• Updates all your system drivers as easy as 1-2-3!
• Your computer and all programs will perform EXACTLY like they should!

WHY DRIVERS NEED TO BE KEPT UP-TO-DATE

Keeping your computer running at its best requires regular computer maintenance including cleaning out the clutter, removing unwanted applications, running regular virus and spyware scans, updating the operating system, updating software, and updating hardware drivers. While many computer users are aware of most of the basic maintenance steps, quite a few overlook keeping the device drivers current. After all, if a device is not broken, why fix it?

While a malfunctioning device is often repaired by updating the device driver, devices in general benefit from updated drivers. This is because device manufacturers continue fine-tuning their products. As bugs and conflicts are discovered, manufacturers come up with solutions and issue these fixes in the form of new device driver versions.

For example, let’s say that you just bought a brand new wireless keyboard for your computer. As you work, you notice that your keyboard locks up every time you open a particular program and use a certain key combination. While manufacturers test their devices extensively, they can’t possibly foresee every possible scenario – such as conflicts between their product and a particular program whenever one out of millions of key combinations are pressed. As users report bugs, the manufacturers respond and fix them. In this example, by updating the device driver, your keyboard problem will be fixed.

Not only does updating drivers solve known problems that you currently have, it prevents problems your computer hasn’t encountered yet. For example, let’s say that you have a Brand X graphics card that is known to conflict with Brand Y soundcards. It’s not necessarily a problem for you if you don’t have a Brand Y soundcard, right? Now, imagine if Brand X repairs this problem through a driver update and you haven’t updated your graphics drivers. Still not a problem, right? In fact, you have no reason to even know that this particular problem existed and that it has since been fixed. Now, what if you decide it’s time to buy a new soundcard and you choose a Brand Y card? You’ll have device errors that have already been resolved for other users. Not only is this a headache and a hassle, it’s preventable.

In addition to solving and preventing problems, keeping your device drivers current adds other improvements. As new technologies are introduced, hardware manufacturers often make changes to accommodate the new technology. This helps extend the device’s useful lifetime. For example, when a new operating system is released, hardware and devices don’t necessarily work with it until updated drivers adding compatibility have been released. If you upgrade operating systems, it can be costly – and unnecessary – to replace all of your devices. Before running out and buying a new printer, DVD burner, or other device, check for updated device drivers.

These examples illustrate the importance of keeping your drivers up-to-date. Benefits to doing so include performance improvements, better system stability, device fixes, problem prevention, and added compatibility.

Update all your Drivers with a couple clicks!

Common Driver Associated Errors

Computer errors have mystified average home computer users since the inception of the PC. From the vague “illegal operation” and “stop” errors to errors featuring technical information and numeric codes that only a computer engineer can understand, it’s no wonder users scratch their heads before reinstalling their operating systems in an attempt at a fresh start.

Before you do anything drastic, let’s take a look at common driver associated errors, and demystify what’s really going on. Remember Driver errors are all easy to fix - just keep all your device drivers Updated!!

Device drivers are the files that facilitate communication between your hardware and devices and the operation system. When drivers are properly installed and working as they should, the device performs as expected. However, when driver associated errors occur, the computer may generate driver errors such as driver not found errors, driver import errors, driver installation errors, incompatible driver errors, and waiting for device restart errors. These are among the more common driver related errors and once you understand them, you’ll have a better understanding of driver errors in general.

Driver not found errors – These are fairly obvious in that Windows can’t find the device driver. This can happen when a driver did not install properly, the driver file became corrupt, someone accidentally deleted the device driver, a new installation overwrote the device driver, and other scenarios. When this happens, replacing the missing or damaged driver with a clean copy is the solution. Check the device manufacturer’s Web site for the most current version of the device driver for your operating system and then download and install it to your system.

Driver import errors – Driver import errors occur when attempting to install or update device drivers. This could mean that a required file on the driver installation disc or download was missing or corrupt or that Windows couldn’t find required components, thus the import failed. For example, during driver installations, drivers are typically imported into a folder before being installed. Driver import errors occur during this import phase and are closely related to driver installation errors.

Driver installation errors – Driver installation errors occur when attempting to install a device driver and the installation fails. Drivers are often packages containing numerous files. If any part of the installation package is damaged, the installation will fail and the driver will not be installed. If driver installation errors occur during an update to an existing driver, it’s often possible to roll back to the original driver by using the “roll back driver” function in the Device Manager or performing a System Restore if your computer offers Restore Points (Windows XP and Vista).

Incompatible driver errors – These errors occur when the wrong device driver was installed. For example, if you have Windows Vista but download the driver built for Windows XP, you will have hardware issues.

Waiting for device restart error – These errors may or may not generate an error box. If you see an error box with this error, you’ll know that you may need to intervene and restart the device or the entire computer system. When installing device drivers, it’s generally a good idea to reboot as many drivers require a system restart in order to complete the installation.

Update all your Drivers with a couple clicks!

Every manufacturer has their own drivers, and a different driver for each and every version and model of each device.

Twenty five years ago, when there wasn't as much selection out in the market, most software programs were written to handle a few currently popular pieces of hardware. Word processing programs had to control printers, network programs had to control modems, and every time a new peripheral came out software vendors would scramble to support it. This inevitably meant a heavier workload for everyone involved, and spotty device support that made life difficult for computer users.

Today, with the explosion of the PC market, this setup would be totally unworkable. The number of devices that need to be supported grows every day, faster than any software vendor could possibly keep up.

Instead, what is needed is a set of programs that can provide a layer of abstraction between the software and the hardware.

Its how software and hardware get along

These applications are called drivers, and they provide a simple standardized way of communicating with devices.

You can think of drivers as the software version of UN translators. They take information in one of a few languages, and convert it into the "local languages" of each different device as needed. Without device drivers, none of the computer hardware you take for granted every day would be able to function.

The popular Microsoft Windows operating system comes with hundreds, if not thousands of built-in device drivers for all kinds of different gadgets from optical mice, to network cards, to legacy dot matrix printers.

Drivers are outdated as soon as a newer product version comes out

Even with this giant database of drivers, however, new devices come out so quickly that you've no doubt found the need to install some extra ones to get everything working right on your computer.

Updating Drivers can get messy

Unfortunately, installing device drivers can sometimes be a messy process. One reason for this is that some devices require use of the same system resources, causing a conflict. This happens most often with old hardware sometimes requires a unique interrupt address. Because there is a finite number of interrupts available to the system, it is possible to run out of numbers to assign to devices. When this happens, the system generally disables the driver of the newer piece of hardware, rendering its device inoperable.

Modern hardware and device drivers less often cause resource conflicts, but the array of devices out there means that you will probably have a tough time finding the right driver for whatever it is you need to get working unless it comes on a disk with your device.

To add to this problem, users of less popular operating systems like Mac OS X and the various Linux distributions often have to fend for themselves if they want any kind of hardware support.

Lazy Manufacturers are Everywhere

Manufacturers usually write a quick (and often un-optimized) Windows driver and then throw in the towel, figuring that when the product stops working the customer will buy a new one. Of course, if you've just ordered a new printer, this means you could be very disappointed to find it won't work with your system when it arrives.

Buy Brand Name Devices like Printers and Soundcards

Because of the widespread and unexpected driver issues that can occur, it really pays to do your homework before you buy anything new for you computer. Mice, keyboards, and run of the mill monitors can usually be counted on to work.

Other than that, though, you will want to search the web for terms like "myPrinter myModel" + driver +problem.

... or better yet try this custom search engine which only searches manufactures (Official Websites) for official driver versions:

Search for Specific Drivers Now

If you see a lot of complaints and no solutions, maybe it's time to steer clear. Computer peripherals, especially devices like printers, can be fairly large investments that you expect to last a reasonable amount of time. Responsible companies provide periodic driver updates to fix problems and support new platforms, but many companies simply don't. It's best to buy only what you know will work without hassle, even if it means spending a few extra bucks.

Assuming your one of the many, who have a device that needs an updated driver (printer, mouse or monitor not working properly), then you've come to the right place. Our free tool will find precisely the correct driver for your system and then show you exactly how to get the latest and most stable version updates.

Update all your Drivers with a couple clicks!