Thursday, February 4, 2010

PC Solutions Area

PC Solutions Area


Update Your Drivers If Your PC Has Gotten Slower

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 08:17 PM PST

Part of good computer maintenance is being sure to update drivers. What is a driver? A driver is a bit of software that works with your operating system by telling hit how to tell the outside devices, such as printers and keyboards, what to do. A printer driver, for example, tells your computer how to print a document or picture.

It is a good idea to make a journal of all the pieces of hardware you attach to your computer. Each of these will have its own driver. In addition to printers and keyboards, it may include mice, monitors, scanners, cameras and sound and video cards. Along with each item, keep a record of when each was last updated.

Increased functionality and efficiency are the two main advantages of installing and updating drivers. A good illustration of this is the advanced keyboard you may have just purchased. It has more function keys than your old traditional keyboard. Well, your operating system is going to need to know how to deal with this added functionality. By installing the new keyboard's drivers, your operating system will know how to process any keystroke you make.

New drivers may also take care of security problems that troubled older drivers. Bugs and faults in drivers will often be fixed in the newer versions of the drivers.

Installing new drivers or updating older ones is pretty easy. Most hardware will usually come with its accompanying drivers on a disc. These were new at the time of packaging but updates may have been made since then, so it is a good idea to visit the manufacturer's website and check for updates. By getting the latest updates, you will get the most out of your device. Most operating systems will also have a 'driver update wizard.' These allow you to go online and search for any available update or roll back to previous driver.

Keeping all the drivers updated for all your computer's devices will help keep your computer running smoothly. We all want the best experiences when using our computers. Staying on top of the drivers will help achieve this.

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