Device Manager
Encyclopedia
The Device Manager is a Control Panel
applet
in Microsoft Windows
operating systems. 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.
For each device, users can:
Device Manager was introduced with Windows 95
and later added to Windows 2000
. In NT-based versions, it is included as a Microsoft Management Console
snap-in.
Control Panel (Windows)
The Control Panel is a part of the Microsoft Windows graphical user interface which allows users to view and manipulate basic system settings and controls via applets, such as adding hardware, adding and removing software, controlling user accounts, and changing accessibility options...
applet
Applet
In computing, an applet is any small application that performs one specific task that runs within the scope of a larger program, often as a plug-in. An applet typically also refers to Java applets, i.e., programs written in the Java programming language that are included in a web page...
in Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating systems. 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.
For each device, users can:
- Supply device driverDevice driverIn computing, a device driver or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device....
s for the hardware - Enable or disable devices
- Tell Windows to ignore malfunctioning devices
- View other technical properties
Device Manager was introduced with Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
and later added to Windows 2000
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
. In NT-based versions, it is included as a Microsoft Management Console
Microsoft Management Console
Microsoft Management Console is a component of Windows 2000 and its successors that provides system administrators and advanced users an interface for configuring and monitoring the system.- Snap-ins and consoles :...
snap-in.