To start Device Manager, right-click the My Computer icon, select Manage from the menu, and select Device Manager from the System Tools listed in the resulting display. Device Manager displays information about each device, including the device type, device status, manufacturer, device-specific properties, and information about the driver for the device. See the online help in Device Manager for more information.

If your device is a boot device, a problem with your device installation can prevent the machine from booting. In such cases, you will need to use the kernel debugger to troubleshoot your device installation. For more information, see the online documentation supplied with the Microsoft debuggers.

If your device is not required to boot the machine, you will typically notice a problem with your device installation because your device is not working properly and Device Manager marks your device with a yellow exclamation point. Device Manager also provides an error message. See Device Manager Error Messages.

When you are testing the installation of a new PnP device, it can be useful to have Device Manager list hidden devices. For more information, see Viewing Hidden Devices.

For Windows XP and later, Device Manager provides a Details tab containing information that can be useful when debugging drivers. For more information, see Device Manager Details Tab.