CompTIA A+® Certification All-In-One For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

1.3. Updating Drivers

From time to time, software vendors update their drivers, and you can choose to not update them, manually update them, or use Windows Update. When these drivers make it to the Windows Update Web site or Microsoft Update Web site, if you have upgraded, you can add them to your updates by choosing the optional hardware components. If you choose to update the drivers manually, right-click the device in Device Manager and choose Update Driver or click the Update Driver button on the Driver tab. Because some drivers do make it to the Windows Update Web site, the first question you will be asked when you choose to update your driver is whether you want to check Windows Update for copies of the drivers. If you choose not to use Windows Update or if there are no updated drivers on the site, you can still update them manually.

The next step in the update process is either allowing Windows to automatically locate the drivers (Recommended) or having you manually specify a location for the drivers (Advanced). If you use the automatic method, Windows checks your currently installed INF files and the root directories of your removable media. If no matching drivers are found, you need to come back and choose Advanced, which allows you to recheck the same paths as well as specify a directory in which to look for drivers. If all else fails, you can select "Don't search. I will choose the drives I want to install." This option gives you a list of all drivers as well as a Have ...