eMachines Windows Vista FAQ

Windows®. Life without Walls™. eMachines recommends Windows 7.

Windows Vista - Working with Device Drivers

To open Device Manager:

  1. Click Start. In the Start Search box, type: Device. From the displayed list, click Device Manager.

  2. At the User Account Control (UAC) prompt, click Continue or enter a password, if required.

  3. In Device Manager, look for device driver issues. Indication of device driver issues include:
    • A Black down arrow on a device (device is disabled).
    • A Black exclamation point with a yellow background (splat) marking the device (device is in an unknown state).

To enable a device in Device Manager:

  1. Click Start. In the Start Search box, type: Device. From the displayed list, click Device Manager.

  2. At the User Account Control (UAC) prompt, click Continue or enter a password, if required.

  3. Right-click the device with the black down arrow.

  4. Click Enable. The device is now enabled.

To disable a device in Device Manager:

  1. Click Start. In the Start Search box, type: Device. From the displayed list, click Device Manager.

  2. At the User Account Control (UAC) prompt, click Continue or enter a password, if required.

  3. Click the plus sign (+) next to the hardware device category. The list of devices expands below the Main Hardware Device.

  4. Right-click the device to be disabled.

  5. At the Warning dialog box, click Yes to disable the device.

  6. Make sure the device has a black down-arrow on it. The device is now disabled.

To install a driver using Gateway Recovery Center:

  1. Click Start. In the Start Search box, type: recovery. From the list of displayed items, select Gateway Recovery Center from the list.

    Or

    Click Start, All Programs, Gateway Recover Center, and then click Gateway Recovery Center.

  2. At the User Account Control (UAC) prompt, click Continue or enter a password, if required.

  3. In the Welcome to Gateway Recovery Center window, click Hardware.

  4. Click Device driver recovery.

  5. In the Device Driver Recovery window, select the device type to recover.

  6. In the next window, select the specific device, and then click Next. Vista installs the device driver software.

  7. At the Congratulations dialog box, click Finish, then click the Red X to close the window.

  8. Check Device Manager to make sure that a splat is not present on the device.

  9. Make sure the device works.

Note: Before beginning the next steps, make sure that you can connect to the internet.

To install a driver using Update Driver Software:

  1. Click Start. In the Start Search box, type: Device. From the displayed list, click Device Manager.

  2. At the User Account Control (UAC) prompt, click Continue or enter a password, if required.

  3. Click the plus sign (+) next to the hardware device category. The list of devices expands below the Main Hardware Device.

  4. Right-click the device to update.

  5. Select Update Driver Software.

  6. Select Search automatically for updated driver software.

  7. If the driver is available, an Installing Device Driver Software dialog box opens.

  8. From the Driver installed successfully dialog box, click Yes to reboot the system if prompted.

  9. Check Device Manager to make sure that a splat is not present on the device.

  10. Make sure the device works.

To install a driver using Gateway.com Drivers & Downloads:

  1. Go to Gateway.com, Support, then select Drivers & Downloads:
    http://support.gateway.com/support/drivers/dlcenter.asp

  2. Select the Browse all Downloads tab.

  3. Type in requested information, select Vista as the operating system, and then click Display Results.

  4. Click the driver you want, and then click Download Now.

  5. Save the file to your desktop.

  6. Double-click the downloaded filename.exe to expand the folder.

  7. Save the file to the Cabs folder.

  8. In Device Manager, right-click the device to be updated.

  9. Select Update Driver Software.

  10. Select Browse my computer for the driver.

  11. Browse to the Cabs folder, select the subfolder with new driver, and then click OK.

    Note: The cabs folder is usually located at C:\Cabs.

  12. Click Next. The Software installs, follow any screen prompts.

  13. Check Device Manager to make sure that a splat is not present on the device.

  14. Make sure the device works.

To install a driver from the Device Manufacturer's website:

  1. Do a web search for the Manufacturer.

    Note: To reduce the chance of getting a virus, do not get a driver from a 3rd party source unless told to do so by the Manufacturer.

  2. Follow the instructions provided by the Manufacturer to install the driver.

    The following process is common for this type of download:

    1. Go to manufacturer's website.
    2. Select the driver for download.
    3. Save the driver to your desktop.
    4. Expand the driver. Make sure to note where driver is expanded.
    5. In Device Manager, right-click the device to be updated.
    6. Select Update Driver Software.
    7. Select Browse my computer for the driver.
    8. Browse to the expanded driver folder, select the expanded driver, and then click OK.
    9. Click Next. The Software installs, follow any screen prompts.
    10. Check Device Manager to make sure that a splat is not present on the device.
    11. Make sure the device works.

To force the install of a driver using the built in Vista driver:

  1. Click Start. In the Start Search box, type: Device. From the displayed list, click Device Manager.

  2. At the User Account Control (UAC) prompt, click Continue or enter a password, if required.

  3. Click the plus sign (+) next to the hardware device category. The list of devices expands below the Main Hardware Device.

  4. Right-click the device to be updated.

  5. Select Update Driver Software, Browse my computer, and then select Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.

  6. Remove the check from Show compatible hardware.

  7. If driver is listed, select the driver from the box under Model. If the driver is not listed, under Manufacturer select the device Manufacturer, then under Model select the device Model.

  8. Select the driver, and then click Next.

  9. If a Driver Warning prompt appears, click Yes. The Driver installs.

  10. Click Close after installation is complete.

  11. Check Device Manager to make sure that a splat is not present on the device.

  12. Make sure the device works.

If a device driver is updated, and now the device is not working, do a Driver Rollback:

  1. Click Start. In the Start Search box, type: Device. From the displayed list, click Device Manager.

  2. At the User Account Control (UAC) prompt, click Continue or enter a password, if required.

  3. Click the plus sign (+) next to the hardware device category. The list of devices expands below the Main Hardware Device.

  4. Right-click on the device, and select Properties.

  5. Click on the Driver tab.

  6. Click on Roll Back Driver.

  7. At the Driver Package rollback confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

  8. The Driver is rolled back.

  9. If prompted to restart the system, click Yes to restart system.
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