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day45

On Linux, getting details about the USB devices connected to your computer is as simple as typing lsusb. If you want even more info, like what kernel driver is being used, you can use usb-devices.

On MacOS, things are a little bit more complicated. You can open System Information and look under USB, or you can type system_profiler SPUSBDataType.

On Windows, it's a bit of a nightmare. Sure, you can open Device Manager if you're just looking for some USB product ID and vendor ID details, but what if you want to list all the details of all the USB devices connected? The official Microsoft advice is to:

  • Download and install the Windows SDK
  • During the installation, select only the Debugging Tools for Windows box and clear all other boxes.
  • Navigate to the right directory (probably C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Debuggers\x64) and then select USBView.exe to start the utility.

I’m publishing this as part of 100 Days To Offload. You can join in yourself by visiting https://100daystooffload.com.

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