How do I know what drivers to install for my computer in Windows XP?
When downloading or updating drivers, it is important to choose the correct driver that will work properly for the specific device in your computer. Often times however, a particular device can be made by several different vendors even though it is for the same model of computer; each one requiring a specific driver made by that vendor. This means that on the Drivers and Downloads area of our support web site, there may be several drivers listed for the same device. The following steps will show you how to choose the correct drivers for your computer.
Look for the device vendor’s name in Device Manager:
- Left click on Start.
- Right click on My Computer.
- In the System Properties window, click on the Hardware tab.
- Click on the Device Manager button.
In the Device Manager window, locate the device for which you require the driver (in this example, a wireless network adapter). The vendor name will normally appear with the device installed. From here, follow the instructions below to find the appropriate driver.
- In your Internet browser of choice, navigate to our $apa_productsupport page.
↵- In the Select Your Product section, click the icon that represents your product.
↵- After you have selected the Icon that represents your product, click on Select Your Product By Model.
↵- A new window will pop-up. In the Select Line section, choose the line that represents your product link.
↵- In the Select Model section, choose the model that represents your product.
↵- Click the Confirm button to verify the correct model choice.
- On the next page, click on the Drivers tab.
Note: Drivers are only available for the original operating system that shipped with the computer.
If the device you require a driver for is not named, you can download our Hardware Vendor Detection Utility . This application will help you to identify the hardware in your computer.