Objective: Disable and enable a device.

Required Tools and Equipment: Windows 10; a sound card with speakers or headphones attached is desirable

Description: In this project, you disable a device, reboot Windows, verify that the device is not functional, and re-enable the device.

1. 1

Sign in to your Windows 10 computer with an administrator account, if necessary.

1. 2

Right-click Start and click Device Manager.

1. 3

Double-click Sound, video and game controllers. Right-click the device shown, take note of the options, and then click Disable device. Click Yes to confirm. If you are prompted to reboot, confirm and reboot the system. (Windows isn't entirely consistent on the issue of when a reboot is required.) Most devices allow you to update the driver, disable the device, and uninstall it. However, certain devices such as the keyboard, disk drives, and processor don't allow you to disable them.

1. 4

If you had to reboot, sign in as an administrator. Notice on the far right side of the taskbar that the speaker icon in the notification area has a red circle with a white X, indicating the device is disabled. Right-click the speaker icon and click Open Sound settings.

1. 5

Notice that the Output and Input sections indicate no devices are found. Keep the Settings window open, open Device Manager, and double-click Sound, video and game controllers, if necessary. Notice the down arrow on the audio device, indicating it is disabled. Right-click the audio device and click Enable device. You immediately see the Settings window reflect that a sound device is available and functioning. To verify, slide the Master volume slider to hear the Windows sound. Close the Settings window.

1. 6

Sometimes a misbehaving device needs to be disabled and then re-enabled. Another option is to uninstall it and reinstall it. In Device Manager, double-click Network adapters, right-click the network adapter, and click Uninstall device. Click Uninstall when prompted.

1. 7

The network adapter is gone in Device Manager, but of course it's still physically installed. Right-click the computer icon at the top of Device Manager; the icon bears the name of your computer. Click Scan for hardware changes. Windows looks for installed Plug and Play devices and installs the appropriate device driver if it can. In this case, it should find the network adapter and install the driver. Sometimes, uninstalling and reinstalling a device can solve a problem with the device because the driver is reinstalled. If the problem remains, try rebooting the system after uninstalling the device. Close Device Manager.

1. 8

Stay logged on if you're going on to the next project.