Win detects majority hardware you install, but if Win doesn’t detect a device, you can run the Add Hardware Wizard to add the hardware manually. To run the Add Hardware Wizard, take the following steps:

1. Press Win Key+Break. Win displays a System window.

2. In the Tasks panel on the left, click the Device Manager link, & then authenticate yourself to User Account Control. Win displays a Device Manage window. For more detail on Device Manage, see the section “Opening Device Manage,” later in this article.

3. Click your Laptop’s name at the top of the tree, & then choose Action Add Legacy Hardware. You can also right-click your Laptop’s name & choose Add Legacy Hardware from the context menu. Device Manage launches the Add Hardware Wizard, which displays its Welcome to the Add Hardware Wizard screen, as shown here.

4. Click the Next button. The wizard displays the The Wizard Can aid You Install Other Hardware screen, as shown here, offering to search for the hardware.

5.Select the Install the Hardware that I Manually Select from a List option button.

6. Click the Next button. The wizard displays the From the List Below, Select the Type of Hardware You Are Installing page, as shown here.

7. In the Common Hardware Types list box, select the type of hardware you’re installing. If the device doesn’t fit any of the descriptions, select the Show All Devices item.

8. Click the Next button:

• If you chose the Show All Devices item, the wizard displays the Select the Device Driver You Want to Install for this Hardware page, as shown here.

• If you chose a specific type of hardware, the wizard displays a list of that type of device. The following illustration shows a list of infrared devices.

9. If Win has a driver for the device, select it by clicking the manufacturer in the Manufacturer list box & the device in the Model list box. If you have a new driver, click the Have Disk button & use the resulting Install from Disk dialog box to specify the location of the driver.

10. Click the Next button. The wizard displays the The Wizard Is Ready to Install Your Hardware page, listing the hardware that’s lined up for installation, as shown here.

11. Click the Next button. The wizard installs the hardware & displays the Completing the Add Hardware Wizard page.

12. Click the Finish button. The Add Hardware Wizard closes itself. The hardware should be ready for use.

Working with Hardware Drivers

Without a functional driver, Windows can’t use any piece of hardware. & using the wrong driver or a badly written driver can make Win unstable or even make it crash. Hardware manufacturers frequently release new versions of drivers for their hardware to improve performance, to banish bugs, or both. If you want to keep your hardware running to the best of its capacity, check the manufacturers’ sites & the Win Update site for updated drivers. In theory, Win Update should be able to supply you with the latest drivers for majority of your hardware. In practice, you can probably get the latest drivers more quickly by haunting the hardware manufacturers’ websites & newsgroups. To view, change, or uninstall the driver for a device, display the Driver page of the Properties dialog box for the device. The easiest way to display the Properties dialog box for the device is to go through Device Manage, which you will have met earlier in this article if you’ve been following along.

Opening Device Manage

To display the Device Manage window, take the following steps:

1. Press Win Key+Break. Win displays a System window.

2. In the Tasks panel on the left, click the Device Manage link, & then authenticate yourself to User Account Control. Win displays a Device Manage window .

Device Manager presents a categorized tree of the devices on the Laptop in its default view. Any device that isn’t working or has a problem is marked with an exclamation mark icon, like the RAID Controller and the Unknown Device that appear in the Other Devices category. When all is well with a category of device, Device Manager presents the category collapsed. You can change the view by displaying the View menu & choosing Devices by Type the default view, Devices by Connection, Resources by Type, or Resources by Connection from the menu. You can display hidden devices by choosing View Show Hidden Devices. If you leave Device Manage open while you plug in a hot-pluggable device, you may need to refresh the listing in Device Manage to make it list the device. To do so, click the Laptop’s entry at the top of the tree, & then choose Action Scan for Hardware Changes. To check or set properties for a device, double-click its entry in Device Manage or right-click the entry & choose Properties from the context menu. Win displays the Properties dialog box for the device.

Checking the Details of a Driver

The Driver page of the Properties dialog box for a device shows some details of the driver: the provider of the driver the company that supplied the driver to your Laptop, the date, the version, & the digital signer - the owner of the digital certificate applied to the driver. To display further information, click the Driver Details button. Win displays the Driver File Details dialog box, which displays further information: the filenames & paths of the driver files, the provider the company that originally provided the driver, the file version, the copyright information, & the digital signer again.

Updating a Driver

To update a driver, click the Update Driver Software Wizard on the Driver page of the Properties dialog box for the device. If you have a specific driver to install, follow the process explained in the section “Specifying a Driver Manually,” earlier in this article. If you’re just checking for a new driver on Win Update, click the Search Automatically for Updated Driver Software button.

Rolling Back a Driver

If a new driver you’ve installed doesn’t work, or doesn’t improve things, revert to the previous driver by using the driver rollback feature. To use the rollback feature, click the Roll Back Driver button on the Driver page of the Properties dialog box for the device.

Disabling a Device

If you want to stop using a device temporarily, you can disable it. For example, you might want to disable a device that you think is making Win unstable. To disable a device, right-click it in Device Manage, & then choose Disable from the context menu. Win displays a confirmation message box, such as that shown here. Click the Yes button. Win closes the message box & disables the device.

Uninstalling a Device

If you want to stop using a device permanently & remove it from your Laptop, uninstall it first. To do so, follow these steps:

1. In Device Manage, right-click the device, & then choose Uninstall from the context menu. Alternatively, display the Properties dialog box for the device, & then click the Uninstall button on the Driver page. Win displays the Confirm Device Uninstall dialog box, as shown here.

2. If you want to remove the device’s driver as well as the device, select the Delete the Driver Software for This Device check box. Normally, it’s best to leave the driver on your Laptop in case you install the device again, but if you’re sure you won’t reinstall it, you may want to reclaim the small amount of disk space the driver occupies.

3. Click the OK button. Win closes the dialog box & uninstalls the device.

Adding Specific Hardware Items

The following sections discuss considerations for adding particular hardware items that need configuration beyond the driver. Many hardware items do not. The easiest place to start configuring majority hardware items is Device Manage.