Basic Principles to Know to Support I/O Devices

As you learned in my last post, all I/O devices are controlled by software. To be able to control the device you must install both the device and the device drivers. The drivers you install must also be compatible with the OS (operating system) you are using. Although this is the case with every other device, it is not the case with floppy disk drives which are controlled by the system BIOS.

Remember that the manufacturer knows best. You should always follow the guidelines in the manufacturers documentation to installing the device first.

Not all devices come with everything they need though. Devices such as scanners might also need you to install Adobe Photoshop before you can use it.

Often times what happens is the device may just not work because the application software for it needs to be updated. The manufacturer provides updates for their devices free usually from their website.

If all else fails use the internet. Search for the information you need to troubleshoot your specific device. No matter how much you think you know about troubleshooting a device you can always troubleshoot it a lot faster by searching for your specific problem.