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Tech Tips / Windows 2000 Professional / Hardware and Drivers

Viewing legacy drivers

Windows 2000 offers broad hardware support, providing drivers for most hardware, particularly Plug and Play devices. In a few instances, you might be forced to use legacy, non-Plug and Play drivers for an unsupported device. The Device Manager gives you a great overall look at your system's device drivers, but if you're using a legacy driver, you might have problems finding it listed. Being able to find the driver is the first step in troubleshooting potential problems or disabling the driver if it causes any system problems.

To view these drivers, right-click My Computer and choose Manage to open the Computer Management console. Open the Device Manager, then choose View | Show Hidden Devices. A new branch named Non-Plug And Play Drivers should now appear in the right pane. Expand the branch to locate the driver in question, and then double-click the driver to view its properties.

You can use the Device Usage drop-down list on the General properties page to disable a device driver from the current hardware profile. Use the Startup drop-down list on the Driver page to switch the driver's startup mode. Use the Start and Stop buttons on the Driver page to start and stop the driver during troubleshooting.