How to Update Device Drivers on Windows

Hardware driver is a computer program that operates or controls a particular type of device that is attached to a computer. Since the device manufacturers modify these drivers from time to time, you may need to update some of them accordingly.

The Necessity of Updating Drivers

It is very necessary to update computer drivers in time for the purpose of ensuring the promotion of systematization and stability. No matter what brand your hardware is, Intel, NVIDIA or AMD etc, the driver needs updating accordingly. Especially for such hardware as graphics card, if without updating in time, some performance may not be shown when we play new games. Graphics vendors will optimize their graphics for the purpose of improving graphics performance while there is a new game released.

Without drivers, computer hardware can be disabled sometimes. Thus, a hardware should be used with its corresponding driver, which is what we have called matching. As a result, vendors will release relevant driver files when they produce computer hardware. During the use, vendors will also release new drivers from time to time so that it can improve the hardware performance. In a word, the newer the drivers are, the better their performance will be. Different batches may exist tiny changes among various products, that is why there are differences in hardware qualities. It is because of these differences that require suitable drivers, which not always refers to the latest one.

We should also take into consideration the operation system of our computer when we choose drivers. The most suitable without conflicts, that is, compatible with other drivers are always the first choice.

Generally, there are several ways to update drivers:

1 Update Your Hardware Drivers With Windows Update

Assuming you're using Windows 10, Windows Update will automatically download and install the latest drivers for you. Apart from that, Windows 7 and 8 provide driver updates via Windows Update, too, but Microsoft is much more aggressive about this in Windows 10. Anyway it all happens automatically. Even if you install your own hardwaredrivers, Windows will automatically overwrite them once a new version is detected.

So this is the automatic, set-it-and-forget-it solution. You don't need a driver-updating utility because Windows has one built-in. It's worthy of mentioning that on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, hardware drivers exist in the Windows Update interface as an optional update. If you want to get the latest hardware drivers, make sure to open Windows Update, check for updates, and install any available hardware driver updates.These will come through Microsoft's Windows Update servers, so they should be fairly stable and solid.

2 Use the Manufacturer's Website

For some drivers, likewise you can just go straight to the hardware manufacturer's website. For instance, if you have a laptop or a prebuilt desktop PC, visit its manufacturer's website and look up the driver-download page for your specific model of computer. Generally speaking, you may find a single web page with a long list of drivers you can download. New versions of these drivers are posted on this web page when available, and you can also see the dates when they were uploaded so that you know which is the latest one.

In addition, this is also the place where you can easily find BIOS and UEFI firmware updates, but we don't recommend installing these unless you have a decent reason to do so.If you built your own desktop PC, then you'll have to download the drivers for it from each individual component's website, which means proceeding to your motherboard manufacturer's website and looking up the specific model of motherboard to find your motherboard drivers. Remember to repeat this process for each individual hardware component.

The good news, however, is that you skip most of the steps as a result of Windows, especially Windows 10, will automatically keep your drivers reasonably up-to-date for you.

If you're a gamer, surely you will want the latest graphics drivers. You just need to know that after you download and install them once, you'll be notified every time when new drivers are available and undoubtedly, you'll be prompted to download and install them.

For other driver updates, you can simply check the manufacturer's website for new versions. Similarly, this isn't normally necessary unless you have a specific reason to do so because Windows will keep your hardware drivers up-to-date enough anyway.

3 Update Drivers through Driver Booster

A driver, once well-installed, doesn't need to update if there is no problem. Sometimes, as I have mentioned above, drivers are required to update in terms of matching the gaming performance. Many users are facing various problems after updating, most of who fail to install the proper version. Some experienced users have backed up their old drivers and then try the new one so that they can restore them if the update failed.

All you are worried about can be solved by Driver Booster, without considering about how to choose the most compatible driver. Thus improving both your PC performance and gaming experience. Meanwhile, it can help you backup the previous drivers you have used in order to avoid driver absent when the new one fails to be installed or is incompatible with your computer.