| Identifying Supplemental Device Drivers |
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Windows comes with numerous device drivers preinstalled in the operating system or are available as needed on the original operating system CDs. However, it’s impossible, and impractical, for the operating system to have every possible driver a user might require. Some devices will need supplemental device drivers. These are usually obtained from the device’s manufacturer. Most of the time, a CD or floppy disk will come with the hardware. Other times, you’ll need to download the driver from the manufacturer’s website.
Devices that typically require supplemental device drivers include:
· Plug and Play devices that the operating system doesn’t currently have device drivers for. For example, if you’re installing a new video adapter or sound card, your operating system may not have a device driver for that particular piece of hardware.
· Non-Plug and Play devices
· Mass storage controllers such as SCSI and RAID controllers
· Third party Hardware Abstraction Layers (HALs)
For best results when working with third party device drivers, make sure that he driver has been digitally signed by Microsoft. The digital signature is a symbol that the device driver has been thoroughly tested and that it can’t be altered or overwritten by other programs.
You can check to see if a driver is digitally signed by running the sigverif.exe utility. Click Start, Run, and enter sigverif. If you click on the Advanced button, you can create a log of the sigverif utility’s findings. Use sigverif to scan your computer for unsigned device drivers.
In Windows XP, you can change the device driver signing options by going into Control Panel and choosing System. Click the Hardware tab and adjust to either ignore, warn, or block.
You can also view a driver’s signature in Device Manager by right-clicking the device, choosing Properties, clicking the Driver tab, and then clicking Driver Details.
The device driver files can end with numerous file extensions including: .sys, .dll, and .inf. They can also include files named txtsetup.oem or txtsetup.sif.
If you are performing an unattended installation, the device drivers must be available during the install process. If the setup program can’t locate the drivers, the installation will likely fail. To avoid this, either copy the drivers to a distribution share or to the destination computer’s hard drive.
You can also change or update device drivers after the fact by going into the Device Manager. Device Manager lists the installed hardware on your computer. Find the device in question and right click it. Next, choose Properties. Here you can view details, update, rollback, enable, and disable the device driver. A small display also shows you if the device is currently functioning properly or not. Depending on the device, you may or may not have other options available such as diagnostic tools.
To update drivers for peripherals like printers that are not listed in Device Manager, go to Control Panel and choose Printers (or Scanners/Cameras, Modems, etc.). Right click, choose Properties, click the Advanced tab, and select New Driver. Follow the prompts to search for a new device driver.
Top pick for the best Driver Update Software:
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