Devices, known as legacy devices, are also called non¬plug and play devices. For devices that are not plug and play, Windows XP has a control panel called Add Hardware. If using control panel categories, select the Printers and Other Hardware category and then select Add Hardware from the left pane. The Add Hardware wizard allows hardware configuration and is used for hardware that is not automatically recognized by Windows XP. It is also used for plug and play devices that don't install properly with Windows XP's automatic detection. You must have Administrator privileges in order to load device drivers for new hardware.

With both plug and play and non-plug and play devices, the Device Manager tool is used to view installed hardware devices, enable or disable devices, troubleshoot a device, view and/or change system resources such as IRQs and I/O addresses, update drivers, and access the driver roll back option. The driver roll back option is a new feature in Windows XP. It allows an older driver to be reinstalled when the new driver causes problems. If the device driver has not been updated, driver roll back will not be possible and a message screen displaying this fact would appear. The troubleshooting tool should be used instead to troubleshoot the device. An exercise follows that details how to use this feature.

Sometimes, XP can install the wrong driver for an older device or adapter. From Device Manager, right-click on the device and you can uninstall the device driver or disable it. Sometimes, the computer must reboot and XP will reinstall the wrong driver (again). The solution to this is to disable the device and then install it manually. The following exercise illustrates how to disable a device on a computer running Windows XP. To install new hardware manually, use the following steps:
1. Log on to the computer.

2. Click on the Start button and select the Control Panel option.

3. If in Category View, click on Printers and Other Hardware and select Add Hardware from the left pane. If in Classic View, double-click on the Add Hardware icon. The Add Hardware wizard starts.

4. Make sure the new hardware is physically connected and select the Yes, I have already connected the hardware option and click on the Next button.

5. Use the Installed hardware scroll bar to find and select the Add a new hardware device checkbox and click on Next.

6. Select the manual option and select the type of hardware being installed. Scroll through the manufacturer list or have an XP-compatible driver ready and click on the Have Disk button to install the appropriate driver. Click on the Next button to finish the device driver installation.