Driver Genius draws from a respectable database of 1. The options menu goes further than most apps do, too — you can choose silent installations, configure proxy servers and activate hardware monitoring to watch for components becoming too hot. Nevertheless, this tool is a great option for advanced users thanks to its high-end options and comprehensive performance. As its name suggests, Driver Easy aims to make keeping your system updated the simplest process possible. There are other tools with more options, but Driver Easy is effective, well-designed and affordable — a great option if you want a good balance between features and accessibility.
Most people pay little attention to drivers and have little understanding of what they are. This is because they work in the background, allowing your hardware to perform as it was designed to with your computer.
Unfortunately, many of the developers of driver update software take advantage of this general ignorance. What Is a Driver? Whenever you connect new hardware or components to your computer, driver software installs to help the device communicate and interface properly with your PC. For example, every time you plug in a new USB drive, you see a quick notice that your computer is installing the driver.
Once the driver is installed, you can access the information on the drive and save files to it. To Update or Leave It? Manufacturers develop driver software to ensure their hardware runs effectively and can communicate with your computer. However, as with all types of software, there are often updates made to the drivers to help the hardware run more effectively or to keep up with performance demands of other software.
Usually, these updates are downloaded and installed automatically by your Windows Update tool, especially if you use Windows But depending on your preferences and settings, some drivers can become outdated. Sometimes the updates are meant to fix bugs that have been reported by users. After hearing complaints from people who have nearly had their home offices go up in flames, the manufacturer realizes there is a bug in the driver that keeps it from communicating potential overheating to the printer.
The company will then send out an update for the driver so it tells the printer to adjust its speed when it receives a large printing job, keeping it from overheating and catching on fire. This example is, of course, extreme. Most are updated automatically by Windows Update unless you change the preferences in the settings.
But, as mentioned, you can download the updated driver from the developer. In fact, the only time you should be concerned about regularly updating your driver software is if you have a graphics card for gaming or for use with graphics-related software. The demands of games and software for 3D modelling and video editing constantly increase.
As such, drivers for graphics cards are often updated to maintain performance as software demands more. Everyone wants their computer to run optimally, without lag or issue.
When you keep your drivers up to date, this helps your connected components — such as your mouse, printer and keyboard — to continue working smoothly for you. Over time, you may notice that one of your peripherals begins having issues or stops working altogether.
This usually means that a driver is out of date and requires you to download and install the update in order to get it in working shape again. The process of finding and installing a particular driver update is made easier by using driver update software, which can source drives and help you manage them from one central place.
However, should you choose to neglect updating your drivers, you may start to experience problems with your computer. You may also see these issues if a driver somehow becomes corrupted or goes missing, or if you upgrade your computer to the latest version of its operating system. The first problem is that you could see a particular peripheral not working correctly.
An older printer may not respond quickly or at all, or your video player software may freeze up. Multiple outdated drivers could hurt the overall performance of your computer.
No matter what specific problem your drivers might have, if you leave them without an update for long enough, it may cause more problems, be they minor or fatal to your computer system.
A driver acts as a translator, thus allowing the computer and your accompanying hardware to understand each other and function correctly. This is true for all kinds of drivers, though the software we tested focuses mostly on original equipment manufacturer drivers. This is why it is crucial to keep your drivers updated. Using a System Restore Point It is always nice to be able to undo an error or fix a mistake.
Luckily, having a system restore point can help you get rid of a bad driver update or other new problems that appear on your home computer. Simply put, a system restore point acts as a back button or undo option, reverting drivers, registries and other elements on your computer back to a previous point, such as before you installed a problematic update. We did not include a walkthrough for older systems, for example, those running Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP.
Yes, Windows 10 automatically detects and installs new drivers for a wide range of hardware devices. However, it is important to note that every now and then you may need to install drivers manually for several reasons.
Although, manually updating drivers in Windows 10 is a pesky affair, but if you still want to try it out, here are the methods:. You can manually download and install the latest driver software for Windows 10 and other versions of the OS using the Microsoft Update Catalog website. But, if you still like to manually install a driver, here are the driver download links of some of the most popular hardware manufacturers:.
Tracking down the correct drivers for your specific flavor of Windows version and peripherals on third-party driver download websites is the most frustrating and time-consuming job. The easiest solution is a dedicated driver update program that offers a wide array of optimization and driver-management tools to help you fix common PC issues like crashes, no audio and network-connectivity issues, printer problems, BSOD errors, poor game performance, and much more.
The difference is the stamp provided by Microsoft. WHQL drivers are tested and approved by Microsoft. Whereas, the non-WHQL drivers are just a kind of beta drivers. Also, the vendors prefer to have WHQL signed drivers. This concludes our article that will give you a clear insight on how to shortlist the best free driver updater software for Windows PC to update outdated drivers.
All of these aforementioned driver updating software helps download the latest driver versions within the snap of a finger and makes sure your PC stays running at peak performance. If you need recommendations, then we would suggest using Bit Driver Updater for a wide range of powerful driver-management tools. Get any of these Windows driver updaters now and update all out-of-date device drivers automatically with ease. Do you think we missed to mention any highly-rated tool?
If yes, please let us know your thoughts and picks on the subject in the comments section below. Over the last few years, I have tried numerous free driver updaters, out of which ITL Driver Updater turned out to be the best. Searching for a driver update software that can also fix invalid registries and provide complete web protection and then I found Driver Magic.
I am definitely impressed with its PC optimizing features. Highly recommend the product! Thank you guys for sharing such a detailed analysis of the best driver updater software. Excellent info, Keep up the great work. Unlike other free driver update software, it helped me update my out-of-date or corrupt drivers without even spending a single penny.
Thanks for sharing the blog. I really like your article. Thank You!! Thanks Johnson! Glad you liked the article! For more tech-related stuff, follow us on social media and subscribe to our Newsletter. Thanks for sharing the article on the driver updater. Thank you Akky. For more tech-related blogs, follow us on social media and subscribe to our Newsletter. Thank you for publishing this awesome article.
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Your blog provided us valuable information to work on. You have done a wonderful job! Nice content format and article. I like your infographics which you have used in this blog. So thanks for sharing!! Thank you for posting this awesome article. Thanks again for a great article! Hello there! I like the helpful information you provided in this write-up. Can you please also tell me is it possible to roll back a device driver to a previous version?
We are glad to know that you liked this post. We hope the information provided in it answers your query. It is a nice read. Can you please suggest how I can install drivers after reinstalling Windows on my laptop? Hello richard, Thank you for commenting. You can use one of the best driver updater mentioned above to auto-scan your system and update all the drivers in one go. If you need more assistance on the matter, please do not hesitate to drop us a comment again.
Very well-written and informative blog. The FAQ section at the end provided me all the details I need to know about the process of updating drivers on Windows. Keep up the good work! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful piece of information on the best driver updater software. From the above list, I have tried Bit Driver Updater and found it the best solution for updating outdated drivers and improving PC performance.
Keep up the good work guys! A few days back, I was frustrated because of the slow performance of my PC. Later on, I surfed the web regarding how to speed up PC performance and found your article. Then, I picked the Bit Driver Updater and was amazed. Now, my PC is running faster than expected, thanks for this masterpiece. Thank you guys for sharing such an in-depth analysis of the best driver updater utilities.
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Great piece of work! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful and informative article on driver updater. And, the FAQ section really provided me with all the information I need to know about the process of updating the PC drivers. Hello Mark Sibley, we are glad to know that you liked this article. For more technical information, news, blogs, subscribe to our Newsletter and follow us on social media.
Thank You! The information about the best driver updater that you shared was concise and to the point, also, helped me to decide which software I needed to pick. Thank you for sharing such a piece of information. Bit Driver Updater is undoubtedly the best way to update all outdated drivers within just a few clicks of the mouse.
Thanks a ton for sharing such helpful information. Keep it up! Sign me up for the newsletter! Published Date : Jan 03, Category : Driver Updater Top 10 Windows. Cons You need to upgrade to its premium version if you want to use highly advanced features. Needs too much hard drive space. Cons Need to pay extra money to get their premium support Free trial version is not much efficient Does not support Windows 8.
Pros Freeware Absolutely safe to use Download history Detailed driver information Official device drivers. Cons Installs optional software products or their components Strong internet connection is required Background mode is not supported. Pros Easy-to-use software with a simple interface Up-to-date device driver database Offers free driver updates in real-time Automatically creates restore points before installing drivers Convenient scheduler for scanning device drivers Relatively lightweight application.
Cons Takes longer than usual to download drivers No live chat support for customers 8 interface languages only. Cons Occasionally shows false driver updates You have to spend few extra bucks if you want to receive latest upgrades of their product Driver download server takes time to download driver updates.
Cannot work offline. Cons A bit expensive product compared to other similar driver updaters No additional PC optimization features Paid version offers license key for only one PC. How does a driver updater tool work? When new updates appear, they're downloaded from inside the program, so you can avoid having to get them manually from each manufacturer's website.
Before installing a driver, you can see how the new version compares with the currently installed driver, which is helpful. Driver Booster creates a restore point before installing a driver in the event something goes wrong with the installation. There's also an offline updater built-in. From the tools category, choose the offline option to export the driver information, and then open that file on a computer that has a working internet connection. Read Driver Booster's offline driver updater instructions for all the details.
Other functions are available, too: roll back drivers, uninstall drivers, ignore drivers, export a list of drivers to a text file, enable Game Boost to release system resources, and view system information details.
Snappy Driver Installer is another freeware option. It lets you download several drivers at once for many types of devices. After they're downloaded, the program gives you immediate access to install the updates—with or without an internet connection. The app itself is fairly simple, but it's still strangely hard to use because of the way it's set up. Right-clicking a driver provides extra options like showing alternative drivers, copying the hardware ID, and locating the driver's INF file.
This program doesn't have advertisements, doesn't limit download speeds, and can install as many drivers as you need without any limitations. Driver Talent previously called DriveTheLife is a straightforward program that downloads device drivers so that you don't have to search the internet for official download links.
This application not only updates outdated and missing drivers but also fixes corrupted ones and backs up all your installed drivers. A Peripheral Drivers area of the program calls out printer and USB drivers, telling you very clearly if they're installed and working normally. The size of a driver as well as its release date and version number are displayed for you before you download it to verify you're getting what you're after.
An alternative version includes network drivers and works offline, which is perfect if you need to install drivers but don't have the proper network driver installed. There's also a basic hardware information utility that you can access from the program's Tools menu. DriversCloud previously called Ma-Config is a free web service that locates detailed information about your hardware and software, including outdated drivers.
After installing and opening the program, select Online detection to detect all of your computer's components and their associated drivers. Once the scan completes, all the results open in your web browser.
Choosing My Drivers at the top of the page will take you where you need to be. Once you reach the driver page, there's a semi-automatic installation option. This is what we recommend using because it provides a single executable that you can launch to install all the drivers you chose from the web page.
However, there's also a manual option where you download each driver update one at a time, but then installation is also manual. DriverIdentifier comes in the form of a very simple driver checker. After it runs, the results open in your web browser where you then manually download the drivers that you need, and then manually install them once they're on your computer.
It scans for drivers even if you don't have an internet connection, which is helpful if your network card driver isn't working. When an offline scan completes, the list of drivers is saved to a file that you can open on a working computer to get the drivers you need. This program works with Windows 10 and Windows 8, but the official system requirements list only Windows 7, Vista, XP, and some Windows Server versions. There's also a portable edition available through the link below.
Driver Easy is unique in that it can check for outdated drivers automatically based on a schedule. A scan can be scheduled daily, weekly, monthly, when your PC is idle, or even every time you log on to Windows.
Unlike DriverIdentifier, Driver Easy downloads the drivers from inside the program without opening an external web browser. There are additional features, too, like viewing hardware information and scanning for driver updates when you don't have an internet connection.
Other features, however, might look free but are actually available only if you pay, such as automatic restore point creations, driver backups, and bulk updating.
DriverHub downloads and installs drivers for you and has a whole section of the program dedicated to recovery should something go wrong. The program itself has a clean interface with only a few menu buttons. In the settings are options for changing the download folder and disabling program update checks.
You can keep things simple and install whatever the program recommends, or you can go into Advanced Mode to pick which drivers to get, to see version numbers, and to install alternate drivers i. The Useful utilities section isn't driver-related but does include some helpful links to Windows utilities, like Disk Management and Task Manager.
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