A driver is a little piece of software that enables your computer and a specific piece of hardware, such as your mouse, keyboard, or printer, to communicate with one another. But occasionally, such drivers might need to be updated to address problems, provide new features, or boost performance.

Additionally, driver upgrades to correct errors, faulty code, and security and compatibility issues, and occasionally even add hardware functionality. However, when your systems are functioning properly, individuals frequently forget the requirement for the most recent drivers, which is understandable given that the process is not always unmistakable. Nobody wants to run the risk of making a hardware problem worse.

In general, frequently updating your drivers is not healthy for your devices. It’s best to leave your hardware alone if it’s performing as intended because new drivers tend to make issues worse and improve them. However, updating your drivers using the best free driver updater might be a smart idea if you’re experiencing problems with a particular piece of hardware. Though this is the best way to deal with such issues, you can refer to the other standard methods mentioned in this article. 

That said, you must now take a look at how to update all your drivers on different operating systems. Whether you have Windows or macOS, this article will help you. 

How To Know If Your Drivers Need An Update?

Usually, if your system is functioning properly, you won’t need to update your drivers very frequently. And it is acceptable so long as there are no security holes in your present drivers.

Device drivers are essential bits of software that guarantee your system’s hardware components will function flawlessly. The system builder typically loaded these device drivers. As a result, hardware problems in your system are more likely to be brought on by device driver problems. The operating system (OS) may automatically check if (new) drivers are available for connected devices, such as a USB mouse. For example, you can trust Windows updates to update your drivers.

How to Update Drivers on Windows?

Following are the instructions for updating drivers in Windows 10 (only advised if you’re somewhat technical). If not, you should use the best free driver updater to accomplish this):

  • Enter “Device Manager” in the taskbar’s search box by going there.
  • Right-click the device you want to update after choosing the category you want to update.

How to update drivers in Windows 7 is as follows:

  • Go to Windows Start and click on it.
  • Select “Device Manager” from the “System and Security” menu’s “System” section.
  • Double-click the device you want to update after selecting the category you want to update.
  • “Update Driver” can be found under the “Driver” tab.

Or, if you’d prefer an automated procedure, click on the link above to get the best free driver updater that will automatically update drivers and offers many other functions to keep your PC operating at top efficiency.

On Windows, you can manually update your drivers as well.

Any manual steps are difficult and more likely to install incorrectly or miss updates. However, if Windows cannot locate a new driver, you should take the manual way. Or, use a third-party program for the quickest and safest method of updating your drivers at once.

How to manually update PC drivers is as follows:

  • Visit the website of the company that made your device.
  • Find the most recent driver that was made available.
  • Observe the guidelines they give. Depending on your operating system and device, these will vary. It usually entails downloading and installing new software.
  • As soon as you restart your computer, the updated driver should be operational.
  • Even if you’ve downloaded drivers from the manufacturer’s page before, always pay close attention to all of the instructions and resist the urge to skip any of them. Keep in mind that every gadget and operating system is unique.

How to Update Drivers on macOS?

While updating your Mac will install many drivers for macOS systems, third-party devices frequently call for extra driver installations.

  • From the manufacturer’s website, download the appropriate driver.
  • To extract the driver, double-click on it.
  • Occasionally, a warning message will appear. This notice will only appear for a fully signed and notarized installer if the System Preferences> Security & Privacy> General setting is only set to App Store. Please select System Preferences > Security & Privacy to identify the driver and click Open to fix the issue.
  • When a driver is discovered, it is installed right away. During the process, an authentication box will open and ask you for your Mac’s administrator account username and password.
  • Select Install Software to continue after that.
  • To finish the installation, choose Continue Installation and Restart when requested.
  • Drivers are typically implemented on macOS as either system or kernel extensions. You have to take additional action to enable either of these. Enter your password, unlock the pane by clicking the lock in the lower left corner, and then click the Allow option under System Preferences > Security & Privacy >General.

The Takeaway

The fact that many download sites may provide files posing as the drivers you need may house malware is one of the most crucial things to keep in mind when updating your drivers. Users are duped into downloading this software onto their computers by these people. On other websites, the drivers you require are bundled with adware or another potentially undesirable program that is installed on your computer in addition to the drivers.

Therefore, you must make using driver updater software a habit to stay secure against such activities. The best ones will keep a check through their extended scanning, ultimately protecting your PC and keeping your drivers updated.

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