You can also use it to troubleshoot problems you may have with your mouse or keyboard. Some devices have multiple drivers, and the Device Manager will show all of them. When a device is detected and configured, Device Manager will display it in the proper category. If it can’t detect it, or if the driver isn’t fully configured, then you will see an item under the Unknown devices section. If a device isn’t working correctly on your computer, for example, the sound isn’t working, you may want to try updating the device driver. When you go to the Device Manager list, you can find the drivers but in some cases, they may be hidden. In such cases, troubleshooting your device can be difficult if you don’t know where it is located. 

Why does the Device Manager hide devices?

The Device Manager only shows information about those devices that are connected and configured on the system. It also hides nonpresent devices that are not physically present in the system, but still, have configuration information in the Registry. When a device is plugged in, plugged out, or otherwise removed from the system by removing its drivers, Windows marks it as nonpresent and hides it by default. Also, if you have a lot of devices on a system, some may only be active when something specific is attached. The DVD drive for example won’t show up unless there’s a disk in the drive. There are others also that do not show when not in use.

How can I view hidden devices in Device Manager?

  1. Hit the Windows key on your keyboard to open the Windows Search box.

  2. Type Device Manager in the search bar and click Open.

  3. Select the View option.

  4. A drop-down menu will appear.

  5. Click on Show hidden devices.

In order to view hidden files in Device Manager, you need to access the Device Manager menu and manually enable the specific option. You can access Device Manager very easily using the search bar on your taskbar.

2. Use the Run command

3. Use Command Prompt

Can you remove hidden devices in Device Manager?

You can remove hidden devices in Device Manager but first, you have to unhide them. To remove an unknown device from Device Manager, follow the steps below: If you were having trouble locating hidden devices, we hope one of the methods above was able to come to your rescue. Remember, you can do more with Device Manager such as scan for hardware changes or update your motherboard resources. Let us know of any tips and tricks that you use with WIndows’ Device Manager in the comment section below.

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