How to install device drivers manually on Windows 11 & 10 & 7
How to Update a Driver with Windows Device Manager
To update a driver in Device Manager (or to see if Windows thinks it needs updating):
- Step1: On your keyboard, press the
Windows logo key
andR
at the same time to invoke the Run box. - Step2: Type
devmgmt.msc
and clickOK
.
(There are other ways to open Device Manager; it changes depending on your version of Windows. But the above method works for all versions of Windows, including Windows 11, 10 and 7.)
- Step3: Expand a category (e.g. Display Adapters) to see the devices in that category.
- Step4: Right-click the device whose driver you’d like to update, and select
Update Driver
.
- Step5: Select Search automatically for updated driver software.
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.
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.)
What happens if a driver is missing or outdated?
Every now and then, Microsoft will change the commands Windows sends to one of your devices (e.g. your network card). When this happens, the manufacturer of that device need to change the device driver too. They need to teach it the new Windows commands. Otherwise the drivers won’t be able to translate those commands for your devices, and your devices won’t work properly.
The same thing needs to happen when your device manufacturer changes the way your device talks, or the things it can do. They need to change the driver too. Otherwise Windows won’t be able to talk to the device, or take advantage of its new functionality, and your device won’t work properly.
Now when we say “your device won’t work properly”, sometimes this means simply that you miss out on new functionality or minor bug fixes. But it’s often a lot more serious than that. Your computer may even hang, crash or stop working completely. Remember, there’s a driver that controls your hard drive, for instance. If Windows can’t talk to your hard drive, it can’t access any of the data on your drive. Similarly, if Windows can’t talk to your network card, you won’t be able to access the internet, and if it can’t talk to your graphics card, you won’t be able to see anything on your monitor. These are just a few of the more serious issues outdated drivers can cause.
Try Driver Easy for free
If you want the certainty of knowing your device drivers are always up to date (and not just sometimes up to date, which is all you get from Windows Device Manager), and you don’t have the time, patience or computer skills to continually update them manually, give the free version of Driver Easy a try.
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.)
Also read:
- How to recover deleted photos on ZTE
- How to Repair Broken video files of Vivo S17t?
- How to sign .docm file free
- How to Rescue Lost Messages from Hot 40
- How to restore wiped call history on HTC U23?
- How to remove Tecno Spark 20 PIN
- How to recover old videos from your Honor Magic 6
- How to recover deleted photos after deleting from Recently Deleted on iPhone 11 Pro | Stellar
- How to Fix iPhone 13 Pro Max Stuck at attempting data recovery Loop | Stellar
- How to recover old call logs from your Narzo 60 Pro 5G?
- How to Restore Deleted Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Pictures An Easy Method Explained.
- How to Realme C67 4G Get Deleted photos Back with Ease and Safety?
- How To Repair iOS System of iPhone 6s Plus? | Dr.fone
- How To Get Out of DFU Mode on iPhone 14 Pro Max? | Dr.fone
- How to identify missing or malfunctioning drivers with Windows Device Manager in Windows 11/10/7
- How to Retrieve Deleted Calendar Events iPhone 12 mini? | Stellar
- How to recover deleted photos on Xiaomi Redmi K70E
- 4 Ways to Transfer Music from Samsung Galaxy S23+ to iPhone | Dr.fone
- How to restore wiped messages on HTC
- How to insert sign in .xlb files
- How to Fix corrupt video files of Realme Narzo N53 using Video Repair Utility on Mac?
- How to Downgrade iPhone 6s without Losing Any Content? | Dr.fone
- How to rescue lost call logs from Honor Magic 6
- How to get back lost contacts from Poco C65.
- How To Restore Missing Pictures Files from Xiaomi Redmi 12 5G.
- How to recover deleted contacts from Edge 2023.
- How To Repair iOS System Issues of iPhone 13? | Dr.fone
- How to recover deleted photos from Asus .
- How To Restore Missing Photos Files from Asus ROG Phone 7.
- How to Fix Microsoft Excel 2003 Error Code 0x800A03EC?
- How To Repair iPhone 15 Plus iOS System? | Dr.fone
- How to recover old music from your Honor 90 Lite
- How to retrieve erased videos from Note 30
- How to restore wiped music on Realme GT 5
- How to retrieve erased videos from Realme Narzo 60 Pro 5G
- How to Nubia Z50S Pro Get Deleted Phone Number Back with Ease and Safety
- How to recover deleted photos from Android Gallery without backup on Nubia Red Magic 8S Pro+
- How to recover deleted pictures from Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G.
- How to insert sign in .csv files
- How to Fix Videos Not Playing on Xiaomi Civi 3 Disney 100th Anniversary Edition?
- How to Repair corrupt MP4 and MOV files of S17e using Video Repair Utility on Mac?
- How to recover deleted photos from Android Gallery without backup on G42 5G
- How To Restore Missing Photos Files from Infinix Smart 7.
- How to Repair Broken video files of Realme ?
- 4 Ways to Transfer Music from Samsung Galaxy M34 to iPhone | Dr.fone
- How to restore wiped messages on Y200e 5G
- Troubleshooting Guide How to Fix an Unresponsive Nokia 105 Classic Screen | Dr.fone
- What is the best Pokemon for pokemon pvp ranking On Realme Narzo N53? | Dr.fone
- In 2024, How Nubia Z50S Pro Mirror Screen to PC? | Dr.fone
- New 2024 Approved PowerDirector Not Your Cup of Tea? Try These Alternatives for Android & iOS
- Recover iPhone 8 Plus Data From iTunes Backup | Dr.fone
- Elevate Your WhatsApp Game with These Status Maker Apps
- How to Bypass FRP from Samsung Galaxy S23 Tactical Edition?
- In 2024, Get Crisp Videos Best Free Online Video Quality Enhancement Services
- In 2024, Is pgsharp legal when you are playing pokemon On Xiaomi Civi 3? | Dr.fone
- 2024 Approved Discover the Best Free Video Editors for 4K Footage
- In 2024, How Can We Bypass Vivo V30 Lite 5G FRP?
- In 2024, Complete Guide For iPhone 8 Lock Screen | Dr.fone
- How Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Mirror Screen to PC? | Dr.fone
- How to Update iPhone 12 mini to the Latest iOS Version? | Dr.fone
- In 2024, A Complete Guide To OEM Unlocking on Itel A60s
- How to Factory Reset Tecno Spark 10C in 5 Easy Ways | Dr.fone
- 8 Best Apps for Screen Mirroring Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G PC | Dr.fone
- Title: How to install device drivers manually on Windows 11 & 10 & 7
- 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-install-device-drivers-manually-on-windows-11-and-10-and-7-by-drivereasy-guide/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.