It's bound to happen sooner or later: you turn on the old computer, and something that was working fine before is no longer working at all, or is having weird problems.Whether it's your modem, your sound card, a scanner, or some other device in or connec
To find out exactly how you should go about troubleshooting your computer, choose which one of the following scenarios describes your situation:
1) I just installed this device. This is the first time I've ever had this kind of device in my computer.
2) I just installed this device to replace an old device of the same kind.
3) I haven't changed anything. This device just stopped working. Regardless of which situation describes you, ask yourself a few key questions:
-Did I install the driver for this device?
Almost all new hardware will require you to install a "device driver". A device driver is a program that tells Windows how to control, or "drive" the device.
-After installing the device, did I check for conflicts in the Device Manager?
Just because Windows appeared to install the device just fine, doesn't necessarily mean that it's not conflicting (that is, getting in the way of) another device in your computer.
If you have not installed the driver, do that first. Your hardware Should have come with a How-To guide (sometimes called Getting Started) that will explain how to install the driver. If it did not, or if you no longer have the manual, see 'Scenario [3]' for instructions on how to reinstall the driver.
If you have installed the driver, but don't know how to check for conflicts, see the section further down entitled "Resolving Device Conflicts."
Scenario 1:
I just installed this device. This is the first time I've ever had this kind of device in my computer.
After having installed the driver and checked for conflicts with other devices, if your device still is not working properly, there are two things you can do:
1) Go to the manufacturer's website (which is usually shown in the device's documentation), and download the latest driver for the device. You will usually find driver updates in a section of the website called "Support" if there is not a specific section on the main page for downloading new drivers.
2) After having installed that latest driver, if the device still does not work, try installing the device in a friend's computer. If it does not work in another computer, either, you might have gotten a bad device. This does happen. We occasionally receive equipment here that was tested before it left from the vendor, but may have been damaged during shipping. Hopefully you kept the receipt and can return the item.
Scenario 2:
I installed this device to replace an old device of the same kind.
After having installed the driver and checked for conflicts with other devices, if your device still is not working properly, ask yourself the following two questions:
Did I remove/disable the old device before I installed the new one?
When installing a new modem, for example, it is always a good idea to remove the old one, especially you are working with an old computer, because the old modem may not be Plug-N-Play, and so that could cause trouble.
Did I remove the old device driver before installing the new one?
Even if you took the old device out of the computer, or unplugged it from the computer, you may still need to remove the drive for the old device to avoid hidden conflicts. Do the following:
- Right-click on 'My Computer' on your desktop and choose 'Properties'.
- A window will appear that says 'System Properties.' Click on the tab at the top of the window that says 'Device Manager.'
- Double-click on the type of device that is giving you problems (i.e., if you installed a new modem, double-click on the 'Modem' icon, if it's a sound card, double-click on the 'Sound, video and game controllers' icon.)
- Single-click on the driver for the OLD device, and then click the button that says 'Remove'.
- Restart your computer.
If that does not solve your problem, follow the two steps outlined under 'Scenario [1]' above, downloading and installing the latest driver from the manufacturer and trying the device in another computer.
Scenario 3:
I haven't changed anything: the device just stopped working. After having installed the driver and checked for conflicts with other devices, if your device still is not working properly, you will want to remove the driver (see 'Scenario [2]' above for detailed instructions on how to remove the driver), and then reinstall the driver from off of the diskette or CD that came with the device.
DO NOT LET WINDOWS JUST FIND AND INSTALL ITS OWN COPY OF THE DRIVER.
If, after rebooting the computer, Windows "finds" your new hardware and installs the driver for it (which you don't want it to do in case there is something wrong with the driver), do the following:
If your device came with a CD-ROM, put the CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive and wait for a few seconds to see if a menu will pop-up. A menu should pop up because Windows has what is called an 'Autorun' feature that will automatically run the program on the CD (or play a music CD) once you put it in the drive. When the menu appears, see if there is an option to install the driver. If you cannot find one, or if the device came with a floppy diskette, do the following:
- Right-click on 'My Computer' on your desktop and choose 'Properties'.
- A window will appear that says 'System Properties.' Click on the tab at the top of the window that says 'Device Manager.'
- Double-click on the type of device that is giving you problems (i.e., if you installed a new modem, double-click on the 'Modem' icon, if it's a sound card, double-click on the 'Sound, video and game controllers' icon.) - Single-click on the driver for the OLD device, and then click the button that says 'Properties'.
- A window will appear that has the name of the device on it.Click on the 'Driver' tab at the top of the window, and then click on the 'Update Driver' button.
- The 'Update Device Driver' wizard will appear. Click 'Next'.
- Make sure 'Search for a better driver' is selected, and then click 'Next' again.
- If your device came with a floppy diskette, click the box next to 'Floppy Disk drives' so that there is a check-mark in it. If your device came on a CD-ROM, click the box next to 'CD-ROM drives' so that there is a check-mark in it. If it is located somewhere else, click the box next to 'Specify a Location' and type in the path to the driver.
- Be sure that you have the diskette or CD-ROM in the drive before clicking 'Next' again.
- If there is more than one driver on the diskette or CD-ROM, Windows will ask you to choose which one you want to install. Select the one that you need (it will usually match the name on the box for the device) and then click 'Next'. If you are not given a list, but Windows tells you that it is ready to install the device, then click 'Next'.
- Windows will now install your device. You will probably have to restart the computer after it is done.
Check now reinstalled device for conflicts.
Source : http://www.nodevice.com/help/12/How_To_repair_a_PC.html
How To repair a PC