• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Occasionally, the Device Manager may not even show the new device. If that happens, verify that you inserted the device properly and, if needed, that the device has power. Run the Add/Remove Hardware Wizard and see if Windows recognizes the device. If the Device Manager doesn’t recognize the device at this point, you have one of two problems: either the device is physically damaged and you must replace it, or the device is an onboard device, not a card, and is turned off in CMOS.

The Device Manager rarely completely fails to see a device. More commonly, device problems manifest themselves in the Device Manager via error icons—a black “!” or a red “X” or a blue “i.”

A black “!” on a yellow circle indicates that a device is missing (Figure 8-37), that Windows does not recognize a device, or that there’s a device driver problem. A device may still work even while producing this error.

Figure 8-37 An “!” in the Device Manager, indicating a problem with the selected device

A red “X” indicates a disabled device. This usually points to a device that’s been manually turned off, or a damaged device. A device producing this error will not work.

A blue “i” on a white field indicates a device on which someone has configured the system resources manually. This only occurs on non-ACPI systems. This symbol merely provides information and does not indicate an error with the device.

The “!” symbol is the most common error symbol and usually the easiest to fix. First, double-check the device’s connections. Second, try reinstalling the driver with the Update Driver button. To get to the Update Driver button, right-click the desired device in the Device Manager and select Properties. In the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab. On the Driver tab, click the Update Driver button to open the updating wizard (Figure 8-38).

Figure 8-38 Updating the driver

A red “X” error strikes fear into most technicians. If you get one, first check that the device isn’t disabled. Right-click on the device and select Enable. If that doesn’t work (it often does not), try rolling back the driver (if you updated the driver) or uninstalling (if it’s a new install). Shut the system down and make triple-sure you have the card physically installed. Then redo the entire driver installation procedure, making sure you have the most current driver for that device. If none of these procedures works, return the card—it’s almost certainly bad.

As you look at the errors in the Device Manager, you’ll notice error codes for the device that does not work properly. Windows has about 20 error codes, but the fixes still boil down to the same methods just shown. If you really want to frustrate yourself, try the Troubleshooter. It starts most fixes the same way: by reinstalling the device driver.

Chapter Review

Questions

1. Which of the following statements about the expansion bus is true?

A. The expansion bus runs at the speed of the system clock.

B. The expansion bus crystal sets the speed for the expansion bus.

C. The CPU communicates with RAM via the expansion bus.

D. The frontside bus is another name for the expansion bus.

2. Which of the following statements best describes the hexadecimal numbering system?

A. It is a binary numbering system that uses only two digits, a zero and a one.

B. It is another name for the decimal numbering system with ten digits, zero through nine.

C. It is an eight-digit numbering system, using letters A through H.

D. It is a sixteen-digit numbering system representing binary values, using the characters zero through nine and A–F.

3. AGP stands for ______________ and is an expansion of the _____________ bus.

A. Accelerated Graphics Port, PCI

B. Alternative Graphics Port, PCI

C. Accelerated Graphics Port, ISA

D. Alternative Graphics Port, ISA

4. Which of these devices is likely to still use DMA?

A. USB flash drive

B. Floppy drive

C. Hard