Need a Device's Hardware ID? Here's How to Find It

Each piece of hardware has its own unique identifier, or HWID. This ID is a vendor-defined alphanumeric string that's used for system and driver management, troubleshooting, and software licensing.

It's also not a random string; it has a defined structure.

For example, here's the HWID for my laptop's GPU: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_2860&SUBSYS_3CF317AA&REV_A1. And here's what it means:

• PCI - this describes how the device is connected, either via PCI or USB
• VEN_10DE - this is the vendor ID for the manufacturer
• DEV_2860 - this is the device ID for that specific model
• SUBSYS_3CF317AA - this is the subsystem ID
• REV_A1 - this is the revision number.

In this case, VEN_10DE refers to NVIDIA, while DEV_2860 identifies the GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile GPU.

Sometimes, PID_XXXX may also be sandwiched somewhere in between. That's the product ID. Still, in most cases, all the info you'll need is VEN_XXXX and DEV_XXXX.

Here's how to find it!

Via Device Manager

Obviously, you can get hardware IDs right from the Device Manager:

1. Press Win + X and select Device Manager.
2. Expand the device category, and double-click the one you want to check.
3. This will open the Properties window for that specific device. Go to the Details tab.
4. In the Property menu, select Hardware IDs.
5. You should see several alphanumeric strings in the Value table. The one at the top is the hardware ID.

You can right-click it, select Copy, and then paste it wherever you need it.

Via PowerShell

Another way of finding hardware IDs is with a quick command. Here's how:

1. Press Win + X, select Terminal, and open PowerShell.
2. Paste the following command and hit Enter: Get-PnpDevice -PresentOnly | Select-Object Name, HardwareID | Format-Table -AutoSize

You'll see a nice, formatted table in the terminal, with device names on the left and hardware IDs on the right.

Alternatively, you can paste this command to output the table in a .txt file: Get-PnpDevice -PresentOnly | Select-Object Name, HardwareID | Format-Table -AutoSize > "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\HardwareID.txt"

If you need even more info about your hardware, you can use some of the free tools we've tested. Good luck!

selma citakovic Selma is a gamer, geek and gremlin hunter with a passion for cyber security and smashing Windows bugs before they bite. She’s IBM-certified, loves real freeware, despises bloatware, and powers most of her troubleshooting with an unhealthy amount of coffee.

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