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Managing Devices and Services

The Windows 7 operating system builds upon the improvements previously made in the Windows Vista operating system in the areas of device installation and management, power management, and service implementation and management. These enhancements not only make it easy for users to connect and use devices and conserve battery life on their mobile computers, but they also enable administrators to manage the device installation process better and ensure energy efficiency across an enterprise. This tutorial examines how to manage devices, energy efficiency, and services on desktop and mobile computers and describes the various improvements in these areas in Windows 7.

In this tutorial:

  1. Understanding Device Installation and Management
  2. Device Enhancements in Windows 7
  3. Display Enhancements in Windows 7
  4. Understanding Device Installation
  5. Driver Store and Driver Packaging
  6. Driver Staging vs Installation
  7. Driver Staging and Installation Process
  8. Detailed Installation Process
  9. Managing Driver Packages
  10. Using PnPutil.exe
  11. Using Dism.exe
  12. Driver Signing
  13. Driver Ranking
  14. Installing and Using Devices
  15. Enhancements to the Device Installation Experience in Windows 7
  16. Scenario 1: Driver found in Driver Store
  17. Scenario 2: Driver found on Windows Update
  18. Scenario 3: Driver in Driver Store, But Better Driver on Windows Update
  19. Scenario 5: No Driver Can Be Found for the device
  20. Scenario 6: Vendor -supplied media is available
  21. Scenario 7: Additional Device Software is Available For Download from vendor
  22. Configuring Device Installation Settings
  23. Using the Devices And Printers Folder
  24. Understanding Device Stage
  25. Understanding the Device Experience Architecture
  26. Device Containers
  27. Device display object
  28. Device Metadata System
  29. Managing Device Installation Using Group Policy
  30. Managing Device Installation Behavior
  31. Managing Driver Installation Behavior
  32. Blocking Installation of Removable Devices
  33. Managing Device Redirection Behavior
  34. Troubleshooting Device Installation
  35. Using Windows Error Reporting
  36. Using the SetupAPI Log File
  37. Using Driver INF Files
  38. Using Device Manager Error Codes
  39. Using Driver Verifier
  40. Repairing Driver Store Corruption
  41. Repairing Index File Corruption
  42. Understanding Power Management
  43. Power Management Enhancements in Windows 7
  44. New Power Policies in Windows 7
  45. Configuring Power Management Settings
  46. Configuring Power Management Settings Using the Power Options Utility in Control Panel
  47. Configuring Power Management Settings Using Group Policy
  48. Configuring Power Management Settings Using the Powercfg Utility
  49. Understanding Services
  50. Service Enhancements in Windows 7
  51. Managing Services
  52. Managing Services Using Task Manager
  53. Managing Services Using the Sc.exe Command