Manually Identify Unknown Devices

Note. This post is written based on a post I saw in My Digital Life. I find this very helpful so I make a post here as a backup.

After I switch to Windows 7 from beta version, there seems to have some problem with my laptop's device driver. Certain device driver cannot be automatically installed like other of the devices. And there is no indication of what devices they actually are. So I am unable to manually search for the drivers for those "Unknown devices".

Later, I found a way to manually identify unknown devices. The method is as follows:

1. Start -> Type "msinfo32" in the search box and hit Enter (Windows XP: Click Run, type "msinfo32", and then OK).
2. Expand Components, and then go to Problem Devices branch.
3. A list of devices that having problem to be installed are displayed in the details pane.
4. The unique hardware identifier can be shown in PNP Device ID or in Error Code, and should look similar to the alphanumeric string below:

   PCI\VEN_1180&DEV_0832&SUBSYS_30CC103C&REV_05

5. From the device identification marker for the device above, VEN prefix is the Vendor ID, and DEV prefix is the Device ID, which means Device ID is 1180 and Device ID is 0832, as an example.
6. Visit the PCI Database website at PCI Database, an user-supported centralized database of PCI device IDs.
7. Search vendor name, chip number and chip description with either Vendor ID or Device ID.
   
8. With the vendor name or manufacturer name found, visit the support website to search and download latest version of device driver for the corresponding device driver. Or else just search in Google.
   

For unknown devices which does not listed in the Problem Devices of System Information tool, Device Manager can be used to idenfity the vendor ID and device ID.

Open Device Manager by:

1. Start -> type in "Device Manager" and hit Enter (Windows XP: Click "Run then type "devmgmt.msc and click OK
2. Locate the unknown device to identify its identity (typically grouped under Other devices category).
3. Right click on the unknown device and select Properties.
4. Go to Details tab.
5. Select Device Instance Id or Hardware Ids (for Windows 7) from the “Property” drop down menu.
6. Alphanumeric strings similar to below will be shown:

   PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0427&SUBSYS_30CC103C&REV_A1

   The string is the unique identifier for the hardware device. From the device identification marker for the device above, VEN prefix is the Vendor ID, and DEV prefix is the Device ID, which means Device ID is 10DE and Device ID is 0427, as an example.
7. Visit the PCI Database website at PCI Database, an user-supported centralized database of PCI device IDs.
8. The remaining steps are similar to previous method.