C# get portable devices connected to PC

Question

I am trying to get all usb devices(including portable devices) on Windows 7 now I searched all over and didnt find a good answer.

I tried this code:

static void Main(string[] args)
{
    //
    // Get an instance of the device manager
    //
    PortableDeviceApiLib.PortableDeviceManagerClass devMgr
        = new PortableDeviceApiLib.PortableDeviceManagerClass();

    //
    // Probe for number of devices
    //
    uint cDevices = 1;
    devMgr.GetDevices(null, ref cDevices);

    //
    // Re-allocate if needed
    //
    if (cDevices > 0)
    {
        string[] deviceIDs = new string[cDevices];
        devMgr.GetDevices(deviceIDs, ref cDevices);

        for (int ndxDevices = 0; ndxDevices < cDevices; ndxDevices++)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Device[{0}]: {1}",
                    ndxDevices + 1, deviceIDs[ndxDevices]);
        }
    }
    else
    {
        Console.WriteLine("No WPD devices are present!");
    }
}

but i get this error:

interop type 'portabledeviceapilib.portabledevicemanagerclass' Cannot be embedded

Now im pretty stuck.

If you could help me with this code/ give me an idea what should i try, ill be happy

all I need is to get which type of USB got connected, if a phone is connected, or a mouse. i want to know what is connected.

Thanx Ahead

Answer 1

To expand on @CodeFox's answer, and in order to make his code ListDevices() work:

1. Download the NuGet package PortableDevices

2. Add references to these 4 COM libraries:

   • PortableDeviceClassExtension
   • PortableDeviceConnectApi
   • PortableDeviceTypes
   • PortableDeviceApi

3. Take the dll's under obj\Debug and put them into bin\Debug:

   • Interop.PortableDeviceClassExtension.dll
   • Interop.PortableDeviceConnectApiLib.dll
   • Interop.PortableDeviceTypesLib.dll
   • Interop.PortableDeviceApiLib.dll

---

Now you can use this function, although FriendlyName does not seem to be working (it returns an empty string):

    private IDictionary<string, string> GetDeviceIds()
    {
        var deviceIds = new Dictionary<string, string>();
        var devices = new PortableDeviceCollection();
        devices.Refresh();
        foreach (var device in devices)
        {
            device.Connect();
            deviceIds.Add(device.FriendlyName, device.DeviceId);
            Console.WriteLine(@"DeviceId: {0}, FriendlyName: {1}", device.DeviceId, device.FriendlyName);
            device.Disconnect();
        }
        return deviceIds;
    }

The next step for me is getting the contents from the device, which is done like so:

var contents = device.GetContents();

Answer 2

I am using the NuGet package PortableDevices (which is based on the tutorial by Christophe Geers).

Derived from part one of the tutorial:

public void ListDevices()
{
    var devices = new PortableDeviceCollection();
    devices.Refresh();

    foreach (var device in devices)
    {
        device.Connect();
        Console.WriteLine(@"DeviceId: {0}, FriendlyName: {1}", device.DeviceId, device.FriendlyName);
        device.Disconnect();
    }
}