After installing the operating system, it's time to pay attention to installing drivers. Previously, the user had to do this themselves, but now Windows 10 downloads drivers automatically. If something goes wrong and the drivers were not loaded, you will have to install them yourself the old fashioned way.
Installing various drivers
A driver is needed to ensure the correct operation of this or that equipment. This inconspicuous program is responsible for connecting the device with the rest of the computer. Given the huge amount of different equipment and the regular release of new ones, no one could ever develop a universal solution to the problems associated with its operation. Therefore, each computer component has its own driver.
Automatically search and install drivers in Windows 10
You installed the operating system, but for some reason it did not install drivers for the equipment, even though it has such an option. In this case, there is a way to “push” the system a little to find and install the necessary drivers. To do this, do the following:
- Go to Device Manager. This can be done by entering the word “dispatcher” into the search bar of the Start menu. Enter the word “manager” into the search bar and open “Device Manager”
- You can also open it through the quick access menu, which on Windows 10 is called by the Win + X key combination.
Open the shortcut menu and select Device Manager - See which device drivers you do not have installed. Hardware without a driver will have a yellow symbol with an exclamation mark next to it, and its name will be replaced with the standard designation. Other devices without drivers will not have a name and will be defined as a “base” device. And in some cases, you can immediately guess the absence of a driver. For example, if there is no sound on your computer, then most likely you need to install a sound driver.
An exclamation point symbol means there is no device driver - Check for a network driver in the Network Adapters section. To install the driver automatically, you will need the Internet. This method works if the network driver is already installed. Make sure everything is okay with him and move on to the next step.
The network adapter driver will allow you to install the remaining drivers - Right-click on any device and select the “Update Driver” section.
Select a device without a driver and click Update Drivers - Select "Automatically search for updated drivers."
Select the option to automatically search for drivers on the Internet - Wait until the search is completed.
Wait for the driver search to complete - Wait until the driver download finishes.
Wait while the driver downloads - Wait until the driver installation finishes.
Wait for the driver installation to finish - After completing the procedure, see if the unknown hardware is detected.
If the hardware name appears, the driver was installed successfully - Restart your computer.
Accept the prompt to restart your computer
In a similar way, you can install or update drivers for all the equipment on your computer one by one.
Video: How to automatically update drivers in Windows 10
Installing the video card driver
The driver for the video card is necessary for it to work correctly. Without it, it will not be possible to set a high resolution for the monitor, and modern games will not work.
Before you start updating the driver, it's worth knowing what kind of video card you're using. The most common solutions are video cards from Nvidia and Radeon.
You can find out the exact model using different methods. For example, using the official DirectX utility. Follow these steps:
Refer to the manufacturer's official website. For example, if your video card is from Nvidia:
- Open the official website. In the very first “Drivers” tab, select the item dedicated to loading them.
Select the "Drivers" tab and then "Download Drivers" - In a special form, indicate the version of your video card, as well as the system bit depth.
Select your video card version in the search form - Start downloading drivers.
Click the "Download Now" button to start downloading the driver - Do not change the unpacking path of the installation file, leaving it as default.
Do not change the default driver installation path - Wait until the files are unpacked before installing.
The driver will be unpacked before installation - Read and agree to the license agreement if you want to continue with the installation.
Accept the license agreement before starting installation - Leave the default installation option.
Leave the "Express" installation option and click "Next" - Wait for the installation to complete. During this time, the computer screen will flash several times.
The computer screen will flicker while installing the graphics driver. - After installation, restart your computer.
Restart your computer after installing the graphics driver
Determining hardware drivers
Instead of finding out which driver is needed separately for each hardware, use the AIDA64 program. It will help you determine the names of devices, which, in turn, will allow you to download the necessary drivers. Let's figure out how to work in this program using the example of defining a sound adapter:
- On the official website of the program, find the “Download” button and click it.
Download the AIDA64 program from the official website - Select the version to download the program: packaged in an archive or as an executable file.
Select the program version and click "Download" - Install (or unpack) the program and run aida64.exe.
Run the program's executable file - Wait for the scanning of your computer devices to finish.
During startup, AIDA64 will scan your computer - Examine the equipment overview window, in which it will be divided into sections. To determine the sound, we will only need to open the main folder of the computer and then request summary information.
Open the “Summary Information” tab in the AIDA64 program - Review the information to help you find the right drivers later. This is both the motherboard model and the type of central processor. The name of the sound adapter can be seen in the “Multimedia” section.
You can find the name of your sound adapter in the "Multimedia" section
In a similar way, you can define the names of all your devices. However, some information will still be limited in the free version of the program.
Video: where to download and how to install AIDA64
Installing the sound driver
Before installing the driver, the audio hardware will be detected using a standard codec. An inscription like NVIDIA High Definition just means that the driver is not installed.
Most modern audio devices require a Realtek driver, but installation should not be done at random. Find out the name of the card using the method described above. Then go to the manufacturer's website:
- On the official Realtek website you will see the “Downloads” item. Click on it.
In the top panel of the site, select “Downloads” - Select "HD Audio Codecs".
Download High Definition Audio Codecs - Agree to the license agreement and click on the “Next” button.
Accept the agreement and click “Next” - Select the system version and the site through which the driver will be downloaded.
Select where you want to download the sound driver from - Run the installation file after downloading the driver.
Run the file you downloaded - Click “Next” before the installation process begins.
To begin installation, click "Next" - Wait until the installation process completes.
Wait until the audio driver installation finishes - Restart your computer for the driver to start working.
Once the audio driver is installed, restart your computer
The driver was installed correctly if:
Installing a phone driver
Modern phones also require driver installation to interact correctly with the computer. These can be ABD drivers that are used to work with Android-based devices or other drivers specific to a specific phone model.
ABD drivers
These drivers are included with the development kit for Android phones. They can help you perform complex operations on your device, fix errors and crashes, access system information and phone control commands.
ABD drivers are installed along with the Android SDK, but they are recommended only for advanced users. If you are careless in ADB mode, your phone may be permanently damaged.
Other drivers for mobile devices
Finding drivers for a specific phone model is not difficult at all. Just enter the name of your device into the search engine. Many large companies have their own drivers, for example, Samsung or Xiaomi.
Drivers for specific models usually come bundled with a small program to manage the phone. With their help, you can transfer information from the device to a computer, make installations from a computer via USB, or make a backup copy.
You can find the driver for your phone model on the manufacturer's website Installing the network driver
If the network driver does not install itself, without it you will not have access to the Internet and will not be able to download not only drivers for other devices, but also the network adapter driver itself. To fix this, use the following methods:
The installation of this driver itself is no different from installing any other.
Driver for printer and other external devices
When searching for a driver for a printer or other devices, remember that most likely you have a disk with this driver. Nobody these days sells a device without the necessary drivers for it to work. But if there is no disk, you can find it on the Internet, just know the name and model of the device.
Just enter the device name into the search engine to find the driver Or you can use automatic installation of Windows devices:
- Open the classic Control Panel. To do this in Windows 10, you need to press Win + X and select the desired item in the quick access panel.
Select Control Panel from the Quick Access Menu - Open the "Devices and Printers" section.
Select the "Devices and Printers" section in the "Control Panel" - Right-click on the printer identified as an unknown device and click “Device installation settings”.
Right-click on the connected device and select “Device installation settings” - Select automatic installation and save changes.
Choose automatic installation and accept the changes
You can also install the driver yourself from those available in the Update Center:
- Disconnect your printer (or other device) from the network, and then in the same “Devices and Printers” section, click on the “Add a printer” button.
Select "Add a printer" - Select adding a local printer in the next step.
Select Local Printer Installation - Click "Next" since you usually don't need to specify a port.
After selecting the port, click Next - Select your printer manufacturer and click Windows Update.
Select your printer manufacturer and contact Windows Update - Select your exact model from the list on the right and click “Next”.
Select a driver for your printer model - Set the name of the device to be connected.
Give any name to the created printer - Wait until the installation of the driver you selected is complete.
Wait until the printer installation finishes - Select whether to share this printer.
Set sharing settings and click Next - Close the program by clicking "Finish".
Click "Finish" after installation - Delete the created device and connect your printer. Since the driver will already be installed, the system will automatically recognize it.
Remove the printer you created and then connect your device
Driver installation program
If you don't want to install drivers manually, you can use third-party programs. For example, DriverPack Solutuion. It has the following advantages:
- support for all versions of Windows, including different versions of Windows 10;
- free distribution - the program is completely free;
- safe use - the developers guarantee that your computer will not be infected with viruses due to their program;
- search for drivers for a huge number of equipment, regardless of your computer.
The only major disadvantage is the fact that some programs are installed along with DriverPack, but you can refuse to install them.
Open the official website of the program and go to the download section.
There are two versions of the DriverPack program. One contains only a small program that loads drivers as needed. The second version weighs much more, because the entire driver database will be downloaded along with it. The second option is useful if the device you want to install drivers on is not connected to the Internet.
Select the program version and download it Download the online version to your computer to see how it works. To install drivers using this program, do the following:
- Launch the program after downloading. It does not require installation into the system. Select the manual installation method in the first window.
Select manual installation of the program - In the “Drivers” tab, look at the list of drivers that should be installed on your computer right now. Just tick each of them and confirm the installation.
Installing drivers may take some time - During installation, you may receive a warning from the operating system's security system. In this case, you are required to confirm the driver installation.
Allow installation of unknown driver in security notification - Once all drivers are installed, close the program. Manual installation was used to prevent additional software from being installed.
Do not click “Install all” and do not check the boxes to install software in DriverPack
The full version of the program with the driver database works a little differently:
- Mount the program image onto the system. On Windows 10, this can be done via the right mouse button.
Using the right mouse button, mount the image to the system - Run the program from the image via the autorun file. Or use automatic loading of the mounted image.
Select the "Autorun" file inside the DriverPack image - In the running program, go to the “Drivers” tab and click on the “Install and Update” button.
Select the Drivers tab and click Install and Update - A list of drivers that are required for your hardware will appear. Make sure there is nothing unnecessary for you and proceed with installation.
Select drivers, check to create a restore point and accept the license agreement before starting installation - After a long time, all drivers will be installed or updated.
You can monitor the progress of driver installation
The DriverPack program will save the user a lot of time and allow you to quickly install the necessary drivers after installing Windows 10.
Video: Installing drivers using Driver Pack Solutuion
Disable automatic driver installation in Windows 10
If we have already installed the drivers using another method and are going to monitor them ourselves, disabling the system driver update may be useful. This is done as follows:
Fixing Nvidia driver installation errors
Video card drivers are installed most often than others, as they need to be updated for best performance. This is why problems when installing this driver are widespread. Especially often, error 28 appears due to incorrect installation of drivers. It is also accompanied by problems in the installer program.
The installer may fail due to problems with previous drivers To fix it, do the following:
Following these steps should fix the error since the device drivers will be installed from scratch.
Video: Fixing an error when installing the Nvidia driver
Drivers are, without a doubt, essential to running a computer. Their installation can be a long chore, or can take place with little or no knowledge of the user. In any case, if something does not work for you, it is probably due to the drivers. Therefore, it is important to be able to install and update them yourself for any hardware on your computer.
Just a couple of days ago I wrote about how to use it on a PC or laptop. The article discussed mainly manual installation methods, since everyone should know this. Including inexperienced users (everyone was once a beginner).
However, it is not at all necessary to install them manually. After all, today there are special programs for installing and updating drivers that will do everything for you. A couple of mouse clicks, 15-30 minutes of time - and everything will be configured on your computer or laptop: Internet, sound, video card.
Programs for automatically updating drivers are suitable for all computers and laptops - Acer, Asus, Samsung, Lenovo, HP, etc. There are no exceptions here. They also work on all operating systems – Windows XP, 7, 8, 10.
But there is one caveat: over time, online installers are gradually updated. And perhaps new versions will not support Windows 7 or XP. Therefore, before installing the driver manager, read the system requirements (in particular, the “Supported operating systems” section).
The first excellent program (in Russian) is. There are several versions of this utility, including a free one. Its capabilities are more than enough for ordinary users.
Advantages of the Driver Booster program:
- quick scanning of a PC (or laptop);
- displaying device update priority (shows which ones you want to update immediately);
- installation is carried out in the background: press one button and you can go about your business.
This free driver manager also automatically creates a system restore point. And if any failure occurs, you can easily roll back to the previous working version.
Another free driver search program is . Considered one of the best. Users are offered 2 installers to choose from – online and offline. And you can choose any one (based on the situation).
For example, if you need a free program to install drivers without the Internet, then you need to download an offline installer. It is an ISO file over 11GB in size (can be opened via Daemon Tools). This may be quite a lot, but you will have a program with all the drivers in your hands. And it will last for at least a year. You just need to write it to a flash drive and you can use it if necessary.
If you do not want to download such a large file, and you have Internet on your laptop, then you can use the online installer. It weighs about 300 KB.
Using this utility is quite simple. Launch Driver Pack Solution (any version), wait for it to scan the system and issue a report. Uncheck unnecessary items and click “Update”. In 15-20 minutes everything will be ready.
Driver Pack Solution also installs additional software: browsers, archivers, etc. If this is unnecessary, do not forget to uncheck the appropriate boxes.
Try it. However, this utility also works on Windows 7, 8 and 10.
One of its main advantages is that it is able to find drivers for unknown devices that Windows cannot recognize. This option has helped out PC and laptop owners more than once.
Its other advantages:
- quick scan – about 2 minutes;
- automatic search and update of drivers;
- simple interface in Russian;
- The installer takes up only 21 MB.
3DP Net
Another program is 3DP Net. Recommended for use if there are problems with network controllers. That is, if after reinstalling the OS they are detected as an unknown device, try this installer.
3DP Net takes up very little space, so you can download it from your phone. Yes, and this program functions for installing drivers without the Internet. And most importantly: it supports many network cards. Even if you have a rare model installed, the utility will still install a universal driver, and the Internet will appear.
The main feature: it can make backups, i.e. save all previously installed Windows drivers.
This feature is very useful when reinstalling the operating system. You save your drivers using Driver Checker, install a new Windows, and then restore all data from this program. And you don’t even have to look for anything.
Main advantage: it scans the system very quickly. Literally in 10-20 seconds! The only negative is that this driver manager is in English (although it is quite easy to use).
After scanning Windows, this utility displays a visual report of exactly what needs to be updated. Driver installation is performed one by one.
There are 2 versions of the installer - Free and PRO. The free program has enough capabilities, so you can install it if necessary.
Best suited for those who do not trust various installers and want to control the entire process themselves. It copes with this task perfectly.
The utility will scan the system and then give you links from where you can download the drivers yourself. As a result, you won’t have to look for them on the manufacturer’s website: you just need to click “Download” and install.
By the way, if you need a program to update video card drivers, it is best to use a native utility. For Nvidia models this is GeForce Experience (installed automatically when installing a new driver), and for Radeon models it is AMD Gaming Evolved. In this case, it is recommended to update the drivers for the video card through them (without using third-party installers).
Windows 10 supports a large number of different devices: video cards, printers, scanners, network adapters, sound adapters, etc. In most cases, the system will recognize all devices and automatically install Windows 10 drivers. The driver can be installed immediately (if it is included in Windows 10), or downloaded from the Internet.
However, not all drivers are automatically installed by Windows 10; you have to spend your time searching for them on the Internet. Instead, you can use special programs to install Windows 10 drivers. The program will automatically detect your devices, install all the necessary drivers, and all you have to do is restart your computer. As you read the article, you will be able to select and download free programs for updating Windows 10 drivers.
Driver Booster Free
Free Driver Booster Free will help you regularly maintain the latest drivers on your computer. It's worth noting that regular driver updates will help. Driver Booster Free quickly scans the system, finds old drivers and updates them. As the name suggests, Driver Booster Free can be downloaded and used for free. However, there are also paid versions that have a more extensive base and wider functionality.
Features of Dirver Booster Free:
- Clear interface
- Russian language
- Automated update installation
- Focused on accelerating games
- The program is free
The interface of the Diriver Booster Free program is shown below. After automatically updating Windows 10 drivers, you need to restart the system.
If any device on your computer does not work (no sound, does not see the flash drive, the screen resolution is down), then this program will become an important assistant for you. Below is the link to download Driver Boost Free.
DriverPack Solution
Another program for installing Windows 10 drivers. Its peculiarity is that it presents a huge package of drivers recorded on an ISO image of about 11 GB in size. This image can be recorded on a flash drive and work without the Internet. Very convenient for system administrators who need to automatically install Windows 10 drivers without the Internet.
Features of DriverPack Solution:
- Can work offline without the Internet
- Distributed as an ISO image, can be written to a flash drive
- Ability to install additional software
- Has an antivirus assistant - detects and blocks malware, as well as advertising
- The program is free
Usage is in many ways similar to Dirver Booster Free: you wait until the program analyzes the system for drivers, and then offers to update some of them.
Device Doctor
Device Doctor is a free and simple program for installing Windows 10 drivers. Allows you to quickly find and install the necessary drivers. Ideal for inexperienced users.
Features of Device Doctor:
- Has a task scheduler that allows you to configure regular driver updates
- Extensive database of installation files
- Constantly requires user intervention
- Inability to create backups (PRO only)
- The program is free
The Device Doctor interface is shown below. When launched, the program automatically scans the system.
After which it offers automatic installation of Windows 10 drivers.
SlimDrivers is a useful utility that allows you to get the most current versions of installed Windows 10 drivers in a timely manner.
Features of SlimDrivers:
- Ability to completely uninstall unnecessary and outdated drivers
- Built-in task scheduler
- Backup
- Creating system restore points
- The program is free
The SlimDrivers interface is shown below.
Driver Talent Pro
Driver Talent Pro is one of the few Windows 10 driver installation programs that allows you to download drivers to a specified location and install them manually. Typically, installation occurs in the background and the user sees only a slider.
A faulty driver can cause many problems for your computer. The most common sign that drivers need updating is the Blue Screen of Death. Fortunately, this blue screen is shown to us by error codes and memory dumps, which allows us to identify the cause in a particular driver or device and update it or remove it. It becomes difficult when memory dumps and error codes do not help or the computer does not even show error codes but simply locks up the system. What to do in these cases?
Built into Windows system Driver Verifier designed to test drivers by placing additional stress on system drivers and stress tests to trigger a crash. This will help you identify bad drivers in Windows.
Preparing the system for checking Windows 10 drivers
Before turning on Driver Verifier, please note that drivers can lock you out of your own computer if you're not careful. When Driver Verifier detects a bad driver, it will give you a blue screen; if there are several of them, then a load>boot>crash cycle will form and you will not be able to boot back into the Windows system to disable the crash test of system drivers. Therefore, we will be prepared for every firefighter, otherwise in our time the Russian “maybe it’ll give you a ride” is no longer working well. Before enabling driver verification, do one of the following:.
- Check that you can easily boot into Safe Mode without BIOS required. In ordinary words, entering safe mode must be done using the windows desktop. Hold Shift+reboot, press and hold the Shift button and click on reboot. Try another way, install the option through Windows.
- Create a system restore point while disabling antivirus products. Open Windows search and type Creating a restore point, select from what is offered and follow the instructions given to you.
- Create for your computer to have command line access through options when using the recovery disk.
- You can or any other data that you are worried about.
- Be sure to read my crash test at the end of the article. He will help you in case of failure, which happened to me.
Activating the Windows Driver Verifier function
Before activating the drivers, make sure you read the section above on how to protect yourself from endless loading.
- Press Windows+R and type cmd to open Command Prompt.
Enter the following code into the command line:
- verifier
Specify the item (for program code).
Select all options except "DDI compliance check" and "Random resource shortage emulation".
Click on the supplier column to sort. It is not necessary to select all drivers, only from other suppliers where there is no Microsoft Corporation inscription. If you are sure that the error is in any driver, then check all the boxes.
After all the settings, click Finish and you will be told that the check will be performed after the system reboots. If the checker gives you a blue screen, make a note of the error code, a memory dump, and restart your computer.
Once back in Windows, you can disable driver verification in one of the following ways:
- Log back in as you did through the command line and select remove existing settings.
Open a command prompt and enter the following code:
How to Fix Boot Loops with Blue Screen of Death
- I would like to note that I experienced a cyclic boot with a faulty driver. There was no error or memory dump code listed, which is surprising to me.
- After 2-4 cyclic blue screen loading, the “system restore” option was automatically launched. In which I clicked "troubleshooting" > "advanced options" > "boot options" > "restart". Once booted, select 4 or 5 to boot into Safe Mode. Disable Driver Verifier Manager as mentioned above.
- To avoid booting into Safe Mode, go to Troubleshooting > Advanced Options and COMMAND LINE. In which just enter the command verifier /bootmode resetonbootfail.
- Copy or take a photo to your mobile phone, before starting the driver check, all 3 above points. Don't forget to copy the link to the article just in case.
How to open a DMP file to view error analysis
- The test files are on the path C:\Windows\Minidump.
- You can open the DMP file format using
DriverPack Solution Online is a simple and fast way to find and download one or another “vital” driver for a webcam, video or audio card, Wi-Fi adapter, printer, etc.
The free program DriverPack Solution is designed to automate the processes of installing, updating, and searching for drivers in the Windows OS environment, and is distributed by the developer in several versions, including online and offline versions. The advantage of the latter is that to download almost any necessary driver for a sound card, network card, wi-fi, etc., an Internet connection is not required - all drivers are already in the DriverPack Solution program database, which can be written to a disk or flash drive , and be extremely useful from time to time, for example, when reinstalling the operating system. With all this, the main disadvantage of the offline version of DriverPack Solution can be considered the volume of the full database - almost 11 GB, which is unlikely to be acceptable for users with a slow or limited Internet connection.
In order not to download the entire driver database, but to find and install only those that require updating or are missing from the system, the developers offer an alternative solution in the form of an online version, which is absolutely free, easy to use, and its distribution is less than 3 MB in size. its only drawback (if it can be considered such) is the strictly mandatory presence of an Internet connection.
And so, how to find and install the necessary drivers using DriverPack Solution Online:
- Download the program (from the official website or from us);
- We launch the program, and we see something like the following (we strongly recommend choosing manual installation);
- In the “Install Drivers” menu we see a list of drivers that require updating (example in the screenshot), but we do not click the “Install All” button!
for the reason that I kindly suggest that we install some additional programs into the load (checkmarked in the screenshot), to open the list of programs, click on the “Software” menu (in the screenshot).
Thus, if you chose automatic installation at the initial stage, then along with the drivers, the programs marked with check marks (although not bad ones) would end up on the computer.
Then we just have to wait for the download and installation process to complete, click “Finish” and the process is complete.
In conclusion, let’s clarify this point - many users probably noticed on the left side of the DriverPack Solution Online menu the button “Do you want to disable Windows tracking?”
By clicking this button, after a short period of time, we see the message “Windows surveillance has been successfully disabled”, while the button works not only in Windows 10, where the problem of user data confidentiality is especially relevant, but also in other versions of the operating system from Microsoft - Windows 8 and Windows 7, in this regard, a reasonable question arises: “what exactly is disabled, and does this function work at all?”
This functionality works, but completely blocking the channel for transmitting user data (telemetry data) to Microsoft is extremely problematic. This is because, along with well-known data transmission channels that DriverPack Solution Online blocks (for example, some Windows updates, blocking requests to a number of currently known IP data collection servers, disabling various types of services responsible for sending “diagnostic data” ", prohibition of sending error reports to Microsoft, etc.), there are a number of channels that are still unknown, and besides, from time to time Microsoft introduces new ways of collecting data (for example, with the release of the next update), etc. Therefore, it is a priori impossible to completely disable surveillance in Windows, especially with regard to the Windows 10 OS.
