Power Computing provided the information in this article and it was deemed accurate as of 14 November 1997. Apple Computer, Inc. is not responsible for its content. This article is being provided as is and will not be updated in the future.

How do I update the hard drive drivers on my Power Computing machine.

The term "driver" is a generic term that refers to any piece of software that, in some way, controls a piece of hardware. For example, there are drivers for monitors, PCI cards, scanners, digital cameras, CD-ROM drives, as well as hard drives.

It is important to always use the most recent drivers to ensure compatibility and proper operation. For hard drives, these drivers are embedded in the drive itself and are not directly accessible files like most MacOS users are accustomed to. For this reason, most drive utility software packages allow users to update the hard drive drivers that control the hard drive.

Updating hard drive drivers ensures that the most recent versions of the drivers are being used and also fixes any problems that could be encountered with corrupt drivers. Power Computing bundles FWB's HDT Primer with all of its machines and this is the utility that allows users to update their hard drive drivers.

1. Boot from the Power CD by inserting it and selecting it in the Startup Disk control panel.

2. Restart. If the CD tray opens during restart, immediately push it back in.

3. When the machine has completed the boot up process, verify that the CD was the startup disk by making sure that the CD icon is above your hard drive icon.

4. Open the "Utilities" folder on the Power CD and double click on the "HDT Primer" icon.

5. HDT Primer will now display a listing of all connected SCSI devices.

6. Highlight the drive whose drivers you want to update.

7. Select the "File" menu and choose "Update Driver."

8. When the process is complete, go back to File menu and select "Quit."

9. Open the Startup Disk control panel and select your hard drive as the startup disk. Restart.

Machines Affected: All