DEVCON

Command Line Utility Alternative to Device Manager

DEVCON is a Microsoft tool that allows "device management" from the command line.

It is available for free as part of the Windows Driver Kit (a.k.a. WDK).
Unfortunately, it is no longer available as a separate download from Microsoft's websites.
Burn or mount the downloaded WDK ISO image, and either

• install the Tools using the setup wizard

• find setuptools_x64fre_cab001.cab (64-bit) or setuptools_x86fre_cab001.cab (32-bit) in the \WDK folder
• use 7-Zip or similar software to extract _devcon.exe_00000
• rename _devcon.exe_00000 to devcon.exe
• move devcon.exe to a folder that is listed in your PATH

I dedicated this page to DEVCON because I became impressed by its possibilities.
It even allowed me to write scripts to backup drivers without having to search all INF files "manually". This had been on my wish list for a long time.

Another great feature is DEVCON's built-in Reboot command.

Typing DEVCON help or DEVCON /? returns the following help screen:

C:\>DEVCON Help

Device Console Help:

DEVCON.EXE [-r] [-m:\\<machine>] <command> [<arg>...]

-r           Reboots the system only when a restart or reboot is required.

<machine>    Specifies a remote computer. 

<command>    Specifies a Devcon command (see command list below).

<arg>...     One or more arguments that modify a command.

For help with a specific command, type: DEVCON.EXE help <command>

classfilter          Add, delete, and reorder class filters.

classes              List all device setup classes.

disable              Disable devices.

driverfiles          List installed driver files for devices.

drivernodes          List driver nodes of devices.

enable               Enable devices.

find                 Find devices.

findall              Find devices, including those that are not currently attached.

help                 Display Devcon help.

hwids                List hardware IDs of devices.

install              Install a device manually.

listclass            List all devices in a setup class.

reboot               Reboot the local computer.

remove               Remove devices.

rescan               Scan for new hardware.

resources            List hardware resources for devices.

restart              Restart devices.

sethwid              Modify Hardware ID's of listed root-enumerated devices.

stack                List expected driver stack for devices.

status               List running status of devices.

update               Update a device manually.

updateni             Manually update a device (non interactive).

dp_add               Adds (installs) a third-party (OEM) driver package.

dp_delete            Deletes a third-party (OEM) driver package.

dp_enum              Lists the third-party (OEM) driver packages installed on this machine.

Type DEVCON help command on the command line for detailed help on command or click a command in the table above to view its help page.

The table below lists some of my scripts based on DEVCON, along with the basic command line switches they use.

Related Stuff

• Nir Sofer's USBDeview allows you to view all installed/connected USB devices on your system.
• To eject PnP hardware devices use C'T's DevEject.
  This powerful tool can eject devices by their description, device ID or drive letter.