How to Install a Hardware Device in WIndows 10

Installing a Hardware Device

Windows 10 supports both Plug and Play and non-Plug and Play hardware. Occasionally, Windows 10 fails to automatically detect a hardware device. When this occurs, you must install the hardware device manually. You might also have to do this if the device requires a specific hardware resource to ensure that it is installed properly.

How to Install Hardware Automatically in Windows 10

Windows 10 supports Plug and Play hardware. For most devices that are Plug and Play-compliant, as long as the appropriate driver is available and the basic input/output system (BIOS) on the computer is Plug and Play-compatible or supports Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI), Windows 10 automatically detects, installs, and configures the device. When Windows 10 detects a new piece of hardware for which it does not have a hardware driver, it displays the Found New Hardware Wizard
Windows 10 automatically detects. Installs. and configures most Plug and Play and some non-Plug and Play hardware. If Windows does not detect Plug and Play hardware, you can often force the detection by restarting the computer or running the Add Hardware Wizard. For many non-Plug and Play devices. you must use the Add Hardware Wizard to manually configure the device.

To Use the Add Hardware Wizard
 Occasionally, Windows does not detect a new Plug and Play hardware device automatically, so you might need to initiate the installation process by using the Add Hardware Wizard. You can also use the Add Hardware Wizard to initiate automatic hardware installation for undetected hardware devices (both Plug and Play and non-Plug and Play) and to troubleshoot devices.
To use the Add Hardware Wizard to have Windows automatically detect and install Plug and Play hardware, complete the following steps:

 Start - Settings - Devices - Bluetooth & other devices.

  Add Bluetooth or other device and follow the instructions.

If Windows 10 detects any new Plug and Play hardware for which it has a hardware driver built in, Windows installs the new hardware.

If Windows 10  detects new hardware for which it does not have a hardware driver, Windows starts the Found New Hardware Wizard.

If the wizard cannot find a new device, it displays the Is The Hardware Connected page. If you have already connected the new device, click Yes, 1 Have Already Connected The Hardware, and then click Next. The wizard displays the The Following Hardware Is Already Installed On Your Computer

To use the Add Hardware Wizard to troubleshoot a hardware device, click the device in the list of installed hardware devices and click Next. The Completing The Add Hardware Wizard page appears. Click Finish to launch a troubleshooter to help resolve any problems you might be having with that hardware device.

To Confirm Hardware Installation After installing hardware, you should confirm the installation by using Device Manager.

To start Device Manager, follow these steps: 
Press Windows+R to display Run, input devmgmt.msc and tap OK.
or Open Control Panel. and  enter device in the top-right search box and click Device Manager in the results.

Windows 10 uses icons in the Device Manager window to identify each  installed hardware device. If Windows 10 does not have an icon for the device type (usually because the hardware device is unidentified), Device Manager displays a question mark as the icon for the device.

Expand the device tree to locate the newly installed hardware device. The device icon indicates Whether the hardware device is operating properly.

Normal icon -Hardware is operating properly.
Stop sign on icon Windows 10  disabled the hardware device because of hardware conflicts.
Exclamation point on icon The hardware device is incorrectly configured or its drivers are missmg.
Red “x” on icon The hardware device is disabled in the current hardware profile.

How to Install Hardware Manually in Windows 10

Most non-Plug and Play hardware requires manual installation. Although it is rate these days to find computers running Windows 10 that still use non-Plug and Play hardware, it does happen on occasion, so you should understand how to install and configure hardware manually. To manually install hardware, first determine which hardware resource is required by the hardware device. Next, you must determine the available hardware resources. In some cases, you have to Change hardware resources. Finally, you might have to troubleshoot any problems you encounter.

Hardware Device Communication Resources

With older, non-Plug and Play devices, you often must configure the device itself to specify which hardware resources the device will use. This configuration mostly happens by changing jumpers or switches on the device, but sometimes happens through a software interface. Again, it is extremely rare that you will encounter a device made within the last few years that you will have to configure manually, but it is still handy information to have.

When installing new hardware, you need to know which resources the hardware can use. You can reference the product documentation to determine the resources that a hardware device requires.
  Hardware Device Resources Resource Description

Interrupt-. Hardware devices use interrupts to send messages. The microprocessor knows this as an interrupt request (IRQ). The microprocessor uses this information to determine which device needs its attention and the type of attention that it needs. There are 16 IRQs (numbered 0 to 15) that Window 10 assigns to devices. For example, Windows 10 assigns IRQ 1 to the keyboard.

Input/output (1/0) I/O ports are a section of memory that a hardware device uses to communicate with the operating system. When a microprocessor receives an IRQ, the operating system checks the I/O port address to retrieve additional information about what the hardware device wants it to do. An l/O port is represented as a hexadecimal number.

Direct memory DMAs are channels that allow a hardware device, such as a USB access (DMA) drive, to access memory directly, without interrupting the microprocessor. DMA channels speed up access to memory. Windows 10 assigns eight DMA channels, numbered 0 through 7.

Memory Many hardware devices, such as a network interface card (NIC), use onboard memory or reserve system memory. This reserved memory is unavailable for use by other devices or Windows 10
After you determine which resources a hardware device requires, you can look for an resource. Dewce Manager provides a list of all hardware resources and their availability,


If you select a hardware resource during manual installation, you might need to configure the hardware device so that it can use the resource. For example, for a network adapter to use IRQ 5, you might have to set a jumper on the adapter and configure Windows 10 so that it recognizes that the adapter now uses IRQ 5.


To Change Hardware Resource Assignments

In some circumstances, you might need to change the resource assignments for a device. For example, a hardware device might require a specific resource presently in use by another device. You might also encounter two hardware devices requesting the same hardware resource, resulting in a conflict.

To change a resource setting, in Device Manager, open the device’s Properties dialog box and switch to the Resources tab. When you change a hardware resource, print the content of Device Manager, which provides you with a record of the hardware configuration. If you encounter problems, you can use the printout to verify the hardware resource assignments.

From this point, follow the same procedures that you used to choose a hardware resource during a manual installation.

Changing the resource assignments for non-Plug and Play devices in Device Manager does not change the resources used by that device. You use Device Manager only to instruct the operating system on device configuration. To change the resources used by a non-Plug and Play device, consult the device documentation to see whether switches or jumpers must be configured on the device.