Datasheet

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Installing New Hardware
✦ Write down everything you do in case you need to undo it or ask for
help. This advice is particularly important if you’re opening your com-
puter to install an internal device!
✦ If the device comes with a Windows 7 (or Vista) driver, check the
manufacturer’s Web site to see whether you have the latest version. A
company usually keeps drivers on one or more Web pages that you can
find by clicking a Drivers, Downloads, or Support link. If you discover a
version that’s newer than the one packaged with the device, download it
and install it instead.
If you can’t tell whether the version on the Web site is newer because
you can’t tell which version came with the device, you have two choices:
• Download and install the Web site’s version just in case. It’s unlikely to
be older than the one that came with the device!
• Install the one that came with the device. Then check its date and
version number. (See the next section). If the one on the Web site
proves to be newer, download the newer one and install it. Read the
instructions; you may need to uninstall the original driver first.
Checking a driver’s version
To check the version number of a driver, follow these steps:
1. Click the Start button. Right-click Computer and choose Properties.
On the left, click the Device Manager link.
Windows 7 opens the Device Manager window, shown in Figure 1-10.
2. Click the plus sign next to the heading that contains the device you
want to check.
In Figure 1-10, I click the heading Display Adapters, and Windows shows
me which display adapters are installed and recognized.
You may have to try several headings to find the right one. If you guess
wrong, just click again to collapse the heading you expanded.
3. Double-click the device to open the Device Properties dialog box.
Click the Driver tab to display details about the driver, as shown in
Figure 1-11.
You should be able to identify the latest driver by its date or version
number or both.
4. Click the Update Driver button. When Windows asks, click to Search
Automatically for Updated Driver Software.
Windows goes out to the big Microsoft driver database in the sky and
retrieves and installs the latest driver.