A device driver is a type of file that controls the operation of hardware on your computer, and these files count for some of the most important files on a Windows computer system and without them, your computer simply will not work.

So let’s make sure you have all the right drivers installed on your computer.

But it’s not just a matter of installing any drivers associated with a hardware device; you need the right driver for the right hardware compatible with the right software.

This may sound a little complicated, but it is just how Windows work.

There are thousands of hardware devices that can be attached to a Windows computer, from hundreds of different developers, so you need the right drivers to ensure that these hardware devices are working, that Windows can communicate with them properly and that they are compatible with each other and installed software.

If you do experience problems with a driver, the symptoms are everything from error messages to a computer crashing completely.

Common Driver Related Issues

  • Slow Performance, Halts and Freezes

If a driver runs into a compatibility issue with some type of software, it will not work very well and become very buggy.

You can experience this problem when you launch a program; Windows will suddenly become very slow, freeze up from time to time, or become non-responsive altogether.

If the software is running at all times, like an antivirus application, the error will not go away until you either uninstall the software or hardware device or install the correct drivers.

  • Device not working

If there is a problem with a device or it is not working, the drivers is most likely the cause, but first; make sure the device is connected and turned on (for some reason this is a major issue among users).

If it is connected and powered, that means it is both receiving and sending signals to Windows, but because the driver is missing, corrupted or outdated, so the hardware device and the software it wants to communicate with don’t understand each other.

  • Computer Crashes

This is dreaded by Windows users worldwide; the computer suddenly stops working and blue error screen appears displaying some strange codes, the technical term for this is Windows Stop Error, but it is better known as the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).

When something goes terribly wrong with your computer, Windows automatically shuts down to prevent harm.

One of the leading causes of this error is some type of driver issue, and is often caused by a critical driver not working properly, like if you want to watch a movie and your video card driver suddenly fails.

Windows will detect the error and understand that if this driver fails, any normal operation will be impossible, so it initiates what is known as a Fatal Exception Error and shuts down.

Click here to Update all your Drivers Automatically

How to deal With Driver Issues

Well the obvious answer is to update your drivers, but the how of the question can be a little more complex, but there are generally two ways to update your drivers; the easy way and the long complicated way.

  • The Long Way

There is always the option of updating your drivers manually, but first you will need to get the right driver for your hardware. So head over to the website of its manufacturer and look for the most recent driver updates, make sure you get the right one.

Note: You will need to navigate to the hardware manufacturers’ driver section to find the appropriate drivers, a link can usually be found at the home page, if you can’t find it you will need to send them a support e-mail.

To install the driver you need to use the Device Manager tool in Windows.

Press Win+R (Vista), or Start then run… (Win XP), and type devmgmt.msc, this brings up the device manager, and displays a list of all your installed hardware devices.

To update a driver; click the [+] sign next to a hardware group to expand the drivers, next right click and select Update Driver… button. This opens a wizard that will let you choose to install a driver located on your hard drive, or search the internet for the appropriate driver.

To complete the steps above, it helps if you have already found the right drivers from the manufacturer’s website and stored them somewhere on your computer; this is safer and ensures you will have the latest and correct drivers.

To do this, download the driver from the manufacturer, then select Update Driver as described above and choose: Browse my computer for driver software. Follow the wizard to navigate to the location you saved the driver and install it from there.

  • The Easy Way

By using a driver update utility, you can easily automate the above process. And since the drivers needs to be regularly updated, by using a driver update utility you can always be sure you have the latest and correct drivers installed on your computer.

We recommend using Driver Checker, this software will scan your computer and detect all your installed hardware, cross match and find the optimized drivers for your current computer configuration, and then it will download and install these drivers automatically, it will even find and install missing drivers.

Visit the Driver Checker Official Website

All done with a few mouse clicks, and while Driver Checker is installed, it will periodically check for updates in the background to make sure you always have the latest drivers installed and keep your computer optimized and error free.