Solving Problems 95
Drivers

What Is a Driver?

A driver is a program that controls a device such as a printer, mouse, or ke yboard. All d evices
require a driver progr am.
A driver acts like a translator between the device and the programs that us e the devic e. 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 Utilitie s
CD may contain drivers for operating systems that are not
on your computer. Ensure tha t you are ins tall ing so ftware appr opri ate fo r your operat in g syste m.
Many drivers, such as the keyboard driver, come with your Microsoft® Windows® operating
system. You may need to install dri vers 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.
1Click the Start button and click Control Panel.
2Under Pick a Category, click Performance and Maintenance.
3Click System.
4In the System Properties window, click the Hardware tab.
5Click Device Manager.
6Scroll down the list to see if any device has an exclamation point (a yellow circle with a
[!]) on the device icon.
If an exclamation point is next to the device name, you may need to reinstall the driver
or install a new driver.
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