Drivers
A driver acts as a translator for the hardware, converting the hardware signals into a language that the operating system understands.If the driver is not compatible with that particular Operating System, the signals sent or received by the hardware are misunderstood and will possibly result in an error or a system crash.
If you can identify the hardware, use Driver HQ to locate the drivers. I you can not identify the hardware, use the FCC ID numbers to locate the registered manuafacturer.
You may also be able to obtain updated drivers for common hardware written by Microsoft at WindowsUpdate.Microsoft.com