The Easy Way to Update Your Drivers in Windows XP Or Vista

Drivers are software programs which tell your
computer how to "talk to" your hardware and devices, such as monitors,
keyboards, scanners and printers. Without the correct version of a
particular driver, your hardware cannot communicate with software
(Windows) and your hardware can't function properly.

Common Scenarios Where You Need To Upgrade Drivers

Upgrading
to a new OS or upgrading from Windows XP to Windows Vista may often
cause conflicts with your existing drivers. Sometimes your device
manufacturers such as Logitech, HP, Toshiba will create new drivers and
these will make the old ones useless. Unless you update your drivers,
you might find that your devices don't work.

How to Update Drivers in Windows Vista or XP

Firstly,
find out which driver versions you currently have. On a Windows XP or
Vista computer, right-click My Computer and click Properties; select
the Device Manager. Click the Plus sign to the left of a specific
device. This will tell you to the drivers that are currently installed.

Secondly,
do a search on the web to see if a newer driver exists by visiting the
website of the manufacturer of your device. A newer driver will have a
more current release date than the one installed previously. Many
people complain that it is very difficult to find driver updates on the
manufacturers websites.

If you manage to find it, proceed to download the latest version of the driver you need.

Important Things To Consider

Please
be aware that finding the driver you need is not a simple process and
can be very frustrating. You will need to know in 95% of cases the
model number, serial number, and revision of your device. If you
replace the wrong driver, you may damage your hardware.

Furthermore,
you will need to make sure you download official drivers only.
Installing the wrong drivers will crash your system. Also, if there are
problems with the new driver, you want to be able to restore the old
one.

Finally, if the installation didnt remove the old driver,
remove it. On a Windows XP or Vista PC, right-click the driver in the
Device Manager and select Remove.

Finally, you may restart the computer and your drivers should be updated.

The Easy Way To Replace Old Drivers

If
you don't have time to mess around with searching the internet for
drivers and guessing which driver you need for your hardware, there are
websites out there which automatically install the latest and official
versions of Windows drivers.

They will save you a lot of time and headaches and ensure you don't waste money sending your computer away for repair.

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