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Ensure your system drivers are up to date

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Ensure your system drivers are up to date

Postby Steve Grisetti » Thu Feb 25, 2010 8:48 am

A great, free tool for automatically ensuring that all of your drivers are up to date is Device Doctor, available from http://www.devicedoctor.com/

This program will scan your drive and recommend driver updates, when available. Although the program is free, a voluntary donation is encouraged.

The program also offers to install a free toolbar -- which I recommend you decline.
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Re: Ensure your system drivers are up to date

Postby Jayell » Thu Feb 25, 2010 9:51 am

Great idea, Steve. I'm one who doesn't generally stay up with those .. as long as everything's working OK :razz: .. but probably a good idea to check now and then.
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Re: Ensure your system drivers are up to date

Postby Chuck Engels » Thu Feb 25, 2010 10:24 am

I would recommend caution if you have a proprietary machine like a Dell or HP.
Sometimes the standard drivers put out by the manufacturers are not made for those machines.
Many times Dell and HP have special versions of hardware, and/or drivers, created specifically for their machines. All I am saying is to be sure you know what you are updating and if the update is correct for your machine. Installing the wrong driver can render your computer useless and can be very difficult to uninstall.
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Re: Ensure your system drivers are up to date

Postby Jayell » Thu Feb 25, 2010 10:52 am

Interesting Chuck. I never knew that. I own a couple Dell's.
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Re: Ensure your system drivers are up to date

Postby Peru » Thu Feb 25, 2010 11:01 am

Chuck Engels wrote:I would recommend caution if you have a proprietary machine like a Dell or HP.
Sometimes the standard drivers put out by the manufacturers are not made for those machines.
Many times Dell and HP have special versions of hardware, and/or drivers, created specifically for their machines. All I am saying is to be sure you know what you are updating and if the update is correct for your machine. Installing the wrong driver can render your computer useless and can be very difficult to uninstall.


Agreed.

On another forum in which I participate, there have been many threads about several different driver update applications causing all kinds of havoc to systems.
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Re: Ensure your system drivers are up to date

Postby Steve Grisetti » Thu Feb 25, 2010 11:53 am

For what it's worth, in my test drive of Device Doctor, it actually did link my HP computer back to the HP site to pick up some of its updated drivers -- so I think it's got that covered.
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Re: Ensure your system drivers are up to date

Postby Peru » Thu Feb 25, 2010 8:17 pm

Well, maybe some work ok. :)
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Re: Ensure your system drivers are up to date

Postby Chuck Engels » Thu Feb 25, 2010 8:21 pm

It's good to hear that Steve. I still think it is best to be cautious with anything as critical as a device driver. If you install the wrong video driver it can cause some terrible problems. When your computer screen is black it's hard to uninstall something. I know this from experience ;)

Just want everyone to be careful and know what they are playing with.
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