Where can I get automatic driver updates?

tip from ClifNotes, Sept 2006, permalink

Gerald B writes in:

Hi Clif,

Could you please help again? Some of my drivers need updating but I can only find payware to automate these processes.
Can you recommend a free software to scan and automatically update my drivers? Your help is much appreciated.

Gerald

Clif writes

Hi Gerald,

It's nice to hear from you again. First let's get your drivers safely backed up before we muck around with them. If you are running Windows ME or Windows XP, I recommend that you set a system restore point before you update the drivers. If you have some other way of backing up your PC's system files, do that as well.

Now, try out this free driver backup program. http://freewarewiki.pbwiki.com/DoubleDriver

Next, I recommend a scan at PCPitStop.
http://www.pcpitstop.com/welcome.asp?source=driverscan&cs=1001

There are "automatic" update programs out there. I don't recommend any of them, and some can be nasty. My philosophy on drivers is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". If my system is running well and nothing seems broken or subject to exploits, then why would I want to update and possibly "break" it?

Best of wishes to you, and good luck!

Clif

PS: Oh, I forgot to mention. You don't have to get the drivers from the company affiliated with PCPitStop. Most times you can copy the name of the driver into Google and find it free somewhere. Try to find drivers at the original manufacturer's website if possible. If you have doubts about the website you find a driver at, try checking them out at siteadvisor.com.

Go to the manufacturer
I should have mentioned this first. Most PC manufacturers have updated drivers and software for each of their models. Here are a few links to the most popular support sites.

eMachine support
Toshiba support
IBM support
Gateway support
HP support
Dell support

Problems with PC Pit Stop's scan?
I'm afraid I hadn't tried out the scan before I wrote Gerald. I tried it later and found I wasn't happy with the search results it gives out. So I set about looking for an alternative. I found one I sort of didn't mind too much at RadarSync (still under review). Another way to find drivers is to use Catfish's wonderful UnknownDevices program. It doesn't find USB devices so it may not do well on newer systems. Finally, there are several good free PC auditing tools that will list your PC's devices and the driver versions. My recent favorite is WinAudit.

Recommendations from Comments
EdgarJ says: Clif, DLL-files is a good site to get driver downloads from. It's rated "green" by McAfee SiteAdvisor. I've found almost all missing drivers from this site.

Steven says: Clif, Without doubt, the best place I've found for drivers, is driverguide.com. Though registering is requested, it's not actually a requirement in my experience (downloaded a few drivers yesterday and simply clicked the "don't want to register" option). Just be sure to read the comments before downloading. As with any public download library, some individuals always seem to find it funny to upload malicious files disguised as drivers.

To everyone,
Do you have any suggestions about good places to find safe driver downloads? How about an easy way to see if you need to update your drivers? Do you update your drivers very often?

Clif


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