Windows XP Cookbook

Chapter 3. Managing Hardware and Devices

Introduction

Hardware provides a foundation for software—BIOS, operating systems, and applications programs—to do its work. Earlier PC operating systems—CP/M, DOS, and Windows 1.x-3.x—interacted with but rarely intervened between software and hardware. Programs could reach out and touch discrete CPU, memory, disk drive, and COM-port bits at will. Ever since OS/2 and Windows NT, through Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, and XP, operating systems have become significantly more involved in both isolating hardware from applications—to provide for better security, reduce device conflicts—and embracing hardware to create a richer user experience.

The first 20 years of PC hardware saw constant contention over architecture limitations, connections, I/O port standards, and driver conflicts that led to many errors, lockups, and nonfunctional systems. In recent years PC hardware has evolved away from pushy and proprietary hardware implementations to better standards supporting more cooperation and interoperability with fewer conflicts, not to mention universal technologies that also work in and with Apple and Unix products. There are still many exclusive PC-only products in use by many users, but eventually we will have only hardware based on ubiquitous standards that make products more economical and interchangeable with other systems.

Legacy devices had obscure and often complex configuration requirements. Today’s Plug and Play products let you seamlessly move ...