How to safely install hardware drivers on you PC
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Drivers are a very important part of your computer. Without them, Windows will not work correctly, your hardware will not work at all, or it will work below average performance. Below, we will try to explain a few simple and safe ways to reinstall, upgrade, or roll back a driver.
How to reinstall a device driver
If you encounter hardware problems, one of the first steps you should take is to reinstall the hardware driver. When you do this, Windows will automatically detect and install the hardware, like new.
To reinstall a device driver, follow the steps below:
- Log on to your computer as an administrator
- Click Start, right-click My Computer, and click Manage
- Under System Tools, click Device Manager
- In the right pane, expand any of the categories to find the hardware you need to reinstall. Right-click the device, and then click Uninstall
- In the Confirm Device Removal dialog box, click the OK button
- If you see a message asking if you want to restart your computer, click Yes. You can also manually restart your computer
After the restart, Windows should automatically detect and reinstall the hardware.
How to upgrade a device driver
Simply by updating the hardware drivers, you can prevent hardware issues. Note that updated drivers are more secure and also improve performance.
The first step is identifying the hardware. To identify your hardware, follow the steps below:
- Log on to your computer as an administrator
- Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Manage
- Under System Tools, click Device Manager
- In the right pane, expand any category to find the hardware. The name you find here identifies your computer hardware
To find the update for the driver, a simple search on the Web with the device name will bring up many results. After you find the latest version of the driver, all you have to do is download and install it. After the installation was completed, restart your computer. If problems appear after an update, you should roll back the hardware driver.
How to roll back a device driver
This is a very easy process and there is nothing unsafe about it. To roll back a device driver, please follow the steps below in this exact order:
- Log on to your computer as an administrator
- Click Start, right-click My Computer, and click Manage
- Under System Tools, click Device Manager
- In the right pane, expand any category to find the hardware you need to roll back. Right-click the device, and click Properties
- In the Properties dialog box, click the Driver tab, and click Roll Back Driver
- When prompted, click Yes
- Click Close
After you computer is restarted, Windows will use the previous version of your driver. If reinstalling, updating, or rolling back the driver does not solve the problem, try reinstalling the hardware. Although the drivers are the main suspects, faulty hardware installation has its share of errors.