Drivers

Greater than the sum of its parts

Your computer isn't just a single machine, but rather a system of interconnected hardware devices. At its most basic your computer likely contains the following components:

Motherboard
Memory
Display

Central Processing Unit
Keyboard
Graphics Card

Hard Disk
Mouse

In addition to the basic hardware, your computer may also have a variety of other devices including sound card, modem, CD-ROM drive, DVD drive, network adapters, PCMCIA, game controllers, storage controllers, printer, and scanner.

You may also have numerous USB, Firewire, and wireless devices that you connect to your computer from time to time including digital cameras, video cameras, webcams, MP3 players, mobile phones, and Personal Digital Assistants.

With this many variables in hardware alone, your computer system is sure to be unique. In addition to the hardware devices, your computer also has an operating system and software. Device drivers are a critical part of the overall computer system.

What drivers do and how they work

Drivers provide the information that the operating system requires to understand what each connected device is and how to interact with it. Device drivers are files containing the specific commands that the hardware device responds to.

Windows has a set of generic device drivers that many hardware devices can use. While generic drivers might be fine for basic functionality, most hardware devices have their own unique features.

For example, let's say you just purchased a new mouse for your computer. Windows will likely recognize it as a mouse and be able to handle basic commands. However, what if this mouse has all kinds of additional features like additional programmable buttons and scrolling wheels? The device driver will tell Windows about these features and how to interact with them.

Device drivers generally come on an installation disk included with the new device. Plug-and-Play hardware devices are designed to be recognized automatically by the operating system. When you plug the device in, Windows will recognize it automatically and load the required drivers. This is accomplished through coordination between the device manufacturer and Microsoft.

After installing a new device and its driver, everything should work fine and it likely will for some time. However, drivers are like any other type of file on your computer – susceptible to file corruption or deletion. When installing new drivers for new hardware, you could inadvertently overwrite existing drivers which then causes your old hardware to malfunction.

Why your drivers need to be updated

Even if your hardware is operating as it should, it's not a bad idea to update your device drivers periodically because driver updates often enhance the device's functionality. Imagine if a new technology comes along but your device was manufactured beforehand.

In that case, is your device obsolete? Not necessarily. If the device manufacturer updates the device driver to include the new technology, all you need to do is update the driver – you do not need to run out and purchase new hardware.

Updating device drivers isn't terribly difficult but it is time consuming and tedious. Most device manufacturers make their updated drivers available on their websites. When downloading drivers, you MUST make sure to download the correct one or else your device might not work. Drivers are specific to the device and the computer's operating system so attention to detail is a must.

A better way to update your device drivers

With dozens of devices, who has time for all that, right? Fortunately, several different programs, such as DriverCure, are designed to automate driver updating so that you don't have to identify your hardware, search for drivers, download drivers, and install them.

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Drivers

Drivers

Greater than the sum of its parts

What drivers do and how they work

Why your drivers need to be updated

A better way to update your device drivers