I am asking this question very generally.
When Windows boot up, it can automatically tell what are the Drives A, B, C, or E and F. How does it know? How does it know those are drives? And how does it know what type of drives are these?
Likewise, when you insert a USB drive into the system, it will automatically know it is a drive and not something else, like a printer or modem.
What cause Windows to know them as drives and not something else? Likewise, how does Windows know what is a modem or keyboard or printer, etc?
How does Windows also know where they are inserted?
Sorry if my questions don't sound too clear. Kind of confused myself.
2007-10-11 06:15:32 · 6 answers · asked by Sleuth! 3 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
windows knows because th emotherbord is desisignes to read the digital encoding given of by any device and can only detect this when the drive/memory stick etc etc is inserted
2007-10-11 06:31:57 · answer #1 · answered by Floyd U 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well generally (as there a differences based on the type of device), Windows will detect when a USB connection is made and communicate with the device which was connected. The device then tells Windows what type of device it is (this info is stored in the device).
As to detecting hard disks --- this is a function of your computers BIOS. The BIOS tells windows what type of processor, mobo chips, how much memory, types of drives, etc. are installed in your computer.
2007-10-11 13:25:00 · answer #2 · answered by Wyoming Rider 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Microsoft has done some coding to do that before the operating System was out. Its not new. Even Windows 3.1 could detect them
2007-10-11 13:29:02 · answer #3 · answered by Hyperupdate 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I detest answers to my own questions where people simply copy and paste replies from websites, but in the process of validating my own answer, I found this. It not only pointed out that my answer was in fact wrong (I was writing from memory), but clarified a couple of other points.
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/pci1.htm
2007-10-15 06:59:46 · answer #4 · answered by Bob R 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it knows this because all or most of those drives are connected to the motherboard of your pc and in the boot up process the pc is just checking if those drives are connected or not.
2007-10-11 13:44:21 · answer #5 · answered by greg h 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
At some point of time you told Windows that you added drives, etc.
Don't you remember?
2007-10-12 23:30:45 · answer #6 · answered by PETER 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋