Serious issues that can cause your system to have fatal irreversible errors that are only recoverable by a full re-installation of your operating system can occur by not keeping your drivers up to date.
You wouldn’t leave your computer open to new viruses, nor should you leave it open for device failure. Outdated drivers can cause serious, and even fatal, errors that may result in irreversible damage to your system with no way to fix it short of a full system restore. You should update a driver if a device is working strangely. The odd behavior can be attributed to a bug in the existing driver. Plug and Play – Plug and Play enables the automatic configuration of device drivers allowing the operating system to detect the device and install the required device driver automatically.
A driver is a file on a Windows-based personal computer that controls an internal or external device, such as a modem, video card, scanner or printer. Windows uses a driver to help the computer communicate with various gadgets attached to it. Making sure you have the correct and most up-to-date drivers is the easiest way to resolve many of these problems. Device driver updates are sometimes published by Microsoft but most often come from the hardware manufacturer like Logitech, HP or Intel. Microsoft tests and digitally signs many device drivers. When a device driver passes a series of tests conducted by the Windows Hardware Quality Lab, they are digitally signed and recognized by the Windows Operating System. You can also load unsigned drivers depending on what Signature Checking Level your computer is set on. Level 0 disables signature checking. Level 1 checks for a digital signature and warns the user if one is not found. The user may go ahead and proceed despite the warning. Level 2 blocks the installation of all unsigned device drivers.
To update a driver, you’ll need to retrieve it from the device maker’s Web site. Most peripheral makers have a support or customer care area on their Web site that contains driver files. Drivers also come on floppy disks or CDs that you have got with the device. Still, it is better to get the latest driver from the device manufacturer’s Web site.
Hunting down drivers is now a thing of the past. A handy tool called Driver Detective automates the process in a few simple clicks. With access to a massive database of over 2 million drivers, Driver Detective will scan your system to identify each device and then it will locate and download the most current drivers for each device. What used to take hours can now be accomplished in minutes, allowing your precious time to be put to better use.