Installing a new device requires both new hardware and new software. The steps you take depend on the device's Plug and Play status and whether Windows has an appropriate driver on hand.
Updating Windows XP" in Chapter 19.
After hardware installation, Windowsor the device maker's instructionsmay ask you to restart your computer.
You must be an Administrator to install hardware. See "Setting up User Accounts" in Chapter 16.
To install a new device:
1. Run the device's setup program (if any).
Many new devices come with a Setup CD or floppy that includes driver files. Run this program
before you connect the device so that Windows can copy the drivers to your hard drive and have them handy for the next steps.
2. Connect the device to your PC, as described in the preceding section.
On the Windows desktop, one of the following three things will happen:
A Found New Hardware pop-up message appears (Figure 8.1 ), meaning that Windows has installed the appropriate driver for your Plug and Play hardware. You're done.
When Windows searches for a driver, it's actually looking for an information (.inf) file, which lists the driver files to use and registry entries to make. Windows veterans may recognize that .inf files and Windows 9
x initialization (.ini) files are quite similar. But .inf settings are subtler than .ini settings. Never edit an .inf file to try to solve your driver problems.
Hardware setup software can include an .inf file; a .sys file (the actual driver); and subordinate library (.dll), help (.hlp), Control Panel (.cpl), and web-page () files. Some device drivers are
only .inf files. A monitor, for example, may be set up by a single .inf file listing the valid resolutions, refresh rates, and other display settings.
The Found New Hardware Wizard appears (Figure 8.2 ), meaning that Windows detected the device but can't find an appropriate driver. Follow one of the "To install a device driver" procedures later in this section.
Windows does nothing, meaning that it didn't detect the device. See the next section, "Installing NonPlug and Play Hardware."
Tip
The driver packed with the hardware may turn on specific features that the Windows driver doesn't. If you want to use the manufacturer's unsigned driver instead of a signed driver included with Windows, follow "To install a device driver from a specific location" later in this section. (See also the later tips about unsigned drivers.)
To install a device driver from an installation CD or floppy:
1. Insert the device's setup disk into a drive.
2. On the Welcome page (refer to Figure 8.2), select the first option, Install the Software Automatically (Recommended); then click Next.
The wizard searches the CD, floppy disk, and all removable drives.
If the wizard finds one compatible driver, it installs the driver automatically. If it finds several compatible drivers, it lets you choose one from a list. If it can't find any compatible drivers, the wizard displays
To install a device driver downloaded from the internet:
1. On the Welcome page (refer to Figure 8.2), select the second option, Install from a List or Specific Location (Advanced); then click Next.
2. On the Search page (Figure 8.4 ), select the first option, Search for the Best Driver in These Locations.
3. Check Include This Location in the Search.
4. Type or browse to the location (full pathname) of the folder that contains the downloaded driver and information (.inf) files.
5. Click Next.
The wizard searches the specified location for the driver.
6. Follow the onscreen instructions.
Tip
A downloaded driver usually comes as a self-extracting executable (.exe) file or a compressed (.zip) file that you must decompress before installation. Look for setup instructions on the web page or, after unzipping, in a readme.txt file.
To install a device driver from a specific location:
1. On the Welcome page (refer to Figure 8.2), select the second option, Install from a List or Specific Location (Advanced); then click Next.
2. On the Search page (refer to Figure 8.4), select the second option, Don't Search, I Will Choose the Driver to Install; then click Next.
3. On the Hardware Type page, select the type of hardware that you're installing (Figure 8.5 ); then click Next.
If the device doesn't fit any entry in the list, select Show All Devices.
4. On the Select Device Driver page, choose a manufacturer and model (Figure 8.6 ); then click Next.
You're probably in this page, however, to install a driver that Windows
doesn't have. In that case, click Have Disk; type or browse to the location (full pathname) of the manufacturer's installation disk; then click Next.
5. Follow the onscreen instructions.
You may be asked to choose among several drivers, select settings or a port, or insert the Windows CD. When you click Finish, you may be prompted to restart your PC.
Tips
If Windows thinks that you've picked an incorrect driver, it displays an Update Driver Warning message (Figure 8.7 ).
unsigned driver, Windows displays
Figure 8.8 . A
signed driver is one that Microsoft has digitally stamped to certify that it works properly with Windows XP and that it hasn't been tampered with since its creation. Microsoft's driver-signing program combats the sloppily written, system-destabilizing, third-party drivers that plagued earlier Windows versions.
Windows uses the icon (
Unsigned drivers are adventures. They may work perfectly (particularly those that worked fine in Windows 2000), or they may cause system lockups and blue screens. To synchronize your driver security policy with your own degree of paranoia, choose Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > System > Hardware tab > Driver Signing (Figure 8.9 ).
Windows maintains its own list of drivers known to cause serious stability problems. XP's driver-protection feature refuses to install these drivers, regardless of your security policy. Windows warns you when such a driver is blocked (Figure 8.10 ).
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