Warning signs in Device Manager

[telman]

Windows versions: Windows ME, XP home/Pro

Warning signs in Device Manager.

Description:
You can directly access your hardware in the Device Manager. You will also find useful information about your system resources, as well as being able to modify Plug & Play card settings via your software, without having to resort to physically changing a switch on the device in question.

All hardware components on the PC are listed in the Device Manager. You will see a list of small icons for each device. At a glance, you will be able to tell if a component is functioning without errors. This is indicated by a device icon appearing on it’s own. A warning sign can indicate problems. There are five types of problem which are indicated by warning sign:


Warning Signs:

• Exclamation mark A black exclamation mark on a yellow background indicates that the component is not functioning correctly. This may be due to the multiple allocation of a system resource (IRQ, DMA, port or memory address). If no resources have been assigned to the device (e.g. if no more IRQs are free), an exclamation mark will still appear.
  Similarly, a module deactivated in the BIOS (e.g. the USB port) can also appear with an exclamation mark in the Device Manager.
  
  Red Cross X A red cross on top of the icon indicates that the device has been configured without conflicts. However , you may have deactivated or only just installed the device. In the latter case, a restart should rectify the problem as Windows will now detect the device. If a device is disabled, on the properties window untick the box, Disabled in this hardware profile. The Red Cross will now have disappeared in the main Device Manager window.
  
  Question Mark. Windows uses a large yellow question mark to indicate known components for which no drivers have yet been installed. This problem really only occurs with brand new plug-in cards. The operating system has a large number of drivers for a wide variety of devices, which will require additional software for new hardware.
  
  Blue i. Do not panic if you see a blue i on a white background. It indicates that you have configured a Plug & Play card manually. The symbol It indicates that you that Windows will not be able to reconfigure the component in the future without user intervention. As long as you do not make any hardware modifications (such as inserting new cards or relocating old ones) there is no need to worry. However, if Windows or the motherboard BIOS tries to redistribute resources when a modification is made, this may lead to inconsistencies. Usually, the BIOS simply assigns a different interrupt to the card. You must then make further manual amendments and transfer the BIOS settings to Device manager.
  
  Green Question Mark ? A new status display has been added to the device Manager in windows ME. This new Status display appears as a green mark on top of a device. This question mark indicates that an exact (Device-specific) driver has been installed. The new function has been added so that you can use the device even if an original driver is not available.