How do I get my hardware to work again after an OS upgrade?

Question

I recently upgraded my computer to windows xp and unfortunately, now nothing in my computer works... the cd rom, cd rw, sound card and modem.. someone told me that by going to windows and downloading the updates for drivers would help.. but the problem is that my modem doesn't work.. so i can't get online... is there any other way that i can download this updates or get a a driver for the modem... or do i just give up and buy a new computer?

Answer

This question was answered on May 18, 2004. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

What you should do is look for the company's name and try to find their website. They'll usually have the drivers available for updates for your computer. If the modem is included as one of the items of hardware that won't work, then your best bet is find someone who has internet access so you can access and download the specific driver files to a disk or CD. Afterwards, you can go to the Add/Remove Hardware icon located in the control panel. After you indicate that you want to install a device, then it'll search for any plug and play devices. If none are found then you will have to find your device manually through the list of devices they give to you. There should be one for the modem you have in your computer. If that isn't found then go to "Add a new device" then it will search for any and all hardware inside the computer that's not plug and play. If it does find something it will either install the driver itself from the device or it will need to get the driver from the disk or CD it is on, and you will need to locate it for the computer. Make sure it is the right one, or else it might make the hardware worse. If no new hardware is detected then you will have to determine what type of device you need to install. Find the device among the list. If the one desired isn't found then go to other devices. This window will have a list of brand names for different hardware. Find the one for that specific device then in the next list box it will show all the available devices it will recognize with the driver you've downloaded to your disk or CD. Some drivers, when installed, require the user to restart the computer, so when it asks to restart the computer you should do so. If all else fails, you should call the maker of your computer for any other solutions.

Author

Posted by steve of Katharine Gibbs School - New York on May 18, 2004