CompTIA A+® Certification All-In-One For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

1.4. Removing Device Drivers

At some point, you might want to remove a device. The proper and clean removal of devices represents a large step forward in device management for the Windows OS. You can use Device Manager with all versions of Windows to provide you the ability to cleanly remove devices and drivers. Device Manager allows you to select any installed device on your system and delete it. In addition to Device Manager, you may be able to use the individual device's Control Panel applet, such as the Network Control Panel applet.

To use Device Manager to remove a device from Windows, follow these steps:

1. Choose StartControl Panel, click Hardware and Sound, and then click the Device Manager link. If you are using older versions of Windows choose StartControl Panel, open the System applet, click the Hardware tab, and then click the Device Manager button.

2. Expand the hardware tree to locate your device, right-click the device, and choose Uninstall.

   You are presented with a confirmation dialog box.

3. Click OK.

   The device will be uninstalled.

Like with the Uninstall/Unplug options in Windows 2000, Windows will (by default) unplug devices that you have removed, leaving drives and settings behind for you in case you want to reinstall the device. To see devices with Device Manager that have ...