Net Terms

Device Driver

A device driver is a program that controls a particular type of device 
that is attached to your computer.  Essentially, a device driver 
converts the more general input/output instructions from your computer's
operating system into messages that the device can understand.  There 
are device drivers for printers, monitors, CD-ROM and DVD drives, 
modems, and so on.

When you buy an operating system (such as Windows 95 or OS/2), many 
device drivers are already built into that system to recognize certain 
products.  However, if you later buy a new type of device that the 
operating system didn't anticipate or doesn't understand, you'll have 
to install a new device driver for it to function properly.