Tip #4085 - Keep Your Drivers Updated
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Keep
Your Drivers Updated
“Make sure you
keep your drivers up to date” is probably something you've all heard
before when it comes to dealing with computer problems. Am I right?
Well, it makes sense
(you can check out WorldStart's article on it here
for some further verification), especially if you're having performance
problems. In that case, at least getting the latest drivers will eliminate
that aspect of the problem. But, you should also make sure you set a restore
point before you do that (see this article
for help on getting that done).
Whatever the problem
is, you're probably asking yourself, "How do I know what drivers
need updating?" Or, similarly, "Which ones are out of date?"
Well, that's exactly
what I'm going to help you with today. Allow me to direct you to a Web
site that will not only carry out that check for you (without cost), but
it will also tell you where you can get the latest drivers if you need
to update some of yours. Let's check it out!
First, head on over
to the Secunia Web site here.
Once you're there, download their Software Inspector.
The page will look
like this:
Next, click on the
large blue Start Now button.
At this stage, you
may be asked if you really want this program to run on your computer (see
below). Click on Yes if you do.
Now, there are two
things to note here:
First, if you have
any programs installed anywhere else besides the usual locations (for
example, C:/Program Files), click the box that says "Enable
thorough system inspection."
Second, toward the
bottom of the panel, you will see a status text, which indicates that
everything is working fine, like this:
(If after a short
while, you get an error message saying it cannot load the Java applet,
you will need to update your Java program. You can go here
and get the latest version for your operating system. If that doesn’t
work, you'll get into areas beyond the scope of this article, so I suggest
you leave this project alone for the time being. Or, you can go to the
end of this article and read the Addendum section).
Now, it's time to
be a little patient, because it will take some time for the Security Inspector
to go through your PC and check out what you have installed.
While you’re
waiting, you might like to fill in the Reminder Service form so that you
can get details via e-mail each time a driver is updated. That way, you
won't have to run the program as often.
Eventually, the program
will have done its work and you should get a screen like (but not identical)
to this one:
At a glance, you can
see which drivers/programs are up to date (checkmarked) and which ones
are not (crossed out).
But besides that,
if the drivers are out of date, you will also be given a link to the manufacturer’s
Web site where you may download the current version. What could be easier?!
And that’s it,
really. It's very simple, very easy, very efficient and best of all, it's
free! What more could you ask for?!
Addendum
You should also note
that on the Web page, they are offering a beta version of a new program
called The Secunia PSI.
This is a program
you can download to your computer that will keep a constant check on your
driver situation and it will let you know immediately when a new driver
is available.
Caution: This
is a beta version, which means it is not a stable release version and
if you download it, you're doing so at your own risk. No responsibility
will be taken for any problems it might cause.
We here at WorldStart
do not recommend you do this, but we do recommend that you keep an eye
on this page to see when it becomes available as a released program. Then
you should consider downloading it for your own use.
Either way, I hope
you find this program as useful as I already do!
~ David Woodford
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