How to check the status of a device in Windows?

The status of each hardware component recognized by Windows is available at all times within the Device Manager. It contains the current state of the device according to the operating system’s assessment.

Checking the status of a device should be the first step to take in case of suspicions about problems caused by a specific component, or in the event that a device in the Device Manager is marked with a yellow exclamation point.

How to view the status of a device in the Windows Device Manager

You can check the status of a device through the properties option in the Device Manager.

The specific steps involved in the process of displaying the status of a device in Device Manager may vary according to the version of the Windows operating system installed on the computer, differences that have been specified below.

Note: Look , what version of Windows do I have? If you are not sure about which of all versions of Windows is installed on your computer.

1- Open the Device Manager , which you can access through the Control Panel in all versions of Windows.

However, if you are in Windows 10 or Windows 8 , the Advanced Options Menu ( Windows Key + X ) is probably a faster method.

Note: there are other methods through which you can access the Device Manager in Windows in a faster way than through the Control Panel. For example, you can use the devmgmt.msc command to open the Device Manager through the command line . See Other methods to open the Device Manager for more information.

2- Once the Device Manager is open, locate the hardware component to observe its status by scrolling through the hardware categories using the icon >.

If you are in Windows Vista or Windows XP , you will find instead a (+) sign.

Note: The specific components that Windows has detected will be sorted into lists within the general hardware categories.

3- Once you have located the hardware component whose status you wish to review, press and hold or right click on it and select Properties.

4- In the General tab of the Properties window, locate the Device Status area located in the lower area.

5- Within the text box of Device Status you will find a brief description about the current state of this particular hardware component.

6- If Windows identifies an optimal functioning in the hardware component, you will see this message:

“This device is working optimally”

Windows XP can even add extra information:

“If you have problems with this device, click on Troubleshoot to start the Troubleshooter.”

7- In case of Windows determine that the device is not working optimally, you will find an error message as well as an error code. Something like this:

“Windows has stopped the device since it has reported problems. (Code 43) “

If you’re lucky, you can even receive information about the problem, like this:

“The SuperSpeed ​​link to the USB device continues in a state of compliance failure. In the case of a removable device, remove the device and then disable / enable it from the device manager for recovery. “

Important information about Error Codes

Any state other than the one that explicitly reports the correct functioning of a device should be accompanied by an error code of the device manager. You can solve the problem identified by Windows based on such code: A complete list about the Device Error Messages .

There may be a problem with a hardware component even if Windows has not reported it through the state of the device. If you suspect that a device is causing problems but the Device Manager does not report any problems, you should still start a problem solver to verify the device.

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