Reinstalling Software 101
Reinstalling Software
Drivers
What Is a Driver?
A driver is a program that controls a device such as a printer, mouse, or keyboard. All devices
require a driver program.
A driver acts like a translator between the device and any other programs that use the device.
Each device has its own set of specialized commands that only its driver recognizes.
Dell ships your computer to you with required drivers already installed—no further installation
or configuration is needed.
NOTICE: The Drivers and Utilities media may contain drivers for operating systems that are not on your
computer. Ensure that you are installing software appropriate for your operating system.
Many drivers, such as the keyboard driver, come with your Microsoft
®
Windows
®
operating
system. You may need to install drivers if you:
• Upgrade your operating system.
• Reinstall your operating system.
• Connect or install a new device.
Identifying Drivers
If you experience a problem with any device, identify whether the driver is the source of your
problem and, if necessary, update the driver.
Windows XP
1
Click
Start
→
Control Panel
.
2
Under
Pick a Category
, click
Performance and Maintenance
→
System
.
3
In the
System Properties
window, click the
Hardware
→
Device Manager
.
Windows Vista™
1
Click the Windows Vista start button, , and right-click
Computer
.
2
Click
Properties
→
Device Manager
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