Lesson 1:?Understanding Automatic and Manual Hardware Installation

Windows XP Professional supports both Plug and Play and non-Plug and Play hardware. This lesson introduces you to the automatic hardware installation features of Windows XP Professional. Occasionally, Windows XP Professional fails to automatically detect a hardware device. When this occurs, you must install the hardware device manually. You might also have to do this if the device requires a specific hardware resource to ensure that it is installed properly.

After this lesson, you will be able to

• Describe how to install hardware automatically
• Describe how to install hardware manually

Estimated lesson time: 30 minutes

Installing Hardware Automatically

Windows XP Professional supports Plug and Play hardware. For most devices that are Plug and Play-compliant, as long as the appropriate driver is available and the basic input/output system (BIOS) on the computer is a Plug and Play BIOS or an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) BIOS, Windows XP Professional automatically detects, installs, and configures the device. When there is a new piece of hardware detected that cannot be installed automatically, Windows XP Professional displays the Found New Hardware Wizard (see Figure 11.1).

Figure 11.1??The Found New Hardware Wizard

However, you might occasionally need to initiate automatic installation for some Plug and Play hardware. You do this with the Add Hardware Wizard. For non-Plug and Play hardware, Windows XP Professional often identifies the hardware and automatically installs and configures it. For non-Plug and Play hardware that Windows XP Professional does not identify, install, and configure, you initiate the automatic installation of the hardware with the Add Hardware Wizard.

To automatically install hardware, complete the following steps:

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Printers And Other Hardware.
2. In the Printers And Other Hardware window, under See Also, click Add Hardware to start the Add Hardware Wizard.

   Windows XP Professional queries the hardware about the hardware resources that it requires and the settings for those resources. A hardware resource allows a hardware device to communicate directly with the operating system. Windows XP Professional can resolve conflicts between Plug and Play hardware for hardware resources.

3. Confirm the automatic hardware installation.

   After Windows XP Professional finishes the installation, you should verify correct installation and configure the hardware.

Using the Add Hardware Wizard

You can also use the Add Hardware Wizard to initiate automatic hardware installation for undetected hardware devices, both Plug and Play and non-Plug and Play, and to troubleshoot devices.

To start the Add Hardware Wizard, do the following:

1. In Control Panel, click Printers And Other Hardware.
2. Click Add Hardware.

   Windows XP Professional starts the Add Hardware Wizard, which is used to install software to support the hardware you add to your computer and to troubleshoot problems that you might be having with your hardware.

   You can also click System in the Performance And Maintenance window accessed from Control Panel and start the Add Hardware Wizard from the Hardware tab of the System Properties dialog box.
3. Click Next to close the Welcome To The Add Hardware Wizard page.

   Windows XP Professional searches for new devices and one of the following three events occurs:

   • If Windows XP Professional detects any new Plug and Play hardware, it installs the new hardware.
   • If Windows XP Professional detects new hardware, it starts the Found New Hardware Wizard.
   • If the wizard cannot find a new device, it displays the Is The Hardware Connected page. If you have already connected the new device, click Yes, I Have Already Connected The Hardware and then click Next. The wizard displays the The Following Hardware Is Already Installed On Your Computer page, shown in Figure 11.2. To add hardware that is not in the list, click Add A New Hardware Device.
   

   Figure 11.2??Adding hardware or troubleshooting with the Add Hardware Wizard

Confirming Hardware Installation

After installing hardware, you should confirm the installation using the Device Manager.

You can do the following to start Device Manager:

1. In Control Panel, click Performance And Maintenance.
2. Click System.
3. Click the Hardware tab, and then click Device Manager.

This allows you to view the installed hardware, as shown in Figure 11.3.

Figure 11.3??Device Manager showing devices listed by type

Windows XP Professional uses icons in the Device Manager window to identify each installed hardware device. If Windows XP Professional does not have an icon for the device type, it displays a question mark.

Expand the device tree to locate the newly installed hardware device. The device icon indicates whether the hardware device is operating properly. You can use the information in Table 11.1 to determine the hardware status.

Table 11.1??Device Manager Hardware Status

Installing Hardware Manually

To manually install hardware, first determine which hardware resource is required by the hardware device. Next, you must determine the available hardware resources. In some cases, you will have to change hardware resources. Finally, you might have to troubleshoot any problems you encounter.

Determining Which Hardware Resources Are Required

When installing new hardware, you need to know what resources the hardware can use. You can reference the product documentation to determine the resources that a hardware device requires. Table 11.2 describes the resources that hardware devices use to communicate with an operating system.

Table 11.2??Hardware Device Resources

Determining Available Hardware Resources

After you determine which resources a hardware device requires, you can look for an available resource. Device Manager provides a list of all hardware resources and their availability, as shown in Figure 11.4.

Figure 11.4??Device Manager showing resources listed by connection

You can do the following to view the hardware resource lists:

1. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Hardware tab, and then click Device Manager.
2. On the View menu, click Resources By Connection.

   The Device Manager displays the resources that are currently in use (for example, IRQs).

3. To view a list of resources for another type of hardware resource, click the type of hardware resource you want to see on the View menu.

When you know which hardware resources are available, you can install the hardware manually with the Add Hardware Wizard.

Changing Hardware Resource Assignments

You might need to change hardware resource assignments. For example, a hardware device might require a specific resource presently in use by another device. You might also encounter two hardware devices requesting the same hardware resource, resulting in a conflict.

To change a resource setting, use the Resources tab in the device's Properties dialog box. You can use the following procedure to access the Resources tab:

1. In the Hardware tab of the System Properties dialog box, click Device Manager.
2. Expand the device list, right-click the specific device, and then click Properties.
3. In the Properties dialog box for the device, click the Resources tab.

From this point, follow the same procedures that you used to choose a hardware resource during a manual installation.

Lesson Review

The following questions will help you determine whether you have learned enough to move on to the next lesson. If you have difficulty answering these questions, review the material in this lesson before beginning the next lesson. The answers are in Appendix A, "Questions and Answers."

1. When you initiate automatic hardware installation by starting the Add Hardware Wizard, what does Windows XP Professional query the hardware about?
2. _______________________ are channels that allow a hardware device, such as a floppy disk drive, to access memory directly, without interrupting the microprocessor.
3. Why would you install a hardware device manually?

Lesson Summary

• For most Plug and Play hardware, you connect the device to the computer, and Windows XP Professional automatically configures the new settings.
• For non-Plug and Play hardware, Windows XP Professional often identifies the hardware and automatically installs and configures it.
• For the occasional Plug and Play hardware device and for any non-Plug and Play hardware that Windows XP Professional does not identify, install, and configure, you initiate automatic hardware installation with the Add Hardware Wizard.
• When you manually install hardware, you must determine any resources required by that hardware device. Hardware resources include interrupts, I/O ports, and memory.
• The Device Manager snap-in provides a list of all hardware resources and their availability.