Don’t assume that a corrupted Windows driver will render your hardware device non-functional. A corrupted driver can still partially work, making troubleshooting somewhat more difficult. In today’s post, I cover some signs and symptoms of a corrupted driver. If your system consistently experiences these problems, you may want to consider replacing the suspect driver.

A Dud Driver Isn’t Always A Dead Driver

The first sign of a driver problem may be a Windows error message. Unfortunately, Windows error messages may not be very specific or accurate when it comes to indicating that there may be a driver or hardware problem. Complicating the matter is that some devices are powered on when you boot the computer and some external devices are powered separately. If you receive error messages when you turn on a peripheral device, or the computer cannot reliably detect the external device, that’s a good indication that your driver may need replacement.

If your system crashes when you try to access a hardware device, or behaves erratically when you are working with a driver-dependent piece of hardware, you may have a corrupted driver on your system. If you can never see the device from the computer, or you can see it but cannot access it, this may also indicate a driver replacement is in order.

Poor device function is a good indicator of trouble. This is especially true of video and audio peripherals. If you experience poor sound quality, dropouts, video flashing, poor resolution or other similar problems, consider updating or replacing the suspected audio or video driver.

If you’ve recently installed a new hardware device or driver and suddenly experience problems, the new device driver may be the cause. Be sure to keep your system and drivers updated at all times. Microsoft has gone a long way toward eliminating driver conflicts (very common problem in much older versions of the OS) and resource conflicts, but a new driver can upset the apple cart. The best way to avoid conflicts is to update your drivers and system regularly and apply all OS patches as they are made available.

I recommend the use of Driver Detective for all hardware driver management functions. Driver Detective will track, download, install and archive the hardware drivers required for your particular computer configuration. If drivers become corrupted or lost, Driver Detective will install a fresh copy, thereby eliminating many driver problems.

Photo Credit: everdred, via Flickr