Using DEVCON to manage devices and drivers
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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
or
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
More detailed information and command line examples can be found at Microsoft TechNet.
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".<br>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:\\] [...]
-r Reboots the system only when a restart or reboot is required.
Specifies a remote computer.
Specifies a Devcon command (see command list below).
... One or more arguments that modify a command.
For help with a specific command, type: DEVCON.EXE help
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.
DEVCON Script Examples
Name<br>Description<br>Switches<br>Last Modified<br>(yyyy-mm-dd)<br>Remarks
BkAllDrv.bat<br>Backup all Windows 2000 drivers<br>FindAll *
DriverFiles "@hwid"<br>2004-01-10<br>The batch, KiXtart and Perl versions can also backup inactive drivers.
The batch and KiXtart versions are much slower.
The batch, KiXtart and Rexx versions will prompt you to download DEVCON itself or...