How to obtain the USBview.exe tool to view details about Windows hardware USB ports

[Arlen Holder]

How to obtain the USBview.exe tool to view details about Windows hardware USB ports

For those who are super semantically inclined, technically this isn't
freeware so much as a "free tool" (if you already have Microsoft Windows).

As always, please improve if you can, so that all benefit from every action.

1. Go to the Microsoft Windows 10 SDK page:
<https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/windows-10-sdk/>

2. Click on the [DOWNLOAD THE INSTALLER] button on that page.
That will download the Windows SDK tools installer, version 10.0.19041.1
Name: winsdksetup.exe
Size: 1354464 bytes (1322 KiB)
SHA256: D53F651370F87484B78622E30DFB1A41920B501E4041035771C0D785561F47D5

3. Run that "winsdksetup.exe" Windows Software Development Kit installer:
Page1: Specify Location (Browse to any location you like) > [Next]
Page2: Windows Kits Privacy (Send anonymous usage data = no) > [Next]
Page3: License Agreement > [Accept]
Page4: Select the features you want to install > [Install]
[_]Windows Performance Toolkit
[x]Debugging Tools for Windows (449.3MB)
[_]Application Verifier For Windows
[_].NET Framework 4.8 Software Development Kit
[_]Windows App Certification Kit
[_]Windows IP Over USB
[_]MSI Tools
[_]Windows SDK Signing Tools for Desktop Apps
[_]Windows SDK for UWP Managed Apps
[_]Windows SDK for UWP C++ Apps
[_]Windows SDK for UWP Appls Localization
[_]Windows SDK for Desktop C++ x86 Apps
[_]Windows SDK for Desktop C++ amd64 Apps
[_]Windows SDK for Desktop C++ arm Apps
[_]Windows SDK for Desktop C++ arm64 Apps

4. If you selected the default paths, notice these two files:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Debuggers\x64\usbview.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Debuggers\x64\usbview.exe.config
(The config is so that the usbview.exe works without .NET 3.5 appaently.)

5. Copy those two files to where you feel they should belong, e.g.,
c:\app\os\windows_sdk\usbview.exe
c:\app\os\windows_sdk\usbview.exe.config

You are copying them because they're the only files you really wanted
for the purpose of running the Microsoft Windows USB File Viewer tool.

6. If desired, delete the SDK just installed (as you copied what you wanted):
Win+R > control > [View by: Category] > Programs > uninstall a program

Note: I have both of these where the latter was just installed:
[Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit - Windows 10]
[Windows Software Development Kit - Windows 10.0.1904.1]

7. Doubleclick on the "usbview.exe" USB Device Viewer where you may be
surprised at how many USB ports show up (many you don't normally see).

The reason that there are so many items in the tree is that USB ports
need to be able to support multiple USB versions.
<https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/usbcon/>

The tree shows which ports have devices connected and which don't.
a. Ports with connected devices show a blue and red USB icon.
b. Ports not currently in use show a blue USB icon.
c. Adjacent to the ports in use is a generic name on the right.

8. You can click around to "explore" the USB map of your computer.
For example, plug and unplug a USB stick & watch what changes.

In short, the Microsoft Windows USB File Viewer (usbview.exe) is a
neat tool for exploring all the USB ports on your Windows PC.

NOTE: This tutorial was an offshoot of this related thread today:
o What solution do you use to figure out what USB drive letter in a Windows scripted command?
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.msdos.batch/fjxhOsMvJkY>

[MikeS]

Post by Arlen Holder
How to obtain the USBview.exe tool to view details about Windows hardware USB ports
For those who are super semantically inclined, technically this isn't
freeware so much as a "free tool" (if you already have Microsoft Windows).
As always, please improve if you can, so that all benefit from every action.
<https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/windows-10-sdk/>
2. Click on the [DOWNLOAD THE INSTALLER] button on that page.
That will download the Windows SDK tools installer, version 10.0.19041.1
Name: winsdksetup.exe
Size: 1354464 bytes (1322 KiB)
SHA256: D53F651370F87484B78622E30DFB1A41920B501E4041035771C0D785561F47D5
Page1: Specify Location (Browse to any location you like) > [Next]
Page2: Windows Kits Privacy (Send anonymous usage data = no) > [Next]
Page3: License Agreement > [Accept]
Page4: Select the features you want to install > [Install]
[_]Windows Performance Toolkit
[x]Debugging Tools for Windows (449.3MB)
[_]Application Verifier For Windows
[_].NET Framework 4.8 Software Development Kit
[_]Windows App Certification Kit
[_]Windows IP Over USB
[_]MSI Tools
[_]Windows SDK Signing Tools for Desktop Apps
[_]Windows SDK for UWP Managed Apps
[_]Windows SDK for UWP C++ Apps
[_]Windows SDK for UWP Appls Localization
[_]Windows SDK for Desktop C++ x86 Apps
[_]Windows SDK for Desktop C++ amd64 Apps
[_]Windows SDK for Desktop C++ arm Apps
[_]Windows SDK for Desktop C++ arm64 Apps
C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Debuggers\x64\usbview.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Debuggers\x64\usbview.exe.config
(The config is so that the usbview.exe works without .NET 3.5 appaently.)
5. Copy those two files to where you feel they should belong, e.g.,
c:\app\os\windows_sdk\usbview.exe
c:\app\os\windows_sdk\usbview.exe.config
You are copying them because they're the only files you really wanted
for the purpose of running the Microsoft Windows USB File Viewer tool.
Win+R > control > [View by: Category] > Programs > uninstall a program
[Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit - Windows 10]
[Windows Software Development Kit - Windows 10.0.1904.1]
7. Doubleclick on the "usbview.exe" USB Device Viewer where you may be
surprised at how many USB ports show up (many you don't normally see).
The reason that there are so many items in the tree is that USB ports
need to be able to support multiple USB versions.
<https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/usbcon/>
The tree shows which ports have devices connected and which don't.
a. Ports with connected devices show a blue and red USB icon.
b. Ports not currently in use show a blue USB icon.
c. Adjacent to the ports in use is a generic name on the right.
8. You can click around to "explore" the USB map of your computer.
For example, plug and unplug a USB stick & watch what changes.
In short, the Microsoft Windows USB File Viewer (usbview.exe) is a
neat tool for exploring all the USB ports on your Windows PC.
o What solution do you use to figure out what USB drive letter in a Windows scripted command?
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.msdos.batch/fjxhOsMvJkY>

Or for those who prefer using the easy route just search for it and
download the zip from a variety of reputable sites. Such as:
https://www.activesilicon.com/products/microsoft-usb-view/
or
https://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Utilities.htm#MicrosoftUSBView

[Arlen Holder]

Post by MikeS
Or for those who prefer using the easy route just search for it and
https://www.activesilicon.com/products/microsoft-usb-view/
or
https://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Utilities.htm#MicrosoftUSBView

Hi MikeS,

Thanks for making it easier for everyone, which is the whole point of this
thread, where I don't in the least decry that you kindly proposed a
non-Microsoft venue with an easier method of attainment; but having done
so, I suggest we compare hashes so that we can see if they're the same or
not.

This is the Microsoft hash I got for the official x64 Microsoft version:
Name: usbview.exe
Size: 815048 bytes (795 KiB)
SHA256: 4EB5DADFA86CCFFE209A050E20A526BEEB7C3A116229CF0465DE4278B3875080

After unzipping...

This is the hash I got from your helpful activesilicon suggestion:
Name: usbview.exe
Size: 823848 bytes (804 KiB)
SHA256: 82EBF5D101EB1E0E9C59C83EB75B70F63E3FB45CD8621E9CB62C5BE46E758762
<https://www.activesilicon.com/wp-content/uploads/USB-devices-browser-Microsoft.zip>

This is the hash I got from your helpful ftdichip suggestion:
Name: usbview.exe
Size: 84808 bytes (82 KiB)
SHA256: 5D6AC13598E825D92D872601CB46F0BAA9E0F171E38FE14FE1248A1FF366C289
<https://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Utilities/usbview.zip>

Why do you (or others) make of those differences?

[Arlen Holder]

Post by Arlen Holder
Why do you (or others) make of those differences?

What do you (or others) make of those differences?
o Checking whether a difference is x64 versus x86...

1. This is the 64-bit binary from the Microsoft software development kit (SDK):
<https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/windows-10-sdk/>

Name: usbview.exe
Size: 815048 bytes (795 KiB)
SHA256: 4EB5DADFA86CCFFE209A050E20A526BEEB7C3A116229CF0465DE4278B3875080

C:\app\archiver\7zip\7z.exe l "C:\app\os\sdk\Debuggers\x64\usbview.exe" | findstr CPU
o CPU = x64

C:\app\os\sysinternals\sigcheck.exe "C:\app\os\sdk\Debuggers\x64\usbview.exe" | findstr MachineType
o MachineType: 64-bit

2. This is the 32-bit binary from the Microsoft SDK:
<https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/windows-10-sdk/>

Name: usbview.exe
Size: 676808 bytes (660 KiB)
SHA256: 5240369DE615B076F7DE548523CDDA51D720078D130985B177E00F3C05C4EB96

C:\app\archiver\7zip\7z.exe l "C:\app\os\sdk\Debuggers\x86\usbview.exe" | findstr CPU
o CPU = x86

C:\app\os\sysinternals\sigcheck.exe "C:\app\os\sdk\Debuggers\x86\usbview.exe" | findstr MachineType
o MachineType: 32-bit

3. This is the result from your helpful activesilicon suggestion:
<https://www.activesilicon.com/wp-content/uploads/USB-devices-browser-Microsoft.zip>

Name: usbview.exe
Size: 823848 bytes (804 KiB)
SHA256: 82EBF5D101EB1E0E9C59C83EB75B70F63E3FB45CD8621E9CB62C5BE46E758762

C:\app\archiver\7zip\7z.exe l "C:\tmp\activesilicon\usbview.exe" | findstr CPU
o CPU = x64

C:\app\os\sysinternals\sigcheck.exe "C:\tmp\activesilicon\usbview.exe" | findstr MachineType
o MachineType: 64-bit

4. This is the result from your helpful ftdichip suggestion:
<https://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Utilities/usbview.zip>

Name: usbview.exe
Size: 84808 bytes (82 KiB)
SHA256: 5D6AC13598E825D92D872601CB46F0BAA9E0F171E38FE14FE1248A1FF366C289

C:\app\archiver\7zip\7z.exe l "C:\tmp\ftdichip\usbview.exe" | findstr CPU
o CPU = x86

C:\app\os\sysinternals\sigcheck.exe "C:\tmp\ftdichip\usbview\usbview.exe" | findstr MachineType
o MachineType: 32-bit
--
Doublecheck by right-clicking on the exe > "Properties" > "Compatibility"
Temporarily check the Compatibility Mode option of [x]Run this program in compatibility mode for:
[Windows Vista] <== if this is the first entry, then your executable is 64-bit
[Windows Vista (Service Pack 1)
[Windows Vista (Service Pack 2)
[Windows 7]
[Windows 8]

Note: If Windows XP is on the list, then your executable is 32-bit,
where you will likely also see even older Windows versions listed:
[Windows 95]
[Windows 98 / Windows Me]
[Windows XP (Service Pack 2)
[Windows XP (Service Pack 3)

[Arlen Holder]

Microsoft usbview.exe superceded by
Microsoft uvcview2.exe (Win7 SDK) superceded by
https://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtreeview_e.html
The latter preferred because you can actually find it
when you need a copy. Has added USB3 functions.
The usbview has an obvious name.
The UVC stands for USB Video Class, which is a standard class
driver for webcam like devices. But it just continues to display
config space information like the other one.

Hi Paul,

Even though I had never heard of this "usbview" utility until now...

You convinced me that your suggested USBview is _better_ than the MS one!
o Thank you for being purposefully helpful in your suggestions & advice.

One test alone was sufficient for you to make me into a believer:
<Loading Image...>
a. The Sieber USBview provides far more useful readable output
b. Than does the Microsoft USBview from which it's based upon

For one example, the drive letter of the USB stick is clearly shown
o Where, in the Microsoft USBview, the drive letter is not clearly shown

I should clarify that when I was seeking a solution to the now solved
"Win+R > syslog" problem set, I was "hoping" this previously unknown-to-me
Microsoft usbview tool would have allowed me to use it on the command line,
to identify the USB drive containing the syslog.txt file for each PC.

Since your Sieber usbview works from the command line, it might identify
the USB drive letter based on either the volume name or a filespec.

Downloading your helpfully suggested "USB Device Tree Viewer V3.4.0"
<https://www.uwe-sieber.de/files/UsbTreeView_x64.zip>
Name: UsbTreeView.exe
Size: 608128 bytes (593 KiB)
SHA256: EE4CD7994A74BE955BDD1F2612960C68685C3CF4FEAAB6F787DC619E9AD6C0F5

The readme contains useful information which may be of use in a batch
file to identify the USB stick volume and/or filespec to the sylog file.

UsbTreeView [/R=filename] [/X=filename] [/O=filename] [/L[n]=logfile]

/R=filename write (silently) a text report to filename
/X=filename write (silently) an XML report to filename
/O=filename open an XML report from filename
/L[n]=logfile write a logfile for debugging
n is the optional loglevel, default is 3, max is 5;
sample: /L4=C:\temp\UsbTreeView.log

One thing I instantly see about this Sieber usbview versus the native
Microsoft usbview is that the drive letter of the USB stick is reported.
<https://i.postimg.cc/2SSN3bKR/usbview01.jpg>

Thank you for your purposefully helpful useful technical advice.

[Libor Striz]

Hi Paul,Even though I had never heard of this "usbview" utility until now... You convinced me that your suggested USBview is _better_ than the MS one!o Thank you for being purposefully helpful in your suggestions & advice.

Just for completeness, for case if you are not aware of Nirsoft
USBDeview:

https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html

[Arlen Holder]

Post by Libor Striz
Just for completeness, for case if you are not aware of Nirsoft
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html

Hi Poutnik,
I generally see you over on the Android newsgroups.
o Good to see you here (you've helped a lot on mapping programs).

I downloaded the nirsoft USBDevView utility:
Name: USBDeview.exe
Size: 189816 bytes (185 KiB)
SHA256: 0C93E5C815BA258750CE4762A4CDB8FA746B05D525BD463ED6DBE243CD790FB2

Running it and comparing to the Microsoft and the Sieber usbview, this
Nirsoft utility is the same but different in a whole bunch of ways.

It presents the USB data in a columnar fashion, one row per USB device,
where my USB stick in question showed up as a named drive letter, a given
serial number, etc.

One nice feature appears to be you can easily right click and change a
drive letter (if you ran the tool as an administrator), which could be
useful for those who write shell scripts which require a static mount
point.

Thanks for that pointer.

[wasbit]

Post by Libor Striz

Hi Paul,Even though I had never heard of this "usbview" utility until
now... You convinced me that your suggested USBview is _better_ than the
MS one!o Thank you for being purposefully helpful in your suggestions &
advice.

Just for completeness, for case if you are not aware of Nirsoft
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html

Also USB log view

"USBLogView is a small utility that runs in the background and records the
details of any USB device that is plugged or unplugged into your system. For
every log line created by USBLogView, the following information is
displayed: Event Type (Plug/Unplug), Event Time, Device Name, Description,
Device Type, Drive Letter (For storage devices), Serial Number (Only for
some types of devices), Vendor ID, Product ID, Vendor Name, Product Name,
and more...

You can easily select one or more log records and then export them into
csv/tab-delimited/xml/html file. "

- https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_log_view.html

[wasbit]

Post by Arlen Holder
How to obtain the USBview.exe tool to view details about Windows hardware USB ports
For those who are super semantically inclined, technically this isn't
freeware so much as a "free tool" (if you already have Microsoft Windows).
As always, please improve if you can, so that all benefit from every action.
<https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/windows-10-sdk/>
2. Click on the [DOWNLOAD THE INSTALLER] button on that page.
That will download the Windows SDK tools installer, version 10.0.19041.1
Name: winsdksetup.exe
Size: 1354464 bytes (1322 KiB)
D53F651370F87484B78622E30DFB1A41920B501E4041035771C0D785561F47D5
Page1: Specify Location (Browse to any location you like) > [Next]
Page2: Windows Kits Privacy (Send anonymous usage data = no) > [Next]
Page3: License Agreement > [Accept]
Page4: Select the features you want to install > [Install]
[_]Windows Performance Toolkit
[x]Debugging Tools for Windows (449.3MB)
[_]Application Verifier For Windows
[_].NET Framework 4.8 Software Development Kit
[_]Windows App Certification Kit
[_]Windows IP Over USB
[_]MSI Tools
[_]Windows SDK Signing Tools for Desktop Apps
[_]Windows SDK for UWP Managed Apps
[_]Windows SDK for UWP C++ Apps
[_]Windows SDK for UWP Appls Localization
[_]Windows SDK for Desktop C++ x86 Apps
[_]Windows SDK for Desktop C++ amd64 Apps
[_]Windows SDK for Desktop C++ arm Apps
[_]Windows SDK for Desktop C++ arm64 Apps
C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Debuggers\x64\usbview.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Debuggers\x64\usbview.exe.config
(The config is so that the usbview.exe works without .NET 3.5 appaently.)
5. Copy those two files to where you feel they should belong, e.g.,
c:\app\os\windows_sdk\usbview.exe
c:\app\os\windows_sdk\usbview.exe.config
You are copying them because they're the only files you really wanted
for the purpose of running the Microsoft Windows USB File Viewer tool.
Win+R > control > [View by: Category] > Programs > uninstall a program
[Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit - Windows 10]
[Windows Software Development Kit - Windows 10.0.1904.1]
7. Doubleclick on the "usbview.exe" USB Device Viewer where you may be
surprised at how many USB ports show up (many you don't normally see).
The reason that there are so many items in the tree is that USB ports
need to be able to support multiple USB versions.
<https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/usbcon/>
The tree shows which ports have devices connected and which don't.
a. Ports with connected devices show a blue and red USB icon.
b. Ports not currently in use show a blue USB icon.
c. Adjacent to the ports in use is a generic name on the right.
8. You can click around to "explore" the USB map of your computer.
For example, plug and unplug a USB stick & watch what changes.
In short, the Microsoft Windows USB File Viewer (usbview.exe) is a
neat tool for exploring all the USB ports on your Windows PC.
o What solution do you use to figure out what USB drive letter in a
Windows scripted command?
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.msdos.batch/fjxhOsMvJkY>

I presume this is the same one
- https://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Utilities.htm#MicrosoftUSBView

[Arlen Holder]

Post by wasbit
I presume this is the same one
- https://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Utilities.htm#MicrosoftUSBView

Hi wasbit,

Thanks for the purposefully helpful suggestions on replacing the Microsoft
USB viewer (which, it turns out, stinks compared to the alternatives).

While all these USB GUI debuggers are new to me as of yesterday & today, I
downloaded all the ones suggested so far, and each hash is _different_.
o Also, the GUIs & data reported in the ones I've tested are _different_.

Interestingly though, I was able to debug a hardware problem using them.

In an attempt at assessing which of the two is most useful for my needs, I
was monitoring USB comings and goings using the Nirsoft USBDeview utility
Poutnik suggested alongside the Sieber USBTreeView utility Paul suggested.

My goal was to use them for a day or two, and choose the one I like best.

On one monitor I had both Nirsoft USBDeview & Sieber USBTreeView running,
and wouldn't you know it. At some point in time, I heard the classic USB
disconnect and then re-connect sounds, and glanced at the USB viewers.

In Paul's suggested Sieber USBTreeView, the line for the USB mouse was
green, and no other line seemed highlighted. So it's the USB mouse!
o <Loading Image...>

Note: At first, I only saw the green because I missed the red, but when I
tested it by pulling out the cord, it goes red first and then green when
reconnected and then within a second or so, it goes back to transparent.

That's a neat hardware debugging tool for intermittent USB disconnects!

Given that works so well, if you have an intermittent issue with USB
devices disconnecting momentarily, then I would suggest keeping Paul's
suggested Sieber USBTreeView running, so that, when it happens, you can
visually see which device is disconnecting and then reconnecting.
o <https://i.postimg.cc/rmCXCgN2/usbview02.jpg>

[wasbit]

snip <
<
I presume this is the same one
- https://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Utilities.htm#MicrosoftUSBView

Same as MikeS posted earlier. Oops!

--
Regards
wasbit