How to identify what device was plugged into the USB slot?

Question

I want to detect when the user plugs in or removes a USB sound card. I've managed to actually catch the event when this happens, but I can't tell what just got plugged in.

I tried an approach based on this question:

string query =
    "SELECT * FROM __InstanceCreationEvent " +
    "WITHIN 2 "
  + "WHERE TargetInstance ISA 'Win32_PnPEntity'";
var watcher = new ManagementEventWatcher(query);
watcher.EventArrived += new EventArrivedEventHandler(watcher_EventArrived);
watcher.Start();

While I get the notifications via the EventArrived event, I have no idea how to determine the actual name of the device that just got plugged in. I've gone through every property and couldn't make heads or tails out of it.

I also tried a different query:

var query = new WqlEventQuery("SELECT * FROM Win32_DeviceChangeEvent where EventType = 1 or EventType = 2");
var watcher = new ManagementEventWatcher(query);
watcher.EventArrived += watcher_EventArrived;
watcher.Stopped += watcher_Stopped;
watcher.Query = query;
watcher.Start();

but also to no avail. Is there a way to find the name of the device that got plugged in or removed.

The bottom line is that I'd like to know when a USB sound card is plugged in or removed from the system. It should work on Windows 7 and Vista (though I will settle for Win7 only).

EDIT: Based on the suggestions by the winning submitter, I've created a full solution that wraps all the functionality.

What about using the RegisterDeviceNotification event? used in this library for example: https://code.google.com/p/winusbnet/ — Simon Mourier, May 26 '13 at 17:09
@SimonMourier This library seems to be more for communicating with USB devices rather than detecting them. I don't see any examples that show how to detect devices, nor do I see anything in the API that lends itself to this purpose. — AngryHacker, May 28 '13 at 16:50

Simon Mourier · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-29T07:04:38.103

13

If I use your first code, I can define my event like this:

    // define USB class guid (from devguid.h)
    static readonly Guid GUID_DEVCLASS_USB = new Guid("{36fc9e60-c465-11cf-8056-444553540000}");

    static void watcher_EventArrived(object sender, EventArrivedEventArgs e)
    {
        ManagementBaseObject instance = (ManagementBaseObject )e.NewEvent["TargetInstance"];
        if (new Guid((string)instance["ClassGuid"]) == GUID_DEVCLASS_USB)
        {
            // we're only interested by USB devices, dump all props
            foreach (var property in instance.Properties)
            {
                Console.WriteLine(property.Name + " = " + property.Value);
            }
        }
    }

And this will dump something like this:

Availability =
Caption = USB Mass Storage Device
ClassGuid = {36fc9e60-c465-11cf-8056-444553540000}
CompatibleID = System.String[]
ConfigManagerErrorCode = 0
ConfigManagerUserConfig = False
CreationClassName = Win32_PnPEntity
Description = USB Mass Storage Device
DeviceID = USB\VID_18A5&PID_0243\07072BE66DD78609
ErrorCleared =
ErrorDescription =
HardwareID = System.String[]
InstallDate =
LastErrorCode =
Manufacturer = Compatible USB storage device
Name = USB Mass Storage Device
PNPDeviceID = USB\VID_18A5&PID_0243\07072BE66DD78609
PowerManagementCapabilities =
PowerManagementSupported =
Service = USBSTOR
Status = OK
StatusInfo =
SystemCreationClassName = Win32_ComputerSystem
SystemName = KILROY_WAS_HERE

This should contain everything you need, including the device ID that you can get with something like instance["DeviceID"].

edited May 29 '13 at 07:04

answered May 28 '13 at 13:31

Simon Mourier

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The deviceID is fine and good, but how do I get the name of the actual device, e.g. `Sennheiser USB headset`. – AngryHacker May 28 '13 at 16:54
Have you tried running that code without the GUID_DEVCLASS_USB check I've put there? It may be identified as another type (class) of device. Plugging a USB drive for example may raise many events (USB device, Hard disk, Volume, etc.) – Simon Mourier May 28 '13 at 16:58
Yes, I have, but I face the same problem: it gives me everything except the actual device name. – AngryHacker May 28 '13 at 17:16
I see a fellow JC Hutchins fan :) – AngryHacker May 28 '13 at 17:44
Ok, I got it halfways through. Instead of `GUID_DEVCLASS_USB`, I filtered on `GUID_DEVCLASS_MEDIA` ({4D36E96C-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}) and that did the trick. Now, the only remaining piece is to detect when the device is unplugged. – AngryHacker May 28 '13 at 17:48
For that, you need to monitor on __InstanceOperationEvent, not just __InstanceCreationEvent, you will get creation, deletion and modification events in the same sink. PS: actually, I'm more a Tex Avery fan http://www.kilroywashere.org/01-Images/MattThKilroy/Page4/KilroyWasHereSardineTin.jpg :-) – Simon Mourier May 29 '13 at 07:04
That did the trick, except it was the __InstanceDeletionEvent. Full solution is at http://pastebin.com/amLAHuEa – AngryHacker May 29 '13 at 18:05
Even with GUID_DEVCLASS_USB it the code developed by AngryHacker is able to detect the name of the USB drive.Does that means all the USB devices' insertion/removal will be detected by this piece of code.I tried with following devices : USB Hub : -> it shows it as USB 2.0 hub, for USB drive : -> It shows Name of the USB manufacturer HP pen-drive , for USB Keyboard Dongle -> it gives name as Composite Device ,But it never gives removal events for first and last device.Any comments – Raulp Mar 27 '14 at 07:32
For me everything works but the filtering of the `"ClassGuid"`. I get a `System.Management.ManagementException` which says the property is not found. I am using a USB Flash drive, but it doesn't work for other devices as well (i.e. a keyboard or mouse). – Micah Vertal Nov 24 '16 at 18:44

Odrai · Answer 2 · 2017-12-08T19:33:27.153

EDIT 1: Oh is see that it is not a USB storage device but only a USB device. I will look for another solution.

Two links that describe the same problem:

http://hintdesk.com/c-catch-usb-plug-and-unplug-event/

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/wpf/thread/37123526-83fa-4e96-a767-715fe225bf28/

if (e.NewEvent.ClassPath.ClassName == "__InstanceCreationEvent")
{
    Console.WriteLine("USB was plugged in");
    //Get disk letter
    foreach (ManagementObject partition in new ManagementObjectSearcher(
"ASSOCIATORS OF {Win32_DiskDrive.DeviceID='" + mbo.Properties["DeviceID"].Value
+ "'} WHERE AssocClass = Win32_DiskDriveToDiskPartition").Get())
    {
        foreach (ManagementObject disk in new ManagementObjectSearcher(
                    "ASSOCIATORS OF {Win32_DiskPartition.DeviceID='"
                        + partition["DeviceID"]
                        + "'} WHERE AssocClass = Win32_LogicalDiskToPartition").Get())
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Disk=" + disk["Name"]);
        }
    }
}

score 2 · Answer 3 · edited May 29 '14 at 17:25

When I tried @AngryHacker solution, I noticed that the DeviceChangedEventArgs class did not ever get called, though. I removed it and just added Console.WriteLines() in the watcher_eventArrived methods.

Besides the deletion of the DeviceChangedEventArgs, here are my changes:

 (at line 46 in EstablishedWatchEvents)
 // setup the query to monitor removal
const string qryRemoval = "SELECT *" +  "FROM __InstanceDeletionEvent "
             + "WITHIN 2 " + "WHERE TargetInstance ISA 'Win32_PnPEntity' ";

 #region Events

 private void insertWatcher_EventArrived(object sender, EventArrivedEventArgs e)
 {

     var mbo = (ManagementBaseObject) e.NewEvent["TargetInstance"];
     if (new Guid((string) mbo["ClassGuid"]) == GUID_DEVCLASS_USB)
     {
         var deviceName = (string) mbo["Name"];
         Console.WriteLine(deviceName + " was inserted");

     }
 }

 private void removeWatcher_EventArrived(object sender, EventArrivedEventArgs e)
 {

     var mbo = (ManagementBaseObject)e.NewEvent["TargetInstance"];

     if (new Guid((string)mbo["ClassGuid"]) == GUID_DEVCLASS_USB)
     {
         var deviceName = (string)mbo["Name"];
         Console.WriteLine(deviceName + " was removed");
     }
 }

 #endregion

How to identify what device was plugged into the USB slot?

3 Answers3