Be assured that your drivers will work with new hardware

Behind the scenes, Windows Me uses digital signatures to ensure that your computer works well with the latest hardware devices. A digital signature verifies that a driver—the software that makes a device work with your computer—has been designed and tested to meet Microsoft standards for compatibility with Windows. The digital signature, provided from the device manufacturer, also indicates that the driver has not been changed since it was tested. The Windows Me development team worked with industry partners to ensure that drivers are tested and certified to run well in Windows Me.

With Windows Me digitally signed drivers:

• When you install new hardware, Windows checks the accompanying driver to verify that it is digitally signed and has not been changed in any way since it was tested.
• If the driver is not signed, Windows warns you and can prevent the installation of the driver.

Drivers available on the Windows Update Web site are signed. If any files in the driver package are changed or replaced by files that are not also digitally signed, the digital signature will be broken, signifying that the driver is unsigned. Drivers may also be unsigned if they pre-date this version of Windows.