Since the release of Windows 7 nearly one month ago, a number of hardware manufacturers have come through with drivers for hardware. The list of non-supported hardware is also growing. If you’re having difficulty finding drivers for Windows, there are a few steps you can take.

Finding Drivers For Windows Without Getting Frustrated

Generally, you’re not likely to have much luck finding Windows 7 drivers for hardware that never got a Vista driver. If this is the case, you may want to seek out third-party drivers or generic drivers if your hardware is common.

If the manufacturer developed a driver for Vista, there’s at least a reasonable chance that they’ll either have developed a driver for Windows 7 or that the Vista driver will work for Windows 7. This isn’t a guarantee by any stretch, but it’s definitely worth the few minutes of your time that it may take to find the driver.

Just because the manufacturer made a driver for Vista doesn’t mean that the device will get Windows 7 support. Check with the manufacturer for their list of supported hardware devices in Windows 7. The manufacturer may also supply information about older hardware and what to do if you have an older model.

Microsoft encouraged hardware manufacturers to supply drivers prior to the release of Windows 7, but many manufacturers are just now releasing their drivers and providing information about what models will and won’t be supported. Models that don’t initially get a new driver may be on a lower-priority schedule, so check with the manufacturer to see if driver support for your device has either been ruled out or delayed.

If the thought of going through an endless number of manufacturers to find driver information is making you queasy, try using a driver management program like Driver Detective. Driver Detective is certified to work on all versions of Windows and will locate, download and install drivers for you. Better than that, Driver Detective will manage the drivers you have installed, removing old ones and installing new ones as updates are received. It will also make sure that a damaged driver gets replaced before it can cause problems for you or the rest of your system.

Driver Detective has been downloaded more than 1,000,000 times by users around the world, who trust Driver Detective to keep their system in good working order at all times. If managing drivers for your computer hardware isn’t where you’re at, consider using Driver Detective instead.

Photo Credit: Nezemnaya, via Flickr