JSI Tip 2304. Device Manager does not display all currently installed devices?

In Windows 2000, Device Manager only displays connected devices, even if you check View / Show hidden devices.

You can display ghosted devices, if you check View / Show hidden devices, by opening a CMD prompt and typing:

set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
cd %SystemRoot%System32
start devmgmt.msc

NOTE: You may need to replace %SystemRoot% with the actual drive and folder of your Windows 2000 install.

When you quit Device Manager, the %devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices% environment variable will become undefined, so you will need to start Device Manager using the above method to see ghosted devices again.

You can also set a global environment variable using Control Panel / System / Advanced / Environment Variables and entering devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices and 1 in the System Variables box, allowing you to start Device Manager normally.

NOTE: Ghosted devices are non-Plug and Play and devices which are not currently connected.

NOTE: You can also create a shortcut to a batch file, so you can have it both ways.