Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Update Your PC Drivers

By Vinny

Computers have several essential components-there's the hardware and the operating system of course, but there are also small pieces of software called drivers. Drivers are small software applications which allow hardware to communicate with the rest of the computer. Essentially, the drivers of a piece of hardware, such as a video card, act as a sort of bridge between the video card and the computer, providing the hardware with a set of instructions which tell it how to operate.

Computer drivers are, therefore, absolutely essential. It's essential also to understand how to keep your computer's drivers up-to-date. Device manufacturers usually release new drivers on their website for their products to fix critical and minor flaws found by consumers. Outdated drivers can reduce your computer's performance potential and may even cause serious problems if left to chance.

Another essential concept is different types of drivers your PC may use. Some pieces of hardware in your computer may use Windows drivers-a default set of drivers which were installed when your operating system was installed. Other pieces of hardware, such as your video card and sound card, may use their own set of drivers. Whether you're using Windows drivers or specific hardware drivers, it's important to ensure they're up-to-date, both to optimize your PC and to prevent crashes and other problems.

One of the most important reasons to keep your drivers up-to-date is simply that computer component manufacturing companies-particularly those which make video cards-release new and improved versions of drivers which improve the way the hardware operates. Updating the drivers for your video or sound card often improve the performance of the card and your entire computer, and may even provide you with some new features for the hardware.

Additionally, keeping your drivers up-to-date will help prevent crashes, because old and outdated drivers are more likely to become corrupt. When this happens the associated hardware may stop performing correctly-and this can often cause your computer to crash while carrying out certain operations.

Finally, if your computer is simply performing sluggishly, or there's something wrong and your efforts to determine the source of the problem haven't yet paid off, checking for new versions of the drivers your computer uses can often provide a solution.

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