The Control Panel Program, Add/Remove Hardware/Software

This program is only used to load the driver information to your system when you add a new piece of hardware to it. such as a modem or sound card. When you purchase a piece of equipment, it come with either, a 3½" diskette or a CD-ROM, which holds the software information for your computer. If you have an older computer or buy a used one, most often this information is missing. If the machine runs into a problem, you can download drivers from the manufacturer's web site. On older systems, make sure you have a copy of the operating system (windows) handy as you may be asked to insert it during the procedure. If you don't have a copy, take a look in you Windows Explorer. There is often a copy of the Windows installation program filed there. Some common locations are c:\win98 or c:\windows\cabs. If not there, try doing a search for WIN98_21.CAB (one of the installation files). So if you are asked you can choose the browse button and set the location.
Download files
When the download has finished, go to either My Computer or Windows Explorer, double-click the file you downloaded to extract the driver information. Make sure you know where the information will be filed. You need to know that location to complete the operation Get to the Control Panel program, If not on your desktop, click on the Start button, point to Settings. Double click Add New Hardware, and follow the instructions on your screen. When you see 'Do you want Windows to search for your new hardware?', Choose No. Another window will open Choose the hardware type for the driver you are installing. (Modem, Sound, etc.) Scroll down if necessary Choose Have Disk, Now you need tell the computer where to find the information Click on the Browse button. another window opens Choose the location of the driver file, click on OK twice Follow any on screen instructions from that point forward. Notes The driver file may have an inf, .exe, .dll, or another type of extension. The driver file is extracted to the same location as the downloaded file. If you are still having a problem with a device, you can always try a 'Windows Update' provided you have an Internet connection and it's working. These often find updates for your drivers. Turn on your Internet Explorer, choose the Tools menu option, then Windows Update. You will be taken to www.microsoft.com, look on the list on the left, click Update Wizard.

Add/Remove Programs

Windows Setup page tab
Should you want to add or remove some part of the Windows library of software, open the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box, thenchoose the Windows Setup tab.

Under Components, click the component you want to add or remove.

To add all parts of the component, select its check box.
To remove all parts of the component, click to clear its check box.
To add or remove some parts of the component, click Details, and then click to select or clear check boxes for those parts.

Notes

You can also open the Add/Remove Programs from the button, point to Settings, then Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, and then choose the Windows Setup tab.
If you used a CD to install Windows, you will be prompted to insert it into your computer.

Create a startup disk
There are times that you must reformat your hard drive. When those times happen it is advisable to have a bootable diskette, so that you may reload your system.

Open the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box at the Startup Disk tab.
Click Create Disk.

Follow the instructions on your screen.

Notes

You can also open this option by clicking on the button, point to Settings, Control Panel, double-click on Add/Remove Programs, and then choose the Startup Disk tab.
To make a startup disk, you will need one 2mb floppy disk
When you insert the startup disk in your floppy "A" drive, the computer starts from that disk, not from your hard drive.
If you are using Windows 95, you must also include CD-ROM information (complete folder and files), and the following files: MSCDEX..EXE - AUTOEXEC.BAT - CONFIG.SYS

Modify a Startup Disk - Windows 95 only. Ignore if you have Windows 98 or higher.
The autoexec.bat and config.sys files must then me modified to read the 3½ Floppy (A:) as the target drive. For example, if the following line were shown in your autoexec.bat file

C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD000 /M:18

You would want to modify the line to read: A:\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD000 /M:18

OR if the following line were shown in the config.sys file:

DEVICE=C:\SANYO\SJCDAPI.SYS /D:MSCD000

That line would be modified to: DEVICE=A:\CDROM\SJCDAPI.SYS /D:MSCD000

As mentioned previously, your startup disk should include the MSCDEX.EXE file and the CDROM folder (which would include any pertinent files).

Have a problem and can't find the answer on our site? Click Here To Contact Us.
Due to the awful amount of spam we are receiving -
make sure you remove the EraseMeFirst after the com in the email message

Want to know what people say about us? Visit our Comments page.

Let us know what you think about our site or want to offer any suggestions.
Click here to send us feedback
Due to the awful amount of spam we are receiving -
make sure you remove the EraseMeFirst after the com in the email message

Thanks for visiting ER Computer Services




These links will lead you into our framed website. It is best viewed at a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 dpi, however, 800 x 600 dpi will also work. If your screen cannot handle this, please navigate using our Site Map page and your browser.