In its 26-year evolution, Windows has come a long way. One area in which it may never excel, however, is with device drivers and automatic updates. The major problem, which is largely out of Microsoft’s control, is that device drivers generally aren’t made by Microsoft. Instead, device manufacturers write, update and distribute device drivers.

Updates Will Never Be Fully Automatic

Microsoft will distribute device drivers from manufacturers, provided that the device drivers are up to Microsoft’s driver standards and that the manufacturer makes the driver available for distribution. Not all device manufacturers choose to distribute drivers like this, so not all device drivers are distributed via Windows Update.

While some device drivers are part of the “automatic update” routine, others are left behind. By itself, this may leave some users with the mistaken impression that all device drivers they need, want or use will be delivered to their computer as updates become available. In reality, some device drivers are distributed automatically and others aren’t.

For those device drivers that are not automatically updated, the user must make the effort to go out to the manufacturer website, locate the correct driver, download it and install it. One key ingredient – letting a user know that a new driver is available – is missing. Unless the user is paying attention, or has an application installed to flag updated device drivers, the user could go for months or years not even realizing that a new device driver is available.

That’s precisely why I use Driver Detective to manage and maintain all of the device drivers on my personal computers. Driver Detective takes the work out of device driver maintenance by monitoring for driver updates. It also monitors the performance of my installed drivers and lets me know when a device driver is missing, corrupted or otherwise misbehaving.

Driver Detective stores a local copy of the device driver, so if replacement is required, the new installation can take place quickly, without having to go out to the manufacturer’s website and download a fresh copy. When a new driver is available, Driver Detective retrieves the new driver and installs it, retaining a backup copy of the old driver in the event I want to roll back to an older driver version.

Best of all, I don’t have to remember to check the hardware manufacturer’s websites for driver updates. Driver Detective does all of that for me and maintains a library of the drivers I need for my specific hardware configuration. Download your copy of Driver Detective today and see what you’ve been missing out on!

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Certain application updates generate big news, but for the most part, application updates – especially those that don’t involve a version number change – don’t generate a whole lot of press. That is, unless something goes horribly wrong with the new version. Windows drivers tend to fall into that category but that doesn’t mean they don’t have an impact on application performance.

OS Faux Pas Are Legendary

Most of the time, we hear about OS failures, spectacular or otherwise. A new version of the OS comes out and all heck can break loose. Applications, on the other hand rarely gain much attention, possibly because even the most popular applications aren’t as embedded in the marketplace as operating systems are.

When you download and install a new application or an application update, and you’re not entirely happy with the performance, before you blame the new software code or roll it back to an older version, be sure to check out your drivers and make sure that you’re running the latest versions.

That could include the latest versions of your sound and graphics drivers, which can be critical for a satisfying gaming experience. If you use your computer to do heavy-duty computing – like number-crunching or graphic design/engineering work, you’ll also want to be sure that your graphics drivers are in good working order.

For games or other applications that run simultaneously from the hard disk and a CD-ROM or DVD, you’ll also want to check the drivers for your media drive(s). If your old drivers can’t keep up, they can seriously impede the flow of data between the drive and the processor.

Don’t rely on Microsoft to dole out the driver updates you need. Not all manufacturers use the Microsoft distribution option, so you could find yourself operating under the mistaken assumption that your drivers are up-to-date when in fact, they’re not.

For me, I can think of few less appealing ways to spend my time than downloading driver updates. As a technician, I’m paid to maintain computers all the time, but when I’m on my own time, I try to maximize my return and minimize my efforts, all while keeping my PC completely updated.

That’s why I use Driver Detective to maintain my PC hardware drivers. Driver Detective downloads, installs and backs up copies of my current driver, ensuring that my drivers are always updated. I can also roll back a new driver to an older version if I’m not happy with the performance of the new installation.

Driver Detective has been downloaded and used by millions of users who swear by it. Download a copy today and see for yourself what a difference regular driver maintenance can make.

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Microsoft has learned the hard way from Vista (and to a lesser extent, Windows 7) the importance of getting third-party drivers available when rolling out a new OS. That very hard lesson – which is credited with sinking the commercial success of Vista – is once again being dusted off in preparation for the Windows 8 release. Will third-party drivers still be problematic for the latest iteration of the Windows OS?

Driver Development Isn’t Controlled By Microsoft

Unfortunately, Microsoft still faces the same challenges regarding drivers for third-party hardware it faced for all other releases of Windows. Another not-so-fortunate fact is that Windows 8 is substantially different from Windows 7/Vista. The hardware manufacturers are going to have to come through in order to ensure that Windows 8 is a commercial success.

One of the big differences this time around is that consumers actually want Windows 8. Windows 8 is designed to provide big-time support to the mobile computing devices users simply can’t seem to get enough of. That will serve as a good motivator for some third-party manufacturers to get their drivers out the door and in good working order on Launch Day – whenever that might be.

Don’t get me wrong. Windows 8 isn’t meant exclusively for mobile devices. There will still be reasons (and hopefully good ones) to update non-mobile computers to the newest OS, too. Mobile device manufacturers will be ready out of the gate. The question still remains for the non-mobile device manufacturers – do they plan to come to the party?

Windows 8 represents a very different shift from Windows 7, so initially, users can expect some delays in getting device drivers for their current devices. They can also expect some manufacturers to drop support for even relatively new devices, as they did when Vista first hit store shelves. The standard issues with device compatibility will arise, and a large number of users – particularly at the enterprise level – will wait until the first service pack or better to migrate to Windows 8.

The “first service pack” benchmark is telltale. Those third party manufacturers who have updated drivers by that point are in the game, and those who haven’t produced working drivers for their existing hardware probably won’t. For those users who have just upgraded to Windows 7, the prospect of going on more device driver hunts probably isn’t too exciting.

Nonetheless, Windows 8 is rumored for a late-2012 release. With review copies already on the street, the pressure is officially on third-party manufacturers to build drivers that are ready for business on Opening Day.

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Microsoft announced last week that Windows 8 will not be a distribution channel for third-party application updates. The statement doesn’t change the current arrangement for (read: Windows driver updates ) in its regular “Patch Tuesday” loads. Some users had been hoping that Microsoft would tackle the responsibility of delivering application updates through a single, uniform updater tool, provided by Microsoft through the OS. Microsoft put the kibosh on that, saying that application updating is just too darned complicated.

Change Means That Third-Parties Are On Their Own For Distributions

This doesn’t change things for Windows driver updates, however, not all third-party manufacturers update their drivers through the Windows Update feature. The change in policy for Windows 8 means that users will have to remain on duty when it comes to keeping their Windows applications up-to-date.

In terms of device drivers, the status quo doesn’t guarantee that users have the latest device drivers, and that’s going to continue in Windows 8. Right now, the experience of updating device drivers is a mixed bag. With some third parties participating in Windows Update and others doing their own thing, users need to keep track of what’s being updated regularly and what isn’t.

For busy users, or for those who are not technically savvy, a better approach to driver maintenance is using a driver management utility like Driver Detective. Driver Detective determines – based on your computer system – what driver updates you need and downloads them right to your computer. The updates are installed and a backup copy of the current driver is stored locally, in case something happens to the active copy. You can also roll back to an older version of the driver if a new driver update doesn’t behave the way you think it should.

You don’t have to remember to check for updates. Driver Detective does that for you. You also don’t have to keep track of a lot of hardware configuration information, because Driver Detective does that, too! This is ideal for manufactures that use multiple third party component options within a single model. Driver Detective determines what your system needs – not based on the model number of your computer – but based on the components actually installed in your system. If you update a video card, add a different mouse, or attach a new peripheral device, Driver Detective can track and maintain those devices, too.

Driver Detective is one of the best driver management utilities available today. Millions of users have already downloaded it and rely on it to keep their computer systems up to date. Download your copy today and say goodbye to outdated device driver problems!

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