Windows 9X/2000/XP does not support any tape drives in the usual sense, although it may or may not recognize and display the name of an installed tape drive, depending on the drive and the version of Windows. Unlike most other devices, for which drivers are readily available and can be installed using the Add New Hardware Wizard, tape drives running under Windows depend on device support built into the backup application itself. This is why, for example, the Windows 98 Microsoft Backup applet—an OEM version of Veritas Backup Exec—can use some tape drives and not others: the program itself contains drivers for the supported tape drives. All this really means is that you can't use unsupported drives with the built-in backup applet. That's not usually a problem because most tape drives are bundled with backup software considerably superior to the Windows Backup applet.

Windows support for tape drives is analogous to Windows support for CD writers and DVD writers. Windows recognizes that the drive is present, but has no idea how to exploit its capabilities. Just as with CD/DVD writers, that functionality must be built into application software designed to support the drive, whether that application is supplied by a third party or comes as a Windows applet (as does the Windows Backup application or the limited CD burning application bundled with Windows XP). The backup software bundled with your tape drive will support it. If you buy a bare drive, you'll need to purchase backup software separately, unless the Windows Backup applet supports your drive and is sufficient for your needs.

Recent versions of third-party Windows backup applications include drivers for many recent-model tape drives. Most tape drives bundle a competent backup utility—often a special version of Backup Exec or ARCserve—that contains the necessary drivers to support that drive under the operating systems intended to run them. You may, however, need to download drivers for a new tape drive either from the tape drive manufacturer (most of which do not supply drivers) or from the backup software company, if one of the following is true:

• 1. You have a previously purchased backup utility that does not contain drivers for the new drive.

• 2. You have a backup utility you want to continue to use that was originally bundled with a drive you are replacing, and that backup utility has no support for the new drive.

• 3. The backup application supplied with the new drive does not support the operating system you are using.

Before you purchase a tape drive for use with Windows, verify that the backup application you intend to use has drivers for that tape drive.