Launch Device Manager From the Command Line With This Trick (2024)

> Windows

Use Command Prompt to open Device Manager with this trick

Tim Fisher

Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability

Emporia State University

Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire.

lifewire's editorial guidelines

Updated on September 22, 2022

Reviewed by

Ryan Perian

Reviewed byRyan Perian

Western Governors University

Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions.

What to Know

The Device Manager run command is handy to know for starting the Device Manager, updating drivers, and more.
Enter devmgmt.msc into Command Prompt.
You can also open Device Manager in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and Vista using a Control Panel applet.

One really easy way to start Device Manager in any version of Windows is from the Command Prompt.

Just type the devmgmt.msc command, or one of the other three we describe below, and voilà...Device Manager starts right up!

Instructions in this article apply to Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

Besides being one of the fastest ways to open it, knowing the run command for Device Manager should come in handy for other things, too. Advanced tasks like writing command-line scripts would call for the Device Manager command, as well as otherprogramming tasks in Windows.

Launch Device Manager From the Command Line With This Trick (3)

Are you uncomfortable working with commands? There are plenty of other ways to open Device Manager in Windows for help.

How to Access Device Manager From the Command Prompt

Time Required: Accessing Device Manager from Command Prompt, or another command-line tool in Windows, should take less than a minute, even if this your first time executing commands.

Follow these easy steps to access Device Manager from the Command Prompt:

Open Command Prompt. Search for cmd in the Start menu or search bar in most versions of Windows.
See Also
5 Things You Should Know About Apple Mobile Device Management
You could also do sowith administrative privileges by opening an elevated Command Prompt, but you don't needto open Command Prompt with admin rights in order to get to Device Manager from the command line.
Command Prompt is the most all-inclusive way to run commands in Windows, but the following steps could be performed via the Run tool, or even from Cortana or the search bar in newer versions of Windows.
The primary way to open the Run dialog box is with the keyboard: Press and hold the Windows key, and then press R once. Another way is through Task Manager, which you might do if the Windows desktop has crashed and you can only open Task Manager; to do that, go to Run new task at the top (Windows 11) or File > Run new task, and then enter one of the commands below.
Once either Command Prompt or the Run box is open, type either ofthe following, and then press Enter:
```
devmgmt.msc
```
or
```
mmcdevmgmt.msc
```
Device Manager should open immediately.
MSC files, which areXMLfiles,are used in these commandsbecause Device Manager is a portion of the Microsoft Management Console, which is the built-in tool included with Windows that opens these kinds of files.
You can now use Device Manager to update drivers, view a device's status, manage the system resources that Windows has assigned to your hardware, and more.

Two Alternative Device Manager CMD Methods

In Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and Vista, Device Manager is included as an applet in Control Panel. This means that there's an associated Control Panel applet command available.

Two of them, actually:

control/nameMicrosoft.DeviceManager

controlhdwwiz.cpl

Both work equally well but must be executed from Command Prompt or the Run dialog box, not from Cortana or other universal search boxes.

No matter how you get it to open—via Control Panel,Run, a desktop shortcut,Command Prompt, a BAT file, PowerShell, etc.—Device Manager works the same, looks the same, and has the exact same features. You're just picking one of several shortcuts to open the file.

Device Manager Resources

Here are some articles with more information and tutorials regarding Device Manager:

How Do I Enable a Device in Device Manager in Windows?
How Do I Disable a Device in Device Manager in Windows?
How Do I View a Device's Status in Windows?
Why Is There a Red X in Device Manager?
Why Is There a Black Arrow in Device Manager?
Fixing a Yellow Exclamation Point in Device Manager
Device Manager Error Codes

FAQ

How do I run Device Manager through CMD as an Administrator?
Open the cmd prompt by pressing the Windows key + R and typing in cmd, then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter. Input your administrator account credentials when prompted, then type devmgmt.msc and press Enter.
How do I turn off my laptop keyboard with Device Manager from CMD?
First you'll need to uninstall the keyboard from Device Manager. From the cmd, right-click Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator. Next, type in sc config i8042prt start= disabled and press Enter. Finally, close the cmd and restart your laptop.

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for letting us know!

Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day

Tell us why!

FAQs

Launch Device Manager From the Command Line With This Trick? ›

8 & 9: Open Device Manager From Command Prompt

How do I run Device Manager from Command Prompt? ›

Command Prompt Method

Click the Start Menu or the Search Bar (Figure 3 & 4). Figure 3. Figure 4.
Type CMD and this should bring up a Command Prompt (Figure 5). Figure 5.
Type devmgmt.msc.
Press the Enter key.
Device Manager opens (Figure 6). Figure 6.

Nov 10, 2023

How do I force open Device Manager? ›

If using only a keyboard,

Press the. Windows. and. X keys. together.
Use the. Up arrow. to highlight 'Device Manager' then press. Enter. .

Discover More Details ›

How to open task manager from cmd? ›

Open the Command Prompt, type "taskmgr," and press Enter. Task Manager will launch immediately.

Find Out More ›

How do I open Device Manager without Start menu? ›

To Start Device Manager

Open the “Run” dialog box by pressing and holding the Windows key, then press the R key (“Run”).
Type devmgmt.msc.
Click OK .

Learn More Now ›

How do I open System Manager from command line? ›

It's near the top of the Windows System folder. Type taskmgr into Command Prompt. This is the command to open the Task Manager program from within any directory on your computer.

Keep Reading ›

How do I get device info from Command Prompt? ›

Put on your (helpful) hacker hat and type Windows + R to bring up your computer's Run window. Enter cmd and press Enter to open the Command Prompt window. Type the command line systeminfo and press Enter. Your computer will show you all the specs for your system — just scroll through the results to find what you need.

Tell Me More ›

How do I access Device Manager command? ›

Control Panel: Navigate to "System and Security," then "System," and select "Device Manager." Run Command: Press 'Windows + R' on your keyboard, type "devmgmt. msc", and hit Enter.

How do I open Device Manager directly? ›

Run Box Method

To open Device Manager. Press the Windows logo key and the R key simultaneously. This should open a Run Box (Figure 1). Figure 1.
Type: devmgmt.msc.
Click OK or press the Enter key.
Device Manager opens (Figure 2). Figure 2.

Nov 10, 2023

Tell Me More ›

How do I open Device Manager from startup? ›

Access Device Manager Using the "Power User" Menu

If you press Windows+X on your keyboard or right-click the "Start" button, the menu will appear. Select "Device Manager" from the list. To open the Device Manager even more quickly, press Windows+X, then tap the "M" key.

How do I open Device Manager as administrator? ›

Win+x opens the Power User Menu, of which Device Manager can be accessed. In Win10, if you hold Ctrl+Shift when you click Device manager, it starts as Administrator.