Practical Lab: Device Manager Deep Dive

Objective

Learn to read Device Manager like a professional: see the real tree, read a hardware ID, find a device with an error code and look it up, and see the resources a device uses. This lab is read-only. You only look. You will not uninstall, disable, update or roll back anything.

Time: 25–30 minutes
You need: A Windows 10 or 11 PC. No extra software is required. Administrator rights are not needed.

What to Open

Part 1: Devices by Type vs Devices by Connection

1A. By type. In Device Manager, choose View → Devices by type (the default). Expand Display adapters, Network adapters and Disk drives.

1. Name of your graphics device: ________________
2. Name of your network (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) adapter: ________________
3. Name of your main disk: ________________

1B. By connection. Choose View → Devices by connection. Open the top branch (usually ACPI x64-based PC), then Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System, then PCI Express Root Complex (names may differ a little).

ACPI x64-based PC
 └─ Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System
     └─ PCI Express Root Complex
         ├─ ... (your graphics card or graphics chip)
         ├─ ... (your SSD controller)
         └─ ... (USB controllers and others)

4. Find your graphics device in this tree. How many levels below the top is it? ________________
5. Find your USB controller ("... xHCI ..."). Which items are below it (children)? ________________
6. Is your network adapter under the same branch as the graphics card, or a different one? ________________

Compare: The same devices are in both views. Only the arrangement changes. That is the point of Section 1.

1C. Show hidden devices (look only). Choose View → Show hidden devices. Look for a group named Non-Plug and Play Drivers or similar.

7. Did new groups or items appear? ________________

Then untick Show hidden devices. Do not change anything in that group.

Part 2: Read a Hardware ID

1. Switch back to View → Devices by type.

2. Double-click your network adapter (or any device).

3. Click the Details tab.

4. In the Property list, choose Hardware Ids.

5. Write the first line: ________________

6. Find the vendor code after VEN_ or VID_: ________________

7. Find the product code after DEV_ or PID_: ________________

Now choose Compatible Ids in the same list.

11. Is there anything listed? ________________ (Some devices have no compatible IDs.)

Next, choose these properties and note each value:

12. Device instance path: ________________
13. Class Guid: ________________
14. Matching Device Id: ________________

Optional: Right-click the Hardware Id value, choose Copy, and paste it into a web search (such as "PCI VEN_xxxx DEV_xxxx") to see the maker and the model.

Compare in the command line. Open PowerShell and type:

Get-PnpDevice -PresentOnly -Class Net | Select-Object FriendlyName, Status, InstanceId

15. Does the InstanceId match the device instance path you read in Device Manager? ________________

Another view of the same tree, in a Command Prompt:

pnputil /enum-devices /connected /class Net

Look for the Instance ID, Device Description and Status lines. (If the /class option is not accepted on your version, type pnputil /enum-devices /connected and look through the list.)

Part 3: Find a Device with an Error Code

You are only looking. Do not fix or change anything.

3A. In Device Manager. Scroll through the whole list. Look for a yellow triangle on any device, or a group called Other devices.

16. Did you find a device with a yellow triangle? ________________
17. If yes: double-click it, open the General tab, and write the code and the message: ________________

3B. In PowerShell. Ask Windows to list any device that is not in an OK state:

Get-PnpDevice -PresentOnly | Where-Object Status -ne 'OK' | Select-Object Class, FriendlyName, Status

Or in a Command Prompt:

pnputil /enum-devices /problem

18. Did either command list a device? ________________

If you have no errors (good!), do the research exercise on a code instead. Pick Code 43 or Code 28 from Section 7. Write down:

19. What the code means: ________________
20. Two likely causes: ________________
21. The first step you would try: ________________

If you do have an error: Search the web for the exact message plus the device name, and read the maker's support page. Then check Event Viewer: open Windows Logs → System and look for entries around the time of your last restart that mention the device or driver. Write what you find:

22. Event source and short message: ________________

Warning: Do not download "driver updater" programs from random websites. Get drivers only from the PC maker or the device maker.

Part 4: View Resources for a Device

4A. Resources by type. Choose View → Resources by type. Expand Interrupt request (IRQ).

23. Count the entries with a negative number (these use MSI): ________________
24. Which device uses IRQ 1 (hint: keyboard)? ________________
25. Is any IRQ number used by more than one device? ________________ (This can be normal for PCI devices.)

Now expand Input/output (IO) and Memory.

26. Which device uses ports 0060? ________________
27. Find one large memory range (for example the graphics card). Write its device name: ________________

Expand Direct memory access (DMA).

28. Is the list empty, or does it have only an old controller? ________________ (This is normal, see Section 8.2.)

4B. One device. Switch to View → Devices by type. Double-click your graphics device or disk controller, and open its Resources tab. (If it has no tab, choose another device, such as a System devices item.)

29. List one Memory Range: ________________
30. Does it say No conflicts in the conflict list? ________________

4C. System Information. Open msinfo32, and go to Hardware Resources → Conflicts/Sharing.

31. Does it list any conflicts? ________________ (A few "sharing" lines are normal.)

Part 5: The Driver Store (Read-Only)

In a Command Prompt, type:

pnputil /enum-drivers

(This may need an administrator window on some versions. If so, skip it, or ask the PC owner.)

32. How many entries are shown? ________________ (Count the Published Name lines.)
33. Pick one entry. Write its Original Name, Provider and Signer Name: ________________

Another way to see the loaded drivers:

driverquery /v /fo list

34. Name two drivers whose Module Name you recognise: ________________

What Should Happen

• Part 1: The by connection view shows a tree. The graphics card and SSD sit near the top, with USB and other devices below the chipset.
• Part 2: Hardware IDs begin with a bus name (such as PCI\ or USB\) and include vendor and device codes.
• Part 3: A healthy PC shows no yellow triangles, or only one on a device you do not use.
• Part 4: Many negative IRQ numbers appear. The DMA list is nearly empty. No resource conflicts.
• Part 5: The list shows the maker drivers added to the PC.

Interpretation Guide

Follow-Up Questions

1. Why does the by connection view help more than the by type view when a whole group of USB devices stops working at once?
2. A device has Hardware Id PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1234 and compatible ID PCI\CC_0300. Which one will be used first when Windows ranks drivers? Why?
3. Your graphics device says "Microsoft Basic Display Adapter". What does that tell you about how it was matched?
4. Why do you see negative IRQ numbers, and why are they nothing to worry about?
5. Name three places, besides Device Manager, where you can read a device's instance path or status.