Hack #83. Install the Driver Before You Install the Hardware
How not to "outsmart" Plug and Play and the Windows Add New Hardware wizard.
As brilliant and helpful as the concept and implementation of Plug and Play [Hack #18] has been, it is possible to confound it. This hack is almost too simple, and all too easily overlooked: install the drivers provided with your devices before you connect the device to your computer.
Why? As you probably know, when you connect a new device to your PC, Windows starts its Add New Hardware wizard and usually prompts you to provide the location of the drivers for the device. When the wizard runs, you have three choices: locate the disk or download location for the driver and let the wizard continue to install the driver and enable the device; let the wizard try to find new the driver on its own and possibly fail; or cancel the installation.
If you locate the driver and it installs, all is well. If the wizard cannot find a driver, it disables the device, remembers that the device is unconfigured, and marks it as an Unknown Device in Windows Device Manager. This is a fairly common situation for many USB devices, especially among anxious users who expect Plug and Play to "know all" and connect their devices, without following instructions. Windows needs to have the driver information available so it can detect the device by name and associate it with the right driver.
If you don't have the driver immediately handy but know you'll find it eventually, ...
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