Device Manager : Hidden Devices

How to View Hidden Devices in Windows 7
Published 11 Apr 2010

Published by

Bare Foot Kid

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How to Show and Access Hidden and Ghost Devices and Drivers in Device Manager

This will show you the devices and drivers from programs you no longer use, it will free up some disk space, not to mention help resolve potential conflicts between drivers that are no longer needed.

Warning

You do not want delete any Generic Volume Shadow Copy Drivers or Non-Plug and Play Devices before you make sure of their functions as you could disable the PC entirely or at the least some programs / apps will fail to function.

Let's get started!

1) In the Windows 7 start menu right click computer and select properties, in the "System" window that opens in the upper left pane select Advanced System Settings.

2) In the system properties window that opens under the advanced tab select the Environment Variables button, in the Environment Variables window select new, then in the New User Variable window type "devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices" (without the quotes) and give it a value of " 1 " then click ok to add the entry, then ok again to finish.

3) Again in the Windows start menu right click computer and this time select manage, in the window that opens in the left pane select Device Manager, at the top click view and select Show Hidden Devices.

4) You can now see hidden / ghost drivers and devices by expanding the entry, they will be faded compared to the others.

Enjoy!

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11 Apr 2010	#1
zigzag3143 Win 8 Release candidate 8400 2,145 posts	Excellent Tutorial and I am sure few people know about it. Thanks
My System Specs

11 Apr 2010	#2
Bare Foot Kid W 7 64-bit Ultimate 24,328 posts The Lowcountry	Thank you Ken!
My System Specs

11 Apr 2010	#3
CarlTR6 Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit 12,883 posts Orlando, Florida	Thanks much. I had done this in XP and I had forgotten about it. Excellent tutorial. +1
My System Specs

11 Apr 2010	#4
Bare Foot Kid W 7 64-bit Ultimate 24,328 posts The Lowcountry	Thanks Carl!
My System Specs

11 Apr 2010	#5
derekimo Windows 7 Pro 64 SP1 9,914 posts East Bay Area, CA	Way to go Ted, Great Tutorial. Very Helpful, Thanks. Derek
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11 Apr 2010	#6
Bare Foot Kid W 7 64-bit Ultimate 24,328 posts The Lowcountry	Thank you Derek!
My System Specs

15 Apr 2010	#7
NoN Windows 7 Professional SP1 - x64 2,261 posts Lost In Space, Vol 8-New Kind Of Kick	I used to do it on XP and was the first thing i did on Windows 7... DEVMGR_SHOW_DETAILS, set to 1 DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES, set to 1... Good remind to get rid of ghost devices!
My System Specs

15 Apr 2010	#8
Bare Foot Kid W 7 64-bit Ultimate 24,328 posts The Lowcountry	Hello NoN, I'm glad you find it useful.
My System Specs

15 Apr 2010	#9
NoN Windows 7 Professional SP1 - x64 2,261 posts Lost In Space, Vol 8-New Kind Of Kick	Quote: Originally Posted by Bare Foot Kid Hello NoN, I'm glad you find it useful. Hi, yes of course! That's pretty handy when many devices had been plugged onto the computer...then, if you do not need them anymore, it free the place for other one! Last edited by NoN; 15 Apr 2010 at 09:01 PM..
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