If you've recently purchased a printer or plan to buy one soon, you're going to need an idea of what to do after you take it out of the box. Configuring a printer should be a hassle-free process thanks to a feature in Windows called Plug-n-Play.

Plug-n-Play automatically senses when you've connected a printer to the parallel or USB ports on your computer and immediately tries to load the correct printer drivers.

Plug-n-Play also initiates when you've inserted anything into a PCI or AGP slot or connected a PS/2 or serial cable to your PC. It's a neat feature, but do you know how to install a printer if it doesn't work correctly?

Gather all the components that came with your printer -- manuals, printer cartridges, cables, power adapter, disks, and paper -- and continue reading if you'd like to learn how to configure and install a printer. You may also need a copy of your operating system, so have that disk handy just in case.