PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

Windows 9X/2000/XP SCSI Driver Installation and Troubleshooting

Ordinarily, Windows 9X/2000/XP automatically detects installed SCSI host adapters and devices. If it does not, first verify that the hardware is installed and configured properly. If there is no apparent hardware problem, use the Add New Hardware Wizard to force installation of the necessary drivers for the new hardware.

To do so,

1. Open the Control Panel (Start → Settings → Control Panel) and double-click Add New Hardware. Accept the default selection to allow Windows to attempt to auto-detect the new hardware.

2. If Windows fails to detect the hardware, or locks up during the detection process, restart the system, reinvoke the Add New Hardware Wizard, and this time tell it that you want to select from a list.

   1. If you have a driver disk supplied by the manufacturer, choose the Have Disk option at the appropriate point in the process.

   2. Otherwise, use the lists of manufacturers and models displayed by the Add New Hardware Wizard to select the standard Windows drivers for the installed devices.

   3. If no listed device exactly matches what is installed, you can sometimes use the most closely similar device that is listed.

Ordinarily, the driver will load correctly and the device will be recognized. If problems occur, take the following steps to resolve them:

1. Open the Device Manager (Start → Settings → Control Panel → System → Device Manager). Locate the SCSI controller item in the list, and click the plus sign (+) to its left to expand ...