CAC reader does not appear under Smart card readers in Device Manager

windows

Symptoms

Reader is plugged in but missing entirely from Device Manager, or shows as an unknown device.

Likely cause

Windows did not auto-install a driver - common with older SCR-331 / SCR-3310 v1 units.

Fix

1. Right-click the Windows logo > Device Manager. 2. Find the reader under Smart card readers or under Other devices / Unknown devices. 3. Right-click it > Uninstall device. 4. Unplug the reader, wait 10 seconds, plug it back in - Windows should re-detect. 5. If it still fails, download the model-specific driver from militarycac.com/usbreaders.htm (or keyboards.htm / desktopreaders.htm). 6. Extract the zip. 7. In Device Manager, right-click the reader > Update driver > Browse my computer > point to the extracted folder.

Sourced from militarycac.com. Rewritten for clarity.

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