Device drivers now give PCs the ability to
add a wide variety of devices to the system. A device
driver is software specially designed to enable the computer to "see"
the hardware or devices installed within the system. Such devices
include CD-ROM drives, hard drives, and expansion cards. They can also
include an external device such as a mouse or keyboard. Sometimes all
the problems following an installation of Windows OS are simply linked
to the absence of the appropriate device drivers. The device driver
not only allows the basic system to recognize the presence of a
device, but actually enables it to work with the device (or
interface). Although the process for installing devices/equipment and
their drivers in a PC has become increasingly easy, the technician
must still be able to install whatever drivers are necessary. There
are generally two ways to install a device driver to the computer:
- Auto-detect and install from Windows 98 stock drivers –
The new card or device should already be installed in the system
before this procedure is run. Take advantage of the Windows 98
drivers installation wizard to auto-detect and install the
hardware device. The Wizard is a program specially designed to
show a series of screens that guide the user through hardware
setup steps. Normally, the first user-selectable screen option is
to use the AutoDetect function.
Once the AutoDetect option is
selected, a hardware detection progress indicator bar at the
bottom of the monitor screen appears.
When it completes the
operation, the Wizard will publish which hardware Windows has
found that can be installed, and the installation can proceed.
However, if the Wizard does not detect the hardware, attempt to
locate the device in the wizard's list of supported devices.
- Using the OEM installation disk or CD – The Original Equipment
Manufacturer (OEM) is the vendor responsible for the
final packaging of computer hardware, including the drivers, for
the market place. The only other option for installing hardware
devices is to obtain an OEM disk or CD for the device that has the
drivers. Unfortunately, not all such driver disks have an Auto
Start function. There are usually two ways to proceed:
- Click the Have Disk button and supply the file location to
complete the installation process.
- Click Start and Run and Browse and locate the setup disk or
the CD and select the setup, or install program. After the
program is located and the path appears on the Run window, click
OK to start the driver installation. Readme.txt contains important
information and can be found on the floppy disk or CD.
The main advantage in using the OEM driver disk is that the
drivers are likely to be more current than those that are included
with the Windows setup files. Stock drivers (prepackaged
with the Windows 98 installation CD) may be outdated relative to
the current version of the device being installed. When the driver
installation is complete, the system must reboot to activate or
make the new changes take effect in a Windows 98 system. After
every hardware installation, it is important to update device
drivers to ensure maximum performance.
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Lab
Activity (PDF, 10 KB) |
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In this lab,
students will be able to install the driver for a rollerball mouse. The same process is used
when installing any new device on the system. |
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