Section 9.6. Connecting New Gadgets

9.6. Connecting New Gadgets

In books, magazines, and online chatter about Windows, you'll frequently hear people talk about installing a new component. In many cases, they aren't talking about physically hooking it up to the PCthey're talking about installing its driver software.

The truth is that you generally have to install both the hardware and the software. The ritual goes like this:

1. Run the installer on the setup disk, if one came with the new equipment .

   That's right: install the software first . Doing so copies the driver file to your hard drive, where Windows will be able to find it in the later steps of the installation.

2. Physically connect the gadget .

   That is, connect it to the inside or outside of the computer, according to the instructions that accompanied the equipment.

   The beauty of USB gadgets, FireWire gadgets, and PC cards is that they identify themselves to Windows XP the instant they're plugged in. For this kind of gizmo, there is no step 3.

   Other kinds of gear aren't so lucky. In general, you must turn off your PC before connecting or disconnecting components from other kinds of connectors. When you turn it on again (after hooking up the new gadget), Windows XP examines every connector, port, and slot on your machine, checking to see whether or not it's now occupied by a piece of equipment it hasn't seen before.

3. Install the driver software into Windows .

   If your new gear is Plug and Playcompatible (if its box bears a "Designed for Windows" logo, for example), then skip this step. The simple act of connecting the equipment inspires Windows to find the drivereither the one you copied to the drive in step 1, or one from its own database of drivers.

In either case, your gear is now completely installedboth its hardware and its softwareand ready to use.

9.6.1. Using the Add Hardware Wizard

The Add Hardware Wizard fulfills some of the functions of the Found New Hardware process (Section 9.6.1.2), but comes in handy in different circumstances. You can use it whenever Windows fails to notice that you've blessed it with new components, for example, or to update the original driver when a better one becomes available.

Begin by connecting the new gear (turning off the computer first, if necessary). Turn the machine on again and then open the Add Hardware Wizard program in the Control Panel (Chapter 10). Click Next to move past the Welcome screen.

9.6.1.1. The search for Plug and Play

The first thing the wizard wants to do is search for a Plug and Play device. You already know that it won't find oneafter all, if the hardware you're trying to install were Plug and Playcompatible, Windows XP would have found it already.

Unfortunately, you can't stop the Hardware Wizard juggernaut . You have no choice but to click Next and proceed as outlined in the next section.

9.6.1.2. Add Hardware Wizard searches for nonPlug and Play devices

If the search for Plug and Play hardware fails, a new wizard window opens and asks you if the new equipment is already connected to the PC. If you answer no, the wizard closesits subtle way of telling you that you were supposed to have connected the gadget before even opening the wizard.

If you select "Yes, I have already connected the hardware," on the other hand, you're taken to a list of every component that's already in your computer (Figure 9-9). Scroll to the very bottom of the list and select "Add a new hardware device." Click Next.

Now the wizard asks you to make yet another decision:

• Search for and install the hardware automatically . If you choose this option and click Next, Windows makes yet another attempt to detect the new equipment and install its driver. If a happy little "Found New Hardware" balloon appears in your notification area, all is well; the wizard's work is done.

  If the search succeeds, you've saved a couple of keystrokes; if it fails, you move on to the second option anyway.

• Install the hardware that I manually select from a list . If you choose this option and click Next (or if the previous option fails), the wizard displays a list of device types (top left in Figure 9-10). From that list, find and select the type of hardware you want to install"Imaging devices" for a digital camera or a scanner, for example, "PCMCIA adapters" for a PC card, and so on. (Click Show All Devices if you can't figure out which category to choose.)

Figure 9-9. Why does the wizard display a list of components you've already successfully installed? Because you can also use the Add Hardware Wizard to troubleshoot PC components you've already installed, using this very screen. Furthermore, Windows may have detected , but not precisely identified, something you've installed.

Then click Next. Now Windows XP opens a two-paned window like the one shown at bottom in Figure 9-10.

To complete the installation, click Next to forge on through the wizard pages. You may be asked to select a port or configure other settings. When you click the Finish button on the last screen, Windows transfers the drivers to your hard drive. (Along the way, you may be instructed to insert the Windows XP installation CD.) As a final step, you may be asked to restart the PC.

Figure 9-10. Top left: The Add Hardware Wizard asks you to specify which kind of component you're adding.
Bottom: In the left pane, choose the name of your hardware manufacturer. The right pane displays all the models the manufacturer offers. If you can't find your model number, check the hardware's documentation to see if one of the listed models would work just as well.