How To Get The Right Drivers For Unknown Devices:

Anyone who has had to maintain their own Windows PC has come across the issue of missing drivers. Matters get worse; especially Windows XP and Vista, when the operating system (OS) slaps you with an “Unknown Device” ticket and does not even tell you what drivers it needs. The situation happens more often than one would think, usually the consequence of an ill-planned, fresh windows install, or non-existent driver discs. Then just when think you are in the clear after the OS has been installed, you are left with a list of unusable components in your newly refreshed computer.

Sometimes, you get lucky and simply googling the computer model to figure out which device drivers to download from the vendor’s website does the tick. Other, more instructions, individuals will actually pop the case open and examine the innards to look for the vender, make, serial numbers, or other identifiers on components. Folks with IT  smarts (or the right tools) employ an easier method to determine the identity of those pesky unknown devices. Mike’s Halfdone  Development has, for years, graciously provided Unknown Devices (or UKD) for free so that PC users don’t have to squint around the inside of a system. Unknown Devices- the application, not the situation- is a piece of software that scans a Windows system for all connected devices, and reports which devices do not have drivers. It is pretty basic, but usually identifier at least the vendor for the particular device, after which, a Google search manages the rest.

Start by downloading UKD from the website, halfdone.com/ukd, and extracting the zip file to a folder, Run the application in administrator mode; the system will be scanned in a matter of few seconds, if your Windows system is lacking drivers for certain devices, UKD will display it in a tree hierarchy under the category “Other devices” (as illustrated in the screenshot). Right-clicking the item will bring up a pop-up menu that offers to copy the identifier (in this case, Nexus one), or directly search the web for the information. Of course, users can manually Google the vender or device name for related driver information, or visit the vendor’s website and search for the relevant driver to download and install. Straight from the USB flash drives of system administrators, UKD is simpler and more convenient than digging through stacks of CDs and trying each driver until you hit the right one, and also keep you from having to pry open computer cases.