This article discusses how to install hardware on your computer and how to install, update, and roll back device drivers - the software that makes hardware function. It covers concerns for particular types of hardware and also shows how to configure power management on your computer. Windows greatly simplifies the software end of the process of adding hardware. If the hardware is hot pluggable, Windows tries to locate and load the correct driver automatically. If Windows can’t find a driver, you can use the Found New Hardware Wizard to provide the driver. If Windows can’t find the hardware, you can use the Add Hardware Wizard to show Windows what the hardware is. Other articles discuss specific types of hardware. Article 12 discusses how to install, configure, and manage printers. Article 23 discusses how to install, configure, and use scanners and digital cameras. Article 25 discusses how to install, configure, and use games controllers.

Finding Out What Hardware You Can Use with Windows

To use computer hardware with Windows, you need the right driver - a piece of software that enables a hardware device and Windows to communicate with each other. Windows supports a wide range of hardware right out of the box and includes compatibility-tested drivers for many products. Windows can automatically download drivers for other devices, such as drivers that have been released since Windows itself was released. By using the Windows Update feature to keep your copy of Windows up to date, and by downloading new drivers from hardware manufacturers’ websites as necessary, you can also add the latest hardware to Windows. The devices you’re more likely to have problems with are legacy devices more than a few years old, particularly those from smaller companies or from companies that have gone out of business. To check whether a hardware item is compatible with Windows, follow these steps:

1. Choose Start Help and Support. Windows opens a Help and Support window.

2. Click the Troubleshooting link. Help and Support displays the Troubleshooting in Windows screen.

3. In the Hardware and Drivers section, click the Windows Vista Upgrade Adviser link. Help and Support opens a browser window to the Windows Vista Upgrade Adviser page on the Microsoft website, where you can check whether your hardware is compatible with Windows Vista.

Using Hot-Pluggable Devices

Hardware devices that use USB, FireWire, and PC Card PCMCIA connections are usually hot pluggable - you can plug in and unplug the device while Windows is running without any adverse effects. Windows automatically loads and unloads drivers for hot-pluggable devices as needed. To install a hot-pluggable device for the first time, you must either be an Administrator or if you’re a Standard user or a Guest user provide an Administrator password. Once Windows has successfully installed the driver for the device, any user can plug the device in and use it.

Installing a Hot-Pluggable Device

When you plug in a hot-pluggable device for the first time, Windows displays a pop-up from the notification area to let you know that it has noticed the device, as shown here.Windows then automatically looks for a driver to let Windows and the device communicate with each other. It first checks in its driver cache, which contains a wide variety of preinstalled drivers. If it doesn’t find a driver there, and if your computer is connected to the Internet, it checks the Windows Update site for a driver for the device; if it finds a driver, it downloads it and installs it. If Windows is able to find a suitable driver in either the driver cache or Windows Update, it installs the driver, displaying a pop-up identifying the device as it does so, as in this example.

When the driver is installed and working, Windows displays a pop-up telling you that the hardware is ready to use, as shown here. If Windows can’t find a driver for the device, it starts the Found New Hardware Wizard, so that you can supply the driver for the device manually. See the section “Providing a Driver with the Found New Hardware Wizard,” later in this article, for a walkthrough.

Removing a Hot-Pluggable Device

How you remove a hot-pluggable device depends on the type of device it is. Check to see whether Windows is displaying the Safely Remove Hardware icon a gray card with a green circle and white check mark with a green arrow above it in the notification area, as shown here in black and white, second from the left. If the Safely Remove Hardware icon appears, click it and see if the resulting context menu see the example displays an item for the device you’re about to remove. If so, click that item.

PC Card devices always use the Safely Remove Hardware feature. Devices such as FireWire drives and USB memory-card readers typically have entries on the Safely Remove Hardware menu because Windows mounts them as drives, while items such as webcams and USB modems typically don’t have entries. But check for an entry before removing a device. If there is an item for the device on the Safely Remove Hardware menu, it’ll read Safely remove device, where device is the name by which Windows knows the device for example, Safely remove USBMass Storage Device – DriveE:. Click this item and wait until Windows displays a popup telling you that it’s safe to remove the device. Looking at the previous illustration, you can see a problem that you’ll often encounter: If you have two or more USB mass storage devices attached, the only way to tell them apart is by drive letter. To get around this problem, follow these steps:

1. Either double-click the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the notification area or right-click it and then choose Safely Remove Hardware from the context menu. Windows displays the Safely Remove Hardware dialog box, as shown here.

2.Select the Display Device Components check box to make the dialog box display the details of each device, as shown here.

3. From the description, identify the device you want to remove, click it in the Hardware Devices list box, and then click the Stop button to stop it. Windows displays the Stop a Hardware Device dialog box, as shown here.

4. Verify that you’ve selected the right device, and then click the OK button. Windows displays the Safe to Remove Hardware dialog box, as shown here.

5. Click the OK button. Windows closes the Safe to Remove Hardware dialog box. You can then remove the device.

6. Click the Close button. Windows closes the Safely Remove Hardware dialog box. If there’s no entry for the device on the Safely Remove Hardware menu, or if the Safely Remove Hardware icon isn’t displayed in the notification area make sure that it’s really not there and that it’s not just temporarily hidden, you don’t need to use the Safely Remove Hardware feature to remove the device. Simply unplug it. Windows notices that you’ve removed the device and unloads its driver.

Plugging a Hot-Pluggable Device in Again

When you plug a hot-pluggable device in again, Windows notices it and loads the driver without displaying any pop-up. At least, that’s how it should work. In practice, Windows appears to have forgotten some hot-pluggable devices and decides to install them again.

Installing Devices that Are Not Hot Pluggable

Before installing a device that isn’t hot pluggable, you must turn your computer off - and in most cases, disconnect the power cable and remove the battery if the computer has one. For example,to install a PCI card, you’ll need to open the computer’s case, insert the card in a PCI slot and screw in the retaining screw, connect any cables needed, and then close the computer’s case again. When you restart your computer after installing the device, Windows normally detects the device during startup. If Windows can find a driver for the device, it loads the driver automatically and configures the device. If Windows can’t find a driver, it launches the Found New Hardware Wizard.

Providing a Driver with the Found New Hardware Wizard

If Windows can’t find a driver for a new device hot pluggable or not, the Found New Hardware Wizard displays its Windows Needs to Install Driver Software screen . This screen offers three choices:

Locate and Install Driver Software

Normally, you’ll want to click this button to install the driver. You’ll need to authenticate yourself to User Account Control to install the driver.

Ask Me Again Later Click this button to defer setting up the device until later. For example, if you realize you don’t have the driver disc with you, you might click this button. Next time you log on, the Found New Hardware Wizard appears again. Don’t Show This Message Again for This Device Click this button if you don’t want to install the driver for the device and you don’t want the Found New Hardware Wizard to prompt you again - for example, because no Windows Vista–compatible driver is available yet. When you’re ready to install the driver, you can do so as discussed in the next section. When you click the Locate and Install Driver Software button, the wizard disappears, leaving only a notification-area pop-up telling you that it is installing software. When the wizard finds that it has no driver for the device, it displays the Windows Couldn’t Find Driver Software for Your Device screen . This screen offers you two choices: Check for a Solution Click this button if you want Windows to consult Microsoft’s online database for the latest information about the device in case there’s extra information that will help you install the device. Normally, the wizard simply displays the Windows Was Unable to Install Your Unknown Device screen, which suggests that you visit the website of the device’s manufacturer to see if a driver is available there. You can click the Close button to close the wizard, or click the Back button in the upper-left corner of the window to return to the Windows Couldn’t Find Driver Software for Your Device screen, where you can click the Browse My Computer for Driver Software button. Browse My Computer for Driver Software Click this button if you want to supply the driver from a CD or DVD, a floppy disk, or your hard disk or another connected disk. The wizard displays the Browse for Driver Software on Your Computer screen Click the Browse button, use the resulting Browse for Folder dialog box to select the folder that contains the driver, and then click the OK button. The wizard enters the path in the Search for Driver Software in this Location text box. You can also type the path in this text box, but normally it’s easier to browse to the folder. Select the Include Subfolders check box if you want the wizard to search the folder’s subfolders as well for the driver. Searching the subfolders as well is usually a good idea. Then click the Next button. The wizard searches for a suitable driver and, if it finds one, installs the device. If not, the wizard displays the Windows Was Unable to Install Your Unknown Device screen Click the Close button to close the wizard. Follow the instructions in the next section to install the device. If the wizard doesn’t find a suitable driver, or if a file is missing, it displays the Windows Encountered a Problem Installing the Driver Software for Your Device screen . Click the Back button if you want to return to the Browse for Driver Software on Your Computer screen and try a different folder, or click the Close button if you want to close the wizard.

Specifying a Driver Manually

If the Found New Hardware Wizard can’t find a suitable driver for a device, you may need to install the device manually. To do so, take the following steps. To show you examples of what you may see, the figures and illustrations show screens from installing various hardware devices rather than a single hardware device.

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

2. In the Tasks panel on the left, click the Device Manager link, and then authenticate yourself to User Account Control. Windows displays a Device Manager window .

3.Find the device that needs the driver. Device Manager shows an exclamation point next to each device that’s not working. For more detail on Device Manager, see the section “Opening Device Manager,” later in this article. If Windows doesn’t know what the device is, look for an Unknown Device item in the Other Devices list. If it’s not there, look in the appropriate category. For example, for a network card, look in the Network Adapters category.

4. Double-click the device’s item. Device Manager displays the Properties dialog box for the device. The General page tells you that no driver is installed for the device.

5. Click the Driver tab. Device Manager displays the Driver page .

6.Click the Update Driver button. Device Manager launches the Update Driver Software wizard, which displays its How Do You Want to Search for Driver Software?

7. Click the Browse My Computer for Driver Software button. The wizard displays the Browse for Driver Software on Your Computer screen.

8.Click the Let Me Pick from a List of Device Drivers on My Computer button. Windows displays the Select Your Device’s Type from the List Below screen .

9. In the Common Hardware Types list box, select the type of device you’re installing - for example, select Bluetooth Radios for a Bluetooth device, Display Adapters for a graphics card, or Monitors for an extra monitor.

• Some of the categories are cryptic - for example, Multifunction Adapters or Portable Devices.

• If you can’t find a suitable category, select the Show All Devices item.

10. Click the Next button. The wizard displays the Select the Device Driver You Want to Install for This Hardware screen . If you selected the Show All Devices item on the previous screen, it may take Windows a minute or two to assemble the list of drivers.

Searching for Driver Software from the Browse for Driver Software on Your Computer Screen

If you’ve downloaded a driver that wasn’t available when you first tried to install a device, use the Browse button on the Browse for Driver Software on Your Computer screen of the Update Driver Software Wizard to select the folder that contains the driver. Then click the Next button to make the wizard search that folder for the driver. You don’t need to go through the process of picking the driver from a list.

11.If Windows has a driver for the device, you can select it by clicking the manufacturer in the Manufacturer list box and the device in the Model list box. But usually the Found New Hardware Wizard will have identified the driver if Windows has it already, so you’ll be visiting this page of the wizard only if you need to install a driver that Windows doesn’t have. Click the Have Disk button. Windows displays the Install from Disk dialog box, shown here.

12. If you have the driver on a floppy disk or a CD or DVD, insert it in the appropriate drive and select the drive in the Copy Manufacturer’s Files From drop-down list. If you have the driver on a local drive or network drive, click the Browse button, use the resulting Locate File dialog box a common Open dialog box to locate the driver file, and then click the Open button to enter its name and path in the Copy Manufacturer’s Files From text box.

13 Click the OK button. The wizard displays the Select the Device Driver You Want to Install for This Hardware screen with the name of the hardware model or models identified by the driver.

14.Select the proper driver if there are two or more models, and then click the Next button.

15. If Windows doesn’t think the driver is correct for the device, it displays the Update Driver Warning dialog box shown next, warning you that the hardware may not work and that your computer might become unstable or stop working. Click the Yes button if you’re sure you want to install this driver. Otherwise, click the No button, and then select another driver.

16. If the driver doesn’t have a valid digital signature, or if Windows can detect another obvious problem with it, the wizard displays a Windows Security dialog box such as the one shown next which has been expanded to show its details. Click the Install This Driver Software Anyway button only if you’re sure that the source of the driver is trustworthy. Otherwise, click the Don’t Install This Driver Software button, and then look for a signed driver for example, on the manufacturer’s website.

17.If the wizard finds no problem with the driver, it installs the driver and displays the Windows Has Successfully Updated Your Driver Software screen .

18. Click the Close button. The wizard closes, returning you to the Properties dialog box for the device.

You May Sometimes Need to Install Unsigned Drivers

Ideally, every driver you install will be signed by its publisher so that you can be sure of its provenance. In practice, however, you may need to install unsigned drivers to get older hardware working with Windows Vista, especially when the device’s manufacturer has gone out of business or been taken over by another company.

If a driver installation makes your computer unstable, use System Restore see Article 16 to restore Windows to its state before you installed the driver.

What Happens if You Choose the Wrong File

If the wizard can’t find hardware information in the location you specified, it displays the Select Device message box telling you that the location you specified doesn’t contain information about your hardware. The wizard then displays the Install from Disk dialog box again so that you can specify a different location for the file.

If you chose the wrong file, you can now choose the right one. But if the file doesn’t work, you’re probably stuck. You can click the Cancel button to close the Install from Disk dialog box and return to the Select the Device Driver You Want to Install for This Hardware page so that you can select a built-in driver, but that’s about it. Click the Cancel button to cancel the wizard.

19.Click the Close button. Windows closes the Properties dialog box, returning you to Device Manager.

20. Choose File Exit or click the Close button the  button. Windows closes Device Manager.

If there’s a problem with the driver file you supply, the wizard may display the Windows Encountered a Problem Installing the Driver Software for Your Device screen . From here, you can click the Back button to return to the Select Your Device’s Type from the List Below screen of the wizard or click the Close button to close the wizard and give up on installing the device for now.