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Chapter 5: Customizing Your Computer’s Hardware Devices
Installing New Hardware Devices
Plug and Play is a technology that makes it possible for the operating system to
detect the device type and automatically install a device using device drivers avail-
able on the computer or by prompting for required drivers. Most newer hardware
devices are Plug and Play-compatible. This makes it much easier to install new hard-
ware devices. With compatible internal devices, you typically will need to:
1. Run the device’s setup program.
2. Shut down and unplug the computer.
3. Insert the device into the appropriate slot or connect it to the computer.
4. Restart the computer.
5. Let Windows Vista automatically detect and install the device.
With compatible external USB or FireWire devices, you will typically need to:
1. Run the device’s setup program.
2. Insert the device into the appropriate slot or connect it to the computer.
3. Let Windows Vista automatically detect and install the device.
However, not all devices have or need setup programs. For example, with USB mem-
ory keys, all you need to do is insert the device into the appropriate slot and Win-
dows Vista will detect and install it.
If Windows Vista detects but isn’t able to install a device automatically, it starts the
Found New Hardware Wizard. You can use this wizard to complete the installation
by following these steps:
1. In the Found New Hardware Wizard, click “Locate and install driver software
(recommended)” to continue with the installation.
2. The Driver Software Installation component will then search for preconfigured
drivers. If it doesn’t find one, it will prompt you to insert the disk that came with
the hardware device.
3. If you have an installation disk for the device, insert the disc, follow the prompts
to complete the installation, and skip the remaining steps. If you don’t have an
installation disk, click “I don’t have the disk. Show me other options” and then
follow the remaining steps in this procedure.
4. Click “Browse my computer for driver software” and then click Browse to select
a search location.
5. Use the Browse for Folder dialog box to select the start folder for the search, and
then click OK. All subfolders of the selected folder are searched automatically.
6. When you click Next, the wizard will search for and install any appropriate
driver. If the wizard can’t find an appropriate driver, you’ll need to obtain one
and then manually install the device driver as discussed next, in “Installing and
Maintaining Device Drivers.”

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