How to find and update drivers on a laptop

It's only in information articles that the purchase of a laptop is carried out by careful analysis of performance and thoughtful selection of the optimal model. In reality, the buyer, going to the store for his future electronic friend, is faced with the need to compare the numbers on the price tags and the amount that is in his pocket. And only after that a choice is made of what is available at a cost. As a result, often purchased laptops, which preinstalled a free operating system, "Linux" or - even more sadly - DOS.

First steps

Coming home with a purchase, the lucky owner has to decide how to replace the system with Windows and update the driver on the laptop. Of course, some users are adherents of "Linux", but even in this case they replace the OS with the version that suits them the most. Having a distribution on your hands, you can do anything with a new laptop - change the partitioning of the partition, boldly format the hard drive, train with the installation, etc. Ultimately, even the greenest beginner will be able to boot into the Windows operating system.

But then you need to take care of installing drivers. Without these control programs, hardware components can not work. For example, if you forget to put a network driver for your laptop, do not expect that the computer will "see" the network. The question is, where to get these drivers.

Taking the box off the shelf

All self-respecting manufacturers supply a compact disc with a laptop, on which there is software for all major operating systems. For example, to install drivers for the Acer laptop, you should find the specified drive in the package and insert it into the drive. The autorun mechanism works. Then, following the displayed dialogue, you need to install the control programs sequentially.

If such a compact is not included for some reason, then it is an occasion to ask about it shop sellers. Still, even in order to gain access to the Internet, you need a driver for the Acer laptop, which allows the network card to work. The same is true for models of other firms.

Turning to the developer

After gaining access to the resources of the global network, it is absolutely necessary to update the drivers on the laptop. In newer versions, performance can be improved, energy efficiency improved, problems and defects eliminated. One of the most reliable sources of updated software is the developer's site. Suppose that the laptop computer N750JV from the company Asus was bought. Therefore, you need to find the site of the specified company in the browser, for which you should use the search. Go to the resource, you need to click on the image of the magnifying glass and indicate the name of the model. After displaying the page with information about the product, you need to select the item "Support", and then - "Drivers and utilities". It remains to specify the version of the operating system you are using . To update the driver on the laptop, you need to download them and install.

Important feature

Although the installation can be performed in any order - all drivers with one reboot at the end, so it's not recommended to do so. It is best to follow the following scheme: the first is put the program for the chipset, then for the video card, the sound and only at the very end the driver for WiFi on the laptop. This avoids possible errors and ensures a stable and continuous operation of the system. When updating, it is necessary to take into account that some control programs are registered in the deletion manager list and can be erased by standard means. For example, looking in the "Control Panel - Programs and Components", you can often see entries of the form Realtek High Definition Driver or "Intel HD Graphics Driver". The first is a sound driver, and the second is a video. Before you upgrade to new versions, these are best removed and not stacked on top of them.

How to save money

There are many resources on the Internet that allow you to download drivers for a laptop of any model for money or require entering a phone number. Our advice: from such cunning people it is better to stay away and not to contact them. All manufacturers distribute free drivers for laptops without requiring payment. Moreover, given the fact that there are alternative ways to find updated versions.

Standard tool

Users of official versions of Windows can use the provided software mechanism. However, it should be remembered that several hundred megabytes of information can be downloaded from the Internet. So, to update the driver on the laptop, you need to click the "Start" button in the lower left corner of the desktop and proceed to the Control Panel. From the list, select "Windows Update" and activate it by clicking on the corresponding button, which is here in a single copy.

Third-Party Programs

Many information applications allow you to search for updated device drivers. For example, this is provided in Aida64. After installing and running the program, you need to select "Devices" in the left column and open the "PCI" section. In the right window of the program all devices present in the system will be displayed.

For many of them, control programs can be updated. For example, in the list you can select Integrated Graphics Controller, at the bottom there will be a link "Download drivers", when you click on which will automatically start the browser and redirect to the download page.

Another way

Some manufacturers of portable computers decided to create their own analog of the standard update mechanism. For example, to get a new driver for WiFi on a laptop from Samsung, you need to download SW Update from their website, run it, specify a model and click Update. The same is with other companies. For example, Acer Drivers Update Utility.