Reinstalling Device Drivers and Software

About device drivers

Device drivers control hardware devices such as the display, the sound card, and the network card. Many drivers are part of the operating system, but other drivers must be loaded when a new device is added to the computer.

If you have reinstalled the operating system or if a device is not working properly, you should reinstall the default system drivers. This chapter tells you how to reinstall those drivers.

Installing CD/DVD drivers

You must first install the CD/DVD driver so you can use the CD/DVD drive to install other drivers and software. If you have just reinstalled Windows, the drivers are installed with the operating system, so you do not need to perform the procedure included in this section. If, however, you are having difficulty getting the drive to work and have not installed a new operating system, then use the following procedure.

1. Insert the System Restoration CD in the CD/DVD drive, then start up the computer. The Gateway startup screen appears.
2. At the Gateway startup screen, press Esc . The Boot menu opens.
3. Press the down arrow key to select ATAPI CD-ROM Drive, then press Enter . The Gateway System Restoration CD Boot Menu opens.
4. Press the down arrow key to select Boot from CD-ROM, then press Enter . The Bootable CD Main Menu opens.
5. Select Install CD/DVD-ROM drivers and press Enter .
6. Press F1 to continue the installation, then highlight Install CD-ROM driver using Autoexec.bat and press Enter . When the driver reinstallation is finished, the Main Menu opens.
7. Select Exit program and press Enter . The drive is ready to use.

Reinstalling drivers for Windows 98

If you have reinstalled Windows 98, the next step is to install device drivers and enable devices that support computer hardware. If your system has a DVD drive, you also need to reinstall the DVD Player software. Use the procedures in this section to load and enable the following devices:

Video

Sound

DVD (depends on your system configuration)

Network (depends on your system configuration)

Modem (depends on your system configuration)

PCMCIA controller

Bus mastering (enable)

If you have not reinstalled Windows 98, but are having difficulty with video, sound, or other components, try reinstalling the device drivers using the procedures in this section.

To reinstall the device drivers:

1. Start up your computer, then i nsert the System Restoration CD into the CD/DVD drive. The System Restoration CD window opens.
   
   

If the window does not open automatically, double-click the My Computer icon, then double-click the CD-ROM drive icon, then double- click the file autorun.exe.

2. Click the Hardware Drivers tab, select the check boxes for each device driver you want to install, then click Install now. Depending on the drivers you selected, additional dialog boxes may open to complete the installation.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation. For more information about using the Restoration CD, see the booklet that shipped in the CD case.
4. If you reinstalled the DVD drivers, you must also reinstall the DVD Player software to play DVD movies. See "Reinstalling system software" on page 51.

Enabling bus mastering

Bus mastering enhances your hard disk drive performance and is already enabled on your computer. If you reinstall your operating system, you need to enable bus mastering.

To enable bus mastering:

1. Right-click the My Computer icon, then click Properties. The System Properties dialog box opens.
2. Click the Device Manager tab, then double-click the Hard disk controllers icon.
3. Double-click the Intel 82371AB/EB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller icon. The Controller Properties dialog box opens.
4. Click the Settings tab.
5. In the Dual IDE Channel Settings list, select Both IDE Channels enabled, then click OK.
6. Exit from the System Properties dialog box by clicking OK. A message box appears asking to restart the system.
7. Click Yes. The computer restarts.

Reinstalling drivers for Windows NT

If you have reinstalled Windows NT, the next step is to install device drivers that support computer hardware. Also, you need to install Card Executive software for controlling the PC Card slots.

Use the procedures in this section to load the following drivers and software, in this order:

Modem (depends on your system configuration)

Audio

Network (depends on your system configuration)

Windows NT Service Pack 4

Card Executive

Video

If you have not reinstalled Windows NT, but are having difficulty with a specific hardware devices such as video or sound, try reinstalling the device driver using the procedures in this section.

To reinstall device drivers for Windows NT:

1. Insert the System Restoration CD into the CD/DVD drive.
2. Double-click the My Computer icon, then click the CD-ROM icon.
3. Double-click the file below to run the appropriate installation, then follow the on-screen prompts to complete the setup.

For this driver...	Run this file
Modem (depends on configuration)	Winnt40\Modem\Profile\setup.exe (Also be sure to change the Installed OS setting in the BIOS to Other)
Audio	Winnt40\Audio\Profile\setup.exe
Netcard (depends on configuration)	(See "Reinstalling the Netcard driver" below)
Windows NT Service Pack 4	(See "Installing the Windows NT Service Pack" on page 49)
Video	Winnt40\Display\Profile\setup.exe

Reinstalling the Netcard driver

You must reinstall the Netcard driver through the Device Manager.

To reinstall the Netcard driver:

1. Right-click the My Computer icon, then click Properties. The System Properties dialog box opens.

2. Click the Device Manager tab, then double-click the Other Devices icon.
3. Double-click the PCI Ethernet Controller icon, then click the Driver tab.
4. Click Update Driver, then click Next.
5. Click to select Search for a better driver, then click Next.
6. Click to select the CD-ROM drive check box, then click Next.
7. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.

Installing the Windows NT Service Pack

The Service Pack CD contains updates to Windows NT features, drivers, and for products operating with Windows NT.

To install the Windows NT Service Pack (NT updates)

1. With Windows NT running, insert the Windows NT Service Pack CD in the CD/DVD drive. Microsoft Internet Explorer opens.
2. Read the browser window text, then scroll down the window to the Install Service Pack link located under "Window NT Service Pack."
3. Click the Install Service Pack link.
4. Read the message and click Open. A DOS screen appears, then the Welcome dialog box opens.
5. Click Next. The Software License Agreement appears.
6. Click Yes to continue. The Service Pack Setup window opens.
7. Click Next.
8. To create an uninstall directory, choose Yes (recommended).
9. Click Finish. During the final install process a Window NT Service Pack Setup message appears asking if you would like to overwrite the PCMCIA.SYS file that is already on your system.
10. Click No. The final setup window tells you that NT 4.0 has been updated and asks you to remove any diskettes from the diskette drive.
11. Click OK. The system restarts.

Reinstalling Card Executive

Card Executive helps manage PC Card configurations. Your Windows NT system ships with Card Executive installed. If you reinstall the Windows NT operating system, you need to reinstall Card Executive.

1. Insert the Card Executive CD in the CD/DVD drive, click Start, then select Run. The Run dialog box opens.
2. Type d:\setup, then click OK. The Card Executive for Windows NT Setup dialog box opens.
3. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.

Reinstalling system software

Your system comes with additional software already installed, including a virus scan, a network client manager, and a DVD video player (only Windows 98 and only if your system has a DVD drive). If you have any problems running the software, try reinstalling it from the System Restoration CD before contacting Client Care.

To reinstall system software:

1. Insert the System Restoration CD into the CD/DVD drive. The System Restoration CD window opens.