Step 6: Re-install Your Drivers

If you've re-installed Windows from a recovery CD, you can generally skip this step altogether, as all of the drivers for your system are loaded at the same time

Windows is re-installed. You should only need to re-install drivers for hardware you installed yourself, as an add-on to your system. Windows XP does a nice job of allowing your system to work right after an installation, by using generic hardware drivers. You might be able to use the generic drivers (the ones that come with Windows) without ever noticing anything is wrong, but it's always best to install the drivers designed specifically for your computer's components .

Caution

If you realize at this point that there's data you forgot to back up, I'm sorry to say, it's too late. Like a toilet paper tube in a hamster cage, that data is munched.

You can find a list of all of the drivers that need to be updated before you finish this whole process. Here's how:

1.	Click the Start button.
2.	Move your cursor over to the My Computer icon and right-click on it.
3.	Choose Properties.
4.	Select the Hardware tab and click on Device Manager.

You see a list of hardware installed inside or connected to your computer. In most cases, all parts and peripherals should be working normally. Items that aren't yet working appear with a yellow question mark beside them, usually under the Other Devices category (see Figure 9.13).

Figure 9.13. Drivers not installed properly are marked with yellow question marks in the Device Manager.

Install drivers for all of these, but let's get to the critical ones first.

Begin by looking for the motherboard drivers in the list. If you have an installation CD for your motherboard, insert it into your CD/DVD drive and run the installation program. If not, pull out your CD with the previously downloaded drivers, and start installing.

Drivers That Drive You Mad

Drivers can be sticky little critters. Sometimes they just don't work, so keep these two troubleshooting tips handy when installing a new driver.

As a precaution, you might want to set a system restore point before you install a new driver. This feature of XP (and Windows Me) allows you to roll the system back in time to the state it was in before something went wrong. Here's how to set a restore point:

1.	Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, and finally System Tools.
2.	Click System Restore to start it and choose Create a Restore Point and name it something such as Installation of Video Driver, and then click Create.
3.	If you install the driver and it bungs the system, you can go back to System Restore, choose the restore point you created, and roll the system back to the way it was before everything exploded.

Windows XP also has a driver rollback feature that allows you to undo a bad driver installation. Here's how to do that:

1.	Click Start, Control Panel, System.
2.	Click the Hardware tab and choose Device Manager.
3.	Find the hardware device that's not working properly. It will probably be obviously marked with a yellow circle with an exclamation mark in it.
4.	Right-click the device and choose Properties, and then click the Driver tab, choose Roll Back Driver, and let the system restore the older driver.

Install the system/chipset drivers first. These are the foundation for your system. Then install the Ethernet drivers for your network adapter, if it is on the motherboard.

If your video or audio adapters are on the motherboard (meaning you don't have separate audio and video cards), install drivers for them, too. You should also install drivers for your USB controllers, if these are available. In fact, if you have the motherboard installer CD, you can safely install all of the drivers for components that appear on your motherboard at this point.

Caution

Be aware that some motherboard manufacturers make variations of their motherboards with different components on them. So, don't just install everything that's on the installer CD. Some drivers are not applicable . Be selective.

If your network adapter isn't on the motherboard but is on a separate card, re-install the drivers for it now. Don't plug the network cable in just yet. Video and sound card drivers can be installed as well, if you have them. But because they're not essential to the rest of the process, you can always fix these later, after your system is fully up and running again.