One hears repeatedly to keep anti-virus and anti-spyware programs updated. We also see plenty of reminders about Microsoft Windows updates. Device drivers, on the other hand do not get this much attention. It is almost as important to keep your device drivers updated, particularly in the case of display adapter drivers. These should be updated every time a new version of DirectX is installed. Changes in other parts of your computer's operating system may well warrant updated device drivers to ensure proper device function after these changes are in place.
There is more than one method of updating device drivers but only the method most likely to be understood by a new computer user will be covered on this page. As there are differences in Windows XP and Windows Vista, this method will be covered for both versions of Windows. This will be done in separate sections starting with Windows XP. Windows Vista users can skip to the Vista section by clicking this button Windows Vista
Windows XP Device Driver Updating
Windows XP users can start by left clicking the Start button to open the Start Menu. Next look for the entry "My Computer" in the right column or as some refer to it "The Dark Side". The big red arrow shown in the graphic demonstrates where to find this menu option. Place your mouse pointer over this entry and single right click.
This opens a context menu which some also refer to as a pop up menu. The selection needed here is "Properties", which is usually located at the bottom of these menus. Place your mouse pointer over this entry then single left click to select this item.
This will open the System Properties dialog. Under the title bar you will see a double row of tabs. Single left click the tab labeled "Hardware" as indicated in the picture.
The "Hardware" view of System Properties is divided into three sections. They are Device Manager, Drivers and Hardware Profiles. At this time we are only concerned with the top section, Device Manager. Single left click the button labeled "Device Manager", which is indicated in the screen shot by the red arrow.
The Device Manager provides a tree view of all the devices on your system. If there is a problem with a device, it will be indicated in this dialog by a red "X" or a yellow question mark. As we are only wanting to update device drivers, we will not delve any deeper into device trouble shooting. Instead, we will single left click on the boxed "+" next to whichever device we want to update. In this case, we have chosen the display adapter.
When you expand the "Display Adapter" item, you may be see the presence of two adapters. Although the context menu in the screen shot blocks the view, the bottom display adapter is marked as secondary. This is simply how Windows manages a dual monitor configuration. Unless you have SLI or Crossfire, there is only one physical device installed. For our purposes here, single right click on the main adapter to open the context menu. Then single left click the "Properties" menu item.
This opens the Display Adapter dialog which is shown here in a highly cropped view. As this is also a tabbed window, single left click the tab labeled "Driver".
While the Driver tab view provides access to other functions and detailed driver information, our interest lies in updating the device driver. Locate the button labeled "Update Driver" and single left click it.
The Hardware Update Wizard opens, on which you will need to click the radio button labeled "Yes, this time only". This places the green dot in the radio button indicating that this option has been selected. The next step is to single left click the "Next" button at the bottom of the Wizard window.
Step two of the Hardware Update Wizard provides the options to either install the new drivers automatically or specify a location from which to install the drivers. This second option is used if you have found new drivers on the manufacturer's web site or one of the driver download sites and provides the means to tell Windows in which folder to look for the previously downloaded files. In this particular case, we want to check the Windows Update site. To do this we single left click the radio button labeled "Install the software automatically. Now single left click the "Next" button. More advanced users may prefer to use the "Install from a list..." option rather than depend on software to pick the correct drivers.
Next the Hardware Update Wizard checks your hard drive, removable media and the Windows Update site for newer drivers than those already installed. This is a process that can take several minutes so sit back and take a break. When the "Install from a list..." option is chosen you will get a screen with a list of drivers to chose from when the wizard has finished searching and new drivers are available. On clicking "Next" the driver will be downloaded and installed.
In this case, the Wizard didn't find any newer drivers most likely because the screen shot was from an older machine with a display adapter that no longer receives manufacturer support. In the case of a new computer the manufacturer may not have updated drivers for the particular device or it may be necessary to download the drivers directly from the manufacturers web site. What ever the reason, do not worry when getting this screen.
Had any new drivers been available, they would be automatically installed as shown in this screen shot. After driver installation left click the finish button and you will be asked to restart your computer. Since the drivers are in use, a restart is necessary to replace the old drivers with the drivers just acquired.
Windows Vista Device Driver Updating
If you read the Windows XP portion of this "How To", you will already be familiar with the basic steps in this process. The biggest difference in the first steps is that "My Computer" is now called simply "Computer". Written out the path would be Start > (single right click)Computer > (single left click)Properties.
That path opens the System Properties dialog of which only the upper left corner is shown here. On the left side of the System Properties window and under the heading of "Tasks", you will find a link to the "Device Manager". This link is shown surrounded by a light colored rectangular box. This is one of the major differences between Windows XP and Windows Vista. Tabbed viewing windows have been replaced by web page type views including a left column navigation menu. Returning to our task, single left click the Device Manager link.
Clicking the Device Manager link will invoke the User Account Control, as does most any attempted system change. Simply click the "Continue" button to proceed. If you wait long enough UAC will automatically close but will have blocked access to the Device Manager. This is another major difference between the two versions of Windows covered here.
On clicking UAC's Continue button the Device Manager will open without further delay. There is little difference, at this point, in the Windows XP Device Manager and that of Windows Vista. Clicking the boxed "+" next to a heading will expand it to view the associated device. In the screen shot "Display adapters" has been expanded and once again two adapters are shown. In this case, there are two adapters as this is an SLI machine.
Single right clinking on one of the listed devices opens the context menu. This context menu has an "Update Driver Software" selection that is also present on the context menu of Windows XP and this time we will use it instead of the Properties dialog. Driver updating can still be done via the Properties dialog, however, the context menu entry for this process saves a step or two. Single left click "Update Driver Software" to continue.
The next dialog we view is the "Update Driver Software" dialog, which provides options similar to those in Windows XP with different wording. As before the "Automatic" option will be used, in order to check the Windows Update site. Users with dial up Internet connections should connect to the Internet before proceeding. The box and background tint will appear on you screen when placing your mouse pointer over the selection. A single left click will take you to the next step of this process.
Once the automatic search option has been activated, Windows begins searching for newer drivers and displays this dialog. The search can take a while so be patient.
Once again rather than finding new drivers, Windows informs that the drivers for this device are up to date, a consequence of using the "Optional Updates" option on the Windows Update screen.
Resorting to another computer for screen shots, here you see that Windows is reporting that driver updates have been successful. Unlike Windows XP, there is no "Install from a list..." option. When Windows Vista finds new drivers it automatically installs them. A dialog appears informing you of this, however, being asleep at the wheel I missed the chance to get a screen shot of this dialog.
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