Reinstalling Software 117
Reinstalling Software
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 Drivers and Utilities media 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.
Microsoft
®
Windows
®
XP
1
Click
Start
→
Control Panel
.
2
Under
Pick a Category
, click
Performance and Maintenance
, and click
System
.
3
In the
System Properties
window, click the
Hardware
tab, and click
Device
Manager
.
book.book Page 117 Friday, April 25, 2008 3:58 PM
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