An IDE (integrated drive electronics) device is a type of computer component, often a hard drive, that is designed to connect directly to the motherboard. If you plan on installing a new IDE drive in a computer, you may need to install a specific driver before it will work properly. A driver is a small piece of software that helps a computer recognize and configure a specific device. When you purchase a new IDE drive, it often comes with the required driver on a disc. But even if you don't have this disc, you can count on Windows to automatically search for, download and install the required driver.
Instructions
Installing the Driver from a Disc
1. Install the physical IDE drive if it is not already installed. Make sure that the computer is turned off and unplugged before doing this, and refer to model-specific installation instructions to install the actual drive.
2. Boot up the computer with the new drive installed. When the computer finishes booting, open the CD-ROM drive, insert the driver disc and close the drive.
3. Wait a moment or two to see if the driver installation program will auto-launch. If it does not, double-click the "My Computer" icon, then double-click your CD-ROM drive icon. This may launch the driver installation software, but if it just opens the file folder on the CD, browse the contents for a .exe file like setup.exe or run.exe. When you find this file, double-click it.
4. Follow the on-screen prompts to install the driver. You may be prompted to reboot your computer at the end of this process. Once the installer closes, the driver should be fully installed.
Installing the Driver via Windows
5. Install the actual IDE drive in the computer before attempting to install the driver. The computer must be turned off and should be unplugged before you do this. Refer to model-specific, step-by-step installation instructions that came with your new drive to guide you through this process.
6. Boot up the computer. Wait for a few minutes after the computer boots up and keep an eye on the system tray in the bottom right corner of the screen. You should see a word balloon with a notification that Windows has detected new hardware. When you see this notification, it means that Windows is already searching for and configuring the appropriate driver. Within a couple of minutes, you should see a new word balloon with either a notification that the new device has been installed and is ready to use, or that Windows was unable to configure the new device. If you see the first message, the driver was successfully installed and there's nothing else you need to do. If you see the second message, proceed to the next step.
7. Click the "Start" button in Windows and select "Run" from the Start Menu. Type "devmgmt.msc" in the Run window and click "OK." This will launch the Device Manager.
8. Find the device category that describes the type of IDE device you installed. This may be "Disk drives," "DVD\CD drives," "IDE ATA\ATAPI controllers" or another category. When you find the one that fits your device, expand its device menu by clicking the plus sign next to it.
9. Find your newly installed device in the expanded list and right-click it. Select "Update Driver" from the list of pop-up options. If the driver is readily available, Windows will automatically detect, download, install and configure it. At the end of this process, you will see a word balloon appear in the system tray with one of the two messages described in Step 2. If Windows still cannot successfully configure the driver, contact the support staff of your device's manufacturer about either troubleshooting the conflict or requesting the driver in disc or download form.
Tags: driver disc, that Windows, this process, word balloon, actual drive