How to Fix Missing or Malfunctioning Devices in Device Manager on Windows 7

If you’re experiencing issues with devices not appearing or functioning properly in the Device Manager on your Windows 7 computer, there are several troubleshooting steps you can take to resolve the problem. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the process of identifying and fixing missing or malfunctioning devices in Device Manager.

Accessing Device Manager

The first step is to open the Device Manager. You can do this by following these steps:

1. Click the Start button and type “device manager” in the search box.
2. Select “Device Manager” from the search results to open the application.

Identifying Missing or Malfunctioning Devices

Once the Device Manager is open, you can scan for any missing or malfunctioning devices. Here’s how:

1. In the Device Manager window, look for any devices that have a yellow exclamation mark or a red “X” next to them. These indicate that the device is not functioning properly.
2. Additionally, check for any devices that are not listed in the Device Manager. These are considered “missing” devices.

Obtaining Updated Drivers

To fix missing or malfunctioning devices, you’ll need to obtain updated drivers for the affected hardware. Here’s how to do it:

1. Right-click on the device with the issue and select “Update Driver Software”.
2. In the Update Driver Software wizard, select “Search automatically for updated driver software”.
3. If Windows is unable to find an updated driver, you’ll need to download the driver directly from the manufacturer’s website.
4. Once you have the driver file, select “Browse my computer for driver software” and navigate to the location of the downloaded driver.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the updated driver.

Uninstalling and Reinstalling Devices

If updating the driver doesn’t resolve the issue, you can try uninstalling and then reinstalling the device. Here’s how:

1. Right-click on the device with the issue and select “Uninstall”.
2. Once the device is uninstalled, click the “Action” menu and select “Scan for hardware changes”.
3. Windows will then attempt to reinstall the device with the appropriate driver.

Disabling Driver Signature Enforcement

In some cases, you may encounter issues with unsigned drivers, which can prevent the device from functioning properly. To bypass this, you can temporarily disable driver signature enforcement. Here’s how:

1. Click the Start button and type “control sysdm.cpl” in the search box.
2. Press Enter to open the System Properties window.
3. Click the “Hardware” tab and then click the “Driver Signing” button.
4. Select the “Ignore – Install the software anyway” option and click “OK”.
5. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Restoring the Registry

If the above steps don’t resolve the issue, the problem may be related to a corrupted or damaged registry. You can try restoring the registry to a previous, known-good state. Here’s how:

1. Click the Start button and type “system restore” in the search box.
2. Select “Create a restore point” from the search results.
3. In the System Properties window, click the “System Restore” button.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to restore your system to a previous restore point.