CHAPTER 24

1. CHAPTER 24 Setting Up and Configuring Hardware

2. Windows 7 supports a long list of computer peripherals. For supported hardware upgrades, Windows detects the device automatically and installs the correct driver software so that you can use the device and its full array of features. • Note: A peripheral is a device attached to a host computer but not part of it, and is more or less dependent on the host. It expands the host's capabilities, but does not form part of the core computer architecture. • Examples are computer printers, image scanners, tape drives, microphones, loudspeakers, webcams, and digital cameras.

3. If Windows has a problem with a device, you have your choice of troubleshooting tools. • Device Manager, is the primary tool for gathering information about installed devices and drivers and adjusting their configuration details.

4. Installing a New Plug and Play Device • With true Plug and Play devices, Windows 7 handles virtually all the work of configuring computer hardware and attached devices. • For Plug and Play to work properly, all the pieces of a computer system must be capable of working together to perform hardware configuration tasks.

5. Specifically, they must have the following capabilities: • The system BIOS must be capable of responding to Plug and Play and power management events. • The operating system must be capable of responding to Plug and Play events. • Windows 7 fully supports the Plug and Play standard.

6. The device must be capable of identifying itself, listing its required resources (including drivers), and allowing software to configure it. • The device driver must be capable of interacting with the operating system and responding to device notification and power management events. • A Plug and Play driver can load automatically when Windows detects that a device has been plugged in, and it can suspend and resume operation properly along with the system.

7. Run setup software at the right time • In many cases, new hardware devices include a setup CD that contains driver files and utility software. The best time to run this CD is before plugging in the device. If the drivers are signed, the setup program copies the driver files and Setup Information (.inf) file to your driver store folder so that installation can proceed automatically when you plug in the device. Some newer advanced devices work in just the opposite fashion and will install drivers only if the device itself is physically installed. • When in doubt, check the documentation.

9. Note • Any user can install a new device if a driver for that device is included in the driver store. To add any signed or unsigned driver to the driver store, when logged on as a member of the local Administrators group you must provide your consent in a User Account Control (UAC) dialog box. • If you’re logged on using an account without administrative permissions, you’ll be prompted to supply an administrator’s credentials to install a signed driver but will be unable to install any unsigned drivers.

10. If Windows detects a Plug and Play device (after you’ve plugged it into a USB port, for instance) but cannot locate a suitable signed device driver, it starts the Found New Hardware wizard. • The purpose of this wizard is to assist you in the event that you know (or suspect) the location of a suitable driver. Start by clicking Locate And Install Driver Software (Recommended). • Windows responds by searching all removable drives for a compatible driver.

11. Managing Devices with Devices And Printers Figure 24-1 Devices And Printers gathers all your installed items in a single Control Panel folder, identifies them with friendly names and realistic icons, and provides appropriate action choices for each in a context-sensitive toolbar.

12. Managing Printers and Print Queues • To configure a printer or work with a print queue, click the printer in Devices And Printers. • Depending on the type of printer, you will see either a simple printer-queue dialog box or something more elaborate like the one shown in Figure 24-2.

13. Installing a Printer • To install a local printer that plugs into a USB port, you don’t need to do anything in the Printers And Devices folder. • Simply connect the device, and Plug and Play will do the rest

14. To make a networked printer available locally, click Add A Printer on the Devices And Printers toolbar. • Then, in the Add Printer wizard, select the second option, Add A Network, Wireless Or Bluetooth Printer, and click Next.

16. Select the printer you want to install, and click Next. Because Windows requires a local copy of the network printer’s driver, you are likely to see a dialog box similar to the following:

17. Click Install Driver. In a moment, you’ll receive a success message and be given the opportunity to make the new printer your default.

18. Installing a Non–Plug and Play Printer • Printers that physically attach through a non–Plug and Play connection, such as a parallel port, might require some extra setup work. • If the printer driver package includes a setup program, run it first. Then open Devices And Printers and click Add A Printer. • In the Add Printer wizard, click Add A Local Printer.

19. Figure 24-3 When installing a non–Plug and Play printer, use this dialog box to select the most up-to-date driver.

20. The final step in the printer setup process is giving the printer a name. • The default name typically includes the manufacturer’s name and printer model; you can change this value to a more descriptive name now or later.

21. Managing Devices with Device Manager To open Device Manager, use any of the following techniques: 1- In the Start menu search box, type device. Device Manager should appear near the top of the results list. 2- From any command prompt or in the Start menu search box, type devmgmt.msc and press Enter. 3-Right-click the Computer icon on the Start menu or in the Folders pane of Windows Explorer, choose Manage, and then select Device Manager from the left pane of the Computer Management console, under System Tools. 4-In Control Panel, open System And Security, System, and then click the Device Manager link in the Tasks list in the left column.

22. Figure 24-5 Click the plus sign to the left of each category in Device Manager to see individual devices within that category. To view information about a specific device, double-click its entry in Device Manager’s list of installed devices.

25. A Crash Course in Device Drivers • Drivers are compact control programs that hook directly into Windows and handle the essential tasks of communicating your instructions to a hardware device and then relaying data back to you. • After you set up a hardware device, its driver loads automatically and runs as part of the operating system, without requiring any further intervention on your part.

26. Windows 7 includes a library of drivers—for internal components such as sound cards, storage controllers, and display adapters as well as external add-ons such as printers, keyboards, scanners, mice and other pointing devices, digital cameras, and removable storage devices. • This core library is copied during Windows 7 setup to a protected system folder, %SystemRoot%\System32\DriverStore.

27. In Windows 7, you do not have to be an administrator to install drivers; Windows checks the current driver installation policy to determine whether installation is permitted. • When you install a new Plug and Play–compatible device, Windows checks the driver store first. If it finds a suitable driver, installation proceeds automatically. • If no compatible driver is available, you’re prompted to search for driver software.

28. Is That Driver Signed? • The highest level of trust is assigned to drivers that are signed by Microsoft’s Windows Hardware Quality Lab (WHQL, often pronounced wickle by Microsoft insiders) through the Windows Logo Program. • Drivers that are unsigned, have a signature that is invalid or cannot be verified by a trusted Certificate Authority, or have a digital signature that has been altered can be installed by an administrator on 32-bit (x86) versions of Windows 7, but they cannot be installed on any 64-bit (x64) version of Windows 7.

29. Configuring Legacy Devices • The Windows 7 driver store includes a small collection of drivers for legacy devices, mostly older printers, modems, scanners, infrared ports, PCMCIA controllers, and other oddball devices that don’t use Plug and Play connections. • Note: An outdated device that a person or company has invested money in or is seen as an essential part of their system. Usually the term legacy device is used when referring to any device that is not Plug-and-Play compatible (i.e. in reference to older ISA devices). • The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) was an international standards body that defined and promoted the PC Card (formerly known as "PCMCIA card") and ExpressCard standards.

30. If you’ve found a downloadable driver package or a CD that came with the device, look for a Setup program and run it. This option places the driver files on your hard disk and simplifies later installation steps. • Connect the new hardware to your computer. In the case of an internal device such as an add-in card, turn off the computer, add the device, and then restart. • Open Device Manager, select any item in the list of installed devices, and then click Add Legacy Hardware on the Action menu. • Click Next to skip past the Welcome screen. On the next wizard screen, choose how you want to select the device to be installed.

31. For printers, network cards, modems, and other devices that can be detected mechanically, choose Search For And Install The Hardware Automatically (Recommended). After you click Next, the wizard quickly runs a detection module that searches for anything on its list of non–Plug and Play devices. • If it finds the new device, it installs the driver automatically, and your work is finished. If the wizard doesn’t find any new hardware, you’ll be prompted to click Next and look manually.

32. If you have a driver on a disc, skip the detection process. Choose Install The Hardware That I Manually Select From A List (Advanced) and click Next. • From the Common Hardware Types list, select a hardware category (or the inclusive Show All Devices category) and click Next.

33. For legacy devices whose resources can’t be assigned by Windows, you’ll need to adjust jumpers on the card or device, or use a software-based setup/configuration utility to change resource settings for that device.

34. Managing Installed Drivers • Update Driver This choice starts the Hardware Update wizard. • Roll Back Driver This option uninstalls the most recently updated driver and rolls back your system configuration to the previously installed driver. Unlike System Restore, this option affects only the selected device. If you have never updated the selected driver, this option is unavailable. • Uninstall This button completely removes driver files and registry settings for the selected device. This option is available from Safe Mode if you need to remove a driver that is causing blue-screen (Stop) errors. You can also use this capability to remove a driver that you suspect was incorrectly installed and then reinstall the original driver or install an updated driver.

35. Decoding Hardware Errors • Page 890