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DISCLAIMER: the following information is NOT for the novice. Installing Windows is not necessarily simple, in fact, it is easy to mess up, and make your computer unbootable. It is even possible to damage hardware. The author takes no responsibility in any such cases. You have been warned.
Contents
Device Manager
Installing Drivers
Video Drivers
Internal Hardware
External Hardware
Misdected Hardware
Summary
The last part (Tips Part 11) ended with step 7; we continue here with step 8.
When Windows has finished installing, proceed as follows:
8. Install any required patches (see Tips Part 11 about patches)
Introducing Device Manager
9. Check that all hardware is present and correctly identified in Device Manager. Right click the My Computer icon; a menu pops up:
For Windows 2000 and XP, right-click My Computer, then Properties, then click the Hardware tab, then click the Device Manager button. It used to be much easier...why did they change it?
Click Properties, then click the Device Manager tab:
If you see any question or exclamation marks, those are devices that Windows doesn't recognize, or doesn't have the correct drivers for. Click on the plus sign to the left of any device to see exactly what it is. The example below shows the video card:
You can see even more information about any device by highlighting it (left click on it once), and clicking the Properties button (lower left):
A new window will open looking (approximately) like this:
10. Install the video drivers (see below about installing drivers)
11. Install any other internal hardware, preferably in this order (there are reasons for this order):
- Sound card; if the motherboard has on-board sound, disable it before running Windows setup (check the mbd manual to find out how), and re-enable it at this point
- Modem
- Network card
- Anything else
Add devices one at a time; for example, get the sound card properly installed, configured, and functioning as it should, then do the same with the modem, then the network card, etc.
12. Install any external hardware; if you have a printer and a scanner, always install the printer first; after this, it doesn't make much difference (to my knowledge) in what order things are added.
Back to TopInstalling Device Drivers
Drivers are software that allows hardware to communicate with the operating system and the rest of the computer.
Just about all hardware should come with a driver disk (or disks, floppy or CD). You may have to do considerable searching to find the drivers on the disk. I once installed a sound card, the drivers for which were on a CD; the same CD had drivers for several sound cards, several video cards, and I forget what else, for several operating systems; the path to the sound card drivers on the CD for Windows 95 was (no joke):
E:\sound\english\drivers\windows\win9x\ess1869\driver
If Windows has misdetected a device, or doesn't have the correct drivers for it, first go to Device Manager and remove it (click on it once, then click the "Remove" button). Restart the computer; Windows will re-detect the device and prompt you for the drivers.
When you add a piece of hardware and restart the computer, Windows should detect whatever it is (or at least something), and ask you for the location of the device's drivers. After Windows finds the drivers, you may be asked to chose between several models of the device. If you don't know the exact model, the documentation may tell you. You may also have to remove the device, and look for a model number. In some cases, you may have to look at the chips on, e.g., a video card, sound card, modem, etc. Look at the numbers on the largest chip - manufacturers often use that number, or a slight variation of it, as the model number. In the example above (about finding sound card drivers), the largest chip on the card has "ESS1869" stamped on it, as well as several other things.
If Windows does not detect your new hardware, it may not be Plug and Play compatible, or it may be defective. Check the documentation: if it is supposed to be PnP, and Windows doesn't see it, that doesn't necessarily mean it is defective. Windows sometimes misdetects or fails to detect Plug and Play hardware (hence it is also referred to as "Plug and Pray"). Older hardware will not be PnP, and must be installed manually. You can also try this procedure if Windows fails to find PnP devices:
- Click Start, then Settings, then Control Panel
- Double click "Add New Hardware"
You can let Windows try to find the device (what you see will be slightly different in 95, 98, and ME)...
...or choose it yourself.
Select the type of device from the list, and click Next.
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Windows comes with many drivers for many devices, but it doesn't have drivers for everything. Find the manufacturer on the left, and see if your model appears on the right.
If you don't see your model, select Have Disk:
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Then click the Browse button and navigate to the location of the correct drivers:
The drivers should come with the device
The drivers should come with the device on floppies or (more likely) a CD, or you can usually find them on the manufacturer's web site. It's always a good idea to check the web anyway, because Windows may not have the most recent version, or there may have been an update since the product shipped.
Reboot
Don't expect the device to work immediately after installing the drivers: 99% of devices require the system to be re-booted before the drivers are activated. Normally you will be told to re-boot. Re-boot the machine anyway after installing any drivers, whether you are told to or not.
Misdetected Hardware
The odd time Windows will say that the driver you have chosen is the wrong one, when in fact it is the correct one. As usual, check the documentation, or the manufacturer's web site.
If that doesn't work, you may have chosen the wrong driver by mistake (done that a few times...), or the device may be defective. Try removing it from Device Manager, and installing it again. If the device still doesn't work, you are going to need outside help.
Back to TopSummary
The Windows 9x Installation 12-Step Program
Some of this applies to other versions of Windows
1. Partition and format the drive(s) as described in Tips Part 9-10
2. Boot the machine from the Windows boot floppy disk; if the auto install starts, cancel out of it
3. Place the Windows CD in the CD drive, if it's not already there; auto install can't start without the Windows CD in the CD drive (you may see an error message to that effect)
4. At the A:\ prompt, type the following:
D:
Then type:
MD WIN9x
5. Now type the following, and press Enter (assuming your CD is drive F:):
COPY F:\WIN9x\*.* D:\WIN9x
6. Type the following, and press Enter:
CD WIN9x
7. Type "setup" (without the quotes, duh)
After setup is complete:
8. Install any required patches
9. Check that all hardware is present and correctly identified in Device Manager (right click My Computer, Properties, Device Manager)
10. Install the video drivers
11. Install any other internal hardware: sound card, modem, network card, anything else, in that order
12. Install any other external hardware, printer first, then scanner, then anything else
Windows sometimes becomes unstable or simply acts weird. In such cases, it is not always necessary to wipe the C: drive and start from scratch - try re-running Setup first. That is the subject of Tips Part 13.
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