Windows 98 and Windows Me Device Manager Overview

Device Manager is a tool that you can use to manage hardware devices in your computer. With Device Manager, you can identify resource conflicts, disable device drivers, update drivers, and view your hardware devices by type or connection. 

There are two ways to start Device Manager:

• Right-click My Computer, click Properties, and then click the Device Manager tab.
• Open Control Panel, double-click the System icon, and then click the Device Manager tab.

For additional information, view the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

Q285122 How to Start Device Manager in Windows 98 or Windows Me

There are two different views available in Device Manager. By default, Device Manager displays the tree listing in Devices By Type view. This view lists all types of devices in alphabetical order and displays your specific devices under the type names. You can also choose to have your devices listed in Devices By Connection view, which is organized according to how the various devices in the computer are connected. No matter which view you choose, to see the properties for these components, double-click the device, or click the device and then click Properties in the bottom-left corner of the window.

Device Properties Information

In the Properties window, you can view and change resource information for most devices. The General tab displays information about the device type, manufacturer, hardware version, and status. The Drivers tab is described below. Some devices may have a dialog box named Device Usage. The Device Usage dialog box includes the option to disable a device in a hardware profile. By default, the Exists in all hardware profiles option is enabled. Hardware profiles are useful for laptop computer users who, for example, have one configuration in the office and a different configuration at home. By setting up different hardware profiles, you can choose your location when you start your computer. These settings also provide another source of identifying problem devices. Unless you are very comfortable with making changes to your resource settings, read the "Resource Conflicts" section below before you make any changes.

For additional information about hardware profiles, view the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

 Q141600 How to Manually Create Hardware Profiles for Laptop Computers

The Drivers Tab

The Drivers tab displays information that is supplied by the provider and the file version, which is useful when you need to update device drivers. You can also view a list of the drivers that are associated with a device by clicking Driver File Details. In some cases, a message may be displayed indicating that there are no drivers associated with or needed for the device. If the device is working properly, Windows has installed its own driver. If the device is not working, you need to locate the device driver, which is sometimes included on a floppy disk or CD-ROM that was included with the hardware, or the driver may have been downloaded from the Internet.

To add or update a driver, click the Drivers tab. Then, click Update Driver in the bottom-right corner of the window. Next, start the wizard and follow the steps to replace the old driver with the new one. 

If you need to find a specific hardware device driver that is not included in the operating system, look here for information about finding driver information.

Resource Conflicts

When you start Device Manager, you may notice a yellow exclamation point (!) next to a device. This is a warning that a conflict exists between the device and another device on your computer. Select the device's properties, and then click the Resources tab. The name of the device that is in conflict is listed in the Conflicting devices box. You must decide whether to try to resolve the problem yourself or leave it for your help desk. Click Product Support for information about how to contact Microsoft Product Support Services. If you want to try to resolve the conflict on your own, read on.

Make sure to document all the current configuration settings before you make any device changes. You can print a report of your current settings by clicking the Device Manager tab in the System Properties dialog box, clicking Print in the lower-right corner of the window, and then choosing the type of report you want. Be careful when you make changes in Device Manager. Incorrectly troubleshooting your device conflict could leave your computer unable to start.

The Resources tab lists all resources in the Resource settings box. This box is divided into two areas: Resource Type and Setting. Choose the resource type you want to change (for example, the Interrupt Request resource type) by clicking it. Then, click Change Settings, which opens the Edit window for that particular resource. If the Change Settings button is unavailable, click to clear the Use Automatic Settings check box. In some cases, modifying some resource types is not allowed. If this is the case, try to change the basic configuration value of a resource type that does allow you to make changes. Choose a setting that does not conflict with another device by watching the Conflicting information box. If there are other devices in conflict with the setting, they are displayed. After you have made your change and there are no further conflicts, click OK, restart Windows, and verify that the new settings are working.

When you attempt to resolve a conflict, such as after you add a new device to your computer, you can view other devices and change their resources settings. When you look through the configurations, there may be multiple device conflicts. If this occurs, choose the device with the least number of conflicts to start with. Open the properties for that device in Device Manager and try to change the resources for the device. By adjusting other devices, you may be able to free a resource that the new device requests.

For additional information about hardware conflicts, view the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

Q125174 Explanation of Error Codes Generated by Device Manager

Q275012 Description of Green Question Mark in Device Manager

Maintaining Settings

After you resolve the conflict, lock the settings so that Windows dedicates resources to the device and does not release them for other devices. Plug and Play devices rely on Windows to allocate resources as needed. You might also notice that Windows assigns the same resources to multiple devices. This is especially true with interrupt requests (IRQs) because one device can use an IRQ as long as the other device is idle. In these cases, you typically do not see a device conflict. By making changes to a device's resource settings, you remove the option for Windows to manage those resources. If problems occur with devices that were working correctly earlier, changes that you made may be the cause.