Hardware Demo, Step by Step

About this interactive

What you are doing: completing the steps of the lesson's Device Manager demo, one or two missing words at a time. No item prints the words you have to type. The steps, as the lesson shows them: click the Windows button and type Device Manager. The hardware is grouped into categories, so the graphics card is under Display adapters and the network card under Network adapters. Right-click a device and choose Update driver, or choose Properties and open the Driver tab, which shows the driver's provider and date and has its own Update Driver button. In the window Update driver opens, Search automatically for drivers lets Windows look for one; Browse my computer for drivers points it at a driver you downloaded from the maker. Many makers' downloads are also an install file you double-click to run, and some PC makers, such as Dell, offer a tool that scans for driver updates. Why it matters: right after setup, Windows talks to the hardware through default drivers. They get the computer running, and the maker's driver adds the rest. How to use it: type one word in each box. Capital letters do not matter.

What you'll learn

Find a device in Windows Device Manager and update its driver: open Device Manager, find the device under its category, then Update driver, searching automatically or browsing to a driver you downloaded, or run the maker's install file
Check which driver a device is using on the Driver tab of its Properties window, and know that Windows runs new hardware on a default driver until you update it

Aligned to

CompTIA Tech+

2.2 Given a scenario, set up and install common peripheral devices to a laptop/PC.

CompTIA A+ Core 2

1.3 Given a scenario, use features and tools of the Microsoft Windows 10/11 operating system (OS).

Key terms

Device Manager: A Windows administrative utility that lists all hardware components recognized by the operating system and allows users to view device status, update drivers, disable hardware, or troubleshoot conflicts.
Device Driver: A separate set of software instructions that tells the operating system how to interact with a specific hardware component.
Default Driver: A basic driver installed automatically by the operating system to enable initial communication with a hardware component before a full or updated driver is installed.

Topics

Device Driver Device Manager Fill In Interactive Fill In

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