DevicesTools | Windows Server 2003 in a Nutshell

DevicesTools

The main tools for managing hardware devices on WS2003 are:

Device Manager, a snap-in that is part of Computer Management
Add Hardware, Power Options, and System in Control Panel
System Information under System Tools in Accessories

In addition, various Control Panel utilities we won't discuss are used to configure specific types of devices. These utilities include Display, Game Controllers, Keyboard, Mouse, Phone and Modem Options, Printers and Faxes, Scanners and Cameras, and Sounds and Audio Devices. A utility called devcon.exe , found in the WS2003 Support Tools, can be used to manage devices from the command line. Certain topics like managing disks and printers are covered under Disks and Printing .

Device Manager

Device Manager is used to display and manage device configuration settings, including:

Enabling, disabling, and uninstalling devices
Installing updated drivers for devices
Diagnosing IRQ conflicts and other resource conflicts
Manually reconfiguring IRQ and other resource settings to resolve conflicts
Generating a printed report of your computer's hardware-configuration settings to aid in future troubleshooting efforts

Note that Device Manager can display devices on both local and remote machines, but it can configure settings only on the local machinewhen you connect to a remote computer using Computer Management and try to access Device Manager, a message appears saying that Device Manager is acting in read-only mode.

Starting Device Manager

You can access Device Manager in several ways:

Start Programs Administrative Tools Computer Management System Tools Device Manager

Start Settings Control Panel System Hardware Device Manager

Right-click on My Computer Properties Hardware Device Manager

Right-click on My Computer Manage System Tools Device Manager

Start Run devmgmt.msc

Device Manager displays a hierarchy of device types in the Details pane. Each device-type node contains nodes for each instance of that installed device type, and if a certain type of device is not installed on the computer, the container for that device type is not displayed.

Customizing Device Manager

In addition to being able to customize the MMC appearance, you can use the View menu to change the way in which devices are displayed in Device Manager. There are four different views:

Devices by type: Groups devices by type. For example, all network adapters are grouped together under the Network Adapters node.
Devices by connection: Groups devices by connection. For example, all devices connected to the PCI bus are grouped together under the PCI Bus node.
Resources by type: Groups devices by type of resource used: IRQ, I/O, DMA, or memory.
Resources by connection: Same as previous view except that a secondary grouping is included according to system board or PCI bus connection.

Two more options help you analyze your hardware configuration:

Show Hidden Devices: Toggles the display of non-Plug and Play devices as well as devices that have been removed from the system but whose drivers have not been uninstalled .
Print: Prints a report of your hardware devices and the resources they use. You have several different print options for different kinds of reports .

Add Hardware

This Control Panel utility opens a wizard that walks you through the process of installing new hardware devices or removing existing ones. Most of the time, this is not necessary with WS2003 as Plug and Play devices are usually detected and installed automatically without the need to reboot the system. Should the system require a reboot, Found New Hardware starts after the reboot and completes the installation.

Add Hardware is usually used for installing legacy (non-Plug and Play) devices, in which case you skip the Plug and Play option and manually specify the type and model of the device from a list displayed by the wizard. You can also run Add Hardware to unplug or eject a device such as a removable drive. If you need to do this frequently with a device, there is an option in the wizard to place an icon in the system tray, which can be used for this purpose.

Power Options

This Control Panel utility is used for:

Configuring energy-saving features by selecting a power scheme to power down your disks and turn off your monitor when not in use
Automatically switching your system into standby mode and enabling or disabling hibernation mode
Configuring uninterruptible power supply (UPS) devices to protect your computer against sudden power loss

Standby is the power-management mode in which both the display and hard drive are powered down to save power. Standby mode consumes minimal power for the processor and system board, as opposed to powering off, which causes your system to consume no power at all. The advantage is that the system can return from standby mode more quickly than rebooting from a powered-off condition.

Hibernation is a power-management option that powers off your display and hard disks, writes the contents of physical memory (RAM) to disk, and powers off your computer so that, when you restart, your desktop is exactly as you left it.

The Power Schemes tab lets you select a power scheme for your system (see Table 4-5). You can also create a custom scheme by modifying an existing scheme and saving it under a different name . Note that only a subset of these options may work if you have an older computer whose BIOS is not compliant with the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) standard supported by WS2003. By using the Advanced tab, you can place an icon in the system tray that can display your current power source (AC, battery, or UPS). See DevicesNotes for some recommendations for various kinds of systems.

Table 4-5. Default power schemes

Scheme	Turn off monitor	Turn off hard disks	System standby	System hibernates
Home/Office Desk	20 mins.	Never	Never	Never
Portable/Laptop	15 mins.	30 mins.	20 mins.	1 hr.
Presentation	Never	Never	Never	Never
Always On	20 mins.	Never	Never	Never
Minimal Power Management	15 mins.	Never	Never	Never
Max Battery	15 mins.	Never	20 mins.	45 mins.

System

This Control Panel utility is a catchall for a variety of different system- related configuration tasks . As far as managing hardware is concerned , you can use this tool to install hardware, configure devices, manage device driver signing, and create and manage hardware profiles. The first two tasks can be performed using Add Hardware and Device Manager, respectively; the remaining topics are discussed earlier under DevicesConcepts .

System Information

This utility under System Tools in Accessories can be used to display current system information for local or remote computers. System Information provides comprehensive information for troubleshooting problems with hardware and drivers and other software components on the connected computer. This information is either queried in real time or accessed from the registry, depending on the type of information needed. System Information displays hardware- and software-configuration information for a computer but can't be used to make changes to this informationuse Device Manager to change hardware settings for a computer.

For administrators familiar with NT 4.0 Server, the System Information snap-in performs functions similar to those provided by the NT administrative tool called NT Diagnostics.

System Information displays five types of settings:

System Summary: Contains general information such as operating-system version, computer name, processor type, BIOS version, and memory.
Hardware Resources: Contains hardware information such as IRQ settings, I/O ports, DMA, and mapped memory. The Conflicts/Sharing node is useful for identifying possible device conflicts.
Components: Contains information about device drivers for keyboard, mouse, video, storage, network, modem, and multimedia. The Problem Devices node is useful for identifying devices with driver problems.
Software Environment: Contains detailed information about the software currently running on the computer, including device drivers, environment variables , pending print jobs, current network connections, tasks running (in more detail than that shown by Taskbar), and the status of installed services. It also displays the installed program groups and their shortcuts, programs in the Startup group , and OLE registration information.
Internet Settings: Contains information about the version, proxy configuration, cache settings, digital certificates, and security-zone settings for Internet Explorer.