What is a "driver" and when should I use one?

What is a "driver" and when should I use one?

Ian Urquhart (Lead Developer, E-Haus, LLC.) gives expert video advice on: What does "plug and play" mean? and more...

There are certain pieces of hardware that when you plug in, your operating system doesn't recognize. At this point it doesn't have the driver; it doesn't have that piece of software that tells the operating system what it is that you're plugging in. You usually get a CD that you can put into your computer that'll tell the operating system what driver to use. Alternatively, you can go online and download the necessary driver.