After Windows starts you can open "Add New Hardware Wizard". The Wizard will attempt to detect any new hardware. Then it will give you option to "select hardware from a list." Choose option to select from a list, then click Next button. In list select "modem" and click on Next button. Then it will give you option to let windows "try to detect your modem" or "select modem from a list."

PnP will not be able to detect your modem if it's a model developed after your Windows installation disc was mastered. Nor will it appear on list. Just select closest match from list, then update driver afterwards.

If Plug and Play installs old drivers, open Control Panel "System" utility. Click on Device Manager tab and in device type list, open branch for "Modem". Select name of modem and click on "properties" button. The modems "Properties" dialog box will open. Select "Driver" tab and click on "Update Driver..." button. The "Update Driver Wizard" appears. Use Wizard to install new modem driver.

Don't be surprised if "Update Driver Wizard" updates driver by removing modem and adding it again (with new driver).

The modem "driver" will most likely not be a single file. It might be a group of files with extensions like .vxd, .exe, .ini, .dll, etc. The list of files is contained in a text file with extension .inf. So when you install "driver" you are actually reading files and other configuration from .inf file.

Step 4. Don't forget to reconfigure your dial-up connection with new modem. If you are a system administrator, don't forget to see that everyone else's dial-up connection gets updated as well.

Using four steps described above, you can work around Plug and Play to properly install a modem with latest drivers. ---------------------------------------------------------- Resource Box: Copyright(C)2002 Bucaro TecHelp. To learn how to maintain your computer and use it more effectively to design a Web site and make money on Web visit http://bucarotechelp.com To subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter Send a blank email to bucarotechelp-subscribe@topica.com ----------------------------------------------------------

As you can see from above specifications, USB 2.0 is 40 times faster than USB 1.1. But most operating systems do not yet have native support for USB 2.0. Microsoft has released USB 2.0 drivers for Windows XP. You can download them from Windows Update site: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com.

You can plug a USB 2.0 device into a USB 1.1 port, but you will only get 12 Mbps transfer speed. Similarly, you can plug a USB 1.1 device into a USB 2.0 port, but you will only get 12 Mbps transfer speed.

If your computer was built in 1997 or later, you probably have USB 1.1 support. The USB Implementers Forum provides a free utility download that examines your hardware to determine its USB capability. You can download it from: http://www.usb.org/data/usbready.exe If you have a computer with USB 1.1 support, you can use an expansion card that provides USB 2.0.

Manufacturers of USB 2.0 devices provide drivers that work with Windows 98 or higher. First you insert a CD that comes with product to install driver. Then, when you plug in USB cable, port will automatically configure for device.

The USB standard requires cables to operate at a length of up to five meters, but many hardware manufacturers guarantee their products to work only with much shorter cable that they provide. ----------------------------------------------------------- Resource Box: Copyright(C)2002 Bucaro TecHelp. To learn how to maintain your computer and use it more effectively to design a Web site and make money on Web visit http://bucarotechelp.com To subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter Send a blank email to bucarotechelp-subscribe@topica.com -----------------------------------------------------------