How to Scan for Hardware Changes on Windows

Generally, as soon as you attach new gear, Windows 11 detects it. It immediately installs the necessary drivers and permits you to utilize it without alteration as soon as it detects a hardware change.

The majority of the time, Windows’ hardware change detection feature operates as intended, but occasionally, human selection may be necessary. It is therefore necessary to check for hardware modifications when Windows fails to recognize the attached device.

The easiest approach to check for hardware changes on a Windows PC seems to be to restart it, but not everyone has access to do so constantly. What other ways are there to check for hardware changes without having to restart?

How to Use Windows to Check for Hardware Changes
In Windows, you may perform a scan to find changes to the hardware in a number of methods. To find connected hardware devices, you can use the Command Prompt, Computer Management Tool, or Device Manager. We’ve included many methods for running a Windows scan to find hardware changes below. Let’s have a look.

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1. Scan for Hardware Changes via Device Manager
Device Manager seems to be the easiest way to scan for hardware changes. Here’s how you can use the Device Manager to scan for hardware changes on Windows.

1. Type in Device Manager on the Windows 11 Search. Next, open the Device Manager Control Panel item from the list of best-match results.

2. When the Device Manager opens, right-click the Device Category and select Scan for hardware changes.

3. If you aren’t sure about the Device Category, click on the Action menu and select Scan for hardware changes.

This is how you can run a scan to detect hardware changes via Device Manager.

2. Scan for Hardware Changes from the Computer Management Tool
The Computer Management utility of Windows also has the Device Manager; hence, you can use the Computer Management tool as well to scan for hardware changes. Here’s how to scan for hardware changes from the computer management tool.

1. Type in Computer Management on the Windows 11 Search. Next, open the Computer Management tool from the list of best-match results.

2. Select System Tools > Device Manager when Computer Management appears.

3. Choose the category of the gadget now.

4. Click Action on the right side and choose Scan for hardware changes.

This is how you use the Computer Management tool to do a scan in Windows to find hardware changes.

3. Use the Command Prompt to Check for Hardware Changes
One excellent command line tool that can handle a lot of challenging tasks is Command Prompt. On Windows 11, you can use the Command Prompt tool to check for hardware changes. This is how you apply it.

1. Type in Command Prompt on the Windows 11 Search. Next, right click on the Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.

2. When the Command Prompt opens, execute this given command:

pnputil.exe /scan-devices

3. You will see the ‘Scanning for device hardware changes’ message once you execute the command. This confirms that Windows is scanning for hardware changes.

Once you see the ‘Scan Complete‘ message, close the Command Prompt.

4. Make a desktop shortcut to check for updates to the device.
It’s possible that some people are uncomfortable using the Command Prompt, Computer Management tool, or Device Manager. It’s ideal for them to have a desktop shortcut that enables hardware change detection.

You will be able to conduct a hardware change detection scan at any time without using Device Manager, the Computer Management tool, or the Command Prompt by creating a desktop shortcut. Here’s how to make a desktop shortcut for the command to scan devices.

1. Right-click on an empty area on your desktop screen and select New > Shortcut.

2. On the Type the location of the item field, paste the given location and click Next.

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k pnputil.exe /scan-devices

3. On the name this shortcut Window, type Scan for Hardware Changes and click Finish.

4. Select Properties with a right-click on the desktop shortcut.

5. Select the Advanced option under the Shortcut tab.

6. Select “Run as administrator” from the Advanced Properties and click OK.

7. To close the open window after making the necessary adjustments, click Apply.

And that’s it! Now, double-click the desktop shortcut you made whenever you wish to check for hardware changes.

These then are a few simple ways to use Windows 11’s hardware change detection feature. While we have demonstrated the processes on a Windows 11 device, the identical steps apply to Windows 10 as well. Learn  more