Windows 8 Bible

A Few Words About Device Drivers

As indicated in the previous section, device drivers enable the Windows operating system to communicate with and control devices. Although Windows 8 comes with a very large number of device drivers for a wide range of devices, most device drivers are written and distributed by the manufacturers of a given device. For example, your video adapter’s device driver was written by the company that designed and manufactured the adapter.

Device drivers are very much device-specific. That is, a device driver written for one device won’t work for a different type of device. For that reason, make sure you have the necessary device driver(s) for a device before you install it. If you have just purchased a new device that requires a device driver not included with Windows, that driver will be included with the new device, typically on a CD or available for download on the manufacturer’s website. Because the version of the device driver was developed specifically for the device, you don’t have to obtain an updated driver before installing the new device. However, you can certainly visit the manufacturer’s website to see if an updated driver is available that adds features or fixes issues with the version you have. We recommend installing the device with the driver you have, and then checking later for an updated driver as needed.