That’s one of the reasons, in fact, that people don’t know that much about drivers. Whenever Windows or Mac has an update, the drivers are generally installed along with it; you don’t even realize you’re getting a fancy new way for your hardware to communicate as well. In general, you don’t need to fuss about whether or not to update your drivers. While there are some drivers that Windows doesn’t automatically update, they’re by and large covered. Your computer is made up of several devices called hardware.

How do I make my printer driver available?

In Windows, search for and open Control Panel. Click Devices and Printers, and then click Add a printer. Select Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer. On the Select a printer window, select your printer, click Next, and then follow the on-screen instructions to install the driver.

How To Find & Replace Outdated Windows Drivers

The web is full of driver-library sites and third-party tools you can use to download what you need all in one place, but be leery of installing software from unfamiliar places. Additionally, some messages about updating your computer’s drivers may actually be coming from malicious software or viruses lurking on your PC. If you are besieged with driver-update messages, run an antivirus and anti-malware utility on the computer first and then run Windows Update. A. Device drivers, also just known as drivers, are basically little pieces of software that let the computer’s operating system communicate properly with the hardware connected to it.

Companies that make hardware devices sometimes update their driver software to make it work better with the operating system, or to make the hardware work with an updated operating system. Finally, I check the hardware component manufacturer’s web sites. Even though a component may be supported by Windows Update or the computer manufacturer’s site, there’s typically a delay before the updates make it to those locations. The component manufacturer, as you can imagine, is the first place that a driver update will typically be made available.

  • Windows 7 and 8 provide driver updates via Windows Update, too, but Microsoft is being much more aggressive about this in Windows 10.
  • Even if you install your own hardware drivers, Windows sometimes automatically overwrite them when a new version is available.
  • Firmware updates are usually also available through the modem drivers page.
  • Updating the firmware with an incorrect version may cause the modem to no longer work.
  • When updating your modem’s firmware amd radeon r7 200 series driver, verify you are using a firmware update designed for your modem.
  • Assuming you’re using Windows 10, Windows Update automatically downloads and install the latest drivers for you.

Such was the situation for a Rosewill-branded PCI wireless network adapter that we recently installed on Windows 10 without an original installation disc or traditional installer. However, the free version doesn’t provide every driver update the program offers; there’s reportedly a discrepancy of half a million. It also doesn’t download drivers as quickly as the Pro edition, won’t back up drivers automatically, displays ads to get the Pro version, and doesn’t update the program automatically.

While they are tempting, we recommend that you don’t use driver-update utilities. Next, check with the company that made your computer to see if they have updated drivers available. On their website, you’ll usually find a support page that will let you know about updated drivers that are available. In general, you can install the drivers with an easy download.

What drivers should I update?

Updating your computer’s drivers and other updates can resolve problems, improve the performance, and increase the stability of your computer.BIOS updates.
CD or DVD drive drivers and firmware.
Controllers.
Display drivers.
Keyboard drivers.
Mouse drivers.
Modem drivers.
Motherboard drivers, firmware, and updates.
More items•

For hardware to function properly with your computer you must have software installed called drivers that allow the hardware to communicate with you computer. When you experience problem with sound or visuals on your computer, the simplest solution that almost always works is reinstalling the drivers. The port hardware must be capable of supporting the 2.0 or 3.0 standard to achieve the speed of 2.0 or 3.0. Use Device Manager to get any available updates for Windows 7 or later.

Since drivers are supplied and supported by hundreds, if not thousands, of hardware vendors, the places to look and the techniques to update are similarly varied. How do I check for outdated drivers on my Windows 10/8/7/XP? Here are everything you should know about updating outdated drivers in Windows laptop or desktop computer.