So you want to know the complete information about PC drivers. Well, this is what you’ll get from this page. After reading this post, you can find and download drivers to any PC in front of you.
PC driver meaning:
A PC driver is nothing but a piece of software program that can sync hardware and software in a computer. It is just like a lubricant to a machine. You can download it manually or the operating system will do it for you.
In computers, some components are working without drivers. But, some computer parts must need drivers to work.
Just swipe to find which computer parts need PC drivers to work.
Importance of driver in a PC:
You get that PC drivers are like lubricants. Forget about drivers on a computer for a while. We all are using various machines daily. Car is also one of them.
If we face any trouble with our Car, we go to the repair service center near us. Based on the problem, the mechanic first looks at the lubricant level in a particular area. If it has enough level, then he’ll go to another fixing process.
This is the same method that applies to computers. Because a computer is also a type of machine. And we use PC drivers for smooth functioning.
I think you’ll get the importance of drivers in a computer. A car without lubricant can’t move at all. Even if it can move in some conditions, it can’t release the maximum potential to work. And it leads to the car may get damaged completely.
Just like that, the computer efficiency also dropped if we don’t use the required drivers in it. In the long run, the computer parts will get damaged.
Types of drivers:
Based on the hardware components in a computer, the type of drivers we need to install. However, there are different types of drivers in a PC.
- Motherboard drivers
- Display drivers
- Wi-Fi adapter drivers
- Audio drivers
- Bluetooth drivers
- Keyboard and Mouse drivers
- CD drivers
- Hard disk drivers
- External device drivers and more…
In the above list, there are some compulsorily required drivers for every PC and some are optional. For example, my CPU won’t have a CD drive, so the computer doesn’t ask me to download a CD driver.
The computer will find out whether a CPU has a CD drive or not with the help of an Operating System in it. The OS will collect the complete data from the hardware in a computer and make them in sync. Here you can find the complete guide on the computer working.
If there is any problem with the driver, the PC driver itself can’t notify us what the problem is. But the Operating System can do it.
There are many OSs out there. Most of you are using Windows OS on your PCs. It is more reliable compared to others.
How to download or Update PC drivers?
We have seen the importance of drivers in a PC and various types of them. Now, you need to know how to find a PC whether it has up-to-date drivers or not.
Downloading and Updating PC drivers are classified into two types.
- The first one is ‘Windows automatic update’
- Manual update
Windows automatic update for drivers:
We use a lot of components in a PC. And it’s hard to find the PC drivers for all the components that are installed or up-to-date. Checking all of them one by one is a waste of time.
So, Windows will keep an eye on our PC components. It automatically downloads and installs the drivers that are missing on a computer.
For example, a normal PC with up-to-date drivers is present in front of you. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a Wi-Fi adapter. The motherboard didn’t have a built-in Wi-Fi feature.
If you plug a Wi-Fi adapter into your PC to connect to the internet, the Windows OS will recognize the new hardware input and search for drivers and install it. So that a PC can connect to the internet.
Maybe you doubt how the internet will connect to a PC without a driver on it. Internet connection is possible to a PC without a driver for the adapter. But, Windows requires Wi-Fi drivers for the adapter to make its functioning smooth on a PC.
When the internet was connected to a PC, it looked in the Windows catalog for a suitable driver for the Wi-Fi adapter that you connect.
Whenever the new version of the driver is available, the system will automatically update it (Only if you make the system updates automatically). Along with the driver updates, Windows will give security patch updates for system stabilization.
Instructions to enable automatic updates in Windows 10:
- Open Settings
- Click on the Update and Security option
- If you find the Windows update section is Green with the tag ‘No updates available,’ your PC has up-to-date drivers. (By default Windows 10 has an automatic update feature).
- Do you pause the updates for any reason? Click on ‘Resume updates’ to enable automatic updates.
The two types of update actions in Windows PC
This is the Windows automatic system of downloading drivers to a PC.
It is good to save time. But it doesn’t work every time. See the example…
Before Windows installation in a PC, the computer needs to do some basic actions like Booting, BIOS, etc. The system BIOS is also a type of driver in a PC. Motherboard operated it on a PC.
So, to update BIOS on a computer, we need to give manual commands to it. Here Windows automatic system will not work.
- Useful Read: What to do when your PC is not booting BIOS?
Manual Update :
Just like the BIOS update in a PC, Windows can’t update some drivers even after we installed Windows 10 OS on a PC.
For example, take the GPU drivers.
The GPU drivers are third-party drivers. So, Windows wasn’t sure about the installation of this type of hardware.
I’m using an NVIDIA graphics card on my PC. Windows didn’t download the drivers for this GPU.
So I went to the official site of NVIDIA for drivers. Type the model of my GPU on search. The results were displayed. The page shows the latest driver version present in their records. Then I download it and install it on my PC.
Once the driver of the GPU was installed in a PC, the control panel was unlocked. The control will help you to keep the GPU drivers up-to-date.
You can do the same for AMD GPUs as well.
You may ask me, “This is ok for GPU. What about the other component drivers?”
To know the complete computer hardware specifications, open computer management. Follow the steps to open.
- Move your cursor to the Windows icon (located at the bottom left by default).
- Right-click on it.
- The list of options will display, select “computer management” among them.
- The computer management page will open. It looks like this.
List of my PC drivers under Disk Manager in Computer Management
Select the ‘Device Manager’ on the computer management page. There you can find the list of your PC components. Windows will download the drivers for your PC parts automatically. And provide necessary updates.
If you have a problem with any component in your PC, update the drivers of that particular component in the Device Manager section.
For example, if your Bluetooth adapter is not working, you’ve checked Windows for any updates available. It shows nothing. Then you need to update your PC driver manually, for that go to the ‘Device Manager,’ where you can find all PC parts.
Select the Bluetooth device and double-click on it. Its properties page will open. This page contains the Bluetooth working status.
Select the drivers on that page. There you can find the option ‘Update driver.’ Click on it.
If it shows the device is working properly, then it is fine. Then you need to select the ‘Driver‘ option on the menu under which you’ll find this.
Then the next page will open which gives you two options. One is Windows automatic update, and the other is to select the driver from your PC storage.
If you have any drives in your PC hard disk, let them be visible for driver update by selecting ‘drivers from local storage.’ Otherwise, go with the Windows automatic. Windows will update the drivers of your Bluetooth device (only if available).
You have already looked for Windows updates in settings but didn’t find anything. But when you look for drivers of specific components in this way, Windows will analyze the system again and check for updates again.
Your problem will be solved by updating the driver on a PC. However, if the problem occurs again and again, and it shows that ‘operation failed’ in their driver properties like (code 10 error or other), try to troubleshoot it.
To troubleshoot your PC,
- Go to settings
- Select ‘Update & Security.’
- After that, click on Troubleshoot from the displayed options
- Then select ‘Additional troubleshooters.’ There you can find the list of options and select the one that is having a problem with and fix it.
Drivers CD :
A Driver’s CD is a type of storage device that is coming with the motherboard. In this device, the motherboard manufacturer can load the PC drivers compatible with the motherboard model. If Windows automatic update fails to download PC drivers, we can use this Drivers CD.
Nowadays, Drivers CD is not in use because Windows will give the updates frequently and there is less chance of causing errors.
However, it’s better to keep this driver’ CD with you and use it whenever required to avoid major problems like Blue Screen of Death on your PC.
Not only motherboards coming up with the driver CD but also Wi-Fi adapters, Bluetooth adapters, and other components also have. It depends on the manufacturer of the product.
Is there any software available for PC drivers?
There are some best free software tools available on the web. Some of them are DriverPack, Snappy, DriverCloud, etc. You don’t need to use this software if your PC is working fine with the existing drivers (up-to-date or outdated doesn’t matter).
However, you can use these 11 free driver-pack software tools only if required. The reason why I’m saying this is, it makes a burden on your computer and results in lag performance. If you’ve built a PC with high configuration, go on with the driver software tool that you like (No problem).
Conclusion :
Hope this information will help you to download and update your PC drivers.
Don’t ignore the drivers on your PC. You can see the maximum potential of your PC with their help. And the lifespan of computer parts also increases. Here you can find multiple ways to fix your slow computer.