Hardware Drivers

Whenever you install any kind of new hardware in your computer, Windows will probably ask you to locate the appropriate "driver" to install. A driver is basically like a small pocket dictionary that your operating system needs to have in order to be able to talk to this new piece of hardware in a way that it will understand. If your operating system doesn't have the right driver, it can't use the hardware.

Luckily for us, Windows XP has a fairly impressive list of pre-packaged drivers. This means that, for example, when you plug your USB flash drive into a computer running Windows XP, it will look up the appropriate driver and install it all by itself without you having to give it anything. This is what is happening when you see the little speech bubbles pop up saying "Found new hardware: somename."

Windows' driverbase isn't infinite, however, and a lot of things DO require you to supply a driver, such as:

• Printers
• Many USB devices (such as modems, mice, etc.)
• Video cards
• Sound cards

Drivers are usually provided on a CD that comes with your hardware. Most companies also post them on their websites.

NOTE: If a program keeps crashing on you (but everything still works fine) you may need to update your motherboard drivers. Visit your computer manufacturer's website for more information.