Hardware Compatibility List

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Hardware Compatibility List

The Windows Vista Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) is a list of hardware devices that have successfully passed the Hardware Compatibility Tests. All hardware on the HCL works with Windows Vista. Hardware not included on the HCL is not guaranteed to work successfully with Windows Vista.

Installing Windows Vista on a computer that has hardware that is not on the HCL might cause the installation to fail, or it might cause problems after installation. For more information about hardware compatibility, see the Windows Vista Hardware Guidance page at https://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/evaluate/hardware/default.mspx.

Important

A device that is not on the HCL might function, but not be supported by Windows Vista. For devices that do not function when the computer is running Windows Vista, contact the device manufacturer for a Windows Vista–compatible driver. If you have a program that uses 16-bit drivers, you need to install 32-bit Windows Vista–compatible drivers from the device manufacturer to ensure functionality with Windows Vista. If you are using Windows Vista x64 Edition, you will need to install x64 compliant device drivers for your hardware.