With many homes now having multiple PCs and using them for entertainment purposes, networking is becoming more common. Messages can be sent from one PC to another while any data, such as music and videos, can be distributed around the network. A more informal type of network is the internet, with millions of computers around the world being able to connect to numerous sites.

Whilst internet connections are via a modem or router, PCs need a network interface card, either built into the motherboard or inserted into a slot. Each of these cards has a network driver, which is a form of device driver or PC driver. This handles all communication between the computer’s operating system and the network card so that it can interface with other points on the network.

Why We Need Network Drivers

There are a bewildering number of network cards available from a variety of manufacturers. Each of these may be fitted into various motherboards and there are several different types. Many are PCI cards, although 10/100 types are the most common and Gigabit cards are now providing additional speed. Although relatively new, wireless networking is becoming increasingly popular. This is especially true in home networks where it reduces the need for unsightly wires.

All these options make it impossible for the operating system to deal with the many combinations. This problem is overcome by the use of network drivers, which are developed specifically for each network card and have versions for the different operating systems. A network driver provides a link between the operating system and the network card. Its role is, like any other device driver, to interpret the high level commands issued by the operating system into a form that the network card can understand and conversely to translate network card messages for the operating system.

A network driver needs to be more adaptable than any other device driver because, not only does it have to deal with requests from the operating system, it can also receive packets of data from anywhere on the network. Additionally, it has to handle a number of administrative tasks such as compiling traffic and error statistics, setting addresses and modifying transmission parameters.

Why You Need to Update Network Drivers

The efficient operation of a network is vital because problems can impact on the whole network rather than simply affecting a single PC. A network fault on one computer can cause a bottleneck that brings the whole network to a halt or at least slows its performance.

Problems are often due to faulty, out-dated or corrupt network drivers and so it is important that you install new drivers as they are released. Manufacturers generally develop new drivers to fix known faults, improve security or to provide enhanced performance and so you should take advantage of these features.

To install new drivers, access Device Manager. Depending on the operating system you use, this may be available from the Control Panel or by right-clicking My Computer then choosing Manage.

Device Manager will list the types of device in the right pane and you need to select Network Adaptors and the network card you have installed. Right click it, select Properties and then the Driver tab. Afterwards, click the Update Driver button to download drivers and install the latest version on your PC. When you complete the process, restart your computer.

There are a large number of devices that may be connected to a PC, with numerous manufacturers adopting different standards and formats for the devices they produce. The problem is that the operating system has to communicate with each device that is connected but the large number of variations means that this is impossible to do so directly.

This problem is overcome by each manufacturer developing device drivers or PC drivers for each of their devices, with separate versions for the different operating systems. These drivers handle the communications between the operating system and the device.  Laptops are simply mobile versions of the previously more common desktop PCs. They have their own devices and so also have device drivers, known specifically as laptop drivers.

Why We Need Laptop Drivers

Since laptops are mobile appliances, they are necessarily smaller versions of their desktop equivalents. This means that all their components have to be smaller and so all the devices installed in a laptop are designed specially for them. A laptop very rarely uses the same components as a desktop PC but instead has miniaturized versions of them.

The outcome of all this is that, since laptops have their own range of devices, they need laptop drivers to make them work. These have similar functionality to desktop device drivers but are designed specifically to work with mobile devices.

Of course, devices such as printers and digital cameras can be connected to a laptop in the same way that they can be connected to a desktop PC. They will have their normal drivers and so a laptop may have a mixture of laptop drivers and standard device drivers installed.

Why You Need to Update Laptop Drivers

In the same way as for a desktop PC, a laptop and all its components work best if everything is correctly installed and up-to-date. This includes all the device drivers and laptop drivers for the various devices.
If you experience problems or poor performance, these can sometimes be corrected by re-installing or updating the drivers. The procedure for doing this is the same for the laptop drivers and the standard device drivers, only the source of the new drivers is different.

To install new drivers, access the Device Manager. Depending on the operating system you use, this may be available from the Control Panel or by right-clicking My Computer, choosing Manage and then Device Manager to list the types of device in the right pane. Right click each device and click Properties, then click the Driver tab to see details of the installed laptop driver.

Click the Update Driver button to download drivers and install the latest version on your PC. When you complete the process, you may be prompted to restart your computer. Choose to do this only when you have completed the process for all drivers.

You can update drivers individually by visiting the device manufacturer’s website and following the instructions there to do it. However, you will need to identify each device first through System Tools. If the whole process seems a bit long-winded, the alternative is to use a dedicated service that will download and update drivers automatically.

There are several of this type of service available and each one will generally hold a comprehensive database that contains the latest versions of all device drivers. Once you have the necessary software installed, it will identify the devices you have connected and the version of the driver for each one. A scheduled process will then download drivers as later versions become available and install them automatically. This ensures that you always have the latest version of device drivers installed, avoiding problems and making sure your computer and its devices operate efficiently together.

To overcome this problem, a device driver sits between a device and the operating system, translating operating system requests so the device can understand them. Device responses are similarly converted into a form suitable for the operating system. One of the most commonly connected devices is a printer. Communication with the printer is by a type of device driver known as a printer driver.

Why We Need Printer Drivers

Printers come in a variety of types, from the outdated dot matrix printers to the more modern colour and monochrome laser printers and ink jet printers. Printing devices also come in other forms, including plotters and fax machines that can be connected to a PC. The common feature is that all create printed output and all need the content and format of that output to be communicated to them. The way the format of the output is described may vary, with PostScript printers being common and all having a Printer Description Language that defines the output.

Printing from a Windows-based computer is via a print spooler and printer drivers. Output for printing is created by an application program and sent to the operating system. This will create high level print instructions that are sent to the printer driver for conversion into a form that the printer that is actually being used understands. This is then either sent directly to the printer or to the print spooler for later printing. The printer will then send a response to indicate if printing was successful and this is converted by the printer driver so that the operating system knows what it means. The availability of printer drivers, therefore, means that the operating system can organise all required printing without needing to know anything about the device that will actually do it.

Dealing with Common Printer Problems

Although there is a wide range of printing devices, there are some printer errors that are common to most of them. Some of these may be accompanied by a displayed error code and message, which will vary between printers. In the case of a networked printer, if no-one can print, the problem is with the printer. However, if only you are having difficulties, it’s likely to be at your end.

1. Printer Not Printing
First check the basics. Make sure the printer is plugged in, turned on and has not run out of paper or ink. If the print job is being processed but nothing is being output, it may be a big job. Give it time and, if nothing happens, cancel the job and try again. If the job won’t cancel, turn off the printer for a minute, then turn back on and try again. This will clear any input/output errors.
At the Windows Start menu, select Settings then Printers and right click the one giving the problem. Make sure it isn’t paused or set offline. If this doesn’t fix the problem, reboot your PC and try again.

2. Paper Jam
Sometimes paper gets stuck as it is going through the printer. In this case, follow the instructions for your printer to clear the jam. Remove the paper very carefully to avoid damage. If the error remains when all the paper is out, turn the printer off and then on again after one minute.

3. Poor Printing Quality
If output is blurred or faded, the print cartridge may be out of ink. Check and replace.

4. Software Problems
If the printer fails to work only for a particular application, the problem may be due to that application or the file it is creating. Try to print a different file or close the application, reboot and try again. If that fails, you could try to re-install the application.

5. Printer Drivers
Sometimes, printer problems result from faulty printer drivers. In this case, install the latest drivers by accessing Device Manager. Depending on the operating system you use, this may be available from the Control Panel or by right-clicking My Computer then choosing Manage.

Device Manager will list the types of device in the right pane and you need to open Ports and select the Printer Port. Select the Driver tab and click the Update Driver button to download drivers for the port and install the latest version on your PC. When you complete the process, restart your computer.

You can also install the latest driver for the printer itself by selecting Printers at the Control Panel, right clicking the problem printer, selecting Properties and then clicking New Driver at the Advanced tab. If this doesn’t solve the problem, uninstall and re-install the printer by right clicking the printer and choosing to delete it. Then right click the Printers heading, choose Add Printer and follow the prompts.

One of the most important devices connected to your PC is the monitor screen since it is your main interface with the computer and allows you to see what is happening. This device is controlled by a special kind of device driver, known as a video driver.

Why We Need Video Drivers

Display monitors come in numerous sizes, types and formats, with the old CRT monitors now largely replaced by LCD and TFT screens and these being available in standard or wide screen format. Although many motherboards have onboard video, most monitors are connected to a video card (sometimes known as a display adaptor or graphics card), which uses a particular connection type. Older connection types, such as PCI and ISA are being phased out and replaced by Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP), PCI Express (PCIe) and, more recently, Digital Visual Interface (DVI).

The computer’s operating system needs to communicate with the display, sending details of the data to be displayed, including its resolution and colour. However, given that there are reputed to be over 10,000 video cards available and that these may have different connection types and monitors, dealing with the varying requirements of each one might seem an impossible task.

The answer to this problem is to provide a video driver for every video card, with versions for each operating system. These drivers can take the generic information that the operating system issues to the video card and convert it into a form that the card understands. This takes into account the particular characteristics of the video card and means that the operating system does not have to know them.

Why You Need to Update Video Drivers?

Video cards are high performance devices and so it is vital that their associated video drivers are kept up-to-date. Failure to do this can result in problems that include videos not running smoothly or having the sound not synchronized with the picture. Displayed images may seem to have the wrong color or be of poor quality and may appear slowly or not at all.

The result of this may be not only a display that gives you eye strain and headache even though it has the correct refresh rate, but overall slow performance and frustration as well. A way to avoid these problems is generally to ensure you are using the correct video driver and that it is updated regularly.

To update your video driver, access Device Manager. Depending on the operating system you use, this may be available from the Control Panel or by right-clicking My Computer then choosing Manage.

Device Manager will list the types of device in the right pane and you need to select Monitors, right click the appropriate one and select Properties. Then click the Driver tab to see details of the installed device driver and click the Update Driver button to download drivers and install the latest version on your PC. When you complete the process, you may be prompted to restart your computer. Choose to do this only when you have completed the process for all video drivers.

It is actually possible to remove device drivers from Windows, which can be interesting to reduce the registry size (although slightly of course), resolve device problems and hardware related Windows errors. The devices that are shown in the device manager are all required, as they indicate active devices, but it is possible to show non-active devices so you can selectively remove drivers for unused devices.

Showing non-present devices to be removed

The first step is actually to make sure you can view the devices that are not currently connected to your PC. This requires adding an environment variable first.

1. Open up the Control Panel and select System.
2. In the System dialog box, select the Advanced tab (in Vista click the Advanced System Settings link on the left).
3. Next, click the Environment Variables button.
4. Now click the New button.
5. In the New User Variable dialog box, enter devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices as the Variable name and 1 as the Variable value, and click OK.
   
6. Click OK again to close the Environment Variables window.
7. Next, click the Hardware tab, and click the Device Manager button.
8. In the View menu of the Device Manager, select the option Show hidden devices.
9. Now browse through the devices in the Device Manager and locate grayed out entries.
   
   Right-click a device and select Uninstall in the popup menu to remove it.

Be careful what you remove, some device drivers are used for multiple devices, so you don’t want to remove those. But old printers, scanners, and USB sticks can safely be removed.

As always, please make a backup of your drivers first. There are several tools to do this, most driver update tools also have a driver backup function. This way you can always restore drivers that were removed. Of course you can always reinstall the original, complete device driver, if you have the installation disc or file.

Check Vista Hardware Compatibility

Most hardware manufacturers have or will update their drivers to be Vista compatible, but for older models of their hardware they often do not. So checking in advance is a good thing. You can use the Microsoft Windows Vista Compatibility Center to check your hardware. Make sure to open it in IE as it will not work in other browsers (talking about compatibility!).

Checking for Vista Drivers

Once Vista is installed, of course you first want to see if drivers are available for the device. In the Device Manager, select any device without drivers (normally in the “other” or “unknown” category), right-click the device and in the popup menu select Update Driver Software.

Another option is to use a third party driver finder program to look for updated Vista drivers. These programs scout the web for driver updates, so if there is a Vista driver for your device, one of these programs will have it. Please see our driver update program compare page for more information.

Using XP Drivers in Vista

So what if there are no Vista drivers for your hardware? Well, one thing you can try is to see if your Windows XP drivers will work under Vista. This will not work for all devices, but it is worth a try.

There are a few steps required to make this possible:

1 – First of all, disable the User Account Control if it is on, as it can block incompatible driver installations. Open up the Vista Control Panel, go to User Accounts and Family Safety, and then select User Accounts.
Now click the Turn User Account Control on or off link.
Click the Continue button when the UAC asks for a confirmation.

Clear the checkbox Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer and click OK.
Click Restart Now to restart your computer with the UAC disabled.

2 – The next step is to locate your Windows XP driver for the device. It could be on the installation CD for the device or you can download it from the manufacturer’s website.

3 – Open up a Windows Explorer window to the driver location.

4 – Select the installer program, which will be a file with the .exe extension. This could be the installer package itself, or in case of a .zip file, extract the contents of the zip file to a folder and locate a setup.exe, install.exe or similar.

5 – Right-click the EXE file and in the popup menu, select Properties.

6 – In the Properties dialog box, select the Compatibility tab.

7 – Now select the checkbox in front of Run this program in compatibility mode for, and leave the default selection of Windows XP (Service Pack 2) and click OK.

8 – The final step is to double-click the EXE file and start the driver setup. Windows Vista will start the driver install program in XP compatibility mode, and this will allow some Windows XP drivers to be installed in Vista.

Please note that even if the driver install completes successfully, this is not a guarantee that the device will work, or that all functions of the device will be working like they were in XP, but for quite a few devices this has allowed me to use non-Vista drivers.

Once complete, simply check your Device Manager to see if the driver installation was successful and if the device is properly recognized.

Do not forget to turn on the User Account Control again in case you had it on before!

When you buy a new PC or install a new version of an operating system such as Windows, a number of device drivers will be supplied with the system and installed automatically as required. Similarly, when you install a new device, such as a printer or broadband router, the necessary device drivers will be set up as part of the installation process.

Why You Need to Update Drivers

Over time, the companies that manufacture the various devices may release new drivers for them. The aim of the new device drivers will be to give better performance, fix known bugs and improve the security of the devices and therefore your system in general. Although your PC may continue to work normally, having the latest drivers should make it run better. Additionally, out-dated drivers can lead to conflicts and other problems that may eventually cause errors to occur. Slow USB transfer rates, the blue screen of death, device not found, these can all be the result of missing or outdated drivers. You should, therefore, aim to update drivers periodically.

How to Download Drivers

There are two ways to download new versions of device drivers — manually and automatically. To download drivers manually, you need to know what hardware devices and drivers you have, which versions they are and then download the newer versions from the manufacturer’s website.
To find out which devices you have attached, access the Windows Device Manager. Depending on the Windows version you use, this may be available from the Control Panel or by right-clicking My Computer then choosing Manage. The Device Manager will list the types of device in the right pane and you need to open up each one to see the actual devices you have connected.
Right click each device and click Properties, then click the Driver tab to see details of the installed device driver. Click the Update Driver button to download drivers and install the latest version on your PC. When you complete the process, you may be prompted to restart your computer. Choose to do this only when you have completed the process for all drivers.

You can update drivers individually by visiting the device manufacturer’s website and following the instructions there to do it. However, you will need to identify each device first through System Tools. If the whole process seems a bit long-winded, the alternative is to use a dedicated program that will download and update drivers automatically. There are several of this type of driver update programs available and each one will generally hold a comprehensive database that contains the latest versions of all device drivers. Once you have the necessary software installed, it will identify the devices you have connected and the version of the driver for each one. A scheduled process will then download drivers as later versions become available and install them automatically. This ensures that you always have the latest version of device drivers installed, avoiding problems and making sure your computer and its devices operate efficiently together.

Each motherboard will have a number of expansion slots into which various sound cards, network cards and so on are connected. All will also have several sockets, such as USB and Firewire sockets, so that various devices can be connected. Communication between the computer and the connected devices is via a chipset, which is part of the motherboard and supports the processor as well as controlling the system.

A motherboard is, therefore, largely a collection of devices or has devices connected to it. The operating system needs to communicate with these devices but there are so many of them, with varying characteristics, that it cannot do so directly. Instead, each device has a device driver or PC driver that is designed specifically for it and handles the communication between the operating system and the device. The motherboard has its own set of motherboard drivers that have the same function as device drivers but are designed specifically for the motherboard’s components, in particular the chipset.

Why You Need to Update Motherboard Drivers?

The motherboard is at the heart of your PC and its efficient operation is crucial to the smooth running of your computer. If a motherboard driver is out-of-date, incorrectly installed or becomes corrupt, you may experience errors or notice a significant drop in your machine’s performance. One way to avoid this happening is to periodically update your motherboard drivers so you know you have the latest version installed. This will generally fix known bugs, improve performance and enhance your system’s security.

To install a new motherboard driver, access the Device Manager. Depending on the operating system you use, this may be available from the Control Panel or by right-clicking My Computer then choosing Manage. The Device Manager will list the types of device in the right pane and you need to select the various motherboard components, including those marked as controllers. If you’re unsure which you need to select, there’s no harm in updating everything since having up-to-date drivers is no bad thing. Right click each device, select Properties and then the Driver tab, then click the Update Driver button to download drivers and install the latest version on your PC. When you complete the process for all drivers, restart your computer.

One aspect of the motherboard setup you may be tempted to change is the BIOS settings. However, since the BIOS is needed for system startup, you should do this only if absolutely necessary and with great care. Incorrect BIOS settings may make your system unusable. Therefore, if you absolutely have to update the BIOS, be very sure what you are doing and check every action.

If your PC is on a network with other computers, it may be an ethernet-based local area network that has drivers to control it. System drivers are also available for firmware, which is a type of software that is always available when its associated hardware is switched on. It is generally used to control that hardware and, while it is not actually a driver, it is updated and used in the same way as a driver. System drivers are the means by which the operating system communicates with the different type of system devices.

Why We Need System Drivers?

Each PC will have several system devices inbuilt. There are several different types of device and each type may be produced by different manufacturers and come in several formats. A typical example is a DVD drive that may read and write disks in different formats (DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-ROM), at varying speeds, with different capacities and in single or dual-layer form. There’s also the added complication of something called LightScribe that etches a label onto the upper surface of the disk as part of the writing process.
The vast range of devices and formats makes it impossible for the PC’s operating system to communicate directly with every device. There are simply too many variations to make this practical. The solution to this problem is to have system drivers that act as intermediaries between the operating system and each device. Every driver is specially developed for its device and has versions for each operating system.

The availability of a system driver means that the operating system can issue a generic or high level command to a system device without bothering about the actual characteristics of the device. The system driver will convert the command into low level commands that the device understands. When the device acts on the command and sends a response, it will similarly convert this for the operating system. In effect, it’s as through the system driver is acting as a translator for two people who speak different languages.

Why You Need to Update System Drivers?

Since the various system devices are integral to the PC, it follows that they need to work properly for the machine to operate efficiently. Outdated, corrupt or incorrectly installed system drivers can prevent this and can cause problems. For example, if an ethernet driver is faulty, network connections may become unreliable.
In order to avoid problems, you should update your system drivers regularly. To do this, access the Device Manager. This will be available from the Control Panel. The Device Manager will list the types of device in the right pane and you need to select the various system devices. If you’re unsure which you need to select, there’s no harm in updating everything since having up-to-date drivers is no bad thing.

Right click each device, select Properties and select the Driver tab, then click the Update Driver button to download drivers and install the latest version on your PC. When you complete the process for all drivers, restart your computer.

But the success and pleasure of these devices strongly depends on the ease-of-use, which is not only the ease-of-use of the player itself, but also how easy it is to connect the device to your computer to load songs, music clips and movies. In case of the iPod, we use the iTunes software and for the Zune devices this is the Zune software.

Zune Device Problems

If you connect your Zune device to a Windows computer, the operating system will automatically detect it and install the drivers for it. Unfortunately this is not always without problems. If the device is not detected, or an error message is shows, you need to troubleshoot the Zune device.

When dealing with Zune device errors there are a number of basic steps to follow:

1. First, always make sure that you have the latest Windows updates installed. Microsoft releases all new drivers and bug fixes through Windows updates, so have Windows set to automatically update and make sure the latest service pack is installed.
2. Unplug your Zune device, reboot your computer and then plug the Zune device again. This is to make sure the device is not accidentally dismounted or in the removed state.
3. Open the Windows Device Manager in the Control Panel to update the Zune device driver. Right-click the Zune device, and in the popup menu select Update Driver Software. Let Windows search for a driver online, to make sure the latest Zune driver is installed.
4. Try uninstalling the Zune device and let Windows redetect it and reinstall the driver. In the Device Manager, right-click the Zune device and in the popup menu select Uninstall. Confirm the device uninstall and wait for it to complete. Next, unplug the Zune device, restart the computer and then plug the device again. Windows will redetect it and install the drivers again. If this does not happen, you can let Windows scan for hardware changes through the Action menu in the Device Manager.
5. Use the Windows Event Viewer to check for any device related errors. You can start the event viewer in the start menu, or type eventvwr.exe in the Run command. In the Event Viewer, check the System log for driver related error log entries. The details of the event can help you troubleshoot and solve Zune device errors.
6. Try restarting the computer in the Last Known Good Configuration in the boot menu. Press F8 during startup to get into the boot menu.
7. Update your Zune software to the latest version from the Zune website.

Hopefully one of these steps will solve your Zune device errors and allow you to enjoy the use of the device as it is intended!