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Universal Serial Bus Viewer in Windows

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The Universal Serial Bus Viewer (USBView) or usbview.exe is a Windows app that you can use to browse all USB controllers and connected USB devices on your computer. USBView works on all versions of Windows.

Where to get USBView

To download and use USBView, complete the following steps:

  1. Download and install the Windows SDK.

  2. During the installation, select only the Debugging Tools for Windows box and clear all other boxes.

  3. By default, on an x64 PC the SDK will install USBView to the following directory.

    C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Debuggers\x64

  4. Open the kits debugger directory for the processor type you're running, and then select usbview.exe to start the utility.

Note

If you don't see the file usbview.exe in the directory, make sure you installed Windows SDK in the correct directory. If the problem persists, try to reinstall the Windows SDK again and ensure that you select the Debugging Tools for Windows box during installation.

USBView source code

USBView is also available in the Windows driver samples repository on GitHub.

Use USBView

USBView is a sample application that enumerates basic information about USB host controllers, USB hubs, and attached USB devices. It also queries information about devices from the registry and through USB requests to the devices.

The main USBView window contains two panes. The left pane displays a connection-oriented tree view that you can use to select any USB device.

The right pane displays the USB data structures that pertain to the selected USB device. These structures include Device, Configuration, Interface, and Endpoint Descriptors, and the current device configuration.

As USBView is an older application, it may not display newer USB information. Other tools like Device Manager should be used as necessary. For more information on the IOCTLs that USBView uses to query information, see USBView.

Use Device Manager to display USB info

To use Device Manager to display USB info:

  1. Select Windows logo key+R, enter devmgmt.msc into the pop-up box, and then select Enter.

  2. In Device Manager, select your computer so that it's highlighted.

  3. Select Action, and then select Scan for hardware changes.

  4. Select View, and then select Show hidden devices to display more devices (for example, devices that aren't currently active).

  5. Expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers node in Device Manager and select the device in question.

  6. Right-click and select Properties to view summary device status info.

  7. Select the Details tab to view more info.

  8. Select Property to view details such as Status or Problem code.

Troubleshoot common USB problems

If you're trying to diagnose a USB device, more information is available at Fix USB-C problems in Windows.