Find and Update Drivers

This article teaches how to update the software, called "drivers," that control the hardware connected to your computer. Updating drivers is generally only necessary for troubleshooting problems with hardware.

Steps

Using Windows Update (Windows 10)

  1. Click the Start button. The Start button can be found in the lower-left corner of the desktop, and the icon is the Windows logo.
    • Windows 10 will handle virtually all of your driver updates through the Windows update utility. This typically happens automatically, but you can check for the latest updates at any time.
  2. Click the Settings button. You'll see this on the left side of the Start menu. The icon is a gear.
  3. Click Update & security. If you don't see this option, click Home in the upper-left corner.
  4. Click the Windows Update option. You'll see this in the navigation menu on the left side of the window.
  5. Click Check for updates. Windows will check for any available updates, including updated drivers.
  6. Click Install updates if updates are available. This will begin downloading the updates, which may take a while. You may be prompted to reboot after updates are installed.[1]
  7. Check for drivers manually. If a device or piece of hardware is not updating properly, you may need to download the driver directly from the manufacturer. In most cases, however, drivers will install through Windows Update.

Using Windows Update (Windows 8)

  1. Open the Charms menu. You can do this by moving your mouse to the upper-right corner of the screen, swiping in from the right side of the screen, or by pressing ⊞ Win+C.
  2. Click Settings.
  3. Click Change PC settings.
  4. Click Update and recovery.
  5. Click Windows Update.
  6. Click Check for updates.
  7. Click the View details button. This will show you all of the updates that are being installed. Make sure that any hardware updates are selected, as they may be listed as "Optional" and not selected by default.
  8. Click Install if any updates are available. Updates include any new drivers for most popular hardware. The update time will vary depending on how many updates are available.
  9. Use the Device Manager to install additional drivers. Windows Update in Windows 8 will not automatically find drivers for all hardware. There's a good chance that one or more components will need to be updated through the Device Manager.

Using Windows Update (Windows 7)

  1. Click the Start button.
  2. Click the Control Panel option.
  3. Click the System and Security option. If you see a list of icons instead of categories, you can select Windows Update directly from this menu.
  4. Click Windows Update.
  5. Click the Optional updates link (if present). You'll see this at the top of the window. Driver updates may be listed in the Optional updates link.
  6. Check the boxes for any hardware listed. If you see hardware updates listed here, make sure they are checked.
  7. Click OK. This will return you to the Windows Update screen.
  8. Click Install updates to begin downloading and installing. The time this takes depends on how many updates are available. You'll likely be prompted to reboot your computer after the installation.[2]
  9. Open the Device Manager to check for additional drivers. Windows Update will not find drivers for every piece of hardware. You may need to check for new drivers using the Device Manager.

Using Device Manager (Any Windows Version)

  1. Click the Start button. The Device Manager utility lets you view all of your installed hardware. You can use it to scan for driver updates.
  2. Type device manager with the Start menu open.
  3. Click Device Manager in the list of results.
  4. Expand the categories to find the hardware you need drivers for. You'll see a list of hardware categories. Expanding each one will display all of the different hardware components installed in your computer.
    • If a piece of hardware is not installed correctly, you'll see it listed in the Other devices section as an Unknown device. Windows will not be able to find the driver for you, so you'll need to download the driver from the manufacturer.
  5. Right-click the hardware component you want to update.
  6. Click Update Driver Software.
  7. Click Search automatically for updated driver software. Windows will scan for any drivers available for download.
  8. Click Install to install a driver (if found). If a driver update has been found by Windows, click Install and follow the prompts to install it.[3]

Manually Installing Drivers (Any Windows Version)

  1. Determine the hardware you want to update. When installing drivers manually, you'll be downloading the driver files directly from the manufacturer. You'll need to know the manufacturer and the model of the hardware you're trying to update.
    • If you have a laptop, you can usually find all of the drivers you need from your laptop manufacturer's page.
    • You can find the model information in the documentation that came with your hardware. You can also find the model information in Device Manager if Windows was able to recognize it.
  2. Identify unknown hardware. If the piece of hardware you're trying to update is listed as an Unknown device in Device Manager, you can try to look it up online:
    • Right-click on the unrecognized hardware and select Properties.
    • Click the Details tab and select Hardware Ids from the drop-down menu.
    • Right-click on the top-most entry in the list that appears and select Copy. Paste the copied text into your favorite search engine. The first few results will usually help you figure out what the hardware manufacturer and model is.[4]
    • If this doesn't help you determine the piece of hardware, you'll need to either refer to your computer's documentation or physically open the computer and visually identify the piece of hardware.
  3. Visit the manufacturer's website. Once you've determined what you want to update, you'll need to visit the manufacturer's support site. Below are some of the most common ones. If your manufacturer is not listed here, you can find it with a quick web search:
    • Motherboards:
      • Gigabyte - gigabyte.com/support-downloads/download-center.aspx?ck=2
      • Intel - downloadcenter.intel.com
      • MSi - msi.com/service/download/
      • ASRock - asrock.com/support/download.asp
      • Asus - support.asus.com/download/options.aspx?SLanguage=en&type=1
    • Graphics:
      • NVIDIA - nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
      • AMD/ATI - support.amd.com/en-us/download
    • Laptops:
      • Dell - dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Products/laptop?app=drivers
      • Gateway - gateway.com/worldwide/support/
      • HP - www8.hp.com/us/en/support-drivers.html
      • Lenovo - support.lenovo.com/us/en/products?tabName=Downloads
      • Toshiba - support.toshiba.com
    • Network Cards:
      • Linksys - linksys.com/us/support/
      • Netgear - downloadcenter.netgear.com/
      • Realtek - realtek.com.tw/downloads/
      • Trendnet - trendnet.com/downloads/
    • Optical Drives:
      • Samsung - samsung.com/us/support/
      • Sony - sony.storagesupport.com/models/21
      • LG - lg.com/us/support
      • LiteOn - us.liteonit.com/us/service-support/download
    • Peripherals:
      • Creative - support.creative.com/welcome.aspx
      • Logitech - support.logitech.com/
      • Plantronics - plantronics.com/us/category/software/
      • Turtle Beach - support.turtlebeach.com/files/
  4. Search for your hardware model. The process for this will vary from site to site, but generally you can browse or search for a specific model. Find the support page for the specific piece of hardware you need to update.
  5. Download the driver files. Many drivers come as installers (.exe files), or are packaged with software designed for the hardware. Older or less common devices may have drivers in .zip format. Sometimes the hardware's accompanying software will be listed separately from the drivers.[1]
    • If there isn't a driver available for your version of Windows, you can try one from an earlier version. For example, if you're looking for a Windows 10 driver but there isn't one available, try the Windows 8 driver. This isn't guaranteed to work, but may be your only option.
  6. Run the installer or extract the files. If you downloaded an .exe file, you can run it and follow the installer's prompts to install the drivers. If you downloaded a .zip file, double-click it to open it, copy the files into an easy-to-access folder, and read on.
    • If you use an installer, you'll likely be prompted to reboot your computer after the installation is complete. You usually don't need to install any of the additional software unless you want it.
  7. Manually install the drivers. If the drivers came in a .zip file, you'll need to install them manually. You can do this from the Device Manager.[5]
    • Open the Device Manager, right-click on the hardware, and select Update Driver Software.
    • Select Browse my computer for driver software.
    • Navigate to the location that you copied the driver files to and select any .inf file in the folder.

Updating Mac Drivers

  1. Click the Apple menu. Apple handles all of the driver updates that are released for your Mac hardware.
  2. Click the App Store option. This will open the Updates tab in the App Store. Any available updates will be listed, which includes any updated drivers for your hardware.
  3. Click the Update All button. This will download all of the available updates. Alternatively, you can choose to just install any available driver updates.
  4. Wait for updates to download and install. Your Mac may prompt you to reboot after installing.[6]

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.howtogeek.com/233115/the-only-way-to-safely-update-your-hardware-drivers-on-windows/
  2. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/15054/windows-7-automatically-get-recommended-drivers-updates-hardware
  3. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/instantanswers/ad5a063e-5f57-c715-2566-b983195752c1/update-drivers-in-windows-10
  4. ↑ http://www.pcworld.com/article/2089404/how-to-easily-find-drivers-for-unknown-devices-in-windows.html
  5. ↑ http://www.driveridentifier.com/blog/?p=24
  6. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201541
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