USBDeview is a free NirSoft utility for Windows. It lists every USB device currently plugged into a computer, along with the USB devices that were connected to it in the past. Besides showing that history, it can disconnect, disable, enable or remove devices, and it runs as a standalone executable on 32-bit and 64-bit Windows.
Device history and details
Windows keeps a record of each USB device it has seen, and USBDeview reads those records into one table. Each device appears on its own row, with a Connected column showing which ones are plugged in right now.
Each row carries details such as device name and description, plus device type derived from the USB class code. Other details include VendorID and ProductID, hub and port, serial number for mass-storage devices, and driver details. Timing columns show installation times, which require running the program as administrator. On newer Windows releases, these columns also show the connect and disconnect times. If you place the public usb.ids list next to USBDeview, the program adds vendor and product names to the table. A Safe To Unplug column indicates whether a device can be pulled out without disconnecting it first.
Non-storage devices plugged into different ports show up as separate records, while a mass-storage device keeps a single record. Display filters can hide disconnected devices, USB hubs, devices without drivers or devices without a drive letter.
Disconnecting and disabling USB devices
From the device list, USBDeview can safely disconnect a plugged-in device, disable it so Windows stops using it, or enable it again. A combined Disable+Enable action works like unplugging and reconnecting the device. Uninstalling removes an old device’s entry from the system.
These actions require administrator rights, and on 64-bit Windows, disabling or enabling devices requires the x64 build. For a device that is toggled often, USBDeview can create a desktop shortcut. The shortcut disables, enables, disables and re-enables, or disconnects that single device.
Drive letters and flash drive speed
For flash drives and CD/DVD drives, the table shows the assigned drive letter. For USB-to-serial adapters, it shows the COM port name. USBDeview lets you change the drive letter Windows assigns the next time a device is plugged in. A built-in speed test measures a flash drive’s read and write speed by writing a large test file to the drive and reading it back.
Actions on insert and removal
The Advanced Options window can run an executable, batch or command file whenever a USB device is connected, and another when one is removed. USBDeview passes variables such as the serial number, drive letter, vendor and product IDs, and device name to that command. A script can use them to respond to a particular drive. An AutoPlay option can also launch the AutoRun.inf contents of a flash drive, either manually or automatically when it is inserted.
Remote computers and registry files
USBDeview can read the device list from a remote computer on the network. This requires an administrator login on that machine. It can also read lists from several computers at once using a file of computer names. Remote lists refresh manually. It can also open the SYSTEM registry file of another Windows installation, such as an external drive, in read-only mode.
Reports and command-line control
USBDeview can save selected or all rows as plain text, tab-delimited text, CSV, HTML or XML, or copy them to the clipboard. The same exports run from the command line. The command line also accepts commands to disconnect, disable, enable or remove devices by name, serial number, drive letter, class or product ID. Status commands report whether a matching device is connected or disabled through the exit code, letting batch scripts check for a device before continuing.
