Window Server 2008 - Managing the Device Manager display

Many people use Device Manager in a single view. This view is quite convenient for finding a particular device quickly, which is why people use it often and the reason that Microsoft made this view the default. All the view options appear on the View menu. Device Manager includes these four views:

• Devices by Type: When using this view, Device Manager categorizes the devices on the system and places each device into a folder containing other devices of the same type. For example, the Disk Drives folder contains all hard drives and flash drives on the machine. However, CD and DVD drives appear in a separate DVD/CD-ROM Drives folder.

• Devices by Connection: Everything in the computer is connected in some way. The connections form a hierarchy, with the computer as a whole sitting at the top of the hierarchy. As you move down the hierarchy, you begin seeing support devices and, finally, devices such as hard drives. For example, your server may use the hierarchy to display the connectivity required to access the hard drive.

• Resources by Type: The resources provided by your computer come in four forms: memory, input/output (I/O) addresses, interrupt requests (IRQs), and direct memory access (DMA). The “Understanding resources” section of this chapter provides a complete discussion of resources. However, this view provides a listing of resources used by various devices and categorizes them by resource type.

• Resources by Connection: You may run into a situation where it appears that multiple devices have a resource conflict. All the devices appear to have problems, but you can’t discover the source of that problem. Viewing resources by connection helps you see the interaction between devices based on the resources they use. You may find that a device doesn’t work because a device that’s higher in the hierarchy doesn’t have the resources it requires. A single device misconfiguration can cause multiple device failures.

The views determine what you see. However, you can also choose what you see. Choose the View -> Customize command and you see the Customize View dialog box. Choosing options in this dialog box shows or hides the Device Manager features.

You can remove any of the toolbars or menus. If you remove everything, you end up with the File and Help menus. When you’re working in this view, it’s impossible to change the view and perform many other tasks. However, you can still perform many tasks by right-clicking the object you want to work with (such as a hard drive) and choosing the appropriate option from its context menu.

If you remove enough options, you find that the View menu disappears completely, which may leave you wondering how to get it back. When this problem occurs, right-click the title bar and choose Customize View from the context menu. You see the Customize View dialog box, where you can add the view features you need.

Source of Information : For Dummies Windows Server 2008