If you have a look at the list of hardware in the Device Manager under Windows, you might notice an entry with "SM Bus-Controller" there. The question you will ask now is: What is an SM bus controller? And the next question might be: Why do I see a yellow question mark there? Here is the answer to these two important questions:
The SM bus controller is responsible for this:
The SM bus controller stands for system management, which means system administration. System data is exchanged by the chipset via this controller. These can be for example:
- Monitor voltage & temperature of the board
- Processor temperature
- Fan speed - Fan speed
- Displaying the Power Saving Mode Status
- display different types of errors
The SMB us is therefore used to provide system data.
What does a question mark or exclamation mark in front of the entry SM Bus Controller in the device manager mean?
Usually this means that you do not have the appropriate drivers installed or Windows does not recognize them. What you should do now is to go to your motherboard manufacturer's website and download the latest drivers for your board.
Usually the question mark in front of the SM bus controller has then disappeared in the device manager. You now know what the SM Bus-Controller is needed for and what a question mark or exclamation point in Windows means before the corresponding entry.
