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• A black exclamation mark (!) in a yellow circle means that the device has a problem. Note: A problem-state device could still be working.
• A red “X” means the device is disabled. That is, it is physically present in the computer and is consuming resources, but does not have a driver loaded.
• A blue “i” on a white circle means that the device’s “Use Automatic Settings” feature is not selected for the device, and that the resources were manually allocated, usually for non-Plug and Play devices. Note: This does not mean that the device is in a problem or disabled state.
• A green question mark (?) in Device Manager means that a compatible (and not the actual) driver for this device is installed,which makes it possible that all the functionality may not b available. Note: This applies only to Windows ME.
• A yellow question mark (?) with “Unknown Device” means that Windows has not recognised the device.

If the device is not getting detected by Plug and Play during system startup, this usually means that you have a non-Plug and Play device. If you have the manufacturer’s CD and/or manual, look for installation instructions. Non-Plug and Play devices are usually older, and require manual allocation of resources, usually through setting jumpers or switchers on the device itself. Once you have ensured that the device has been configured as per the manufacturer’s guidelines, boot up and install any software provided by the manufacturer as per the installation guidelines.

If there are no installation guidelines or the device is a second hand component with no documentation or you don’t have the required software drivers, then you can try to force Windows to recognise the device. First try to verify if the physical installation and the jumper/switch settings on the device are correct. Search the Internet for information on how to do this. If you are able to do this, good; if not, don’t worry too much about it and go on to forcing Windows to recognise the device:

1. Click on the Add New Hardware (Windows 9x/ME) / Add Hardware (Windows 2000/XP) in the Control Panel. The Add Hardware Wizard will start up. Click Next.

2. If you have Windows 9x/ME go to Step 3, else go to Step 5.

3. In Windows 9x/ME, the Wizard will inform you that it is going to search for new hardware. Allow it to do so by clicking Next twice. After Windows finishes searching for Plug and Play Devices it will report that no Plug and Play devices are found.

4. Click Next. The first option tells Windows to search for non-Plug and Play devices. If it successfully detects the device, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation. Otherwise, select “No, I want to select the hardware from a list” and click Next. Go to Step 6.

5. In Windows 2000/XP, select “Add a new hardware device” and click Next. In the next dialog box, you can either ask Windows to search for a driver, or you can install the device manually. For manual device installation, select “Install the hardware that I manually select from a list (Advanced)”.

6. Select the hardware type from the list and click Next.

7. If you know the name of the device manufacturer, select the name of the manufacturer and browse through the list on the right side to see if your device model number is listed or a generic name for your model series e.g. HP DeskJet for DeskJet printers. If you do not know the name of the manufacturer or the device model number, check if there are standard device types that you can install. If there are no standard types that can be installed, you will need to find a suitable driver by searching the Internet or getting it from other sources.

8. If the device has a standard type, choose the specification closest matching to your device. If the device does not have a standard type, click the “Have Disk…” button and provide the location for the appropriate driver installation file. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

The above steps (for both Plug and Play and non-Plug and Play devices) should normally solve the device conflict and get your hardware operational. However, if you still face problems with the device see the section Using Device Manager for further troubleshooting.

With thousands of devices that work with Windows operating systems, it is practically impossible to describe all scenario specific solutions. What remains is to describe a strategy that will help you identify and resolve the problem.

The first step is to determine that the problem is really a hardware conflict at the OS level and not something caused by an incorrect physical installation. If you are able to normally boot into the OS, this would probably mean that the physical installation is fine. However, you cannot be certain at this stage. Try accessing the device. If the system hangs, crashes or starts acting weird, then it is pretty safe to assume that the physical installation is fine and the problem is because of the operating system’s interaction with the device. However, just to be on the safe side, power off and inspect the device for proper installation.

If everything seems correct, verify that you have followed the installation procedure as described in the manufacturer’s manual, have all the required software driver CDs and/or floppies on hand and switch the PC on.

If the device drivers are already installed and you are facing system instability when accessing or using the device, go to the Using the Device Manager section.

A wide range of problems may be causing the above and other symptoms. Assuming that the hardware is not defective and has been installed correctly, at the operating system level the problems can be broadly classified as follows:

• There could be a resource allocation (IRQ/memory address) conflict. Two devices are allocated the same IRQ/memory address space.Usually, non-Plug and Play devices would give this problem. Since Windows is unable to detect these devices it may not allocate the resources properly and hence cause conflicts with an existing device.

Note: Some devices, such as PCI devices, can share a single IRQ without conflicts in Windows 2000/XP.

• The software device drivers may not be compatible with the operating system, or may have been corrupted, or may not have been installed. If you have recently upgraded from Windows 95/98, this would usually be the problem.
• A new software program installed is trying to use system resources allocated to other hardware devices or software programs.

A hardware conflict may occur when you add a new device to your system. In some instances, this conflict will not cause any problem, and depending on the operating system you may not even be aware that such a conflict exists. Typical symptoms of hardware conflicts include:

• The operating system may freeze frequently
• The new device may suffer performance problems
• An existing device that is conflicting with the new device may suffer performance problems
• Windows starts in Safe Mode
• The system crashes and you get a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death)
• The sound card stops working or stutters
• The screen jumps and shows garbled images
• The mouse stops working
• Modem/network card doesn’t respond
• CD/DVD drive doesn’t respond or crashes the system

Hardware devices can conflict with each other due to a variety of reasons. Every hardware device installed must be allocated a set of operating system (Windows) resources to operate correctly. These resources include IRQ, DMA (Direct Memory Access), I/O port addresses and memory resources. Some of these resources will be shared by more than one device while others cannot. This depends on the capabilities of the hardware and its software drivers.

Each device installed will have one or more software device drivers that enable the operating system to access and use the device. The software could be provided either by Microsoft itself that will enable basic functionality, or by the device vendor who knows more about the specific model and hence will be able to provide a more tightly integrated device driver.

Normally, Windows Plug and Play will automatically detect the newly-added hardware, determine the system resources required and assign them properly. Plug and Play will also search for the required software drivers and install them transparently. If Plug and Play cannot find the required drivers, it will prompt the user to provide them by inserting the CD/floppy provided by the device manufacturer. Additionally, it will also reconfigure the system resources if required, for example when the newly added device requires some resources already in use.

1.Overheating of CPU
This could be due to overheating of the CPU caused by poor contact between the heat sink and the CPU. Remove the heat sink and fan (make sure the fan is working). On the exposed CPU die surface apply some thermal grease or thermal tape. This is to fill in the microscopic gaps that may exist between the CPU and the heat sink. Don’t use too much grease and don’t try to substitute with something else, use approved thermal media only. Also, don’t get impatient and try to force the heat sink on the die to try and make it fit. You may break the heat sink or worse still damage the CPU. If the fan is not working, verify the power connections. If the connections are correct and the fan still does not work you can try replacing the fan but the best option is to get a new heat sink unit (heat sink + fan). Note: The problem with a failed heat sink is the likelihood that you have already cooked your CPU. Most modern CPUs overheat very quickly and require cooling right from power on.

1. This may be a problem with the RAM modules or other add-on cards.

In case of RAM module problems, you will usually be alerted by beeps from the BIOS. Strip the PC down to the ‘barebones’, that is, just the power supply, motherboard (with CPU & heat sink), minimum RAM and display card. Switch the RAM module to another slot. Verify that the RAM modules are as per the specs defined by motherboard manufacturer. Use matched RAM modules from the same manufacturer. Try a different RAM. If everything is working you should boot up and see the message ‘No boot device’ or something similar. Power off, connect the hard disk and reboot. If the problem still occurs, this points to something wrong with the hard disk or the basic boot up of the operating system. Check the storage section and the Windows troubleshooting section of this site.

If the OS boots normally, then power off and start adding each add-on card one by one, powering up after adding each card until you isolate the culprit. Check the relevant sections for troubleshooting hints for those components.

2. It may be a BIOS problem.
Check the BIOS section in this site.