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There are plenty of reasons you might need to open Device Manager in Windows but usually, it's to troubleshoot some kind of problem with your computer's hardware.
Windows 10 as a client. For example, a Configuration Manager version drops from the matrix after support for that version ends. Similarly, support for Windows 10 versions like the Enterprise 2015 LTSB or 1511 drops from the matrix when they are removed from support. For more information, see Deprecated operating systems.
It doesn't matter if you're updating device drivers, adjusting system resources, finding Device Manager error codes, or even just checking in on a device's status — you'll need to open Device Manager before you can do any of it.
Device Manager isn't listed next to your regular programs, so it can be difficult to find if you don't already know where it is. The Control Panel method is probably the most straightforward way to get there, but we go over all your options below.
Follow the easy steps below to open Device Manager in Windows:
Instructions in this article apply to Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
Time Required: Opening Device Manager should only take a minute or so, no matter which version of Windows you're using. See Other Ways to Open Device Manager towards the bottom of the page for some other, arguably faster, ways in at least some versions of Windows.
How to Open Device Manager via Control Panel
- In Windows 10 and Windows 8, assuming you're using a keyboard or mouse, the fastest way is through the Power User Menu — just press the WIN (Windows) key and the X key together.In some versions of Windows 10, you may also be able to open Device Manager directly from the Start menu, as a submenu under Control Panel.Depending on your version of Windows, Control Panel is usually available from the Start Menu or the Apps screen.
- What you do next depends on what Windows operating system you're using:In Windows 10 and Windows 8, select Hardware and Sound. You could also jump right to Device Manager through the Power User Menu and not have to go through Control Panel.In Windows Vista, select System and Maintenance.If you don't see these options, your Control Panel view may be set to Large icons, Small icons, or Classic View, depending on your version of Windows. If so, find and choose Device Manager from the big collection of icons you see and then skip to Step 4 below.
- From this Control Panel screen, look for and choose Device Manager.In Windows 10 and Windows 8, check under the Devices and Printers heading. In Windows 7, look under System. In Windows Vista, you'll find Device Manager towards the bottom of the window.Windows XP Only: You have a few extra steps since Device Manager isn't as easily available in your version of Windows. From the open Control Panel window, select System, choose the Hardware tab and then use the Device Manager button.
- With Device Manager now open, you can view a device's status, update the device drivers, enable devices, disable devices, or do whatever other hardware management you came here to do.
Other Ways to Open Device Manager
If you're comfortable with the command-line in Windows, specifically Command Prompt, one really quick way to start Device Manager in any version of Windows is via its run command, devmgmt.msc.
How to Access Device Manager From the Command Prompt
The command-line method really comes in handy when you need to bring up Device Manager but your mouse won't work or your computer is having a problem that prevents you from using it normally.
While you probably won't ever need to open Device Manager this way, you should know that it's also available in all versions of Windows via Computer Management, part of the suite of built-in utilities called Administrative Tools.
Device Manager takes on a slightly different look in Computer Management. Just select it from the left margin and then use it as an integrated feature of the utility on the right.
See Administrative Tools: What It Is & How to Use It for more on those tools and how to use them.
Another way to open Device Manager, at least in Windows 7, is through GodMode. This is a special folder that gives you access to tons of settings and controls found throughout the operating system. If you already use GodMode, opening Device Manager there might be your preferred way to use it.
The Task Manager is an advanced tool that comes with Windows 10, and it provides a number of tabs that allow you to monitor the applications, processes and services running on your computer. However, you'll likely find yourself using the Processes tab more than anything else, because it lets you quickly see how system resources are utilized, which can be very helpful when trying to troubleshoot applications or find out why your computer is suddenly slow.
In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to use Task Manager to identify and stop processes that use excessive system resources, to keep your computer at top speeds.
How to use Task Manager to manage high-resource processes
Opening Task Manager
If you want to use Task Manager to view and stop processes with high-resource usage, you first need to know how to open the tool. Here are a few ways to open Task Manager:
- Right-click the Taskbar and click on Task Manager.
- Open Start, do a search for Task Manager and click the result.
- Use the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keyboard shortcut.
- Use the Ctrl + Alt + Del keyboard shortcut and click on Task Manager.
- Use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut to open the power-user menu and click on Task Manager.
If this is your first time opening Task Manager, the tool will probably open in compact mode, which only lists running applications. Click the More details button to access Task Manager in advanced mode.
Task Manager compact mode (left), Task Manager advanced mode (right)
Understanding the Processes tab
When you're in advanced mode, you'll see a number of tabs, including 'Performance', 'App history', 'Startup', 'Users', 'Details', 'Services', and the one we're interested in, the 'Processes' tab. Typically, the Processes tab is the first place you want to go to detemine which process is draining your computer's resources. This tab lists all the running processes in a single view grouped by 'Apps', 'Background processes' and 'Windows Processes'. On Windows 10, you can also find multiple instances or other processes under the same process, which helps you to better understand how they're organized and how they use system resources.
You can always expand a group to see all the processes by clicking the chevron-right icon or by right-clicking the item and selecting Expand. Usually, you'll see groups for Windows processes when opening multiple tabs on your web browser or multiple File Explorer windows, for example.
Identifying processes with high-resource usage
If an application is not responding, a website is taking a long time to load, or your system fan starts getting loud, you can quickly use Task Manager to troubleshoot the problem. In the Processes tab, the first thing you want to look at is the percentage of the total resource use for the processor, memory, hard drive and network. You can click the column names to sort the list and bring to the top the ones using the most resources. If you see any of these resources running high (90 percent or higher), you might have found the problem.
Task Manager also uses colors to highlight processes that use the most resources. You'll notice that as a process starts to consume more resources, the color begins to change from a light- to a dark-shade of orange, making it easier to tell which one is causing the problem.
Typically, when you're not actively using applications and your computer isn't working on anything specific, such as maintenance, your total CPU usage should be less than 30 percent. Applications that are running, even if you're not using them, and processes use part of your computer's memory, and that usage will increase as you use or launch more applications. Memory usually won't be an issue unless you run out of it, in which case your computer will start using virtual memory, and that can cause your PC to slow down. Generally speaking, depending on your system configuration, your total memory usage should be below 60 percent. If you're not copying files or rendering videos, disk usage should be below 5 percent.
Network connectivity is almost never the reason your system is slow, but there could be a problem in the network causing web content to take a long time to load. If you're having problems downloading files, and you see 'Network' stuck at 0 percent, you may have an idea of what's going on.
Stopping processes with high-resource usage
After you identify the problem, right-click the process, and select End task to terminate it. Alternatively, you can simply select the item and click the End task button in the bottom-right corner.
While stopping a process using the Task Manager will most likely stabilize your computer, ending a process can completely close an application or crash your computer, and you could lose any unsaved data. It's always recommended to save your data before killing a process, if possible.
If you're not sure about how the process you're trying to terminate affects your PC, you can right-click it, and select the Search online option. This action opens your web browser and displays a search result with more information about the process. Windows 10 is also smart enough to let you know if you're about to end an essential system process that can crash your computer.
Wrapping things up
Although there are many other ways to troubleshoot system performance, Task Manager gives you an easy way to find out at a glance why your computer is slow or if an app is not responding, and then quickly act on it. You can end an application that isn't responding using Task Manager in compact mode, but the advanced view gives you more information about processes that are acting up in Windows 10.
More Windows 10 resources
For more help articles, coverage, and answers to common Windows 10 questions, visit the following resources: