Guide: How to update drivers on Windows 10
Security and system stability are two of the many reasons to regularly update drivers on your Windows 10 computer. Updated drivers ensure that the hardware works properly with the latest or the latest tested version of the software. Most such updates occur automatically, but due to various factors, the drivers may not update as they should. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to update drivers on Windows 10 computers, and we’ve listed some of the best practices. Most people who work with drivers don’t even know what it is or how it works. I will address these questions today guide, where you will learn all about drivers on Windows 10. Let’s start.
What are Windows Drivers
A driver is like a ‘software component’ that allows the Windows operating system (operating system) to communicate with a device. One of the most common examples of this is a flash or external hard drive. It is a two-way process where data is sent back and forth. Here’s how a typical app’s command and feedback flow happens to the device. The two arrows indicate the direction (to and back) of the communication flow when the user issues a command. Think of it like when you press a key on a keyboard. Application Windows OSDriverDevice
Sometimes some software also mentions some important components as software driver. The developer divides the app into two components: one that interacts with the user and another that works behind the scenes. The former means the graphical user interface that allows you to view, navigate, communicate and select options that the operating system looks like commands. And the other component works behind the scenes by interacting with Windows and facilitating the execution of the commands, which only happens in core mode, to deal with the protected data. Basically, drivers act as a bridge between the app requesting the data stored on the device – internal or external.
How drivers work
Let’s take a hardware example first. For example, if you want to print a Word document, open the file and press print button, and the print engine makes a strange noise and voila! Everything that was on your screen is now on a piece of paper in your hand. Here’s what happened in the background. In this case, the app is Microsoft Word. It sends the appropriate command to the operating system to tell it to print a document. The operating system uses drivers associated with the printer to send the data with a command to print it. The printer does its job and you see the result in your hand. Let’s take another example. You click on one button to watch a YouTube video and it will play. As simple as that may sound, we often miss the complicated sequence of events that took place after such an action. The browser is the app that communicates your desire to view that video to the operating system. The operating system includes a sound card or a built-in audio hub (to play the sound) and a video chip or GPU (to display the video) that reside on your computer. And a network card to use the internet to stream the video stored all over the world on a remote server. The operating system now sends requests to three different drivers and asks them to pass the audio, video and network tasks. All of this happens so quickly that you don’t even feel or notice it. You press one button and the video starts to play. And that’s how you miss the symphony created by different drivers to play that video in a second or two.
How to Install drivers on Windows
Most drivers are installed automatically when you connect a hardware device such as a flash drive or printer. That, of course, requires an internet connection on your computer. The process will take a while as it will search for the same thing online. You could be a pop-up with progress data. In the case of software, the drivers are installed by the software package installer. You don’t have to worry about anything. Manually Download and Install Drivers? You can always visit the download section of the manufacturer’s site or the Microsoft Download Center to get the correct or latest version of the driver. You can then use the method shared in the next point to install them.
While you may know the name of the device manufacturer, the real challenge is figuring out the exact technical name and model number of the device. This is how you search the site for drivers. You can easily find these details by using an app like CPU-Z or Speccy (both are free). Get CPU-Z Buy Speccy Once you get the details of the hardware device you are looking for, visit the manufacturer’s site to check for the latest drivers. Or you can get them through Windows Updates. I don’t recommend installing drivers from third party sites. They are often unreliable, not certified and can make your Windows system unstable. Worst of all, it can contain malware that steals your data. Are you a gamer? In that case, you often need to install the latest drivers as Windows update or other methods usually install older versions. Most graphics card manufacturers, such as AMD and Nvidia, have their own apps such as AMD ReLive and NVIDIA GeForce Experience for updating drivers. These apps also offer extra features such as recording gameplay, taking and sharing screenshots and so on.
How to Update drivers on Windows
The easiest way to do that is to update your operating system. It won’t just install fresh features, bug fixes and security patches, as well as updating drivers. Press Windows Key + I for Settings and select the Update & Security option.
You can check for new updates here and apply them as soon as they are downloaded and ready.
Here’s one more way to give you more control. In Device Manager you can view all hardware devices installed on your computer. Search for and open it from the Start menu. You can also press the Windows + X keyboard shortcut to find it.
Double-click an option to expand it. Do you want to update mouse drivers? Expand Mice and Other Pointing Devices, select your trackpad provider or HID option for an external USB connected mouse, right-click and select the Update Driver option.
The last option is to visit the device manufacturer’s website and download and install the drivers yourself. Follow the same steps as above, but instead select ‘Browser on my computer for driver software’ and select the driver file in Device Manager.
How to Check the driver version and update date
Go back to Device Manager and right click on the device you want to monitor. This time, select Properties and click on the Drivers tab.
You will see the version of the device driver along with the date it was installed.
Remove or rollback driver
Some troubleshooting steps include removing the driver or rolling it back. The latter simply means going back to an earlier version of the driver.
Both options are available on the Driver tab in the Properties menu. You can also remove the device itself from here and then reinstall it as we saw above.
Drive safe
Drivers play an important role in almost everything you do on your computer. An outdated or missing driver will simply make the device unusable. As much as you fear updates, installing the latest version will ensure smooth operation of the hardware with the operating system. Hence, we recommend users to update them on Windows 10 computers as it fixes the error more often. The next up: Having trouble or are you new to Windows 10? To learn how to create restore points in Windows 10. These backups help when something goes wrong on your computer or when things break.
How to update drivers on Windows 10: benefits
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Final note
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