Guides

Driver FAQ

• Is there an easy way to search for the latest drivers for my hardware devices?
  
  Yes. We've teamed up with a new and innovative company, Touchstone Software, that scans all of your system drivers and compares those to a database of over 100,000 drivers to see if your system has the latest drivers. Best of all the scan is free! If you have questions or need help with DriverAgent, please contact Touchstone at or by phone at 978-686-2204.
• How do I know I have a driver problem?
  
  There can be several things that indicate you have a problem with your drivers. The first, and most obvious is that a particular piece of hardware is not working at all, or is working in a generic mode (like low resolution video). Other indications of a driver problem can be occasional failure or improper functioning of hardware (like network disconnecting). Sometimes, having the wrong driver installed, or having a driver that is poorly written can cause your entire PC to become unstable, and freeze, lock-up, or restart on its own. It is a fairly easy thing to uninstall and reinstall drivers, so it is definitely worth a try if you are experiencing any of these problems.
• How do I find the right driver for my hardware?
  
  Finding the right driver for a piece of hardware can be a challenge sometimes. Thanks to websites like driverzone.com, finding the drivers you need is now much easier! If you don't know the specific model or manufacturer of your hardware, you can browse through different categories of hardware until you spot what you need. Driverzone.com also has an integrated search function to look up drivers by device or manufacturer.
• How do I find out the manufacturer and model details for my hardware?
  
  Most hardware is labeled both with the model and manufacturer of the device. If it is an external piece of hardware, like a printer, or a scanner, if the make and model are not immediately present, look on the back or bottom of the device. Internal hardware is also often labeled, with the make and model printed right onto the cards that plug into your computer. You will need to open up your computer to find these out though, which usually only requires a philips (+) screwdriver, and a few minutes of time. Another way to identify the hardware you have is to see what Windows already knows it has. If you run Windows XP, the 'system information' can be found under the 'Start' menu, then 'Programs', then 'accessories' then 'system tools'. Also, looking under the System icon in the Control panel will list the installed devices, depending on the version of Windows that you run, in a tab labeled 'hardware' or 'devices', it will be obvious to see.
• Why won't any driver from a manufacturer work on all of their devices?
  
  Drivers are specific to the individual piece of hardware. Sometimes even different revisions of a piece of hardware (version 1.1 versus version 1.2) will require completely different drivers. This is because drivers are pieces of software built specifically to work with one piece of hardware. If the hardware changes, the software also has to change. Some manufacturers will chose to bundle their drivers into one large file, but that usually makes the file extremely large, which could take hours or even days to download. Sometimes, a driver that is for a piece of hardware that is "close" to the same thing will work, but it is always preferrable to use the 100% correct driver.
• What is a Driver?
  
  A driver is a small piece of software that controls a device. Every device, whether it be a printer, disk drive, or keyboard must have a driver. Many drivers, such as the keyboard driver come with the operating system. For other devices, you may need to load a new driver when you connect the device to your computer. In DOS and Windows systems, drivers are files with a .sys extension. In Windows environments, drivers can also have a .drv or .vxd extension.
  
  A driver acts like a translator between the device and programs that use the device. Each device has its own set of specialized commands that only its driver knows. In contrast, most programs access devices by using generic commands. The driver, therefore, accepts generic commands from a program and then translates them into specialized commands for the device.
• I've got an old piece of hardware and can't find the driver anywhere!
  
  That's where driverzone.com comes in: we archive as many drivers as we can find, new and old so that someone looking for a specific driver can find what they need. We also have a support forum where you can request that we find a specific driver that is not in the database. Search on our search page, or browse through our hardware categories. You will find drivers organized by manufacturer. We also have links to manufacturer's websites, phone numbers, and other contact info, if all else fails.
• How do I install new drivers?
  
  Most driver files will come in a zip format. The first thing you will need to do is extract the zip file to a folder on your computer. Any new folder on the desktop, or on the C: drive will work just fine. If the downloaded file is an executable .exe file, it often will automatically extract itself to a folder on your computer, make note of that directory to use when you tell Windows where the new driver is located. Within that zip file there will be a text document contain instructions on how to install it. Sometimes it is a file called SETUP that you merely need to click on to install. In some cases, you need to install the driver manually by doing the following:

  1. Right click on "my computer"
  2. Choose "properties"
  3. Choose "device manager" (In Windows 2000, you have to choose the "hardware" tab first and then "device manager"). This will display a list of the devices that are on your computer.
  4. Right click on the device and click "properties".
  5. Choose "driver" and click "update driver"
  6. You will be asked to browse for the new driver, locate the folder you placed it in choose the appropriate file.
• The driver I downloaded does not have a setup program, how do I install it?
  
  Some drivers will come in a zip or cab file. If they do, follow the directions above for the previous question. If the driver is contained within a cab file, many compression-extraction programs (like WinZip) will be able to extract the files from the cab file as if it were a zip file.
• I've been looking for drivers for internal IDE or SCSI CD-R or CD-RW drive and not finding them? Why?
  
  Because internal IDE and SCSI CD-Rom drives have been supported, without any drivers required, by Windows versions since 95, including Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000 and XP.
  
  This means that your CD recorder or re-writer should be detected by Windows as a normal CD-Rom drive (read only), and function properly for the reading of CD-Rom discs. If it is not being detected as a writeable drive, you will need to install a CD recording package. CD recording software is not the same as drivers, and sometimes not included with the drive if it was purchased as an OEM unit, or perhaps as a used or refurbished unit.
• Do you need to reboot your PC after you update a driver?
  
  In most cases, yes. Windows will automatically let you know if it needs to reboot before finalizing installation of the driver. Older versions of Windows are almost guaranteed to need a reboot. Modern versions of Windows will sometimes not need to, depending on the type of driver, and the hardware.
• When I try to install a driver, I get a warning message saying that the software has not passed Windows Logo testing, what does this mean?
  
  Microsoft offers WHQL certification for drivers, effectively giving the driver a seal of approval. If a driver is not WHQL certified, you will see a warning message about it. Some hardware manufacturers choose not to have their drivers WHQL certified, or the drivers can be brand new, and not yet certified. It does not mean that the driver is bad, just that Microsoft has not officially certified it. It is typically completely safe to click the "Continue" button to install the driver.
• Intel Driver Installation Instructions
  
  Unfortunately, Intel chipset drivers are not as easy to install as most other drivers.
  
  If you download and run the driver package, it won't actually install the newer drivers, even though it appears that it does.
  
  Below is a list of instructions to follow to install the Intel chipset drivers correctly. Commands you should type in will be highlighted in bold. Please type the commands exactly as shown.
  
  

  • Download the intel chipset driver, and save it in your "C:" drive, not under any folder, just "C:"
  • Click on the "Start" button in Windows, then click on "Run..."
  • Type this into the window that appears:
    If you have newer than Windows ME (2000, XP, Vista) enter (type and hit enter): cmd
    If you have Windows ME or older (ME, 98, 95) enter (type and hit enter): command
  • A black window will appear. In that window, enter (type and hit enter): cd \
  • Now, enter (type and hit enter) the name of the Intel chipset driver that you downloaded followed by "-A -OVERALL"
    For example: infinst_autol_8_1_1_1001.exe -A -OVERALL
    Make sure that the -A and -OVERALL are all uppercase, and that you include spaces before the dashes.

  
  Your Intel chipset driver will now install correctly. After the installation is complete, you can delete the file you downloaded, but it is not necessary.