How to identify correct Windows driver for generic wifi dongle

Question

My intuition tells me someone, somewhere, must have answered this question before. Searching around I have not found it.

I have a freshly installed Windows 7 box (upgraded to Windows 10 to get the machine made eligible, now reinstalling). I have a cheap wifi dongle. I do not know the manufacturer, nor where the driver dvd is. Plugged into the machine running Linux, it just works. It is small, black, and has 802.11n printed on it in white writing, and there are no other identifying markers. (For reference, it looks a bit like one of these: http://www.dhgate.com/product/1pcs-mini-usb-wifi-adapter-802-11-bgn-wi/250459680.html )

How, in general, in Windows 7, do I identify the correct driver, and how to I obtain the correct driver?

Answer 1

Found it, ironically shortly after posting this question in frustration.

1. Go to Windows Device Manager (right click on Computer in start menu, select Properties, then select Device Manager on left pane).
2. Find the device in Other Devices, then select Properties
3. Go to details pane, select Hardware Ids from the property dropdown.
4. You will see, eg USB\\VID_148F&PID_5370&REV_0101 -- take this string and put it into google, or another search engine.

That gives you a good chance of finding something. I found a .cab file via devid.info, copied it to the machine, extracted all the files to a folder, then in the Device Manager right click on the unknown device, click Update Driver Software, select the option to browse your machine, and point it to the folder you unpacked the drivers to.