Manually Configure Devices By Using Device Manager

When you install a non-Plug and Play device, the resource settings for the device are not automatically configured. Depending on the type of device that you are installing, you may have to manually configure these settings. Instructions for doing so should be supplied in the manual that came with your device. WARNING: Changing resource settings improperly can disable your hardware and cause your computer to malfunction or become inoperable. You should only change resource settings if you are certain that the new settings do not conflict with other hardware, or if a hardware manufacturer has provided you with specific resource settings for a device. Use caution before you use the following procedure. To configure devices: Click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click 1. System. On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager. Double-click the type of device you want 2. to change. Double-click the specific device you want to change. If the device has resources 3. settings that you can change, the Resources tab is visible. Click the Resources tab, and then click to clear the Use automatic settings check box. 4. This check box might be unavailable if you have selected a non-Plug and Play device. 5. In Setting based on, click the hardware configuration you want to change. In the Resource settings box, click the resource type you want to change in the 6. Resource type column. Click Change Setting, and then type a new value for the resource type. 7. NOTE: Repeat the preceding steps as necessary. Back to the top

Windows XP
To access the device manager in Windows XP, follow these steps:

1. From the Start menu, select My Computer. Alternatively, double-click My Computer on the desktop. 2. Under "System Tasks", click View system information. 3. In the System Properties window, click the Hardware tab, then click Device Manager.

Windows 2000
To access the device manager in Windows 2000, follow these steps: 1. From the Start menu, select Settings, then Control Panel. 2. Double-click the System icon. 3. Select the Hardware tab, and then click the Device Manager... button.

Windows 95, 98, and Me

To access the device manager, follow these steps: 1. From the Start menu, select Settings, and then Control Panel. 2. Double-click the System icon, and then click the Device Manager tab. Alternatively, you can do the following: 1. On the desktop, right-click the My Computer icon, and select Properties. 2. Click the Device Manager tab.

Printing a list of all installed hardware

Note: You may need to have a hardware category or item selected before the print option will show up. To print a list of installed hardware from the device manager, in Windows XP, with a device or category selected, under the Action menu, select Print. In Windows 2000, in the Device Manager window, from the View menu, select Print. In Windows 95, 98, and Me, in the Device Manager window, click the Print button. Next to "Report Type", select All devices and system summary. The printout will contain all the IRQ settings, the system resource reports, a list of all devices and their drivers, and where each driver is located on the computer. It is a good idea to print this out before

formatting your hard drive and reinstalling Windows, especially if you have off-brand hardware.

Checking the status of hardware

To use the device manager to check the status of hardware, follow these steps: 1. Select the type of device from the list of devices. 2. Select your installed device under the type of device. If the device is not working properly, there will be a yellow circle with an exclamation point in the center of it. Proceed with these instructions to find out which device(s) are conflicting with the selected device. 3. Either double-click the selected device, or click the Properties button towards the bottom of the window. This will bring up a Device Properties window. The Device Properties window will tell you if the device is working properly. This window also allows you to enable or disable the selected device from all hardware profiles. 4. Click the Resources tab to determine if there are any conflicts with the device. If the device was flagged with a yellow circle with an exclamation point, check in the "Conflicting device list:" box to find out which devices are in conflict with the selected device. The Resources tab tells which IRQ the installed device is using. If another device is using the same IRQ, there could be a conflict with the selected device. This could be one reason that the device is not working; in this case, you need to reinstall it with a different IRQ. You can also change the IRQ of the selected device. Only advanced users should attempt to change IRQ settings. If the device is Plug and Play (PnP), it should not be affected by changing the IRQ. If the device is not PnP, changing the IRQ may cause it to stop working. Use the instructions above for checking all IRQs in use on your computer, and find an IRQ that is not in use. To change the IRQ, select the Resources tab and uncheck the checkbox for Use Automatic Settings. In the "Resource settings:" box, double-click Interrupt Request to bring up a new window with the option of changing the selected IRQ. Note: If the selected device is a modem or a mouse, there will not be a Resources tab. To check the resources of a modem or mouse, select the Ports option in the list of devices in the device manager. Then select the port where the modem or mouse is installed, and click the Properties button. This will bring up a Port Properties window with a Resources tab. Here you can check the resources for the modem or mouse.

5. To update a driver for the selected device, select the Driver tab. Click the Update Driver... button and it will start the Update Device Driver Wizard. Follow the steps to update the driver for the selected device. Removing a device To use the device manager to remove a device from your computer, highlight the device, and then click the Remove button at the bottom of the window or the remove icon at the top of the window (which looks like a computer with a red X over it). Note: Only advanced users should attempt to remove a device from the device manager, and removal may require administrative privileges. Removing a device will cause Windows to lose all recognition of it, and the device will stop working properly. Windows should automatically recognize a new device when it restarts, but this does not always happen. If Windows does not recognize the device, you must use the Add New Hardware icon in the Control Panel for Windows to properly recognize the hardware. Before removing the device, make sure you have all the necessary drivers required for the device to make reinstallation of the device much simpler. Checking the IRQ settings in Windows 95, 98, and Me To use the device manager to check the Interrupt Request (IRQ) setting, memory address, Direct Memory Access (DMA), or Input Output (I/O) of every hardware component installed on the computer, follow these steps: 1. Make sure the Computer icon at the very top of the device list is highlighted. 2. 3. 4. 5. Click the Properties button. This will display the IRQ settings of each device. Select Direct Memory Access(DMA) to view devices using DMA Channels. Select Input/Output(I/O) to see I/O ports for each device on the computer. Select Memory to view the memory address each device is using.