Sometimes a device, such as a scanner or network card, mysteriously stops working under Windows. If you can't find an easy solution (loose cord, power off, or the like), write down its properties such as the IP and DNS addresses on a network card and make sure you have the latest drivers handy either on disk or downloaded from the company's Web site. Then follow these instructions to delete the device from the Windows Device Manager and let Windows set the device up again.

1. Open the System applet in Control Panel and select the Device Manager tab. Here, you will see a list of the devices in your system.

2. Find the device in question, click on it, and then press the Remove button. You may also see the effect of a common Windows bug in the form of two or more entries for one device. In this case, remove all the entries.

3. After you have removed the device, shut Windows down and restart. If It Works: Windows will probably detect and reinstall the device. Because Windows analyzes the system at times like this for available resources, it will often reassign your device to different resources than it had before, and any problems should go away.

If It Doesn't: In some cases, Windows will prompt you to insert the device's installation disk. If it doesn't find your device, you may have to run the installation routine again.

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