Drivers, What is a driver, Identifying drivers – Dell Inspiron 700M User Manual

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Solving Problems

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4 When the tests are complete, close 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 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.
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 the Start button and click Control Panel.
2 Under Pick a Category, click Performance and Maintenance.
3 Click System.

Help

Describes the test and may indicate requirements for running
the test.

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 it 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.

Tab

Function

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