Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
How to Find and Update Drivers
Drivers are configuration files that operate your hardware and devices. The process for installing drivers has gotten much simpler over the years, with your operating system now handling the bulk of the task. Still, knowing how to update your drivers yourself can help keep your computer running as smoothly as possible.
1. Open the Windows Update utility. Windows Update can automatically handle most of your driver updates for you. There are several ways to open Windows Update:Any version of Windows - Open the Control Panel, select "Large icons" or "Small icons", and then open the "Windows Update" option.Windows 8 - Open the Charms bar and select Settings. Choose "Change PC settings" and then select "Update and recovery". Select the "Windows Update" option.
2. Click the "Review important updates" and "Review optional updates" links to view the different updates that have been found by Windows Update. Hardware drivers may be found in both sections. The top of the list is reserved for software updates, while the bottom of the list will show hardware drivers.
3. Install any available updates. Check the boxes for all of the updates you want to install and click the Install button.The update installation process may take a while to complete, and you may be prompted to reboot your computer.
4. Open the Device Manager if Windows Update doesn't find your drivers. If Windows Update didn't install all of the drivers you need, the next step is to determine what still needs to be updated. The Device Manager is the easiest way to see all of your installed hardware, especially if you don't have any of your computer's documentation.To quickly open the Device Manager, press Win+R and typedevmgmt.msc.
5. Identify hardware that still needs drivers. The Device Manager is a list of all your installed hardware components. Anything that isn't working properly will have a small yellow "!" icon next to it, and unidentified components will have a small "?".
6. Right-click on an item and select "Update Driver Software“. Select "Search automatically for updated driver software". Windows will search online for a later version of the driver software. If newer drivers are found, you'll be prompted to install them.
7. Identify the model of hardware that won't update. If Windows cannot find newer drivers automatically, you'll need to download the drivers from the manufacturer yourself. In order to do this, you'll need to know the manufacturer and model of the hardware in question. If the hardware is recognized by Windows, you'll be able to see the hardware name in Device Manager. If the hardware is unrecognized, you'll need to do a little digging.Right-click on the unrecognized hardware and select "Properties".Click the Details tab and select "Hardware Ids" from the drop-down menu.Right-click on the top-most entry in the list that appears and select "Copy". Paste the copied text into your favorite search engine. The first few results will usually help you figure out what the hardware manufacturer and model is.If this doesn't help you determine the piece of hardware, you'll need to either refer to your computer's documentation or physically open the computer and visually identify the piece of hardware.
8. Visit the hardware manufacturer's support page. Once you know the manufacturer and model of the hardware you're trying to update, you can download the latest drivers directly from the manufacturer's support page. Below are some of the most common support sites for the major manufacturers:Motherboards:
Gigabyte - gigabyte.com/support-downloads/download-center.aspx?ck=2Intel - downloadcenter.intel.comMSi - msi.com/service/download/ASRock - asrock.com/support/download.asp
Graphics:NVIDIA - nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-usAMD/ATI - support.amd.com/en-us/download
Laptops:Dell - dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Products/laptop?app=driversGateway - gateway.com/worldwide/support/HP - www8.hp.com/us/en/support-drivers.htmlLenovo - support.lenovo.com/us/en/products?tabName=DownloadsToshiba - support.toshiba.com
Network Cards:Linksys - linksys.com/us/support/Netgear - downloadcenter.netgear.com/Realtek - realtek.com.tw/downloads/Trendnet - trendnet.com/downloads/
Optical Drives:Samsung - samsung.com/us/support/Sony - sony.storagesupport.com/models/21LG - lg.com/us/supportLiteOn - us.liteonit.com/us/service-support/download
Peripherals:Creative - support.creative.com/welcome.aspxLogitech - support.logitech.com/Plantronics - plantronics.com/us/category/software/Turtle Beach - support.turtlebeach.com/files/
9. Search the support site for your hardware model. Use the support site's search function to find your model, or browse through the different models. Some sites will have an auto-detect feature, which can help you quickly find the exact driver.
10. Download the driver files. Many drivers come as installers (.exe files), or are packaged with software designed for the hardware. Older or less common devices may have drivers in .zip format. Sometimes the hardware's accompanying software will be listed separately from the drivers.
11. Run the installer or extract the files. If you downloaded an .exe file, you can run it and follow the installer's prompts to install the drivers. If you downloaded a .zip file, double-click it to open it, copy the files into an easy-to-access folder, and read on. If you use an installer, you'll likely be prompted to reboot your computer after the installation is complete. You usually don't need to install any of the additional software unless you want it.
12. Manually install the drivers. If the drivers came in a .zip file, you'll need to install them manually. You can do this from the Device Manager.
Open the Device Manager, right-click on the hardware, and select"Update Driver Software“. Select "Browse my computer for driver software".Navigate to the location that you copied the driver files to and select the inf file that matches your operating system.
