Install other Drivers
There are, in most notebook computers, additional high speed ports such as FireWire, and IrDA (infrared port). Both are standardized and Windows XP should have drivers for them. Should your system not have drivers, again, a visit to the manufacturer's web site is in order.
Modem
Most modems are standardized and do not require an additional driver. However, if your modem was not detected properly during installation, you have two choices:
· The first course of action is to visit the manufacturer's support site to see if there are drivers available. If so, then use these drivers.
· The second choice is to try installing one of the standardized modem drivers, and try it.
FireWire
The actual FireWire hardware will be supported by Windows XP, and Windows 98SE, from the box. However, there is a minor 'glitch' for FireWire users to be on the lookout for.
There is support for FireWire 800 (this doubles the original standard's speed of 400 Mbps) and Windows XP supports these speeds (at least until Service Pack 2.)
When Service Pack 2 was released, users were surprised to find that the speed of some FireWire devices had dropped to about 100 Mbps. This degradation in performance was not present in the original Windows XP, or in Service Pack 1.
There is a fix for this problem. This fix involves rolling back the FireWire drivers to either Service Pack 1, or original Windows XP status. If you do not have the original FireWire drivers (probably because you installed from a CD that had Service Pack 2 already applied) then it will be necessary to visit the Internet and search for drivers. One search location is the interface (chip) maker's web site. Another place to look is your computer maker's web site.
Sidebar
FireWire and DEP
Windows XP Service Pack 2 adds a security feature called Data Execution Prevention (DEP). This feature relies on the CPU's support of this functionality. Today, only the AMD Athlon 64, Sempron, Opteron, and Intel Itanium support this in hardware.
DEP helps prevent the execution of code in data. This helps eliminate problems where a buffer overrun causes code to execute, and where a malicious hide code in data buffers.
Windows XP Service Pack 2 will enable this feature, and if the hardware does not support it, Windows XP will attempt to perform the same functionality using software.
The problem arises when legitimate software tries to do the same thing (there are reasons for this, but this is done usually to improve performance for specialized code). Some FireWire software does this to allow maximum performance for video applications. Unfortunately DEP catches this and ends the program.
Windows XP DEP may be customized, or turned completely off if desired. Open the Control Panel's System applet. Click on the Advanced tab, then click in the Performance section the Settings button. In Performance Options, is a tab titled Data Execution Prevention--click this tab.
The choices are to turn on DEP for "essential Windows Programs", or turn on DEP for all programs. When you select the all programs setting, you may allow data execution for specific programs.
The default for DEP on non-supported CPUs is for Windows programs and services, and on supported CPUs all programs. DEP on non-supported CPUs can significantly affect system performance.
TV Tuner
TV Tuners, and DVD players are currently hot items in today's PCs. Virtually every computer with a DVD drive is capable of playing DVDs, often in spectacular color and resolution (many PCs can display much more resolution than the current HDTV standard provides, creating an image, that though small is of incredible quality.
For TV tuners, the most common are products by ATI. ATI has produced units that are separate from the video card, and now produces units that integrate the TV tuner capabilities with the video card.
Each of the various models has its own specialized setup and installation process. Carefully following the instructions is very important if your TV tuner is to work well.
Driver Updates
There are times when devices do not work as expected. Windows XP allows the user to easily update a driver. Start the Windows Control Panel. Click on the System icon, and select the Hardware tab in System Properties. Next click on the Device Manager button, which will display the Device Manager window. (Note that the Device Manager button may be in a different location on your computer.)
In the device manager, select the problem device, and right click. In the context menu (Figure 18) select Update Driver.
Figure 18-Update driver launches the Hardware Update Wizard, while Scan for hardware changes will look for new hardware.
The (perhaps misnamed) Hardware Update Wizard (Figure 19) will search your drive, media in removable drives, and optionally the Windows Update site on the Internet. Unless you have a driver disk that you know will have the correct drivers, it will be a good idea to check the Windows Update site.
Figure 19-Both driver updates that fix bugs, and hardware updates are important in having a computer that works well.
Note
In the Hardware Update Wizard, you can choose to connect to Windows Update, connect every time, or not to connect. Typically you would choose not to connect if you have a driver that is later than the one on Windows Update.