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4 ways to recover your unknown device in Device Manager
6 min. read
Updated onOctober 4, 2023
updated onOctober 4, 2023
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Key notes
Peripheral Component Interconnect or PCI is the local computer bus needed to connect hardware devices to a computer’s motherboard, like an audio card. If the installation goes well, then you will see the PCI device in the Device Manager.
However, problems may arise. The PCI drivers may be corrupted or outdated which will cause those components on your PC to stop working. This is why you should keep your drivers updated.
Where do I find PCI drivers?
PCI drivers can usually be found under Other devices or System devices in the Device Manager app and may appear with a specific name or called Unknown device. The latter is because your computer doesn’t recognize it.
This guide will show how to recover your Unknown device and ensure they work on your Windows 11 computer. These solutions will also solve problems with the PCI Serial Port.
Windows 10 usershave also run into the same problem in the past. For the older system, the solutions are similar to this guide as they both may require downloading drivers from the manufacturer.
How to recover my Unknown devices and update PCI drivers?
1. Download and update PCI drivers
2. Update PCI driver from manufacturer’s website
3. Update the PCI device driver automatically
There are third-party tools like Outbyte Driver Updater that can automatically update PCI drivers without the need for manual intervention.
Follow these steps to set up Outbyte Driver Updater to do this task for you:
Otherwise, as seen in prior solutions, doing it manually takes time and needs extensive knowledge of the drivers you are looking for.
⇒Get Outbyte Driver Updater
4. Other common PCI driver errors
The two solutions above will solve the majority of your problems with faulty PCI drivers. However, there are still a few solutions that you can try out if the previous one don’t work out.
What I do if I run into other installation issues with the PCI drivers?
You may run into the infamous Blue Screen of Death. Errors like these may becaused by the PCI BUS DRIVER INTERNAL error. It’s an annoying problem that can be easily solved by updating drivers, but you may have to check your hardware.
Another failing may be attributed to thedevice needing further installation.This can be caused by poor driver management. Fortunately, the solutions for this problems are simple.
Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions on other Windows 11 apps. Also, leave comments about reviews that you’d like to see or information on other Windows 11 features.
More about the topics:Device Manager,driver update on Windows 11,Windows 11
Cesar Cadenas
Networking & Security Specialist
Cesar has been writing for and about technology going on for 6 years when he first started writing tech articles for his university paper. Since then, his passion for technology blossomed into a prosperous writing career. He first started writing about tech in the entertainment world and would later move on to write about smart life tech and social media. He was recently a Technical Writer for tech company Extron where he wrote user guides for audio and video equipment.
He has since moved on to being a freelance writer looking to have a career in copywriting and hopes to share his love and knowledge of technology with the world. Recently, Cesar has written for the cryptocurrency news site, BTCPro and helping people understand tech.
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Cesar Cadenas
Networking & Security Specialist
Cesar is a tech expert passionate about Windows, Microsoft, and anything surrounding the world of PCs.