Sometimes in the Device Manager, an element with the name "Unknown device" can be displayed or the general name of the type of equipment with an exclamation mark is near it. This means that the computer cannot correctly identify this equipment, which in turn leads to the fact that it will not function normally. Let's figure out how to eliminate the specified problem on a PC with Windows 7.
This method has some drawbacks. The main ones are that you need to know which equipment is displayed in the Device Manager, as unidentified, already have a driver for it to him and have information about which directory it is located.
Method 2: "Device Manager"
The easiest way to correct the problem directly through the Device Manager is to update the equipment configuration. It is suitable, even if you do not know what kind of component will fail. But, unfortunately, this method is not always working. Then you need to search and install the driver.
Lesson: how to open "Device Manager" in Windows 7
- Right-click (PCM) on the name of unknown equipment in the Device Manager. In the displayed menu, select "Update Configuration ...".
- After that, a configuration will be updated with reinstalling drivers and unknown equipment will be correctly initialized in the system.
The above option is suitable only when there are already the necessary drivers on the PC, but for some reason, at the initial installation, they were incorrectly installed. If an incorrect driver is installed on the computer or it is generally absent, this algorithm will not help in solving the problem. Then you need to perform the actions that are discussed below.
- Click the PCM by the name of unknown equipment in the Device Manager window and select the option "Properties" from the displayed list.
- In the window that opens, log in to the "Details" section.
- Next, select the option "Equipment ID" from the drop-down list. Click the PCM on the displayed information in the "Value" area and in the context menu that appears, select "Copy".
- Next, you can go to the site of one of the services that provide the ability to search for the driver ID of equipment. For example, Devid or Devid DriverPack. There you can enter the previously copied device ID in the previously installed, download the desired driver, and then install it on your computer. This procedure is described in detail in a separate article.
Lesson: How to Find Equipment Driver
But we still advise you to download drivers from the official website of the equipment manufacturer. To do this, you must first determine this web resource. Drive the copied value of the equipment ID in the Google search field and try to find a model and manufacturer of an unidentified device. Then in the same way through the search engine, find the official site of the manufacturer and already download the driver, and then running the downloaded installer, set it into the system.
If the manipulation with searching for the device ID you seem too complicated, you can try to use special programs for installing drivers. They scatter your computer, and then search on the Internet missing items with automatic installation to the system. Moreover, to fulfill all these actions, you will need, as a rule, just one click. But this option is still not so reliable as the previously described manual installation algorithms.
Lesson:
Programs for installing drivers
How to update drivers on a computer using Driverpack Solution
The reason for the fact that any equipment is initialized in Windows 7 as an unidentified device, most often is the lack of drivers or their incorrect installation. You can eliminate the specified problem using the "Equipment Installation Wizard" or "Device Manager". There is also an option to apply special software to automatically install drivers.