Seeing “Unknown Device” Error in Device Manager of your PC isn’t a good sight. Sometimes, the devices for which the Windows has failed to install the driver are not essential at all, nevertheless, it doesn’t give satisfaction until all the drivers are installed. Latitude E5470 with Win10 64bit has an unknown device: ACPIVENDELL&DEVABC6 ACPIDELLABC6.DELLABC6 Do you have a driver?
Go to the device manager and click on the ASD device needing drivers. Click on the driver tab. Click on Update Driver. Select the Browse my computer for driver software option and browse to the driver folder you unzipped. Make sure the Include Subfolders box is checked and see if the driver installs that way. Fix Windows 10 Update Issues. Driver for Win 10 for 'unknown device'and 'basic system device' 07:46 AM. Mark as New; Bookmark. Once you know what the hardware ID is, you can easily recognize the unknown device and then grab the right version of the driver. To identify the device driver effortlessly, you can use the following steps: You can go to the Device Manager and right-click on the Unknown Device to select the ‘Properties’ option.
If you see the internal/external HDD, SSD or USB removable disk showing 'unknown device' in device manager, try to disable USB selective suspend setting or update necessary drivers by the instruction on this page. In case you wish to recover data from unknown device hard drives, we recommend EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for you.
Here on this page, you'll learn four effective ways to fix an unknown device, and powerful hard drive recovery software to recover inaccessible data.
Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
---|---|
Fix 1. Disable selective suspend setting | Open Control Panel > find Power Options > click Change plan settings...Full steps |
Fix 2. Uninstall or update driver | In Device Manager, navigate to the hard drive showing 'Unknown device'...Full steps |
Fix 3. Reinstall USB controllers | In Device Manager, expand 'Universal Serial Bus Controllers'...Full steps |
Fix 4. Update chipset drivers | In your computer's documentation, find the name of the motherboard...Full steps |
Fix 5. Recover data from unknown drive | Open Control Panel > find Power Options > click Change plan settings...Full steps |
Why Hard Drive Shows as Unknown Device
What is 'unknown device'? An unknown device is a device name listed in the Windows Device Manager for any device Windows is unable to identify or does not have the drivers used to identify the device.
Literally, the HDD/SSD/USB 'Unknown Device' in Device Manager displays itself as disk unknown not initialized in Disk Management. When a storage device was recognized by Windows in this way, sorry, it's neither readable nor accessible along with all the data.
'Unknown device' is a common issue happened to a lot of users, and the following reasons may account for the problem:
- Insufficient power supply because of USB selective suspend setting is enabled.
- Driver issues associated with the currently loaded internal/external storage drive, USB controllers, or the computer motherboard.
How to Fix Unknown Device in Windows 10/8.1/8/7
In fact, the 'Unknown Device' is a very common error that most of us would face once or twice, so you are not alone. No matter it is an internal hard drive, HDD, SSD or an external USB flash drive, follow the advice of troubleshooting, and you will hopefully get over with it.
Fix 1. Disable USB selective suspend setting
Step 1: In Windows 10/8.1/8/7, press Windows + R keys to bring up the Run box, type control and hit enter. The Windows Control Panel is open.
Step 2: Find 'Power Options' and click it.
Step 3: In your own power plan, click 'Change plan settings'.
Step 4: Click 'Change advanced power settings'.
Step 5: Expand 'USB settings' and then 'USB selective suspend setting', click the 'Setting' and turn the default 'Enabled' to 'Disabled'.
Step 6: Click 'Apply' to save changes.
Fix 2. Uninstall and update the hard drive driver
Step 1: In Device Manager, navigate to the hard drive showing 'Unknown device' (Usually it's under 'Other device').
Step 2: Right-click on it and choose 'Uninstall'.
Download Driver Unknown Device Windows 10
Step 3: After the hard drive is uninstalled, unplug the external drive.
Step 4: After a while, reconnect it to the computer.
Step 5: Windows will automatically install and load the driver this time. Go to check if the USB drive shows up in Windows Explorer.
Fix 3. Reinstall USB controllers
Step 1: In Device Manager, expand 'Universal Serial Bus Controllers'.
Step 2: Right-click on the unknown USB Device and select 'Uninstall'. Wait until it completes.
Step 3: Restart your computer. The USB controllers will automatically install. Go to check if the USB drive shows up in Windows Explorer.
Fix 4. Update the motherboard chipset drivers
Step 1: In your computer's documentation, find the name of the motherboard manufacturer. It's important for you to search for a matched driver.
Step 2: Visit the manufacturer's support website and find the appropriate driver for your motherboard. You can also reach a support guy for further help.
How to Recover Data from Unknown Device HDD/SSD/USB Hard Drive
Hard drive data recovery is never a hard topic for modern computer users. There are so many third-party data recovery utilities capable to help.
To restore data from the unknown device, you have two choices. One, fix the Unknown Device so that Windows can read it again, as the above part taught. Two, send the disk drive to nearby data recovery companies, let the professionals do a manual hard drive data recovery.
>> You may be interested in hard drive data recovery cost.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is dependable, powerful and easy-to-use data recovery software that worth a try. When you lost access to a local hard drive or an external USB drive, do not hesitate to run the software to scan and display all the hard drive data for you. The overall steps are as follows.
Step 1. Select and scan hard drive.
On EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, select the drive where you lose your data and click 'Scan'. Wait patiently until this program finishes the scanning, it will find all your lost data on the drive.
Step 2. Find and preview found files on the selected drive.
Check 'Deleted Files', 'Lost Files' or use 'Filter', 'Search' to find the lost files on the selected hard drive. You can double-click to open and check the found files.
Step 3. Recover and save lost hard drive data.
Select all found lost hard drive files, click 'Recover' and browse another secure location to save them. Click 'OK' to confirm and finish the recovery process.
Have you encountered an Unknown Device error and wondered how to deal with it? Certainly, it can be fixed by downloading drivers for unknown devices? It is agreeable that the Unknown Device issue is due to a malfunctioning device which is why you need to obtain an updated driver for the faulty device.
The most common approach to resolving functional issues of computers is by getting the right device drivers for your system.
In this article, we will first understand the root cause of the error, followed by learning how to identify which device has gone down and finally take a look at how to download drivers for unknown devices.
How to Identify Which Device is Not Functioning?
For this, you need to head to the Control Panel of your system and then to the Device Manager. The Device Manager hosts and displays all the devices installed in a system.
An Unknown Device will be listed in the Device Manager and indicated with a yellow exclamation mark. You can look at the Properties of this unknown device to figure out the hardware ID and consequently identify the device.
Causes of Unknown Devices in Device Manager
- Upgrading the PC to Windows 10.
- Outdated or corrupted drivers can be another cause.
- When the device driver is not available as in the case of USB devices.
- Faulty hardware or firmware.
- Unrecognized device ID.
Unknown Device In Device Manager
Update Device Drivers to Fix Unknown Device Error:
The Unknown Devices issue can be resolved by installing the correct version of the device drivers. This can be done by either updating the drivers manually or updating them automatically.
1. Updating Drivers Manually
If you got the right expertise, patience, and time, then you can install the correct version of the drivers manually from the manufacturer’s website. However, one challenge here is that you need to first figure out which device is malfunctioning.
If you are not already aware of this, then let me inform you that every device has a hardware ID assigned to it. Once you know what the hardware ID is, you can easily recognize the unknown device and then grab the right version of the driver.
To identify the device driver effortlessly, you can use the following steps:
- You can go to the Device Manager and right-click on the Unknown Device to select the ‘Properties’ option.
- Once the ‘Unknown device Properties’ window opens, go to the ‘Details’ tab and click on the dropdown menu of the Property.
- In the value field, you can see a list of values which is nonetheless the hardware IDs.
- You can copy the top-most value by using the right-click action of the mouse.
- Post this, you can paste the device hardware ID on the search engine that will show the device to which it belongs.
- After device identification, you can visit the manufacturer’s website and download the updated driver version of the device.
- You can then follow the subsequent steps to install it on your system and get rid of the Unknown Device error.
Read Also: How To Update Device Drivers on Windows 10
2. Updating Drivers via Device Manager
If you don’t want to go through all the cumbersome manual steps, then don’t worry as the ‘Update Driver’ function can come to your rescue and save you from all the hassles. Want to know how? Well, take a look at the subsequent steps to understand it entirely.
- In the Device Manager, you need to first right-click on the Unknown Device and choose the ‘Update Driver Software’ option.
- Then, you need to choose the former option in the following prompt to let the Windows search online for the updated driver automatically and install it on your system.
3. Updating Drivers Automatically with Bit Driver Updater
Don’t you agree that an all-round driver updater software can put an end to all your device drivers related issues at once? They are not only capable of downloading drivers for unknown devices but can also look after the overall condition of all the system drivers. Thereby, they are the most ideal tools for improving your system performance.
Bit Driver Updater tool is undoubtedly the best driver updating software that we recommend, as this tool can automatically scan your system and detect the outdated drivers swiftly.
Users can avail of a trial version before deciding to procure the pro version of the tool. The software can be obtained in three quick steps easily.
Besides, scanning your system for missing or corrupted drivers in real-time, it can also find the latest version of the driver software online and install it on your system to replace the outdated ones.
What makes this tool user-friendly is its ability to scan the Windows PC for outdated drivers and update them to the latest ones in just one simple click. Additionally, you also get commendable round the clock technical assistance.
Last but not the least, Bit driver Updater can also backup your device drivers and help you to restore them when needed.
Conclusion
So, you now know that downloading drivers for Unknown Devices is a task that can be easily accomplished with a potent driver updater software. Keeping drivers up-to-date ensures that you can experience a smooth functioning system without encountering glitches and errors.
The advantage of using automated tools over manual methods is that it saves your time immensely. Also, those who lack technical skills can easily resort to using a smart tool without messing up with the drivers manually.