How to identify some outdated your drivers with Windows Device Manager on Windows 11/10
![](/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How to identify (some) outdated drivers with Windows Device Manager
Identifying outdated drivers with Device Manager is a very tedious process. You can’t tell, just by looking at the device in Device Manager, if its driver is out of date. You have to actually try to update the driver, If Windows thinks the driver is out of date, it will update it for you; if not, it will tell you you already have the latest driver.
IMPORTANT: As discussed later on this page, Windows Device Manager doesn’t always detect outdated drivers.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.
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Many computer issues are caused by outdated device drivers.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…
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If you’re having computer issues, the first thing you should do is see if it has outdated drivers.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The free version will identify all your outdated drivers, and allow you to download them all.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.)
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!
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.
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.
Also read:
- How to restore wiped call history on Google Pixel Fold?
- How to sign .xltm by digital signature
- How To Recover Lost Data of iPhone 8 Plus? | Dr.fone
- How to rescue lost call logs from Samsung Galaxy F54 5G
- 5 Easy Ways to Copy Contacts from Nubia Z50S Pro to iPhone 14 and 15 | Dr.fone
- How to recover old videos from your GT Neo 5 SE
- How to restore wiped messages on Lava Blaze 2 5G
- How to retrieve erased call logs from Note 50?
- How To Restore Missing Contacts Files from Samsung Galaxy A34 5G.
- How to Rescue Lost Music from Realme C33 2023
- How to retrieve erased music from OnePlus Open
- How to Rescue Lost Videos from Gionee F3 Pro
- How to recover old messages from your Oppo
- How to get back lost contacts from Infinix Hot 40 Pro.
- How to Fix corrupt video files of X5 using Video Repair Utility on Windows?
- How to Repair corrupt MP4 and MOV files of Vivo Y28 5G using Video Repair Utility on Mac?
- How to Recover Deleted Photos from Android Gallery App on Poco C65
- How to recover deleted photos from Vivo X90S.
- How to recover deleted photos from Android Gallery after format on Narzo N53
- How To Install the Latest iOS Beta Version on iPhone 13 Pro? | Dr.fone
- How To Restore Missing Music Files from Nokia G42 5G
- How To Recover Lost Data on iPhone 13 mini? | Dr.fone
- How to rescue lost call logs from Vivo Y200
- How To Reset iPhone XS Max Without iTunes? | Dr.fone
- How to recover old call logs from your Tecno Spark 10 5G?
- How to remove Google FRP Lock on Honor X8b
- 2 Ways to Transfer Text Messages from Honor 90 to iPhone 15/14/13/12/11/X/8/ | Dr.fone
- How to recover lost data from Xiaomi Redmi 13C 5G?
- How to Retrieve deleted photos on Edge+ (2023)
- Fixed Microsoft Excel Cannot Access the File Error | Stellar
- Updated 2024 Approved 10 Top Memorable Japanese Cat Cartoons
- In 2024, The Best Free Neon Text Generators for Instant Results
- Why is iPogo not working On Vivo X Flip? Fixed | Dr.fone
- Reasons for Motorola Edge 40 Pro Stuck on Boot Screen and Ways To Fix Them | Dr.fone
- Updated How to Create Intro Video with Filmora
- In 2024, How to Remove Forgotten PIN Of Your Realme Narzo N53
- Updated How to Make a GIF With Transparent Background for 2024
- The Magnificent Art of Pokemon Go Streaming On Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G? | Dr.fone
- Top Stop Motion Animation Tools for Mobile Devices
- How to Unlock Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max With an Apple Watch & What to Do if It Doesnt Work
- In 2024, Full Guide on Mirroring Your Honor Play 40C to Your PC/Mac | Dr.fone
- Top 15 Apps To Hack WiFi Password On ZTE Axon 40 Lite
- Updated In 2024, What Is an AI Script Generator?
- AVS Video Editor 2023 An In-Depth Analysis and Review
- iSpoofer is not working On Realme Note 50? Fixed | Dr.fone
- Reasons for Tecno Spark 10 4G Stuck on Boot Screen and Ways To Fix Them | Dr.fone
- Recover lost data from Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (2023)
- Title: How to identify some outdated your drivers with Windows Device Manager on Windows 11/10
- 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-your-drivers-with-windows-device-manager-on-windows-1110-by-drivereasy-guide/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.