Locating information about generic hardware components can be a little tricky, but with a bit of strategic searching you can usually find whatever it is that you need. The information in your computer and on the hardware itself is a good starting place, and from there you can continue the search on the Internet.
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I just purchased a generic NIC (Network Interface Card) from a computer show and can’t figure out what driver I need to get this going. Can you please help?
Locating information about generic hardware components can be a little tricky, but with a bit of strategic searching you can usually find whatever it is that you need. The information in your computer and on the hardware itself is a good starting place, and from there you can continue the search on the Internet.
The first step is to look at the hardware itself and see if there is a vendor name and some sort of version or serial number. If for some reason there is no identifying information, I usually just install the card and look at the BIOS messages that the computer spits out while booting. If your computer recognizes the new hardware, it will print a message telling you what it is. Then it’s time to hit the Net and start searching.
The first place I like to search is always Deja.com (http://www.deja.com), which is probably the best place to find this sort of information. Deja allows you to search through newsgroup archives, which contain tons of information about topics…
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