Take easy, Driver

We've all had this happen. You receive a shiny new accessory for your computer; a printer, a scanner, a webcam, or whatever else. You hurry home, tear open the packaging leaving a trail of cardboard between the door & your computer. You fire everything up, plug the new toy in to your PC &... nothing. No sign of life other than the power light. Your new <insert tool name here> is not working.

You are having a driver issue.

Most people only vaguely understand what a driver is, or what it does. Fundamentally, a driver (or tool driver) is a file or set of files that provide an instruction manual to the computer. Drivers tell your computer what is connected to it, & how to speak to that particular tool. Nowadays, Windows has lots of drivers built in to it, so it can recognize increasingly devices with each new version. But there will always be devices that are new or sophisticated for built-in drivers. Manufacturers provide discs with the drivers on them, but they are always obsolete by the time the tool gets to you. The disc might work perfectly fine, but I always recommend that you check the manufacturer's net site for updated versions of the drivers before you do anything else.

Ok, I have the drivers. Now what?

Whether you are installing from the disc or from a downloaded file, most manufacturers will package the drivers in a tidy small installer that won't only install the drivers but usually some small program to help you manage the tool. This is true in the case of something that has customizable settings, like a printer. The installer program will walk you through the method, often even telling you when to connect the tool. If in doubt, connect it time you receive a message saying the driver installation is complete.

What if I already connected it before I installed the drivers?

This may or may not cause an issue. The computer may detect the already plugged in peripheral & keep installing normally. But in some cases in case you connect a tool to a USB port (which most do these days) without installing drivers, Windows will think to itself "Hmm, I don't know what this is, I better put it aside" & will label it as an "unknown device". In that case, the driver will be installed but the computer won't know that the driver & the "unknown device" go together. It will sit there & do nothing. If that happens, try plugging the tool in to a different USB port. If that doesn't work, then try these steps:

• Find the icon that says "Computer" or "My Computer" & right-click on it.
• In the popup menu, click on "Manage". This takes you to the Computer Management window.
• In the left hand pane, click on "Device Manager".
• In the right hand pane, you'll see a list of all of your computer hardware. Look for "Unknown Device" or "Other Device". These often have a yellow exclamation mark next to them.
• Right-click on the tool & click on the "Uninstall" option. Your Tool Manager will refresh & the offending tool will be gone.
• Unplug the tool form the USB port, & plug it back in.

You'll know you are heading in the right direction when you listen to a double beep from the computer, & see a notification bubble at the bottom right telling you it is installing. Enjoy your newly installed tool!

(Keep in mind. If in doubt, reboot!)