Unknown Device With Location on Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System

Applies to
Motherboard Chipset Driver for Intel Smart Connect Technology.

Author
Intel

FileSize
21.07 MB

Description

Sometimes when you open the Device Manager window and you notice the entry "Other devices -> Unknown device" with a yellow exclamation mark, indication a lack of driver installed for the device.

Try to understand what device it is, you can double click on the entry and look under [General] and it says "Location: on Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System" and the device status is:

The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)
There is no driver selected for the device information set or element.

To find a driver for this device, click Update Driver. (this option usually do nothing useful, unfortunately)

Upon further reading, I found many users are facing same problem, and the culprit is the Intel Smart Connect Technology. Here is what Intel said about this tech:

With Intel® Smart Connect Technology,1 stay current with automatic, no-wait updates to your e-mail, social networks, news, and more. While your system is in standby, it will periodically wake up to update the applications that are open. When you return to your system and open the lid, the latest content will be at your fingertips.

It also enables your computer to send updates to the cloud if you create items while you’re away from a network connection—for example, if you write e-mail while on a plane. This way, everyone has your latest thoughts and you always have the freshest data ready to go whenever you are.

Intel Smart Connect Technology is available on Ultrabook™, all-in-one, and standard PCs powered by the 4th generation Intel® Core™ processor family.

Two solutions:

1. If you need to use the Smart Connect Technology function, you will have to download the driver either from your motherboard manufacturer or directly from Intel. Some users reported that the Intel Driver Auto updater will not be able to locate the driver correctly.
2. If you do not need to use this device, simply go in to the BIOS and disable it, or you can disable it inside Device Manager windows. Go to [Device -> Disable] and click to disable the selected devices.