As we all know, a computer is a compilation of numerous hardware devices. Almost all of these devices are built-in, such as audio devices, display cards, hard disk, optical drive (CD or DVD), USB card and a variety of devices integrated on the motherboard. All of these devices demand appropriate drivers that allow your computer to communicate with a piece of hardware.
What is a driver and how does it works?
Your computer system has no way at all of knowing how to communicate with the devices connected to it. A device driver works as a translator between a device and the software applications and OS that use it. Each device expects its own special instructions to work. The application programs will send generic commands to your devices and the component driver will convert them into the specialized instructions called for by the component.
Some of you will have a question in your mind, "doesn't windows include drivers??" And the answer to this question is," Yes, it definitely does. Windows includes drivers for many common devices. But it may not contain the latest drivers available for your hardware."
Why there is a need to update computer drivers?
Drivers keep changing in terms of versions and features. If you have installed hardware sometime back then there are chances that the associated drivers are no longer compatible with the newer software applications. Having obsolete versions of drivers often is a cause for sluggish processing speed and malfunctions when other softwares are installed. At times, you may also experience errors such as the famous blue screen or even programs crashing for no reason. This is why; you need to update you driver to ensure optimal performance and functioning of the hardware without any error.
How to update computer drivers?
Updating drivers is a relatively simple process. You can either update automatically or visit the website of your hardware manufacturer to see if there have been driver updates released. Let's take a look at each of these with their respective pros and cons.
Automatic Method: You can find there many helpful software programs which update your computer drivers very fast. With the world's largest device driver database, they can help you to keep all your drivers up to date. Automatic methods are fast; no system information required; update all needed drivers at the same time but they all cost money.
Manual Method: You can update computer drivers through the windows Device Manager. To easily open the Device Manager, right-click on My Computer icon and choose Manage. Then select Device Manger. Choose the correct device type and double-click on the device to be updated. Choose the Driver tab and click the button to Update Driver. Give Windows permission to search for the best driver on Internet. This method is easy to update drivers and requires minimum information.
You can also visit the computer manufacture's website and look up the model number of your system. Most of the time manufacturers such as dell, Compaq, Acer post drivers on their websites for specific computer models. This method is fast but drivers are not kept current after the system has been in the market for a period of time.
Thereby for the sake of safety and to get best out of your windows-compatible computer, you need to make sure that the drivers for all the components in your computer are up to date because having outdated drivers can cause strange behavior with applications in your computer.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")