Dell Inspiron 8600 - Manual (Page 103)

Solving Problems 103
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 the 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.
NOTICE: The Drivers and Utilities CD may contain drivers for operating systems that are not
on your computer. Ensure that you are installing software appropriate for your operating system.
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.
1 Click the Start button and click Control Panel.
2 Under Pick a Category, click Performance and Maintenance.
3 Click System.
4 In the System Properties window, click the Hardware tab.
5 Click Device Manager.
C O NT A C T D E L L — If you cannot solve your problem using the Dell™ Support
website or e-mail service, call Dell for technical assistance (see page 139). See
page 138 for a description of the hardware and software support provided by Dell.