a method and apparatus enables a newly installed peripheral device such as a disk device to be used with a computer system without changing the operating system . the peripheral device is identified as a type which is not recognized by an operating system operating in conjunction with the computer system . a value which identifies at least one logical attribute of said peripheral device is obtained from said peripheral device . a determination is made as to whether the operating system and the peripheral device are compatible based on the logical attribute obtained from the peripheral device . the operating system and the peripheral device communicate if it is determined that the operating system and the peripheral device are compatible .