Dell YH242 owner manual What Is a Driver?, Identifying Drivers, Windows XP

Tab	Function
Configuration	Displays your hardware configuration for the selected device.
	The Dell Diagnostics obtains configuration information for all
	devices from system setup, memory, and various internal tests,
	and displays the information in the device list in the left pane of
	the screen. The device list may not display the names of all the
	components installed on your computer or all devices attached to
	your computer.
Parameters	Allows you to customize the test by changing the test settings.

4Close the test screen to return to the Main Menu screen. To exit the Dell Diagnostics and restart the computer, close the Main Menu screen.

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 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.

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

1Click Start, then click Control Panel.

2Click System.

3In the System Properties window, click the Hardware tab.

4Click Device Manager.

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