Drivers

[cremora]

Hi guys

i need to check and if necessary update my drivers, although it seems a
simple process i'm not so sure or else i'm dumb.
I have used the windows update driver facility and it seems to do it in
a split second which makes me wonder if it's been done at all.
I have downloaded driver detective which was a free download, only to find
that you need to register and then pay to use it...LOL
Is there a driver facility i can use to check my drivers or is it a case of going to
each manufacturer for the updates, because i have tried that and i cannot for the life
of me find my version to update, i can find plenty of other versions but mine ...no way

Surely there must be a simple and effective way to check drivers and update. All this has
come about because i am having problems with my pc shutting down which as you mentioned in a previous post, could be the drivers

Hope you guys can assist

Thanks gain for a great site

Regards Cremora

[Canuck]

Hi cremora,

My first bit of advice is not to download drivers or any 3rd party software from MS. They've been known to mess things up.

Second bit of advice, most driver update programs do cost. Try PCPitstop for a free Full Test. You'll have to sign up, but at the end of the test they give you free advice on what's needed. There's no need to buy their utility programs .. they usually give you instructions for manual fixing. Keep us posted.

[alwrmcusn]

Identify the devices that you want to check for driver updates. You may need to be very specific with some of them. Then go to the website for that/those devices and download the needed update(s). For example if you have an Nvidia based graphics card, ID it by model number, go to "www.nvidia.com", find that model and download and install the driver. Some devices (graphics and sound cards) usually need to have the old driver uninstalled before installing the new driver. BIOS updates and Chipset drivers can be a bit tricky and potential problem installs. You need to be VERY sure you have the right driver for the device. If you are uncomfortable making those decisions, find someone who you trust and know FOR SURE to be knowledgeable to do that for you.
I may be in the minority on this, but I am NOT a fan of those "Driver Update" packages, and I am not a fan of PCPitstop either, sorry. I feel it best to make those choices yourself. As Canuck mentioned the MS driver updates can sometimes be a less than satisfactory solution. They are usually less full featured than the manufacturers drivers as they are usually meant to be a more basic update.
Give us the names of the devices you are looking for updates for also.

[cremora]

Hi Canuck & Alwrmcusn

Thank you for your responses, which is much appreciated.

It is obvious that MS did not update my drivers as stated as i went to Pc pitstop and did a scan and they found the following outdated drivers along with all my drivers installed as can be seen by the attachments.
I did try the Radeon site but as usual got quite confused looking for the version Pcpitstop recommended.
Could these outdated drivers be the cause of my pc going black and resetting, this happens in windows when i open to many windows, IE when i open to many tabs, and more often if i use Firefox, which i have had to unistall now because of it.
I really hope you guys can assist as it is becoming quite annoying

Once again guys thanks for your help and the great site

Best regards Cremora

[Canuck]

The attachments don't come up very clear, so if you can give us the info on your graphic card we can try to find the right driver.

[cremora]

Hi Canuck

the info as supplied by Pcpitstop is :
Driver:
ATI radeon 9600 series
Display adapters
current driver 6.14.10.6553
recommended version 8.530.0.0000

Driver:
ATI Radeon 9600 series secondary
Display adapters
current driver 6.14.10.6553
recommended version 8.530.0.000


Driver:
Realtek AC"97 audio for VIA (R) Audio Controller
Sound, Video & Game controllers
Current Driver 5.10.0.4070
Recommended 5.10.00.6280


I hope that will help you, too help me

Best regards Cremora

[arraknid]

The info on PC Pitstop is out of date. For the latest Radeon 9600 driver download, click here.

As far as the audio driver is concerned, without knowing the make and model of your motherboard, it's impossible to direct you to the manufacturer's site for driver download. However, in the case of the Realtek driver, that isn't too much of a problem as the generic driver works pretty well anyway. Click here to start the download.

In both instances, you'll be downloading an executable file, so you just need to double click on it to start the installation. Make sure you set a Restore point before you do.

In the case of the Radeon driver, you should uninstall the old driver first. Click on Start, right click on My computer and select Properties. Click the Hardware tab, then Device Manager. Under Display Adapters, right click on the entry starting ATI Radeon... and select Uninstall. Confirm it, close all windows and restart. After the restart, your screen resolution will be different. That's normal. Now start the installation of the new driver.

Good luck.

[NM]

There is a free driver analyzer/updater available at DriverMax - free driver updates

Norbert

[tallin]

Originally Posted by Canuck

The attachments don't come up very clear, so if you can give us the info on your graphic card we can try to find the right driver.

Cremora,

Why don't you post your PCPitstop test results URL here in this thread so we can help you further. No privacy content is posted at all.

Correct, your screenshots are unreadable for me.

Are you having problems with drivers? Sometimes the latest are not always the best, I don't update unless I am having problems, I learned that lesson years ago.

NM, thanks for that link, I will try it, but guess it is like Driver Detective, scan for free but pay for the Drivers?

Always go to your Manufacturers Website for Driver updates as earlier stated.

Edit I downloaded, installed and ran DriverMax. Excellent, told me so much about my Drivers with other links within their Home Page that are very interesting. Thanks again NM, great assistance given.

[NM]

Originally Posted by tallin

NM, thanks for that link, I will try it, but guess it is like Driver Detective, scan for free but pay for the Drivers?

Hi, Tallin, like you, I don't always update drivers as they become available. Don't know if that's good or bad.

Anyway, neither the program nor drivers are charged for. See DriverMax Help & FAQ - answers to all your questions related to DriverMax part of which is on attached.

What I only noticed this morning...if you installed DriverMax on all the computers on your LAN, you can do the analysis and updating sitting at one machine only. Also, you can select the source of the new driver. For example, my VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter driver is outdated. I now have the option of downloading it from either VIA Technology or Unknown source.