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Many different types of devices can be installed in or connected to computers. The following are the key device types:
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Cards/adapters
Circuit cards and adapters are plugged into expansion slots on the
motherboard inside the computer case or, for a laptop, into expansion
slots on the side of the system. Most cards and adapters have a
connector into which you can plug other devices. -
Internal drives
Many different types of drives can be installed, from DVD drives to
hard disks. Internal drives usually have two cables. One cable attaches
to the motherboard, to other drives, or to interface cards. The other
cable attaches to the computer’s power supply. -
External drives and devices
External drives and devices plug into ports on the computer. The port
can be standard, such as LPT1 or COM1; a port that you added with a
circuit card; or a high-speed serial port, such as a USB port, eSATA,
or an IEEE-1394 port (commonly called a FireWire port). Printers,
scanners, USB flash drives, smartphones, and most digital cameras are
attachable as external devices. -
Memory Memory
chips are used to expand the total amount of physical memory on the
computer. Memory can be added to the motherboard or to a particular
device, such as a video card. The most commonly used type of memory is
RAM.
You don’t manage the configuration of hardware devices on Windows 8
in the same way that you manage the configuration of hardware devices
on Windows XP and earlier releases of Windows. Devices installed on the
computer but not detected during an upgrade or installation of the
operating system are configured differently from new devices that you
install.
Installing Preexisting Devices
Windows 8 detects devices that were not automatically installed when
the operating system was upgraded or installed. If a device wasn’t
installed because Windows 8 didn’t include the driver, the built-in
hardware diagnostics will, in many cases, detect the hardware and then
use the automatic update framework to retrieve the required driver the
next time Windows Update runs, provided that Windows Update is enabled
and you’ve allowed driver updating as well as operating system updating.
Although driver updates can be downloaded automatically through
Windows Update, they are not installed automatically. After upgrading
or installing the operating system, you should check for driver updates
and apply them as appropriate before trying other techniques to install
device drivers. The basic steps of checking for updates are as follows :
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In Control Panel, tap or click System And Security, and then tap or click Windows Update. -
In Windows Update, tap or click the Check For Updates link.
Typically, device driver updates are seen as optional updates. The
exceptions are for essential drivers, such as those for video, sound,
and hard disk controllers. To address this, you should view all
available updates on a computer, rather than only the important
updates, to determine whether device driver updates are available. To
install available device driver updates, follow these steps:
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In Control Panel, tap or click System And Security, and then tap or click Windows Update. -
In Windows Update, tap or click Check For Updates in the left pane.
When Windows 8 finishes checking for updates, you might find that there
are important updates as well as optiona updates available, as shown in
Figure 1. Tap or click Install Updates to install the important updates.
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Because driver updates are usually listed as optional, you should
note whether any optional updates are available. If optional updates
are available and you tap or click the related link, you might find
that some or all of the optional updates are driver updates, as shown
in Figure 2.
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By default, optional updates are not selected for installation. To
ensure that an update will be installed, select the related check box,
and then tap or click Install to download and install the selected
updates.
After you’ve installed the device driver, Windows 8 should detect
the hardware within several minutes and install the device
automatically. If Windows 8 detects the device but isn’t able to
install the device automatically, you might find a related solution in
Action Center. You will then be able to view the problem response.
Installing Internal, USB, FireWire, and eSATA Devices
Most available new devices are Plug and Play compatible. This means
that you should be able to install new devices easily by using one of
the following techniques:
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For an internal device, review the hardware manufacturer’s
installation instructions because you might need to install device
driver software prior to installing the device. Next, shut down the
computer, insert the device into the appropriate slot or connect it to
the computer, restart the computer, and then let Windows 8
automatically detect the new device. -
For a USB, FireWire, or eSATA device, simply insert the device into
the appropriate slot or connect it to the computer, and then let
Windows 8 automatically detect the new device.
Note
Windows 8 expects USB, FireWire, and eSATA
devices to be Plug and Play compatible. If a device isn’t Plug and Play
compatible, you might be able to install the device by using software
from the manufacturer.
Depending on the device, Windows 8 should automatically detect the
new device and then silently install a built-in driver to support it.
Notifications are displayed only if there’s a problem. Otherwise, the
installation process just happens in the background.
The device should then run immediately without any problems. Well,
that’s the idea, but it doesn’t always work that way. The success of
automatic detection and installation depends on the device being Plug
and Play compatible and a device driver being available.
Windows 8 includes many device drivers in a standard installation,
and most of the time the device should be installed automatically. If
driver updating is allowed through Windows Update, Windows 8 checks for
new drivers automatically when you connect a new device or when Windows
8 first detects the device. Because Windows Update does not
automatically install device drivers, you need to check for available
updates to determine if there is a driver for you to install.
You’ll know the device installed because it will be available for you to use. You also can confirm device availability in Devices And Printers. To open Devices And Printers, tap or click View Devices And Printers in Control Panel under the Hardware And Sound heading.
Windows 8 might automatically detect the new device, but the Driver Software Installation component might run into problems installing
the device. If this happens, the installation silently fails. You’ll
know installation failed because the device will not be available for
you to use. In Devices And Printers, you should see warning icons for
both the computer and the device (see Figure 3).
In this case, if you touch or move the mouse pointer over the computer
device, you should see error status messages, such as the following:
Status: Driver is unavailable
Status: Driver Error
Tap or click the computer device and the details pane should show the Needs Troubleshooting status.
You can perform the same procedures with the device you are trying
to install. Touch or move the mouse pointer over the computer device to
see error status messages. Tap or click the device and the details pane
should show the Needs Troubleshooting status. You also may see the
following:
Status: Setup incomplete. Connect to the Internet.
To begin troubleshooting, tap or click Troubleshoot. This option is
listed at the top of the Devices And Printers window when you select
the computer or the device. The troubleshooter will walk you through
solving the problem step by step. The most likely reason for device
installation failure is that the device driver needed to be downloaded
from the Internet. If so, the troubleshooter should rather quickly
determine this and prompt you to install the driver, as shown in Figure 4.
If Windows 8 doesn’t detect and install the device, check the
manufacturer’s website for compatible installation software. Once you
have installation software for the device, run it, and then follow the
prompts. The device should then be installed properly.
Note
If Windows cannot install a device, there might be a problem with
the device itself or the driver or a conflict with existing hardware.
Once you’ve successfully installed a device, you need to
periodically perform maintenance tasks for the device and its drivers.
When new drivers for a device are released, you might want to test them
in a development or support environment to see whether the drivers
resolve problems that users have been experiencing. If the drivers
install without problems and resolve outstanding issues, you might want
to install the updated drivers on computers that use this device. The
driver update procedure should be implemented as follows:
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Check the device and driver information on each system prior to installing the new driver. Note the location, version, and file name of the existing driver. -
Create a System Restore point. -
Install the updated driver and optionally reboot the computer. If
the computer and the device function normally after the reboot, the
update can be considered a success. -
If the computer or the device malfunctions after the driver
installation, use the standard Device Manager features to roll back to
the previously installed driver. If the computer cannot be restarted
and the driver cannot be restored, recover the system by starting with
the last known good configuration, and then restore the system to the
System Restore point that you created in step 2.
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