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How to find drivers for Unknown Devices

Usually, when you buy any hardware the drivers come along with it on a disc. If you lose the driver disc you can always download the necessary drivers from the manufacturer's website. But what do you do when you are not sure of the manufacturer of the hardware? This is quite a possible situation and blogger Vinod Chandramouli provides an excellent trick to deal with it.

Every device has a Vendor and Device id associated with it. If you can find this ID, you can find the manufacturer. In Windows it's easy to find the vendor and device id.

  1. Open Device Manager (Control Panel>System>Hardware>Device Manager)
  2. The hardware whose drivers are missing will appear as Unknown device, so it's easier to locate the device.
  3. Right click on the unknown device and click on Properties.
  4. Under the Properties window click on Details tab and select Device Instance Id from the drop down box.
  5. You should see a code similar to this

    PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27DC&SUBSYS_30868086
    &REV_01\4&1E46F438&0&40F0

  6. The portion of the code highlighted in RED is the Vendor ID and the portion highlighted in GREEN is the Device ID. In this example:

    Vendor ID = 8086
    Device ID = 27DC

  7. Once you have obtained both the IDs, proceed to PCI Database. There you can either search for the vendor from the vendor ID or directly get information about the device along with the vendor name by searching with the device ID.

Great isn't it? Now you will never have to go hunting for correct drivers.

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Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 3, 2008 at 3:54 AM

    the internet is full of them - benjamin

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJuly 3, 2008 at 3:55 AM

    google is also a good tool - Michael

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJuly 3, 2008 at 3:57 AM

    Zombie news

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJuly 9, 2008 at 3:00 PM

    That's how you find the Vendor ID and Driver ID, but that doesn't guarantee you will get a driver for your device. I didn't have much succes with this strategy, so I advise you not to get your hopes too high...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kaushik PatowaryJuly 9, 2008 at 8:12 PM

    After you get the manfacturer's name you have to go to their website to download the drivers. If you can't get the drivers even from the manufacturer's site, which is unlikely, nobody can help you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. PieterJuly 11, 2008 at 7:20 PM

    Never ever lose a disc. NEVER!!!
    It's just so much easier. Anyway, if you have old devices like that you probably could use something shiny and new - remembering to keep the disc safe. DON'T lose it.

    (from a computer illiterate idiot)

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJuly 26, 2008 at 11:18 PM

    halfdone.org

    does the work for you

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousSeptember 8, 2008 at 1:17 AM

    i saw another post on this, it's easy
    http://geekytips.com/blog/how-to-install-hardware-drivers-easily

    ReplyDelete
  9. SpeedyOctober 14, 2008 at 4:10 PM

    NICE READING

    VISIT MY BLOG - http://w-i-n-d-o-w-s.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownNovember 10, 2008 at 3:53 AM

    I'm guessing you're colorblind, not that thats an excuse when you can write code. #FF0000 or red is red.

    #EA5412 is orange.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Kaushik PatowaryNovember 10, 2008 at 10:57 AM

    @Tomas: Ah, a real geek! :)
    Just to clarify, #FF0000 and #00FF00 didn't look great and so I used a different shade. But it's still RED and GREEN for the normal human eye.

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousNovember 21, 2008 at 5:40 PM

    AWESOME POST - I accidentally deleted my CD ROM driver and need to replace it, will use this post over the weekend, thanks!

    Keith Johnson
    Hallandale, Florida
    http://greatdocuments.net

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousNovember 25, 2008 at 8:45 AM

    Yes, hardware ID is a great way to find out the device. You can also just use a program like radarsync, which relies on HWID and other internal file ID information to find the device and driver for you.

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousDecember 21, 2008 at 1:20 PM

    yeah you could do all that.
    or you could:
    1. run a linux live cd (makes no change to your system).
    2. at the command prompt type:
    lspci
    press enter.

    http://bloglinux.org/

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousJanuary 1, 2009 at 11:47 AM

    but i did not find any color.
    plz find below what i got.
    ACPI\IFX0102\1

    ReplyDelete
  16. Kaushik PatowaryJanuary 1, 2009 at 10:02 PM

    Show me a screenshot.

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnonymousJanuary 19, 2009 at 8:22 AM

    Just use the freeware program "Unknown Devices". This is the quickest easiest way.

    ReplyDelete
  18. AnonymousFebruary 28, 2009 at 11:32 PM

    you are great.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Mark Lester A. IraganaMarch 9, 2009 at 1:46 PM

    This site is a very informative site. You'll like the content of this site. If you have some time, please feel free to visit and read the content of this site. Thank you for your time and good day.

    http://www.squidoo.com/MPI

    ReplyDelete
  20. UnknownMarch 20, 2009 at 2:46 AM

    in device instance id it show USB\VID_0000&PID_0000\5&200B6B02&0&2
    mean both 0 so what to do?

    ReplyDelete
  21. AnonymousMay 16, 2009 at 7:02 AM

    Thanks, I didnt know. Very usefull

    ReplyDelete
  22. AnonymousAugust 4, 2009 at 5:18 AM

    or you could get vista so it finds its own drivers....

    ReplyDelete
  23. AnonymousAugust 4, 2009 at 6:24 AM

    The problem is I have an quest to find a driver that isnt supported on the original computer manf. page... So wtf should I do?

    ReplyDelete
  24. ViralOctober 11, 2009 at 2:42 PM

    Thanks...its a good write & very useful for me...

    ReplyDelete
  25. PramodNovember 5, 2009 at 6:09 PM

    Ya, its good man. Some laptops have same devices of different vendors.For ex:for ethernet there are realtek or atheros and so on. So we cant think which manufacturers drivers we have to download. For me its a good idea and thanks a lot

    ReplyDelete
  26. AnonymousNovember 18, 2009 at 12:40 PM

    hi thanks for the help

    ReplyDelete
  27. AnonymousMarch 5, 2010 at 10:57 PM

    Much easier to use DriverAgent.

    ReplyDelete
  28. AnonymousApril 22, 2010 at 10:39 AM

    Awesome resource, was helpful

    ReplyDelete
  29. UnknownJuly 29, 2010 at 12:08 AM

    LOSE THE DISK? INSTALL LINUX! now all driver problems will be solved...

    ReplyDelete
  30. UnknownOctober 9, 2010 at 5:54 PM

    Leopard is Deep

    ReplyDelete
  31. RahulDecember 4, 2010 at 2:45 PM

    This site is good and they gives good informations

    ReplyDelete
  32. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2011 at 3:03 PM

    i had problem finding drivers for win XP and i found this it was very helpful. http://geeks-help.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-find-and-install-drivers.html

    ReplyDelete
  33. AnonymousFebruary 16, 2011 at 5:43 PM

    The easiest, and by far most reliable, as crowd-sourced, is DriverMax. It gives two drivers per day for free.

    ReplyDelete
  34. AnonymousJuly 22, 2011 at 4:37 PM

    Searching only by Vendor and Device ID is *not* the way to go. It will fail miserably on laptop modems; older AC'97 Audio; and some laptop graphics.

    Better than DriverMax, is http://DriverZone.com => it is all free. No 2-drivers-per day limitation

    And you can chat with real DriverZone staff in real time to get even the trickiest problem solved

    ReplyDelete
  35. diwakarrulzzJuly 24, 2011 at 7:46 PM

    u rock man........
    really happy

    ReplyDelete
  36. mishasinAugust 15, 2011 at 7:34 PM

    Thanks for the great tip.

    ReplyDelete
  37. zero masterSeptember 21, 2011 at 11:19 PM

    ACPI\NSC1100 WINXP driver http://www.ziddu.com/download/16464386/TPM.zip.html

    ReplyDelete
  38. AnonymousSeptember 27, 2011 at 8:56 PM

    Hi can someone please tell me if there is a driver for: Device Id 0000 Vendor Id 0000 ??

    ReplyDelete
  39. AnonymousSeptember 27, 2011 at 8:59 PM

    I have a cd for the driver but it can only be installed with windows 98 it wont let me do it on xp or 7 help please?

    ReplyDelete
  40. Kaushik PatowarySeptember 27, 2011 at 9:07 PM

    Device and Vendor ID cannot be 0000

    Drivers for Win98 and WinXP won't work with Win7. Download supported drivers from the manufacturer's website.

    ReplyDelete
  41. laveshNovember 21, 2011 at 6:43 PM

    that was really helpful
    thnx a lot

    ReplyDelete
  42. محمد زيدانيJanuary 26, 2012 at 12:39 AM

    thanks, i translate this topic :)

    http://www.moffed.in/2012/01/how-to-find-drivers-for-unknown-devices.html

    ReplyDelete
  43. AnonymousMarch 3, 2012 at 9:17 PM

    EXCELLENT

    ReplyDelete
  44. AnonymousApril 23, 2012 at 2:36 AM

    Great job, always wanted to know how to id missing drivers for hardware

    ReplyDelete
  45. AnonymousMay 14, 2012 at 3:26 AM

    DriverZone.com is good, but I found more helpful website with drivers for free:

    www.magicdriver.com

    ReplyDelete
  46. SambhavJuly 19, 2012 at 8:46 PM

    Thanks! This helped me.

    ReplyDelete
  47. AnonymousAugust 1, 2012 at 12:15 PM

    Thanks a Lot.It is a Great help to locate the appropriate device driver :) Thanks Man

    ReplyDelete
  48. AnonymousAugust 6, 2012 at 10:59 PM

    please tell me a device without a device driver in linux.. or how can i find the list of such devices?

    ReplyDelete
  49. Satya MaheshAugust 10, 2012 at 9:18 AM

    Thanks a Ton for this Great Tip.

    ReplyDelete
  50. JamesSeptember 7, 2012 at 12:12 PM

    A very simple way (and time saver for busy PC techs) is Driver Robot!

    YT vid here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkp84-ukoIA&feature=plcp

    ReplyDelete
  51. AnonymousSeptember 8, 2012 at 3:28 PM

    excellent info, I was breaking my head on missing drivers...

    ReplyDelete

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