I often receive requests for programs to update drivers. Many friends write to me saying that they have driver problems and ask for advice on which software to use to solve them. Well, the truth is that I tend to advise against the use of programs that automatically search for and install drivers: the risk that they cause problems instead of solving them is very high, so it is better to waste a few more minutes and act “manually”.
To act “manually”, I mean to let Windows automatically update the drivers using the integrated software or, in case this solution should not be feasible, taking “by hand” the necessary from the Internet and installing it. I know, it’s a rather tedious operation but, as already mentioned, it’s better to waste a few minutes of your time than to compromise the operation of your computer by using software of dubious reliability.
I think I’ve made myself quite clear. So I’d say let’s not waste any more time on chit-chat and see right now how to update your computer’s drivers using all the possible avenues of proven reliability: the update tools included in Windows (such as Windows Update and Device Manager) and those provided by hardware manufacturers, often available online. Happy reading and good luck with everything!
Programs to update drivers: Windows 10
Let’s start this guide by analyzing what are the most reliable Windows 10 driver update programs: although there are some third-party solutions that can cope with this, such software often convey other unwanted bundled programs and can easily lead to the unintentional installation of spyware and other malware of various kinds. That’s why, in the paragraphs to come, I’ll only talk about the software that comes “standard” in Windows 10 and later and those distributed by hardware manufacturers, mostly free (and safe to use).
Programs for updating embedded PC drivers
Without a shadow of a doubt, the easiest way to update drivers installed on Windows 10 is to use the built-in Device Manager and Windows Update utilities: be aware, however, that the driver update feature is not available on all versions of Microsoft’s operating system and may not be able to apply updates to all devices on your computer.
So, if you want to take advantage of it, right-click on the Windows Start button (the flag symbol in the lower left corner of the screen), select Device Manager from the context menu that pops up and, when the new window appears, click on the > button next to the hardware category for which you want to search for updates (e.g. video cards).
Now, right-click on the name of the component you want to update (e.g. NVIDIA GeForce XX), select the Update Driver item from the context menu and click on the Automatically search for drivers option in the window that appears. If there are updates available, Windows will download and install them automatically and ask you to restart your computer when the process is complete.
Alternatively, if you do not want to check the availability of drivers for each device or if the above mentioned function is not available on your PC, you can try to get the latest drivers from Windows Update, the Windows update manager: to open it, right-click on the Windows Start button, click on the Settings item in the menu that appears, then on the Update and Security icon and then on the Windows update item (on the left).
At this point, click on the Check for updates button, wait for Windows to perform the necessary checks and, if there are any updates (not necessarily only for the hardware), click on Download and install to apply them.
As I already mentioned at the beginning of this section, the system just mentioned is certainly the easiest one, but it may not prove to be decisive: not all versions of Windows 10 allow you to get updates via Device Manager and Windows Update is not able to deal with the drivers of many devices.
For this reason, I suggest you opt for a more “targeted” solution, which involves the use of some free software made available directly by hardware manufacturers: you’ll find everything explained in the next section of this chapter.
Programs to update PC drivers for free
If the tools built into Windows are not able to update drivers on their own, you can cope with this by using online driver update programs made available by the manufacturers of hardware peripherals and computers: they allow you to automatically check for updated drivers for your PC hardware and download and install them in a matter of seconds.
For example, on the official website of DELL you can check for updated drivers for the components of the computers of the brand in question: thanks to the DELL SupportAssist software (generally preinstalled, but which can be downloaded via the same page); the automatic updater dedicated to Acer computers, instead, is called Acer Care Center and is generally installed on pre-assembled PCs and notebooks produced by the house in question.
Generally speaking, in order to check the availability of automatic driver update tools, you should go to the website of the manufacturer of the component or computer you are interested in, access the support section and look for automatic driver update programs. For a better understanding, here are some concrete examples.
Intel Driver & Support Assistant (Intel hardware)
If you have Intel hardware on your computer (processor/APU, video card, network cards, and so on), you will be glad to know that the Intel DSA tool (also known as Intel Driver & Support Assistant) can locate most up-to-date drivers for all Intel-branded peripherals, if available, and install them in just one click.
To get the program in question, go to this Internet page, locate the Support tab, click on the Download button located within it and wait for the software to be downloaded to your computer.
Now open the file you have just obtained (i.e. Intel-Driver-and-Support-Assistant-Installer.exe), accept the terms and conditions of use of the software by checking the box provided and click the Install, Accept, Yes and Restart buttons to complete the program setup and restart your computer.
The next time you start the program, open Intel Driver & Support Assistant using the icon added to the Start menu and wait for the software to analyze the hardware components of your computer: at the end of the procedure, a browser window should open automatically with a list of drivers that can be updated. To get them, click on the Download All button and, once the download is complete, press the Install and Yes buttons to install them.
After this step too, press the Next, Yes and Next buttons (twice in a row), check the Restart computer box and click the Finish button to restart Windows and finalize the update installation.
NVIDIA GeForce Experience (NVIDIA video cards)
If you have an NVIDIA-branded video card on your computer, you can download driver updates using NVIDIA GeForce Experience, a utility that usually comes with your video card software package. To use the program, you need to sign in with an existing NVIDIA account or register with the platform via Facebook, Google or Apple ID.
If the program is already installed, you can call it from the NVIDIA Corporation folder, available in the Windows Start menu: after opening it, log in or register with the platform using the dedicated forms (if you have not already done so) and wait a few moments for the software to detect any available updates.
If the check is successful, you should see a notification at the top of the program window: in this case, click on the Update Driver button and wait for the update procedure to be completed.
If necessary, you can also perform a manual search for any available updates: click on the Driver tab of the program (at the top), click on the Search for updates item in the same location and wait for the check to be completed.
If any available updates are detected, press the appropriate button to download and install them fully automatically; at the end of the procedure, choose whether or not to restart the computer by pressing the appropriate button.
If you don’t have NVIDIA GeForce Experience software, you can download it from the NVIDIA website, along with the latest driver for your video card: after visiting the page I mentioned earlier, specify the type, series and family of your GPU, the operating system you’re running, the type of driver you want to download (e.g. Game-Ready) and the language you’re interested in.
Now click on the Search button, press the Instant Download button twice and wait for the driver file (e.g. X.Y-[windows-XX]whql.exe) to download. After the download is complete, open the file, click the Yes and OK buttons and choose to install the GeForce Experience software and graphics driver by checking the appropriate box.
To finish, click on the Accept and Continue and Next buttons and wait a few minutes for the driver installation (and the semi-automatic update program) to finish: during this process, you may experience flickering or darkening of the screen. Don’t worry, this is normal behavior.
Once the driver installation is complete, all you have to do is click on the Close button and restart your computer if necessary; from now on, you can use the GeForce Experience software to get future updates, as I showed you earlier. Read more here.
AMD Adrenalin (AMD/ATI video cards)
If your computer is equipped with an AMD (or ATI) video card, you can use the automatic recognition program provided by the hardware manufacturer to automatically find the most suitable drivers for the GPU installed on your computer and download them in a matter of clicks.
To get it, visit this website, click on the Download now button and wait for the program file to be downloaded to your computer; when the download is finished, open the .exe file you obtained and click on the Yes and Install buttons to finalize the installation. At the end of the process, the software will automatically analyze the hardware components of your PC and detect the video card present.
After this step, you should see a list of drivers compatible with the detected hardware: to proceed with the update, locate the most recent one from the proposed list and, after making sure that it is a driver with Microsoft certification and corresponding to a recommended version, select it and then press the Install button, to download it and update the driver already present.
When the procedure is complete, check the box to choose whether or not to restart your computer and press the Finish button to finish. That was really easy, wasn’t it?
ASUS Live Update (ASUS notebooks and pre-assemblies)
If you’re using a computer or notebook made by ASUS, chances are that the ASUS Live Update program is already installed on your computer and bootable via the appropriate icon in the Windows 10 Start menu.
Otherwise, you can get ASUS Live Update directly from the manufacturer’s website: connect to the ASUS download center, enter the notebook model in the appropriate field, click on the most relevant result and then on the Drivers & Utilities item, which appears on the right.
Now, select your operating system (e.g. Windows 10 64-bit) using the drop-down menu, locate the box dedicated to ASUS Live Update and click on the Download button in its correspondence, in order to download the archive (e.g. ALU_3.6.8.zipper) containing the program.
Once the download is complete, extract the .zipper package obtained earlier into a folder of your choice, double-click on the Setup.exe file residing inside and click the Yes, Next buttons three times in a row and Close to complete the installation of the program, which can be started using the appropriate icon in the Start menu.
When you start the program for the first time, you will be asked to accept the program’s terms of use: scroll to the bottom of the text box visible on the screen and click on the I understand button to confirm that you have read the terms of use and access the main screen of the software.
At this point, all you have to do is click on the Check for Updates button to check for any updates to your computer’s hardware; if the check is successful, all you have to do is click on the Install button and follow the instructions offered to update the drivers to the latest version available. At the end of the procedure, you may be asked to restart your computer.
Programs for updating drivers: Mac
What about a Mac? In this case, I have good news for you: in the vast majority of cases, available driver updates are released directly by Apple, within the macOS system updates and can be installed in a single click.
To make this happen, go to System Preferences by clicking on the gear symbol located in the Dock bar, or on the Apple menu located in the upper left corner of the screen, click on the Software Update icon and press the Advanced… button located in the lower right corner.
Now, if it’s not already there, place a checkmark next to the Search for updates, Download new updates when available and Install system data files and security updates items and, if you want the updates to be installed (as well as downloaded) automatically, also check the box next to the Install macOS updates item: the change will be applied instantly.
If you should not be able to make any changes because the above-mentioned items are grayed out, first click on the lock icon in the lower right corner of the settings window, enter your Mac’s password in the field provided and press Enter to enable system changes.