4 Ways to Fix Device Manager Not Opening on Windows

Quick Tips

• Try opening Device Manager with administrative privileges on your Windows computer.
• Consider running the System Maintenance troubleshooter and scanning your PC for corrupt system files.
• Perform a System Restore to revert your PC to a point when Device Manager was working correctly.

Fix 1: Open Device Manager With Admin Rights

To start, you can try opening Device Manager with admin rights on Windows and see if it works. For that, use these steps:

Step 1: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to launch Task Manager and click the Run new task option at the top.

Step 2: In the Create new task dialog, type devmgmt.msc and mark the Create this task with administrative privileges box. Then, click OK.

Fix 2: Run System Maintenance Troubleshooter

Windows periodically runs the System Maintenance Troubleshooter to scan and fix any irregularities with desktop shortcuts, disk volume, file paths, and more. You can also run this tool manually if you have trouble opening Device Manager on Windows. Here’s how.

Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar, type control panel, and select the first result.

Step 2: In the Control Panel window, change the view type to Large icons, and go to Troubleshooting.

Step 3: Under System and Security, click the Run maintenance tasks option.

Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the troubleshooting process and restart your PC. Then, check to see if you can access Device Manager.

Fix 3: Run SFC and DISM Scan

Issues with your PC’s system files can also prevent you from accessing certain utilities, such as the Device Manager. Running an SFC (or System File Checker) scan allows Windows to detect missing or corrupted system files and restore them with their cached version.

Step 1: Right-click the Start icon and select Terminal (Admin) from the resulting menu.

Step 2: Type the command mentioned below and press Enter.

SFC /scannow

After that, perform a DISM (or Deployment Image Servicing and Management) scan. It will thoroughly scan your PC and download internal system files from the Microsoft servers if required.

Open the Terminal app with admin rights, run the following commands, and press Enter after each one:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

After the scan is complete, restart your PC and see if you can access Device Manager.

Fix 4: Perform System Restore

System Restore periodically creates a backup of your entire system. You can use this tool to restore the Device Manager to its previous state.

Step 1: Open the search menu, type create a restore point, and press Enter.

Step 2: In the System Protection tab, click on System Restore.

Step 3: Click on Next.

Step 4: Select Recommended restore and click Next.

Step 5: Click Finish.

Your PC will reboot and revert to the specified restore point. After that, you can open Device Manager again.