Add Hardware Wizard - The majority of devices you might want to install these days are automatically recognized by Windows, but occasionally you do run across a non Plug and Play device that needs to be installed manually. The Add Hardware Wizard can be launched two ways:

• Control Panel [Classic View Only] > Add Hardware
• From a command prompt > hdwwiz.cpl

	The opening screen of the wizard. Nothing to do here but click the [Next] button.
	Two options are offered at this point. The default is to have the wizard search for and install the hardware automatically. My guess is that if you're using the [Add Hardware Wizard] you've already tried automatically searching and installing, but it doesn't hurt to give it a try. The more likely choice would be to manually select the device from a list.
	If you do try the automatic search and installation in the previous step and the search comes up empty you'll see this window. You could select the [Back] button and choose the manual option, or you can just click the [Next] button. It makes no difference which way you decide to go. You'll end up at the same screen shown in the next box.
	Once you get here, select the category that describes the device to be installed. For this example I'm going to select Show All Devices. Click [Next] button.
	Scroll through the Manufacturer list and select the item you want to install. If the item isn't listed and you have a CD with the driver or have downloaded the driver from a manufacturer website, use the [Have Disk...] button to browse to it's location. Click [Next] button.
	Once the driver is located it's just a matter of clicking [Next] again.
	That's it. The hardware is installed. Click [Finish] to close the wizard.

As simple as the [Add Hardware Wizard] seems, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.

• Quite often you're going to get a message stating the driver you are installing is not digitally signed. In 99.99% of the cases this is of no consequence. The dialog box will offer a couple of options, basically quit or continue. Just select the option that allows the driver to continue installing. This can happen more than once during the same install. Just continue each time.
• As tempting as it is to use the drivers supplied with the wizard, often times they are not the most recent drivers available. It's always best to check the manufacturers website for the most current, up to date drivers. Often times downloaded drivers are part of an installer package. If this is the case, it's preferable to install using the manufacturer supplied installer rather then the wizard.
• Read the instructions that came with the hardware device. I'm as guilty as the next person when it comes to just forging ahead without reading the instructions. In a lot of cases it's necessary to install the drivers before attaching the device to the system. This is pretty common with external hard drives, keyboards, and mice. Follow the supplied directions, use the manufacturer supplied CD/DVD, and you'll seldom need to even fire up the Add Hardware Wizard.