Learn the Basics about Updating Drivers
If you’re novice in computer processes, the simple task of driver update may seem complicated to you. Computer drivers have to be updated from time to time to ensure the smooth operation of your system. There are many errors that are caused by drivers. But you can prevent all of those the moment you learn the basics about updating drivers.
Before you change your driver, you should first determine what device you’d like to update. Every device in your computer, from your USB port to your internal devices, has to be updated as necessary. While it is possible to update all of your drivers at the same time, it is still advisable that you manually do everything so you can determine if the move has solved the errors, made your computer faster, or probably, have caused more problems to your system.
To update your drivers manually, the first step is to download the updated file you need. Check the driver version that you’re currently using by going to Device Manager and looking at the driver information of the particular hardware you would like to update. Copy the driver version listed in there.
Now, you go to the website of the hardware manufacturer. If you’re going to update your NVDIA card, go to NVDIA’s website. If it is all about your HP printer, then go to their site. Only from these sources you can get the complete and accurate drivers that you need. However, if your device is no longer being distributed today and the manufacturer has shut down its website, you can go to third-party device driver providers and get the things you need from there. This is true with a lot of modem companies, with a good number of them ceasing operation years ago and updated drivers for such devices are hard to find.
Once you have the driver that you need, you just have to either run it or browse to it during the update process. A lot of computer manufacturers create executable drivers that would automatically do the job for you. The file that you’ll download is usually an archive or a zip file. Running that file won’t install your drivers yet. Check the file you have. If it is a .zip or a .rar file, then it’s an archive. If you have a .exe file, there are high chances that the driver update would be performed automatically.
For a .zip extension, double clicking the file in Windows XP would open up a new window. In that window, you’ll have the data files you need to update the drivers. Look for an application file in there. Double click on that and the drivers will be updated. If there are no executable files in the archive, you would have to go through the update driver wizard from device manager and browse through the folder containing extracted files.