Installing drivers in Windows: Drivers are software program components which are installed and used by the Windows operating system to enable communication with, and control of, an installed piece of hardware. All of the hardware devices in a computer, including the CD-ROM drive, video card, sound card, motherboard components, etc. are controlled by drivers. Windows has many built in drivers for the most common pieces of hardware. Most newer pieces of hardware come with driver disks that need to be installed in Windows once the hardware is physically added to the computer. Driver installation disks often run automatically when inserted into a machine, and contain directions to guide you through the installation. If your drivers are not installed automatically, you can view, change, and manipulate the list of software drivers installed on your machine by clicking on START -> Settings -> Control Panel -> System -> Device manager. Items marked by a yellow question mark or yellow exclamation point need to have drivers installed. Double click on the device marked by yellow, Click on the "DRIVER" tab above, and then on "update driver". Click on the selection to search for a new driver (the "recommended" option) -> insert the CD or driver disk that came with the hardware, click "NEXT", and browse for the .inf file (“(something).inf”) that is highlighted on the driver disk. Directions for this procedure vary slightly between every hardware device, and the specific directions for the location and installation of your hardware drivers typically can be found on an accompanying manual or cd jacket in the manufacturer's box. Below are videos demonstrating typical procedures for installing a Windows device driver, from the device manager, as described above.
VIDEO: Installing modem drivers, Video driver install and display setup (with driver setup program)
When you install a new piece of hardware, you will receive a "new device found" prompt when the computer is started back up. This allows you to insert the disk and easily install the device drivers for your new hardware without having to go through the device manager.
If your hardware does not receive a "new device found" prompt, and if it is not listed in the device manager, you can have the operating system try to automatically detect it and install drivers by clicking on START -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Add New Hardware
If you have a used piece of equipment without driver disks, or if you have lost the driver disks for a piece of hardware, you can usually download replacement copies of the software from the manufacturer's web site. Look under the "service" and "support" headings of your manufacturer's web site. A great resource to find drivers for virtually any hardware component can be found at www.windrivers.com. There, you can search for the specific brand and model of hardware you own, and find direct links to download and install those drivers on your computer.
