 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2021) |
 Microsoft Management Console in Windows 11 with Device Manager snap-in | |
| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Initial release | August 24, 1995 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| License | Proprietary commercial software |
Device Manager is a component of the Microsoft Windows operating system. It allows users to view and control the hardware attached to the computer. When a piece of hardware is not working, the offending hardware is highlighted for the user to deal with. The list of hardware can be sorted by various criteria.[1]
For each device, users can:
- Supply device drivers in accordance with the Windows Driver Model
- Enable or disable devices
- Tell Windows to ignore malfunctioning devices
- View other technical properties
Device Manager was introduced with Windows 95 and later added to Windows 2000. On Windows 9x, Device Manager is part of the System applet in Control Panel. On Windows 2000 and all other Windows NT-based versions of Windows, it is a snap-in for Microsoft Management Console.
The executable program behind the Device Manager is devmgmt.msc.
- ^ "Where is Device Manager?". Windows. Microsoft. Archived from the original on January 25, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2015.