon is also used over the network, you need to specify the computer name to get a list of the devices. You can easily find your Windows computer name in the “System Properties” window. For instance, I used the following command to get the details about my CD-ROM. Don’t forget to replace the computer name and the device name. Moreover, you can always replace the “deviceName” with the hardware IDs.
Alternatively, you can also use the Hardware IDs command to get a list of all the devices. To get a list of all the hardware devices, use the following command. Spider man 2002 pc download.
If want to trim down the list, use the command with the wild card entries.
Now to get the status of a device, use the below command. To make your life much easier, you can either use the hardware IDs or the names with wildcard entries like I did. This command outputs the device name and status of the device.
To disable a device using the DevCon utility, you can use the below command. Again, use the wild card entries if necessary, but be careful as you might disable other devices that you don’t intend to.
To re-enable the device, use the command below. The command does nothing more than replacing “disable” with the word “enable.”
If you want to scan for any new devices on your computer, then you can use the command below. It is just like the “Scan for new hardware” button in your Device Manager.
To install a certain driver using the DevCon utility, you need the INF file which comes bundled with the driver files. Now, to install a device driver, use the following command. Don’t forget to replace “Path to INF file” with the actual path and the “hardwareID” with the actual hardware ID. In case you are wondering, the switch
/r is an argument to restart the computer once the process is finished.
To update a device driver, use the following command. While entering the hardware ID’s, you can use the wildcards, but be careful while using them.
Now to remove a hardware device completely, use the below command. Just like in any other command, you can use the wildcards but it is not at all recommended for this command.
That’s all for now, and it is that simple to use the DevCon command-line utility to manage your hardware drivers. The commands shared above are helpful in almost all the basic situations. But if you want to know more, Microsoft Library has an excellent documentation detailing each and every command regarding the DevCon utility. So don’t forget to give it a try.
Hopefully that helps, and do comment below sharing your thoughts and experiences about using DevCon to manage your hardware drivers.
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Hi George,
1.Does a hardware device connect in other computers?
2.Were there any recent changes made on the computer prior to the issue?
Please follow the links and steps:
Active file recovery 18.0.8 key download. Method 1: Run the Hardware and devices troubleshooter.
Alternatively you can try the fix it mentioned below and check.
http://support.microsoft.com/mats/hardware_device_problems/en-us
For more information, refer the link:
Note: It applies to Windows 7 as well.
Method 2:
Use Device Manager to scan for hardware changes
Use Device Manager to scan for hardware changes. After your computer scans for hardware changes, it might recognize the USB device that is connected to the USB port so that you can use the device.
To scan for hardware changes, follow these steps:
Method 3:
Uninstall and reinstall USB drivers.
You may check after uninstalling and reinstalling the USB drivers if you are able to connect. You may disconnect all USB devices and then perform the following steps:
a.Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
b.Click System and Maintenance, click System, and then click Device Manager.
Note: If Control Panel is in Classic View, double-click System, and then click Device Manager.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.
c.In Device Manager, double click to expand 'Universal Serial Bus controllers', right click on the Host Controller, click 'Uninstall' and click 'OK'.
Check if at all there is an exclamation mark along the driver, it suggests issues with the driver installed.
d.Repeat the step 2 to uninstall all items under 'Universal Serial Bus controllers'.
Then, restart your computer and Windows 7 will reinstall all USB controllers automatically.
Note: Connect the USB devices to the Computer only after the conflict drivers are uninstalled and once the Computer is restarted.
If you still face the same issue then you may check for the updated USB device drivers using windows update.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Update-a-driver-for-hardware-that-isnt-working-properly
Hope this information is helpful.
How do I force my computer to refresh and re-detect new USB/connected devices; hardware connected to it? Without restarting my whole system?
For some reason, my laptop is not detecting new devices. When I try scanning for new hardware in Device Manager (right clicking my computer name and then 'Scan for Hardware Changes'), it stays stuck on this screen:
'Scanning Plug and Play compliant Hardware..'
I'm using Windows 7 - It's just using Windows Basic theme.
I've been shuffling the devices through all my different USB ports, and it seems to not refresh at all. My phone/calculators get powered (charged), but are not read by the system. My mouse and keyboard do not work at all (no light from the laser, cap locks light, etc.) and my extension hard drive isn't being read at all!
The only time it refreshes and detects new hardware is when I either: Restart, restarting after shut down or restarting from hibernation.
Peter Mortensen
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aytimothyaytimothy
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1 Answer
Scan for hardware changes is the method. You indicate having used that method and it hangs on the scan? That method is not usually required for proper detection.
Is it hanging on some device?
For that you remove any extra things and scan, to attempt to detect what device may cause it to hang.
Could it be a 'filter' or added driver thing in the driver that hangs?
For that you check the driver details. See if there are added 'features' tossed into the drivers shown there that do not always help.
A filter usually manifests itself a different way, but it can cause a USB hang (information for finding the filter added to USB is needed here).
It could be better if the few Windows updates for USB were in?
If you rolled back, or re-installed or brought in some clone backup, or never updated, the Windows USB updates may not be in there. One USB update in Windows 7 was very useful, and the other fixed updating the USB (an update that fixed the fact it did not update).
It may not have proper drivers for the controller and hubs.
Check the manufacturers of the computer for chipset or USB drivers. Like an Intel chipset driver package will have Intel USB controller items. Sometimes this is just a renaming of the device, not an actual change of the driver.
3.0 USB drivers are more often very necessary and have gone though more revisions (after the release of Windows 7).
A device has fallen to sleep.
The combination of device and driver do not wake up well (some 3.0), the scan does not wake the device, or the scan hangs. Remove the offending device and re-insert. It probably will wake up.
Mess made by plugging things in every port could be cleaned.
Prefer not to start juggling USB items to all the ports as each insertion to different ports makes another entry in the registry. It is possible to cleanup all this extra stuff by doing the 'hidden devices' tweak, enabling to show hidden devices, and cleaning up all the ghosted replications and unused items.
Assuming you had a original detection issue, a tip. Peter Mortensen
Windows sounds have in it 3 sounds that work when identifying and connecting USB devices: Device Disconnect, Device Connect, and Device failed to connect. Applying some sound to those 3 that you recognise easily. If a device does not make the connect sound, it isn't going to connect. It is usually a fruitless waste of time to continue stuffing things into ports then. Something is likely to be wrong and it is not likely to fix itself.
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PsycogeekPsycogeek
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Disable Scan For New HardwareNot the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged windows-7usbdriversdevice-managerinput-device or ask your own question.
If you find that your Windows 10/8/7 computer is facing some hardware or device issues or problems, you can run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter. This automated troubleshooter will try to identify and then resolve the issues that it finds.
![]() Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter
Windows 7/8/10 comes with this troubleshooter in-built. If you recently installed a new driver or some hardware and find some things are not working as you’d like them to, use this troubleshooter.
To do so, open Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Configure a device.
On Windows 10, you can also open Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot and click on Hardware and Devices.
The Hardware Troubleshooter will open. You can set it to fix the detected problems automatically or select and opt to fix only the one’s you want.
Click on Next to run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter. Once the scan is completed, it will present you with a report.
Choose the ones you want to fix and click on Next.
The Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter will try to fix the problems for you.
If you are using Windows Vista, go here to download and run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter for Windows Vista.
These links may also interest you:
TIP: Download this tool to quickly find & fix Windows errors automatically
Windows Server Core Scan For New Hardware
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