How to view hidden devices in Device Manager in Windows
Jul 30, 2025 am 02:48 AMTo view hidden devices in Device Manager, set the environment variable and enable the view option: 1. Press Win R, type set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 && devmgmt.msc, and press Enter to open Device Manager with the setting enabled. 2. In Device Manager, click View, then select Show hidden devices to display grayed-out entries of non-present or disconnected hardware. 3. Optionally, right-click on outdated or unnecessary devices and choose Uninstall device to remove old drivers or virtual hardware from uninstalled software, but do so carefully to avoid affecting system stability, as this process helps resolve driver conflicts or prepare systems for imaging.
To view hidden devices in Device Manager in Windows, you need to enable a special setting that reveals non-present or previously installed hardware that’s no longer connected. These are often called "ghosted" or "hidden devices." This can be helpful for troubleshooting driver issues or cleaning up old entries.

Here’s how to do it:
1. Open Device Manager with Hidden Devices Enabled
You can't see hidden devices by default. You need to change an environment variable temporarily using the Command Prompt or a batch command.

Steps:
-
Press
Win R
to open the Run dialog. -
Type the following command and press Enter:
set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 && devmgmt.msc
This command sets the environment variable for the current session and opens Device Manager.
? Note: The command must be entered exactly as shown. The
&&
runs both commands together — setting the flag and launching Device Manager.
2. Show Hidden Devices in Device Manager
Once Device Manager opens:
- In the menu bar at the top, click View.
- Select Show hidden devices.
Now, faded (grayed-out) icons will appear in the device list. These represent:
- Devices that were previously installed but are no longer present.
- Virtual devices, legacy drivers, or disconnected hardware (like old USB devices, network adapters, etc.).
3. Manage Hidden Devices (Optional)
You can now:
- Inspect old entries to see if they’re using drivers.
- Uninstall outdated or unnecessary devices by right-clicking and choosing Uninstall device.
- Check for lingering virtual hardware from removed software (e.g., old VPN clients, Hyper-V, or VMware entries).
?? Caution: Don’t delete anything unless you’re sure what it is. Removing the wrong entry (even if hidden) could affect system behavior or future device recognition.
Common reasons to view hidden devices:
- Fixing driver conflicts.
- Preparing a system image for cloning or deployment (to avoid hardware conflicts on new machines).
- Troubleshooting devices that aren’t showing up correctly.
Basically, it’s a power-user tool for deeper hardware cleanup. The process isn’t hard — just easy to miss if you don’t know the set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
trick.
The above is the detailed content of How to view hidden devices in Device Manager in Windows. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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