Drivers for hardware devices on a computer are used to communicate with the operating system. In simple terms, any hardware device that wants to work on Windows needs a compatible driver.
If you are experiencing system problems such as the printer not working, unable to connect to the network, the computer has no sound... it may be because the driver is too old. Let's learn how to update the driver on Windows 11 right after this.
Normally, you do not need to update the driver yourself.
Before we begin, let’s talk about situations where you don’t need to update your hardware drivers in Windows 11. Generally, you shouldn’t update your drivers unless you know that the new driver update will definitely fix the problem you’re having.
If the hardware device is already working, installing a new, inappropriate driver update could potentially break something in an unintended way. In other words, it's a form of making an untested change to the system.
The safest way to update drivers on Windows 11
When looking for driver updates, it’s important to know that Windows has a built-in driver update feature that automatically updates drivers with Windows Update, so if there are any updates for essential system hardware components like your mouse, keyboard, etc., Windows will usually handle them automatically without you having to do anything.
Additionally, some driver updates come as “ Optional Updates” in Windows Update. Microsoft recommends that you do not install these updates unless you are trying to resolve a known issue with a specific device.
However, if you are having problems, you should still check to see if there are any Optional Updates. To do so, press Windows + i to open Windows Settings . In the menu that appears, click “ Windows Update ,” then select “ Advanced Options .”
On the Advanced Options page, scroll down and click “ Optional Updates ”.
On the Optional Updates page, click the “ Driver Updates ” section heading to display additional options. Then, browse through the list and check any driver packages you want to update. When finished, click “ Download & Install .”
Windows will install the driver you selected and, if necessary, restart your PC. This is an effective solution, however, not all driver packages can be found in Windows Update. In that case, see below.
The best place to manually download driver updates
Sometimes you need to update a device, such as a graphics card, that is not included in Windows Update. In this case, your best bet is to go to the device manufacturer’s official website. Navigate to the “ Support ” section and look for “ downloads ,” “ updates, ” or “ drivers ” for your device.
After downloading a trusted driver package from the device manufacturer, zip it and look for the “ Setup ” or “ Install ” program to run. Run it and the driver will automatically install and then ask you to restart the system. After the PC restarts, your new drivers are ready to go.
Update drivers manually with Device Manager
You can also use Device Manager to switch or update drivers for specific devices in Windows 11.
To get started, click the Start button and search for the keyword “ device manager ”, then click the Device Manager icon in the corresponding results returned.
In the Device Manager window , browse through the list of devices installed on your PC and find the device whose driver you want to update. Right-click on it and select “ Update Drivers ”.
In the “ Update Drivers ” window that appears, you have two options:
If you select “ Search automatically for drivers ”, Windows will run a scan of the driver files on your system, looking for updated drivers for your device. If any are found, Windows will install them automatically and ask you to restart your PC when finished.
If not, you will see a message saying “ The best drivers for your device are already installed ”. At this point, you can search further by clicking “ Search for updated drivers on Windows Update ”, which will open the Settings > Windows Update menu . Otherwise, click “ Close ”.
If you select “ Browse my computer for drivers ”, you can browse for the location of the driver files by clicking the “ Browse ” button and following the on-screen steps. Or you can click “ Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer ”.
If Windows recognizes the drivers you browsed for — or you select “ Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer ” — Windows will display a list of compatible drivers you can choose for the device. Select an item from the list and click “ Next .”
If you see the message " The best drivers for your device are already installed " then there is no need to update. Otherwise, the newer driver package will be installed. Windows will then ask you to restart your PC. Click “ Yes ”.
When you log back in, the new driver will be active.
Good luck!
In a new post on its Tech Community website, Microsoft has announced plans to discontinue WSUS driver synchronization in favor of its latest cloud-based driver services.
Updating drivers can be done manually or using driver update software. The advantage of using driver update software is that it is fast, convenient and finds the right driver version to update. Below are some of the best driver update and installation software for your reference.
If your computer is equipped with an Intel wireless network card, you should download the latest Wi-Fi and Bluetooth driver packages that have just been released, which come with some notable optimizations and improvements.
Driver Booster 12 Free is an effective tool to keep your drivers up to date. This driver updater enhances system performance with a simple 1-click solution.
In the following article, we will present the basic operations to recover deleted data in Windows 7 with the support tool Recuva Portable. With Recuva Portable, you can store it in any convenient USB, and use it whenever needed. The tool is compact, simple, easy to use with some of the following features:
CCleaner scans for duplicate files in just a few minutes, then lets you decide which ones are safe to delete.
Windows doesn't come with security set up by default, which means there are some default settings you need to change.
USB devices have become indispensable in everyday life, allowing us to connect a wide variety of essential hardware to our PCs.
If you properly lock down your guest Wi-Fi network, you can share your Internet connection with any visitors without sharing any other information.
For some reason, your Windows 10 computer lost Admin rights, every time you open an application on the screen you receive an error message. So how to restore lost Admin rights, please refer to the article below of WebTech360.
In this article, WebTech360 will guide you how to turn off the firewall on Windows 11.
After a long wait, the first major update of Windows 11 has officially been released.
The Unhandled exception has occurred error is not related to a specific application, making it more difficult to resolve. This article will guide you through some ways to fix the Unhandled exception has occurred error on Windows 10.
These days, most PCs and Apple devices can handle both MOV and MP4 files, at least to some extent. However, the need to convert MOV video files to MP4 files has not diminished.
Recognizing this need, major online messaging services use a technique called end-to-end encryption, to secure and protect users' conversations.
Setting up multiple monitors on Windows is quite simple and only takes a few minutes to do. After setting up multi-monitor mode (multiple screens), you can set up separate wallpapers for each screen. To do this, please refer to the article below from WebTech360.
Hidden deep within Windows is a world of command lines that few people know about. In this article, we will guide you on how to fix errors and make your computer more secure using the cmd command line tool.
Instructions on how to enter BIOS on Windows 10 for you, with video illustration.
Clipchamp is the default video editor on Windows 11, but if you just need to make a quick cut, split a simple photo, or add music to a clip, the classic editor inside the Photos Legacy app is a much better choice.
