Using a Third-Party Bluetooth Driver After Installing Windows XP SP2

When you install XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), a new Windows Bluetooth driver and taskbar icon are automatically installed and some previously installed third-party Bluetooth utilities and drivers might become inoperative. (The Microsoft article "How to troubleshoot Bluetooth detection and connectivity problems in Windows XP Service Pack 2," http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=883258, discusses the problems.) If you want to use a third-party Bluetooth driver, you can select it by following these steps:

1. In the Control Panel System applet, select the Hardware tab. Click Device Manager, then Bluetooth radios.
2. Highlight your manufacturer's Bluetooth device driver. Right-click the driver and select Update Driver. Don't have Windows update the driver. Select Install from a List or Specific location.
3. Click Don't Search and select Next. Choose the manufacturer's Bluetooth device and continue with the update.

If you want to use the Windows Bluetooth driver after you perform these steps, you can still access it in Control Panel.

—Cy Tymony
cy@sneakyuses.com