How to Install Drivers for Hardware From a Website

Unfortunately Windows users need to install drivers to get printers, scanners, drives and other devices to work with their computers. And, often they discover, after installing the operating system or setting up a new PC, they no longer have the disks that came with their hardware to reinstall these drivers. But thanks to the Internet, all is not lost.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Get the manufacturer's name and model number of the piece of hardware you want to install. This can usually be found displayed prominently on the back of the unit. If you're installing a sound or video card, it should be displayed on the front of the card.
2. Use your web browser to go to the manufacturer's website. If you can't get there directly, use a search engine such as Google to find it.
3. Navigate to the support or download section of the website, or enter the model number of your item into the website's search box.
4. Select the model number from the drop down menu, and click on the driver you want to install.
5. Download the driver to your desktop, so that you know where it is. If there's an installation package included with it, hit "run" and the driver will be installed on your PC. Otherwise go on to the next step.
6. Go into Control Panel and select "Install New Hardware." This scans your PC for new drivers and asks you if you want to install them. If it fails to "see" the new driver, go to the next step.
7. Follow the steps in the hardware installation wizard, where you eventually tell it where to find your new driver and hit "install."

Tips & Warnings

• If you can't find a driver for your specific version of Windows, download the one designated for Windows 2000. This should work. If not try to find a generic driver in the listing.

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