How to identify some outdated drivers with Windows Device Manager
![](/images/site-logo.png)
How to identify (some) outdated drivers with Windows Device Manager
Identifying outdated drivers with Device Manager is a very tedious process. You can’t tell, just by looking at the device in Device Manager, if its driver is out of date. You have to actually try to update the driver, If Windows thinks the driver is out of date, it will update it for you; if not, it will tell you you already have the latest driver.
IMPORTANT: As discussed later on this page, Windows Device Manager doesn’t always detect outdated drivers. Nor does it always give you the latest available version if you update a driver. If you want to be sure you have the latest available version of a driver, you need to source the driver directly from the device manufacturer or use a tool like ours, called Driver Easy , to do it automatically.
Download Driver Easy FREE
If you’re having computer issues, the first thing you should do is see if it has outdated drivers. If it does, updating them will very often fix things.
And for this, our tool, Driver Easy FREE, is the ideal solution.
Driver Easy FREE is a driver update tool used by more than 3 million customers around the world. It will automatically identify and download all the drivers you need, so all you have to do is install them.
In other words, it eliminates the need to find and download your drivers the difficult way (via the manufacturer’s website).
You don’t need to know what system your computer is running, you don’t need to scour the web for the right driver download, and you don’t need to risk downloading the wrong driver. Driver Easy does it all for you, automatically. No computer knowledge needed, and it’s completely free.
This page describes how to do this.
The free version will identify all your outdated drivers, and allow you to download them all. But only one at a time and, once they’re downloaded, you have to manually install them using the standard Windows process. (To automatically update all your drivers with 1 click, you’ll need the Pro version of Driver Easy . Don’t worry, it comes with a 30-day, no-questions-asked, money back satisfaction guarantee.)
Why update your drivers in Windows 11, 10 & Windows 7?
Many computer issues are caused by outdated device drivers. Particularly in Windows 10/11.
So if your computer has slowed down, you should update your drivers. If it’s crashing or hanging, update your drivers. If you can’t connect to the internet, update your drivers. If your mouse, keyboard, monitor or speakers are acting up, update your drivers. In fact, no matter what your issue, there’s a good chance updating your drivers will fix it.
To understand why, you first have to understand what drivers actually are…
How to update all your drivers with just 1 click
The easiest way to automatically update your drivers is with our tool, Driver Easy Pro.
With Driver Easy Pro :
- You can update all your drivers with just one click.
- You don’t have to know anything about computers. Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and all your devices, and install the latest correct drivers for you – direct from the manufacturer. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to risk downloading and installing the wrong drivers, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing.
- You get the latest version of every driver, direct from the manufacturer, certified safe and stable.
- You get all driver updates, even the ones Microsoft considers ‘optional’ and wouldn’t provide.
- You’re not relying on the device manufacturers getting their updated drivers into Windows Update on time (because we proactively source the latest drivers from them).
Here’s how Driver Easy works:
Step-by-step instructions
To automatically update to the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system:
(To automatically update all your drivers with 1 click, you’ll need the Pro version of Driver Easy. Don’t worry, it comes with a 30-day, no-questions-asked, money back satisfaction guarantee.)
- $29.95- Single Computer License / 1 Year
- $29.95 - 3 Computers License / 1 Year
- $59.95 - 5 Computers License / 1 Year
- $99.95 - 10 Computers License / 1 Year
- $269.95 - 30 Computers License / 1 Year
- $399.95 - 50 Computers License / 1 Year
- $795 - 100 Computers License / 1 Year
- Run the downloaded executable file and follow the on-screen prompts.
- Run Driver Easy and click
UPGRADE
.
- Paste or type the software key you were emailed when you bought Driver Easy.
- Click
Scan Now
. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any devices with missing or outdated drivers.
- Click
Update All
to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system. - That’s it. You can go grab a coffee, while Driver Easy does all the work for you!
Why you can’t rely on Windows to keep your drivers up-to-date
Windows comes with an inbuilt tool, called ‘Windows Update’, that’s supposed to automatically keep your drivers up to date. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work very well.
There are two reasons why…
Device manufacturers often take a long time to get their drivers into a Windows Update – It’s a time-consuming and difficult process. Sometimes they just miss the deadline and have to wait ‘til the next Windows Update, and sometimes they just give up altogether. In fact, for older devices, this is the norm.
Windows Update ignores driver updates it considers ‘optional’ – It categorizes driver updates as either ‘critical’, ‘automatic’ or ‘optional’, and it doesn’t usually concern itself with the ‘optional’ ones – even when they’re actually important. You can install them manually by going to the ‘Optional updates’ screen but, even then, as described above, you’re unlikely to get all the latest drivers.
What are drivers?
Drivers are like interpreters between Windows and your devices. For example, when Windows needs to display something on your monitor, it sends a command to your graphics card, and your graphics card then displays what Windows wants on your monitor.
But Windows and your graphics card don’t actually speak the same language. To understand each other, they need a translator. That translator is called a driver. It takes the Windows command and translates it into something your graphics card can understand. Your graphics card can then do as it’s told, and display the right thing on your monitor.
Similarly, if your graphics card needs to send some sort of response back to Windows, the driver translates the response into something Windows can understand.
In this example, what we’re talking about is a video driver, but your computer has many other drivers on it too – one for each device. Your speakers, your printer, your mouse, your USB hard drives, your network card, your keyboard and so on – they each have an associated driver.
And without all these drivers, none of your devices will work.
Also read:
- How to Fix corrupt video files of Vivo Y02T using Video Repair Utility on Windows?
- How to Restore Deleted Vivo V29 Pro Contacts An Easy Method Explained.
- How to retrieve erased music from Oppo Find X6 Pro
- How to restore wiped music on Y27 5G
- How to remove Google FRP Lock on Realme GT Neo 5
- How to remove Google FRP Lock on Edge+ (2023)
- How to recover deleted photos on Honor Magic Vs 2
- How to recover deleted photos from Android Gallery after format on 11X 5G
- How To Restore Missing Messages Files from Xiaomi 13T Pro
- How to recover deleted pictures from Honor X50 GT.
- How to recover deleted photos on Xiaomi 13 Ultra
- 5 Easy Ways to Copy Contacts from Lava Yuva 3 Pro to iPhone 14 and 15 | Dr.fone
- How to play an MP4 on U23 Pro?
- How to recover old videos from your Honor Play 7T
- How to Downgrade iPhone XS Max to an Older iOS System Version? | Dr.fone
- How to recover lost data from 13 Ultra?
- How to sign a PDF v1.5 document with digital signature app
- How to Honor 100 Pro Get Deleted Pictures Back with Ease and Safety?
- How To Restore Missing Call Logs from G22
- How to Recover lost Calendar on iPhone 7 | Stellar
- 5 Easy Ways to Copy Contacts from Poco C51 to iPhone 14 and 15 | Dr.fone
- How to restore wiped call history on V29?
- How to recover deleted photos from Android Gallery after format on Ace 2 Pro
- How to recover deleted photos from Infinix Note 30 Pro.
- How to recover lost data from Tecno Spark 20 Pro?
- 5 Easy Ways to Copy Contacts from OnePlus 11 5G to iPhone 14 and 15 | Dr.fone
- 5 Easy Ways to Copy Contacts from Vivo Y78+ (T1) Edition to iPhone 14 and 15 | Dr.fone
- Dose Life360 Notify Me When Someone Checks My Location On Xiaomi Redmi 12? | Dr.fone
- New 2024 Approved Easy Background Blur Top Free Online Photo Editors
- New Top 12 2D Animation Studios All Should Check Out
- In 2024, About Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G FRP Bypass
- AddROM Bypass An Android Tool to Unlock FRP Lock Screen For your Infinix Smart 8 HD
- How Can We Bypass Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 FRP?
- Unlock Your Samsung Galaxy A14 5G Phone with Ease The 3 Best Lock Screen Removal Tools
- Easy Steps on How To Create a New Apple ID Account On iPhone 6s Plus | Dr.fone
- In 2024, How to Change Itel P40+ Location on Skout | Dr.fone
- Apply These Techniques to Improve How to Detect Fake GPS Location On Apple iPhone 7 | Dr.fone
- In 2024, How to Come up With the Best Pokemon Team On Nokia C210? | Dr.fone
- In 2024, Incredible Ways to Find Suitable Animated Graphic Maker
- How To Upgrade or Downgrade iPhone SE (2022) Without iTunes? | Dr.fone
- Unlocking iPhone XS Lock Screen 3 Foolproof Methods that Actually Work | Dr.fone
- Why Mp3 Converter Windows Should Be Your Go-To Tool An Insiders Look
- How to Transfer Data from Infinix Hot 40 to BlackBerry | Dr.fone
- Title: How to identify some outdated drivers with Windows Device Manager
- Author: Nova
- Created at : 2024-05-19 18:32:13
- Updated at : 2024-05-21 02:34:23
- Link: https://blog-min.techidaily.com/how-to-identify-some-outdated-drivers-with-windows-device-manager-by-drivereasy-guide/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.