What You ve Learned

What You've Learned

• Buses, such as USB and FireWire, are used to connect devices to the computer.

• Devices are categorized into classes based on their functionality.

• Drivers are pieces of code that allow the system or a user to interact with a device. Drivers can be kernel extensions that provide functionality at a very low level in Mac OS X (such as plug-ins), higher-level system components (such as printing and Image Capture frameworks), or applications that are used to control specific devices.

• System Profiler provides information about connected devices and available drivers. The Hardware section of the Contents list in System Profiler lists the buses built into your computer. For each bus, System Profiler lists the connected devices. The Extensions item in the Software section of the Contents list lists all of the kernel extensions installed on your system.

• Universal Access preferences provides options to allow easier access for users with difficulties using I/O devices such as keyboards, mice, and monitors.

• To troubleshoot issues with peripherals, use System Profiler to determine whether a device is connected, plug the device into a different port, unplug other devices, or update drivers.

References

The following Knowledge Base documents (located at www.apple.com/support) will provide you with further information regarding peripherals in Mac OS X.

External Devices

• 25403, "Mac OS X 10.4: About compatible devices and peripherals"

• 25527, "Mac OS X: Files With Leading Period Appear on a Windows-Compatible PC"

• 58648, "Mac OS X: Do Not Connect USB Printer to Apple Pro Keyboard"

• 106403, "Mac OS X: 'No Driver for this platform' Message"

USB

• 31116, "USB Cable: Maximum Cable Length"

• 43005, "USB: Hub Description"

• 61237, "What to do if a USB device isn't working"

FireWire

• 30520, "About FireWire 400 Technology"

• 58583, "How to use FireWire target disk mode"

URLs

Visit the following websites for more information.

• FireWire: http://developer.apple.com/devicedrivers/firewire/index.html

• Universal Access: www.apple.com/accessibility

• iSync devices: www.apple.com/macosx/features/isync/devices.html