How to Update Drivers on Your Computer

Drivers, as the name implies, is the driving force of the apparatus we are using. Basically, it is a piece of software, or a small program that controls a device. Every piece of device we use or connect to our computer must have its own driver for it to work. Examples of these devices are printers, cameras, disk drives, and even keyboards. However most of the time, for the keyboard and mouse, the driver is automatically loaded and installed on the computer's operating system.

For the video card and sound card though, we may have to pull out that disk installer that came with our computer (the motherboard disk) when we first purchased it (that is if your video and sound card is a part of your motherboard). If in case we purchased the cards separately from your motherboard, we may have to use the disk provided along with those cards as they have the drivers saved in those disks.











Now, if it was that easy then why do we need to update our drivers? Well, there are times that unfortunate accidents happen to our computers that may cause them to work silly or be dysfunctional. When that happens, a usual quick fix for this is to disable and then re-enable the driver. If that doesn't work, uninstall and then reinstall the device. Not working yet? Check the version that you have and then check the latest version on the internet. Do they match? If yes, call a resident technician to have them verify it. If the answer is no, then update the driver. Usually that fixes the issue.

First, we must check if our drivers need a boost. And we can do that by pulling up our Device Manager Window. Now, there are three ways for that. One is to pull up My Computer, and then at the left part of that new screen, under System Tasks, we must click on View System Information. Clicking on that will pull up our System Properties Window. Once we are already on that screen, select the Hardware Tab and then click on the Device Manager window. Viola, the Device Manager Window is up.

Another way for us to pull it up is by right-clicking on My Computer, select Properties, and then in the System Properties Window, select Hardware, and then Device Manager. Still frustrated with the multiple steps? Okay, here's the run command shortcut, devmgmt.msc. We can use that by clicking on Start, selecting Run, and then typing that in the Run box before clicking on OK.

Okay, now that we have Device Manager up, what is next? Next step is to check if we have any drivers that are in need of updating. Basically, we are checking for splats on our Device Manager screen. Look for any question marks, exclamation points, or red X marks. For the question marks (?), the driver is not yet installed. If you have a disk for it, I advise you to plug that in your disk drive and install it. If there is a red X mark, this means the device is disabled.

To fix this, right-click on it and select Properties, in that window, click on Enable Device. Lastly, we get to exclamation points, here, we right-click on the name or icon of the said device and then we select on Update Driver. There, the splats should already be gone from your list. Once that is done, check if you are still experiencing issues. I'm pretty sure that just fixed it.



By Patrick Haddellin