How to update drivers in Windows 10 [Full Guide]

Publish date: 2024-07-01
Easily update drivers in Windows 10

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To fix various PC problems, we recommend DriverFix:
This software will keep your drivers up and running, thus keeping you safe from common computer errors and hardware failure. Check all your drivers now in 3 easy steps:
  • Download DriverFix (verified download file).
  • Click Start Scan to find all problematic drivers.
  • Click Update Drivers to get new versions and avoid system malfunctionings.
  • Drivers are an essential part of every Windows ecosystem. Without these invisible software packages, you basically can’t run your hardware as intended.

    Thus, keeping them up to date is of essential value for all Windows users, both home users and professionals.

    Every piece of hardware requires a proper driver to work correctly because drivers are the soul of every computer.

    If a particular component of your computer is missing or has an outdated driver, various problems may occur.

    For example, if your graphics card is missing a driver, you’ll have display problems, if your sound card is missing a driver, you won’t hear any sound on your computer, and so on.

    Keeping all your drivers up to date is essential for your computer to work properly. But in Windows 10, keeping your drivers updated is slightly harder than it used to be in previous versions of the OS.

    You probably know that Microsoft imagined Windows 10 as a service. This means we won’t get a new version of Windows in the future, but just bigger updates for the current version.

    The problem with these updates is that some of them can make your drivers outdated or even incompatible.

    In that manner, it is highly recommended to check all your drivers after installing a major update for Windows 10.

    Because, as we said, if an update makes your drivers outdated or incompatible, you may face some major problems.

    There are a couple of ways to check for drivers update, and each method is quite simple. So, if you still haven’t, do your computer a favor, and update all your drivers to the latest versions.

    How can I update drivers in Windows 10?

    1. Update drivers through Windows Update

    Microsoft has some sort of partnership with bigger hardware manufacturers like Intel, Nvidia, AMD, etc. Therefore, these companies regularly release driver updates for their components via Windows Update.

    So, if you’re rocking a newer NVidia or ATI graphics card, all you need to do to keep your drivers up to date is to regularly check for Windows updates.

    You probably already know how to check for updates in Windows 10, but it won’t hurt if we remind you once again.

    To check for updates, go to the Settings app, select Updates & security, and just click on Check for updates.

    This way, you’ll keep all your drivers updated, and install all the other Windows 10 updates available too.

    2. Use Device Manager to manually update your drivers

  • Go to Search, type devicemng, and open Device Manager.
  • You’ll now see the list of all your hardware listed in Device Manager.
  • To check for driver updates for any component, just right-click on it, and choose to Update driver.
  • Now, you will have two choices. You can select the first one if you want the system to automatically search for a driver. The second is for when you already downloaded a driver and so you will have to point its location.
  • If a driver update is available, the wizard will automatically install it, if not, your driver is already up to date.
  • Expert Tip: Some PC issues are hard to tackle, especially when it comes to corrupted repositories or missing Windows files. If you are having troubles fixing an error, your system may be partially broken. We recommend installing Restoro, a tool that will scan your machine and identify what the fault is.
    Click here to download and start repairing.

    As we said, this is the most popular manual method of checking for driver updates in Windows 10.

    In case you don’t receive your driver updates via Windows Update, the most common way to check for driver updates is with the Device Manager.

    It might take some time to check every single driver manually, but you can solve a lot of problems by doing that. To check for driver updates in Device Manager, do as described above.

    3. Install dedicated driver downloading software

    There are various third-party tools that you can use to automatically install the latest drivers on your Windows 10 computer. A professional driver updater software is one of the most efficient options to take into consideration.

    You need to know from the start that a professional tool makes updating drivers simple even for newbies. More precisely, the tool runs automatically to find outdated drivers.

    Some of the most common Windows errors and bugs are a result of old or incompatible drivers. The lack of an up-to-date system can lead to lag, system errors or even BSoDs.To avoid these types of problems, you can use an automatic tool that will find, download, and install the right driver version on your Windows PC in just a couple of clicks, and we strongly recommend DriverFix. Here’s how to do it:

  • Download and install DriverFix.
  • Launch the application.
  • Wait for DriverFix to detect all your faulty drivers.
  • The software will now show you all the drivers that have issues, and you just need to select the ones you’d liked fixed.
  • Wait for DriverFix to download and install the newest drivers.
  • Restart your PC for the changes to take effect.
  • DriverFix

    DriverFix

    Drivers will no longer create any problems if you download and use this powerful software today.

    Disclaimer: this program needs to be upgraded from the free version in order to perform some specific actions.

    4. Update your drivers from the manufacturer’s website

    Microsoft already has agreements with all the important manufacturers and provides the necessary drivers within regular Windows updates.

    However, in some special cases, some manufacturers can release special updates to tweak certain problems. They will also end up as updates for your PC, but you can be faster.

    That’s why, in some cases, visiting the manufacturer’s website and checking their Support page (usually) to get the latest drivers for your computer may be a very good decision.

    Here are the official driver download links for the most common drivers used on Windows PCs:

    Read more about this topic

    5. Use the Compatibility Mode

  • Locate the driver installation program on your computer or on a media (CD/DVD).
  • Right-click on the setup file of the program (it is an executable file that usually has the word setup in its name).
  • Select Troubleshoot compatibility.
  • The Program Compatibility Troubleshooter will look for any problems.
  • Click on Troubleshoot program.
  • Now select which is the problem with the program. In this case, if the driver worked fine in a previous version select the first option and click on Next.
  • Choose the Windows version in which the driver worked fine and then click on Next. We selected Windows 7 in our example.
  • Now click on Test the program and then hit Next again.
  • Now just follow the instructions to install the drivers as you would normally do.
  • Finally, if the installation worked and the drivers work fine, you can save these settings.
  • In the unlikely event that you don’t succeed updating your drivers with the previous methods, there is still the option of Troubleshoot compatibility.

    This is a way to convince older drivers to work on a supported version of Windows. Now, there are a few more ways to update your computer’s drivers. For instance, you can also use the BIOS.

    How do I update my drivers through BIOS?

  • Download the latest BIOS (or UEFI) from manufacturer’s website.
  • The BIOS update file is usually in a .exe format so you can copy it on a bootable USB flash drive. (Make sure you unzip the file prior to the move and double-check that there is no other file stored on the drive).
  • The next step is to insert the USB stick into the system.
  • Now, to activate the booting sequence, press and hold the power button a few times.
  • Choose Troubleshoot, Advanced options and select UEFI Firmware Settings.
  • Finally, select Restart and use the menus to update the BIOS / UEFI.
  • As you can see, updating the drivers through BIOS is closely linked to flashing the BIOS itself. Now, we know that handling the BIOS can be a daunting task, so we prepared some extra tips on how to easily update your BIOS.

    Nevertheless, we recommend using this method as the last resort as it is both dangerous and time-consuming.

    You’ll also stumble upon a few more programs that offer you scanning for driver changes, and automatically installing updates.

    Not all of them can be trusted. That is why we created a list that includes the best driver update software for Windows 10 that you can use right now.

    Do not hesitate to refer to our above tips and update drivers in Windows 10 in no time. Let us know how the procedure went for you in the comments area below.

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