Windows XP will include drivers for many different hardware components. In other cases, if your hardware is newer that service pack 2, drivers will not be available and Windows XP will not recognize it.

Most hardware will also come with a CD or floppy disk containing drivers. For optimal performance, it is generally recommended that you use the drivers included with the hardware or visit the manufacturers Web site and obtain the very latest driver. Some drivers may also be available through Windows Update.

After installing Windows XP, you need to install the drivers for those hardware components that the Windows XP CD did not have drivers for. This includes drivers for the motherboard, video card drivers, sound card drivers, USB 2.0 drivers, and so on.
You may need to identify the make and model of the hardware component. This can be accomplished using Device Manager. Once you open the utility you will see a list of all the devices that are currently installed.

The Device Manager provides a graphical view of the hardware that is currently installed on the computer. The device drivers and resources associated with that hardware are listed in the properties of each device.

The Device Manager is used to maintain, configure and troubleshoot the devices physically connected to the computer system. The following items outline some of the available functionality:

• Determine if the hardware is working properly on the computer.

• Change hardware configuration settings.
• Identify the device drivers that are loaded for each device and obtain information about each device driver.
• Change advanced settings and properties for devices.
• Install updated device drivers.
• Disable, enable, and uninstall devices.
• Reinstall the previous version of a driver with the Roll back feature.
• Identify device conflicts and manually configure resource settings.
• Print a summary of the devices that are configured on your computer.

The installation of device drivers may vary between manufacturers. Typically, if the device is Plug and Play, plug the device into your computer and the device installation should be automatically initiated. You can also use the Add Hardware wizard to install devices.

Because using the Device Manager is the most convenient method to update existing drivers, follow these guidelines to install updated drivers:

1. From the Device Manager, double-click the type of device you want to update or change.

2. Click the Driver tab.
3. Click Update Driver to open the Hardware Update Wizard, as shown in
4. Accept the default option, Install the Software Automatically. Choose the Install from a List or Specific Location option if you have the updated driver so you can indicate the file location. Click Next.
5. Windows searches for an updated driver and instructs you if an updated driver has been found. Install the updated driver and click Finish.