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Lesson 4: Installing, Managing, and Troubleshooting Devices

This lesson explains how to install, configure, and troubleshoot miscellaneous devices, including fax and mouse support.

After this lesson, you will be able to

• Configure and troubleshoot a fax device.
• Manage and troubleshoot I/O devices.

Estimated lesson time: 15 minutes

Configuring and Troubleshooting Fax Support

If you have a fax device, such as a fax modem installed, then Control Panel will have a Fax icon. You can use the Fax icon to add, monitor, and troubleshoot fax devices, including fax modems and fax printers. Double-click the Fax icon, and then select the Advanced Options tab.

NOTE

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The Advanced Options tab appears only if you are logged on as Administrator or have administrator privileges.

The following three selections are available on the Advanced Options page:

• Open Fax Service Management Console. This option allows you to view any fax devices you have installed and to change any properties for any of these devices.
• Open Fax Services Management Help. This option allows you to start a Help session for the Open Fax Services Management Console.
• Add A Fax Printer. This option allows you to install a fax printer.

Using the Fax Service Management window, you can administer fax support on your local computer or on other computers on your network. By default, you are set up to send a fax, not to receive a fax. The functionality of the Fax Service Management console includes the following:

• Setting up your fax devices to receive faxes
• Changing security permissions for users
• Changing the number of rings before a fax device answers a fax receive
• Configuring the number of retries before a fax terminates a fax send
• Configuring where to store sent and received faxes

The Open Fax Services Management Help option provides online Help for the Fax Service Management console. You can use the third option, Add A Fax Printer, to install a fax printer. The newly installed fax printer is added to the Printers folder.

Faxing a Document

You can use any Windows-based application that contains a Print command to fax a document. Click File and then click Print to open the Print dialog box. Select the fax printer, and then click Print to open the Send Fax wizard. The wizard will guide you through any configuration and help you send the fax.

Monitoring a Fax

Open Fax in Control Panel and select the Status Monitor tab. Ensure that Display The Status Monitor is selected and click OK. This option displays the Fax Monitor dialog box automatically when a fax is sent or a call is received. The Fax Monitor dialog box allows you to view details of the fax being sent—for example, whether the fax is actually being sent or whether the system is still dialing and trying to establish a connection. The Fax dialog box also allows you to easily end a fax call.

Managing and Troubleshooting I/O Devices

The list of devices that you can install is too long to include in this book. However, this section includes some of the more common devices you can install as well as how they are installed, configured, and managed.

Scanners and Cameras

Most scanners and cameras are Plug and Play devices, and Windows 2000 will install them automatically when you connect them to your computer. If they aren't installed automatically when you connect your computer, or if they aren't Plug and Play compatible, use the Scanner And Camera Installation wizard. To open this wizard, double-click Scanners And Cameras in Control Panel, and then click Add.

To configure a scanner or a camera, double-click Scanners And Cameras in Control Panel to open the Scanners And Cameras Properties dialog box, select the appropriate device, and then click Properties. To give you a configuration example, the standard color profile for Integrated Color Management (ICM2) is RGB, but you can add, remove, or select an alternate color profile for a device. To change the color profile, click the Color Management tab. If you are having problems with your scanner or camera, click Troubleshoot in the Scanners And Cameras Properties dialog box.

Mouse Devices

Double-click the Mouse icon in Control Panel to open the Mouse Properties dialog box, which you can use to configure and troubleshoot your mouse. The Buttons tab allows you to configure your Mouse for a lefthanded or righthanded user. It also allows you to configure your mouse so that a single mouse click either selects an item or opens an item. You can also use this tab to control the double-click speed of your mouse.

The Pointers tab allows you to select or create a custom scheme for your pointer. The Motion tab allows you to adjust the speed and acceleration of your pointer and to set Snap To Default, which moves the pointer automatically to the default button in dialog boxes. The Hardware tab allows you to access the troubleshooter and advanced configuration for your mouse's port. Advanced configuration also includes uninstalling or updating your driver, viewing or changing the resources allocated to your mouse, and increasing or decreasing the sensitivity of your mouse by varying the sample rate, which changes how often Windows 2000 determines the position of your mouse.

Modems

To install or configure a modem, double-click Phone And Modem Options in Control Panel, and select the Modems tab. To configure an installed modem, select the modem from the list of installed modems and click Properties. Select the appropriate tab for the configuration changes you want to make. For example, select the General tab to set the maximum port speed, and select the Wait For Dial Tone Before Dialing check box if you want the modem to wait for a dial tone before dialing in to another computer. The Diagnostics tab helps you to troubleshoot the modem. If you want to add a modem, click Add to start the Add/Remove Hardware wizard, which will step you through the process of installing a modem. For additional information on the Add/Remove Hardware wizard, see Chapter 4, "Using Windows Control Panel."

Universal Serial Bus Devices

To install a USB device, for example, a USB game controller, attach the USB game controller to a USB port. If a USB device doesn't install properly, in Device Manager, look under Human Interface Devices. If the controller isn't listed, then check to make sure that USB is enabled in BIOS. When prompted during system startup, enter BIOS setup and enable USB. If USB is enabled in BIOS, contact the maker or vendor for your computer and obtain the current version of BIOS.

To configure the controller, select it in Device Manager and then right-click it and select Properties. In Device Status, a message will describe any problems and suggest what action you can take. You might also need to check the USB port entry in Device Manager. Click Universal Serial Bus controllers, right-click USB Hub, and then click Properties.

IrDA Devices and Wireless Devices

Most Internal IrDA devices should be installed by Windows 2000 Setup, or once you start Windows 2000 after adding one of these devices. If you attach an IrDA transceiver to a serial port, you must install it using the Add/Remove Hardware wizard. For additional information on the Add/Remove Hardware wizard, see Chapter 4, "Using Windows Control Panel."

To configure an IrDA device, in Control Panel, click Wireless Link. On the Hardware tab, click the device you want to configure and then click Properties.

Keyboards

To configure your keyboard, double-click Keyboards in Control Panel. On the Input Locales tab, you can add and remove locales and control the hot keys to switch between locales.

NOTE

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The icons you see in Control Panel will depend on the devices you have installed.

Lesson Summary

In this lesson you learned that you can use the Fax program in Control Panel, if you have a fax device installed, to add, monitor, and troubleshoot fax devices, including fax modems and fax printers. By default, you are set up to send a fax, but not to receive a fax. You also learned that you can use the Fax Service Management window to administer fax support on your local computer or on other computers on your network, including setting up fax devices to receive faxes, changing security permissions for users, configuring where to store sent and received faxes, and other settings. You also learned that you can use any Windows-based application that contains a Print command to fax a document. Generally, this involves using a Send Fax wizard that guides you through any configuration settings and helps you send the fax.

You also learned how to install, configure, and manage some of the more common devices that may be connected to your system, including: scanners and cameras, mouse devices, modems, USB devices, IrDA devices, wireless devices, and keyboards.