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Identifying And Troubleshootin problems in windows device manager

Identifying problems in Windows Device Manager.

Answer

Windows XP Device ManagerWhen opening the Windows Device Manager you should see a screen similar to example picture to the right.
If everything is properly detected you'll see all +'s next to each of the device categories with no "Other devices" listed as shown in the example. However, when problems do occur you'll be presented with one or more of the below errors.
Exclamation Mark or Other Devices
Red X
Down arrow
Missing hardware or device not found
Exclamation Mark or Other Devices
Device Manager Other Devices
When a device has a yellow circle with an exclamation mark or found under "Other devices" this is an indication that the device is conflicting with another hardware device or the drivers for the device are not installed properly.
Double-clicking and opening the device with the error will present you with an error code.
What to do
Remove all devices with exclamation mark and any "Other devices" from Device Manager by highlighting them and pressing the delete key on the keyboard. Once they've all been removed reboot the computer and allow Windows to re-detect the devices.
If after rebooting the computer the Device Manager remains the same Windows is not installing the devices because it lacks the proper driver support. You'll need to download the latest drivers for that device.
Red X
Device Manager red x
The device has been disabled, removed, or Windows is unable to locate the device.
What to do
If you want this device enabled, double-click the device with the red x, at the bottom of the General tab click the Device usage drop down box where it says "Do not use this device (disabled)" and select Use this device (enabled).
If this is not available or is already enabled instead of following the above steps. Highlight the device in Device Manager, press delete on the keyboard to remove the device. Reboot the computer and let Windows re-detect the device.
If after rebooting the computer the Device Manager remains the same Windows is not installing the devices because it lacks the proper driver support. You'll need to download the latest drivers for that device.
Down arrow
In Windows Vista, 7, and later if you see a small down arrow as shown in the below picture next to the device this is an indication that the device has been disabled.
Windows Vista device manager disabled device


What to do
To resolve this issue double-click the device, click the Driver tab, and click the Enable button. After it's been enabled restart the computer if asked.
Missing hardware or device not found
If you do not see the device listed you're trying to install into the computer or hardware that has worked in the past is no longer showing up in Device Manager and there are no "Other devices" listed in Device Manager this is an indication that the device is not being detected at all by the computer. Even if Windows does not have the proper driver support for the device it should still put that device under "Other devices".
Try turning off the computer and disconnecting and reconnecting the hardware device and then turning the computer back on. If Windows still does not detect the device either that device is not compatible with your version of Windows or it's bad.

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