(1) Installing a new component in a system that works automatically without requiring any manual configuration by a technician or user. See
CableCARD and definitions #2 and #3 below.
(2) (Universal Plug and Play) Protocols for discovering and configuring devices in an IP network. See
UPnP.
(3) (Plug and Play) An Intel standard for automatic peripheral configuration in a PC. On startup, Plug and Play (PnP) recognizes the attached devices and adjusts internal settings (see
IRQ,
DMA and
PC I/O addressing).
PnP and Windows 95 to the Rescue
Plug and Play (PnP) eliminated the "plug and pray" frustration of manually configuring a PC when new peripherals were installed. In the mid-1990s, motherboards and peripherals began to support PnP, and Windows 95 was the first PnP-enabled OS. A PnP peripheral could also be used in a non-PnP computer by installing a system module (DWCFGMG.SYS).
Transitioning to PnP
If an older ISA peripheral card was installed in a PnP computer, the ISA Configuration Utility (ICU) looked up its requirements and configured the card's settings. If the card was not in the list, the ICU made recommendations for the user ("plug and tell"). See
PnP-X.