How to Find Drivers for Devices Using a Hardware ID (2024)
Symptoms
Finding drivers for your Dell system using the hardware ID from Device Manager.
Cause
Updating drivers using hardware ID.
Resolution
The hardware id for a device in Windows can be found in the Windows Device Manager. To check the hardware id for a device, follow these steps:
Open the Device Manager from the Control Panel. You can also type "devmgmt.msc" at the Run option in the Start menu.
In the Device Manager, right-click the device, and select Properties in the popup menu.
Select the Details tab.
Select the Hardware Ids in the dropdown list.
There can be multiple hardware ids for a device. The top one is the most specific identifier, and going down, the identifiers are more generic. The reason this is done is to allow a device driver to be selected based on a match to any of these hardware identifiers. The hardware manufacturer in this example is Realtek, which is identified by VEN_10EC. A hardware ID is typically in the form of <BUS>\<VENDOR ID>&<Device ID>&<Additional IDs>. The Vendor ID is indicated by the four characters after VEN_. The Device ID is indicated by the four characters after DEV_.
The hardware ID is available for devices in which drivers were already installed, for unknown devices and not recognized devices.
You can also use the hardware ID for a device to find drivers for that device by searching the
Right-click on Start, click on Run and type "devmgmt. msc" in the run dialog box and run it to open the Device Manager. Right-click on the device you want to know the hardware ID of and select Properties.
Right-click on Start , then select Device Manager. Select a device category, then right-click the one you like to update. Select Update driver, then click Search automatically for drivers. If Windows can't find an update, visit the device manufacturer's website and check for available driver updates.
Right-click on the unknown device, choose "Properties," go to the "Details" tab, and select "Hardware identity documents (IDs)" from the dropdown. Google those hardware IDs; it's like a device's fingerprint that can lead you to the right driver.
One of the easiest ways to identify a device driver is to use the Device Manager, a built-in tool that displays all the hardware devices connected to your computer and their corresponding drivers. To access the Device Manager, you can either right-click on the Start menu and select Device Manager, or type devmgmt.
Right-click on the specific hardware device and select “Properties” from the context menu. In the Properties window, navigate to the “Details” tab. From the “Property” drop-down menu, select “Hardware Ids.” The hardware ID for the selected device will be displayed in the “Value” field.
What is a Hardware ID? The Hardware ID (HWID) is a set of numbers and letters (capital letters only) that uniquely identify your computer to any of our software. The HWID is made out of eighteen (18) characters e.g. 098H52ST479QE053V2 and it is used to unlock (register) our software in a computer.
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