Windows device manager is Microsoft OS control panel to manage and control programs in the system. It makes it easy to remove installed programs, install new programs in the control panel, and find out programs causing conflicts with other hardware or software whenever there is a conflict between two software.
To open this device manager differs from windows to windows. To open device manager in Windows 7 is different from how to go about opening the same device manager in Windows 10.
The way to Windows 7 device manager is different from how you can simply access the Windows 10.1 manager section. In this case, it means each Windows OS requires a different approach to find the device manager even with a shortcut.
Device manager shortcut means using a combination of keys to quickly access the control panel without going through the nominal approach.
To access the Windows device manager becomes complex with new Windows OS. However, this guide is dedicated to guiding you to find device manager in all Microsoft Windows OS.
Open Windows Device Manager
Here, we’ll discuss the approach to access device manager in different Windows OS starting from Windows 2000 to Windows 10.1
1. Windows 2000 or Windows XP
There are two ways to access Windows 2000 and Windows XP device manager without a shortcut.
i.) Windows 2000/XP
1. Right-click on your Windows 2000 desktop or Click on the “start menu“, right click on my computer and click on properties.
2. Click on the hardware tab
3. On the hardware interface click on device manager
4. Done
The present condition of the computer will be seen. If there is any program conflicting with other hardware you can quickly get to know
ii) Device Manager via Control Panel
1. Click on the start button and click on the Control Panel in the right section
2. When you are in the control panel, double-tap the system icon
3. Now, you will be taken to the hardware as seen in step 3 above
4. Then click on the device manager.
Both approaches shared under the Windows 2000 and Windows XP works in a similar way. Whichever one is your choice you will still be able to find the device managing section.
2. Windows 2003
Windows 2003 was released after Windows 2000 which came after Windows 98. However, to open Windows 2003 device manager follow these procedures.
1. Go to the Windows 2003 control panel
2. Navigate to the Administrative tools and click on it
3. Click on computer management in the administrative tool
4. Done
The device manager is called the computer management in Windows 2003 as against Windows 200 and Windows X and other later Windows version.
3. Windows Vista
Windows Vista is Microsoft 2006 OS for Windows users after the trending Windows 2003. However, to open the control panel and manage the computer software, everything is at arm’s length.
1. Press and hold “Win + R” to open the “Run” dialog box
2. Type “devmgmt.msc” and click “OK“
3. The device managing tool will pop up.
This is the fastest device manager shortcut for Windows Vista. Windows 7 has a similar approach which we’ll discuss later.
4. Windows 7 Device Manager
There are two approaches to open Windows 7 device manager. Through the cmd prompt and through the control panel.
i.) CMD
The command prompts grants quick access rather than going through the entire process through the control panel.
1. Press and hold “Win + R” to open the “Run” dialog box
2. Copy and paste “devmgmt.msc” and press the “OK” button to proceed.
3. Wait for some couple of seconds the Windows 7 device manager will pop up.
ii.) Control Panel
Another easy approach for Windows 7 is via the control panel. The control panel provides quick access to Windows 7 computer’s management including the software and hardware managing tool.
1. Open Windows 7 control panel and type in the search box “Device manager” without quotes.
2. Click on “device manager” in the search result and something similar to the image above will come up.
Note: The entire Microsoft Windows comes with a device manager shortcut as well as a means to access it through the control panel.
5. Windows 8/8.1 Device Manager
This approach is similar to Windows 7. However, apart from the general shortcut approach, here is how to access the computer management section in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.
1. Hover your mouse pointer to the Windows 8 or 8.1 icon and right click on it.
2. From the pop-up click on “Device Manager”
3. Wait for some seconds for it to pop up.
This is a similar approach to Windows 7. It also works on Windows 10 without using the cmd shortcut.
6. Windows 10/10.1
Windows 10/10.1 is the latest version of the Windows OS that has been subjected to a constant update. It’s some flexible features and some bug fixed in the recent time. However, the Windows 10 device manager is not far fetched, for this, we provide you a step by step guide.
1. Press and hold “Win + x” OR hover your mouse to the right side until the search box appears and search for “Device Manager”
2. Click on it and the computer management section will appear.
Apart from the simple approach above you can also access the device manager by right-clicking on the start menu and click on “device manager”