Reinstalling Drivers and the Operating
System
CAUTION: Before you begin any of the procedures in this section, follow the safety instructions in the
Product Information Guide.
NOTICE: You must use Microsoft
®
Windows
®
XP Service Pack 1 or later when you reinstall the
Microsoft Windows XP operating system.
NOTE: If you installed a unique image on your computer or if you had to reinstall your operating
system, run the DSS utility. DSS is available on your optional
Drivers and Utilities CD (also known
as ResourceCD)
and at support.dell.com.
Drivers
What Is a Driver?
A driver is a program that controls a device such as a printer, mouse, or keyboard. All devices require
a driver program.
A driver acts like a translator between the device and any other programs that use the device. Each
device has its own set of specialized commands that only its driver recognizes.
Dell ships your computer to you with required drivers already installed—no further installation or
configuration is needed.
NOTICE: The optional Drivers and Utilities CD may contain drivers for operating systems that are not
on your computer. Ensure that you are installing software appropriate for your operating system.
Many drivers, such as the keyboard driver, come with your Microsoft Windows operating system. You
may need to install drivers if you:
• Upgrade your operating system.
• Reinstall your operating system.
• Connect or install a new device.
Identifying Drivers
If you experience a problem with any device, identify whether the driver is the source of your problem
and, if necessary, update the driver.
1
Click the
Start
button and click
Control Panel
.
2
Under
Pick a Category
, click
Performance and Maintenance
.
3
Click
System
.
4
In the
System Properties
window, click the
Hardware
tab.
5
Click
Device Manager
.
6
Scroll down the list to see if any device has an exclamation point (a yellow circle with a [
!]
) on
the device icon.
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