Driver Reinstall Guide

Introduction

This module will cover basic navigation and use needed to efficiently troubleshoot with a customer. This module is designed to familiarize any participant with the driver reinstall process. 

 

Drivers for a Dell system can be reinstalled in different ways. The resource CD that ships with the system will contain most of the drivers that are needed for that specific system. Some devices such as Sound Card and Modem drivers are contained on a separate CD.

 

Objectives

At the completion of this module you will be able to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overview

All the Dell systems are shipped with a resource CD. The Resource CD contains driver files, diagnostic utilities and User's Guides for systems shipping as of the RTS date (1/31/01). The new RCD has an updated User Interface and adds detection which can identify the system type and installed PCI devices. The UI will present appropriate files for the identified system grouped by device type.

 

Installation:

As soon as the Windows installation is complete, you need to install the drivers for the devices in the system in order for them to work properly.  As soon as you insert the Dell Resource CD, the installer for the CD will start automatically in most cases.  In the event that the installer does not start automatically, you will need to run it manually.  The figure below shows the upper file structure of the Dimension Resource CD.  

 

You can try clicking on the “AUTORCD” or you can open the “Install” folder and click on “Setup.exe”.  The following are the screens that you will go through to get the CD installed in your system.  You can access the resource CD software by going in to Start>Programs>Dell Accessories>Dell Resource CD after the installation is completed.  

 

The software is installed and ready to run on the system.  The following is the installation process for drivers.

 

 

 

You can select the model of the system and then click on Drivers.

 

 

The Resource CD will default to the devices that the Operating System knows about (i.e. those found during the OS detection process). If a new device has been installed and the driver installation canceled, the OS won't know about that device until detection is accomplished. So Resource CD will not auto-display that driver. You would still be able to choose "All" for the System Model, Operating System, device type and/or Topic to display everything available on the CD.

The following cutouts represent the pull down menus in the left hand frame:

Once the software detects the drivers this is how it is going to look.

 

 

 

Click on Extract and you will be taken through the following screens.

 

 

 

 

 

We may have to install the drivers manually for certain devices.  Instead of “Install Now” on the above screen, it may say please follow the instructions below.  An example will follow involving such a situation. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following is an example where it gives you the instructions to install the drivers for the device.

 

In the event when you are installing drivers for a video card and it is giving the instructions to install the drivers, you can do the following.

 

  1. Browse to the driver folder in drive C:\DELL\
  2. Then choose the folder where the drivers were extracted to.
  3. Select the operating system and then click on “Install” or “Setup.exe”.

 

Installing drivers from Device Manager

If you find out that you need to install the drivers manually, you can follow the steps below to get the drivers installed.  If there is an issue with a driver then it will be listed in device manager under ‘Other Devices’ with Yellow question and exclamation marks as shown below

 

  1. Right click on the driver that is having issues. 
  2. Click on Properties and then click on the driver tab at the top and then click on Update Driver.
  3. Select install from a specific list or location.
  4. Select include this location in the search (Shown in the image below)
  5. Type the path of the driver location or browse to the folder where the driver is located and then click on OK.
  6. Click on Next.
  7. As soon as the driver installation is complete, restart the computer and the driver should be working fine now.
 

 

 

Downloading driver from the web site

 

If the customer does not have the resource CD, they can download the driver for the device from the internet as long as their internet connection is working fine.  The customer can visit http://support.dell.com and down load the drivers.

 

  1. Browse to http://support.dell.com
  2. Click on downloads under product support.
  3. There are 2 ways to get drivers from this pager.  You can enter the service tag for the system or you can choose the product and model of the system.  Enter the information and click on the arrow right to the information.
  4. Now you will have the option to select what you want to download as shown below.
  5. Select the type of driver you want to install and then click on submit.
  6. The next screen will give you all the drivers that are available for the system that you have selected.  Select the driver that best matches the hardware that you have in your system.
  7. Then you will be taken to a page where it will give you the name of the file.  Click on the file and then you will have the option to choose the type of download.  You will usually have the option to download from a FTP or HTTP site.
  8. As soon as the download is completed, you can run the self extracting file and then follow the instructions.

 

 

 

 

Installing Driver for a USB Device

 

Sometimes, reinstalling a driver for the printer can be tricky.  We need to make sure that we install the driver or the software for the device before we connect the device to the system.   Install the software first.  Then you will be prompted to connect the hardware to the system.  Connect the hardware to the system only when it is prompting you to do so.  You will run in to issues installing drivers if you connect the hardware before you install the driver for the device.  Some devices (USB drive, some digital cameras) do not require a driver to be installed.  The drivers for such devices are already built into Windows and they will use a generic driver. 

 

Composite devices in Device manager

 

Some of the USB devices will be detected as composite device by the system.  If you open device manager, they will be listed as “composite device”.  You will have to remove the composite device or update the driver for the composite device in order to get the driver installed properly.  This will generally happen when you try to install the driver for a cable modem.

 

Removing a USB Composite Device

  1. Make sure that the USB cable is plugged into your PC.
  2. Go to the Start button; choose "Settings" and then "Control Panel".
  3. From inside the "Control Panel" choose "System".
  4. Choose the tab on the top of the screen for "Device Manager".
  5. Click the "+" next to "Universal Serial Bus Controllers".
  6. Click "USB Composite Device" to select it and choose "Remove".
  7. Once the USB Composite Device is removed, restart your PC.

 

 

 

Installing Driver for a cable modem

 

  1. Plug the “Type A” end of the USB cable into the USB port of your PC. Plug the
  2. “Type B” end of the USB cable into the back of the Cable Modem.
  3. Insert the USB Drivers CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.
  4. Follow the instructions described in "Preparation" on this page. After connecting the USB cable, the Add New Hardware Wizard appears. Click "Next".
  5. Select “Search for the Best Driver for your device" and click “Next”.
  6. Select "CD-ROM drive" and click "Next".
  7. Confirm that the path is correct and click "Next".  Windows should then begin copying the installation drivers.
  8. Click "Finish" to complete the driver installation.
  9. Once this is complete, the process will be repeated for the “Networking Support”
  10. Once complete, you are ready to surf the internet at warp speed using your new Cable Modem.

 

Reinstalling Driver for a Printer

 

  1. Turn the Printer Off – ensure it is connected to the computer
  2. Checked Add/Remove programs for printer software, uninstall if needed
  3. Go to Start /Control Panel/ Printers
  4. Right click on the Driver to be reinstalled and click Delete – click yes when prompted
  5. Then click on File/ Server Properties/ Drivers Tab
  6. Select Printer just removed then click Remove (repeat for all desired Printers) – click ok when prompted
  7. Insert the Printer CD supplied by the vendor and reinstall driver.
  8. Turn the Printer On, allow windows to install additional software if needed
  9. Set Printer as default if needed (Start Control Panel/Printers the Right Click desired printer and select “Set as Default Printer”)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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