Wrapping Up

In this chapter, you explored hardware installation and configuration in Windows XP. Windows XP’s plug and play system, as well as the Add/Remove Hardware Wizard, gives you an easy environment in which to install and configure hardware. The most important point you can remember is simply to use hardware that is compatible with Windows XP. While you may be able to get hardware to work with XP that is not specifically compatible, you may experience more operation problems as well as problems with the driver. Keep in mind that hardware devices, such as modems, scanners, cameras, and even USB devices, often have configuration options in Control Panel and in Device Manager, so make sure you are making the best use of the tools that Windows XP provides you.

Now that you have taken a look at hardware management, let’s turn our attention to managing applications in Chapter 5.