Windows Server 2008 - Viewing broken devices

You may have noticed the device (Base System Device) with the odd-looking yellow triangle containing an exclamation mark. This device is broken. The yellow triangle tells you that the device isn’t functioning at all (rather than partially) for whatever reason. Whenever you open Device Manager, it shows you all broken devices automatically, by expanding the hierarchy to show these devices and displaying the little yellow icon. Another term for a device in this condition is banged out. Categories that have broken devices also display a special icon, a circle with a blue question mark.

The method you use to fix a broken device depends on the problem it has. Fortunately, Device Manager normally provides some kind of clue to the problem. To see this clue, right-click the device entry and choose Properties from the context menu. Select the General tab and you see a Properties dialog box.

Drivers are the most common problem you encounter, other than a device that has completely failed. When a device fails completely, you have to replace it and let Windows recognize the new device. Sometimes a device won’t even appear on the list. You installed it, but

Windows simply doesn’t recognize it. When this problem occurs, make sure to verify that you installed the device correctly. A missed connector or a connector that isn’t firmly seated can cause all kinds of problems. If you’re certain that the device is installed correctly, choose Actions -> Scan for Hardware Changes, and Windows checks for the new device.

To go along with the act of scanning for a device, sometimes uninstalling and then reinstalling a device can work wonders. Right-click the device and choose Uninstall from the context menu to remove its driver from the system. Reboot and Windows normally detects the device automatically. Make sure that you use the latest signed drivers to reinstall the device.

Other errors include resource conflicts or a device that simply isn’t receiving what it needs to work properly. Although manual resource configuration is rarely needed when working with newer versions of Windows, you may still have to do it.

When all else fails, you may have to disable a device to get the rest of your system working. Generally, this is a last-ditch effort because the device becomes completely unusable and Windows won’t scan for updates for you. It’s as though the device doesn’t exist on your system. Of course, you can always enable the device later when you discover a fix for the problem. To disable a device, right-click its entry and choose Disable from the context menu. When you want to re-enable the device, right-click its entry and choose Enable from the context menu.

Source of Information : For Dummies Windows Server 2008