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Device Manager access denied  -  03-Feb-2025
 

"Access Denied" when connecting to a remote computer

In Windows 10 and Windows 11 it is not possible to connect to a remote computer with Device Manager. Although it's possible to establish a connection with Computer Management, the following error message appears when clicking on Device Manager:

Unable to access the computer <computer name>. Make sure that this computer is on the network, has remote administration enabled, and is running the "Plug and Play" and "Remote registry" services. The error was: Access is denied.

 

Cause
Microsoft does not support remote connections with Device Manager on Windows 10 and Windows 11. See article
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2781106/errors-connecting-to-windows-server-2008-r2-or-windows-server-2012-dev

Resolution
You can use a third party tool as an alternative to Device Manager, e.g. DeviceTool from Lugrain Software. DeviceTool is a Device Manager for administrators. It allows you to enable and disable devices remotely - and runs on Windows 11. It's a free portable tool, so it does not need any installation.

DeviceTool features

  • Display installed devices - with properties
  • Enable and disable local devices
  • Enable and disable devices on remote computers
  • Portable tool - no installation required
  • Runs on Windows 7/8/10/11 and Windows Server 2008/2012/2016/2019/2022/2025
  • Free - for private and professional use


How does DeviceTool work?

DeviceTool establishes a connection on TCP port 135 to get device information via WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation). It then displays the devices in the GUI permanently. You can set a filter to reduce the displayed information for a better overview. The device information refreshes automatically like in the Windows Device Manager.

 

Run DeviceTool from the command line

You can start DeviceTool by command line or with a shortcut to specify some parameters:

DeviceTool <hostname> <filter word> <normalview | advancedview>

Examples:

DeviceTool WKS1234     # connect to WKS1234
DeviceTool WKS1234 "universal serial bus"    
# connect to WKS1234, only show USB devices
DeviceTool WKS1234 "network|ports"   
# connect to WKS1234, only show Network Adapters and Ports
DeviceTool WKS1234 "" advancedview   
# connect to WKS1234, open advanced view


Is DeviceTool still running on Windows 7 and Windows 8?

Yes.



>> DeviceTool Remote Device Manager Windows 11 Homepage

 

Content: Device Manager access denied Windows 10 / Windows 11