Introduction

A workstation is a pretty boring thing if you can t add anything to it. The ability to add software and hardware to a system gives you a tool that suits your needs. In Windows XP, this type of customization and personalization is straightforward and often automatic. You can add, modify, and remove hardware and software with a minimum of intervention.

Most configuration procedures in Windows XP are facilitated with wizards. The Add Hardware Wizard assists you with installing and configuring hardware devices. The Windows Component Wizard makes an efficient process out of adding and removing additional Windows components. In many cases, you can now reconfigure software installation parameters without removing and reinstalling the application.

Also, you can perform most of this configuration in a single interface. The Add Hardware Wizard has multiple options to allow for device installation, removal, modification, and troubleshooting from a single applet. The Add Or Remove Programs applet is a one stop shop for all software management, including installation, modification, upgrade, and removal. The Windows Installer is a software management service that runs without additional configuration or user intervention. These three features of Windows XP combine to demystify systems configuration and management.

Adding New Hardware to Your System

The process of manually selecting hardware is not particularly manual in Windows XP compared to what it was for users of NT Workstation and Server. Users who are upgrading from Windows 95, 98, Me, and 2000 will notice little difference in the process for adding hardware due...