One of the main causes of problems on Windows, especially after a new system installation, is the recognition of connected or installed hardware. By "hardware" we mean the physical pieces of the computer, then sound card, video card, processor, USB ports, network cards, wifi and then everything that is connected by cable such as, for example, the USB sticks themselves, the printer, monitor, memory cards, CD player and so on. Windows 10 has improved a lot, compared to Windows 7, both in the hardware recognition and, therefore, in the automatic installation of the drivers, that is the programs that allow the Windows system to use peripherals and devices, and in the troubleshooting .
Windows Update also now also allows you to download driver updates, thus preventing problems and conflicts that are sometimes responsible for the serious error with the Windows blue screen.
To verify that all the hardware is installed correctly, whatever the version of Windows, go to the Control Panel, click on System, access the advanced settings and click, in the Hardware tab, the button for device management .
To do this first, open the Start menu and write the command devmgmt.msc in the Run or search box.
The list of devices highlights with a yellow exclamation mark or with a down arrow, if any, the peripherals that have malfunctions, those whose drivers have not been installed correctly and those that are not recognized or unknown. The more experienced people could solve these problems by manually downloading the drivers to make the hardware device work but, for a faster solution, Microsoft itself provides the automatic and suitable tool to deal with hardware problems .
In another article we saw all the error codes in Device Management and the solutions .
In Windows 10 but also with Windows 7 and 8, when a new element (such as the printer) is connected to the computer, it is automatically recognized thanks to the Plug and Play functionality . If this does not happen, you can go to the Control Panel and open, in the Hardware and Sound section, the utility to install a new device .
Also from the list of peripherals (that of devmgmt.msc ) you can activate the automatic recognition of new devices, by right-clicking on an item in the list and then clicking on Scan for hardware changes . If, during the installation of a hardware device, this is not detected, if the driver cannot be updated, if there is a problem for which the device does not work correctly, proceed as follows:
If you are using Windows 7, the first step is to use the internal troubleshooting utility located in the Control Panel .
With Windows 10, 7 and 8.1 you can use the automatic troubleshooting fix-it, looking for the word hardware from the Start menu and launching the " Find and fix device problems " tool that does it all by itself. After starting, you can choose whether to automatically solve the detected problems or manually decide what to do. At the end of the procedure, all problems should be solved automatically with the download of the new driver or with the instructions to be adopted, in Italian . If the problem persists, you can send the analysis results to Microsoft and ask for additional instructions.
In Windows 10, 8.1 and 7 instead you can try the Hardware Identify program that allows you to check which hardware device has an error, to search for the driver or information on Google. On each item listed you can right click to find all the options to find the source of the hardware problem.
Also remember to refer to this guide for automatic driver update and to download the right drivers for unknown devices.
In other articles it is also written how to remove and uninstall hidden drivers or old hardware devices
