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Why do so many errors occur with Drivers?

Unfortunately, device drivers are just as susceptible to corruption as any other type of program or file on a computer. One of the primary causes of driver corruption is the presence of viruses or spyware. A virus can be responsible for the deletion of files and programs including device drivers. Another unexpected cause of driver malfunction is an improper shutdown. Quite often, when a computer isn’t shut down properly, files are lost or at the very least damaged.

As with any other program on your computer, human error is another problem that can manifest itself through the accidental deletion of one or more device drivers. While it is possible for someone who is familiar with computers to accidentally delete a driver, it is even more likely with someone who does not have an extensive knowledge of computers, operating systems, and the hardware that is often used on them.

If you start noticing minor errors with the functioning of your computer’s hardware, the problem could fall within the scope of the failure to properly upgrade the device drivers. As technological advances are made and as people upgrade their computer’s operating system, an upgrade in the device drivers for the hardware is essential.

Whenever your hardware begins to exhibit signs that it is not functioning properly, this could be an indication that it is time to update the drivers. In fact, updating your device drivers on a regular basis might enhance the performance of your hardware. This is primarily due to the enhanced communication offered by the driver between the computer and the hardware.

Since technology is constantly changing, updating the device drivers for your equipment becomes a normal part of maintenance. Simply because newer versions have been manufactured for each type of hardware does not mean that you need to go out and upgrade your equipment. In most cases, simply updating the drivers is sufficient to keep you up to date.

If your equipment does not work properly, the most likely culprit is a faulty device driver. Since drivers are specific to the operating system that exists on your computer, it is important to realize that you might need to update your drivers if you update your operating system. Once you reinstall your driver, the hardware should begin working properly again.

In some cases, the manufacturer detects problems with a device driver after it has already been released to the public. Whenever that occurs, the manufacturer usually updates the driver to include any necessary modifications. Additionally, whenever the manufacturer implements new technology for its devices, these improvements or additional features are included in an updated version of the driver. Typically, the device functions on an improved level after such modifications are implemented. This equates to a newer and improved version of the hardware at no additional cost since the driver updates are free.

In some cases, device drivers can experience a conflict with other installed drivers, leading to errors. In many cases, updating the drivers can readily solve their problem for you.

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Do viruses have specifically defined device drivers?

Computer viruses typically arrive at your computer via another program or document that you have downloaded or transferred from another location. They are often piggybacked along with emails or document files as a method of infecting a computer easily and quickly, usually without your knowledge. Viruses can create problems for a computer or they can destroy a computer completely.

In fact, many viruses are more than capable of copying themselves silently and effortlessly. Furthermore, a computer user can unwittingly transfer a virus from one computer to another by carrying it on a CD, floppy, or USB drive. Viruses can also be transmitted when a networked computer accesses an infected file system.

Viruses can completely reformat a hard drive. They can also damage programs to the point of destroying their ability to function. Plus, viruses have been known to delete files or cause other disruptive problems. Viruses typically imbed themselves into existing programs on the computer.

Some of today’s viruses have evolved into devious combinations of a virus with wormlike functionality. These hybrids enter the computer through normal means such as an email attachment. Once executed, they begin to execute codes that continue the infection into other computers via networking or file sharing.

It is possible to remove viruses from your computer using special anti-virus software that has been designed specifically for detecting and removing viruses. This is the recommended course of action if you want to return your computer to normal functioning capacity.

Viruses come in many different packages and with an entire plethora of goals. However, the one thing that all viruses have in common is the fact that they are all some type of computer program or software application. Since viruses are a type of software, they do not utilize device drivers, which are designed specifically for computer hardware.

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Device Drivers

A device driver allows a specific piece of hardware to interact with your computer. It provides the necessary information that the hardware needs in order to function properly with your computer. A device driver has been created for every hardware device including basic hardware such as a printer, mouse, keyboard, disk drive, scanner, monitor, speakers, and many more.

Device drivers act as translators that function between the computer and the individual device it is designed for. Depending on your particular set up, your computer can include a number of add on hardware devices in addition to the basic hardware it requires in order to be functional. This can include any of the following items: DVD drive, CD-ROM drive, scanner, game controllers, sound cards, and more. Plus, more and more computer users are adding on devices such as MP3 players, digital cameras, video cameras, and more.

In some instances, device drivers for various pieces of hardware come with the operating system. This is typically the case with standard or basic equipment including the mouse, keyboard, monitor, and disk drive. With add-on hardware, the device drivers are usually included on the installation disk as well as the restore disk. If you connect a device to your driver without having an installation disk at hand, you might need to locate a driver for it through the manufacturer.
Generic drivers might provide some functionality to certain pieces of hardware. However, this functionality will be limited since the driver is not privy to all of the specific information that is pertinent to the specific hardware device. Generic drivers typically provide basic functionality by allowing basic commands to be translated between the computer and its hardware without allowing for more refined commands to function.

Device drivers tell the operating system how to interact with the hardware. As technology advances and variations or improvements are added to various hardware items, changes in device drivers become necessary in order to maintain the highest level of performance.

The difference between Plug-and Play devices and hardware that comes with an installation disk loaded with specific drivers is simple. Plug-and Play devices are readily recognized by the operating system of your computer. This allows the system to automatically load the driver that is required to permit the device to function properly.

Additionally, device drivers are often included on disk with specific types of add on hardware. Plus, device drivers can often be downloaded from the manufacturer’s website.

Drivers provide the necessary information to the computer to allow the device to function. They provide a description of the hardware and its requirement s to the operating system. Without the specific device driver that your piece of equipment needs, the device would not be able to function. You should always retain the disk that includes the device drivers in the event that your computer’s files are corrupted and reinstallation becomes necessary.

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Updating USB Drivers

USB ports come in two flavors: regular and enhanced (USB 2.0). USB 2.0 devices offer faster transfer speeds are backwards compatible with USB. If your computer was built after 2002, it most likely has USB 2.0-enabled ports meaning that you have one or more host controllers that are USB 2.0 enhanced.

How do you know if you have USB or USB 2.0? The Device Manager will tell you. Start the Device Manager through the Control Panel. Look under the System icon and then click Device Manager. Scroll to the bottom of the list where you’ll see Universal Serial Bus controllers. Expand the category by clicking the plus sign. Look for the word “enhanced.” If you see an enhanced controller, you do have USB 2.0.

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If your computer was built prior to 2002, you may have USB 2.0 host controllers but not the USB driver required. Windows XP and 2000 were release before hardware using USB 2.0 came out.

If you don’t find an enhanced controller, look under Other Devices and see if any Universal Serial Bus controllers show up in that category. If so, they’ll likely have a yellow triangle with an exclamation point in them, indicating that the USB driver is lacking. This usually means that you have enhanced USB ports but the drivers haven’t been installed.

If you have Windows XP, the USB drivers were released in SP1. Use Windows Update to update your operating system if you haven’t done so already.

To reinstall the USB driver, double-click it in Device Manager and click Reinstall Driver. This launches the New Hardware wizard. Choose “Install the software automatically” and follow the prompts. You will need to reboot the computer when the process finishes.

If you have a computer built after 2002 but find that your USB ports are no longer functioning properly, it could also indicate a problem with the USB driver. Device drivers can fail. When system files get damaged, the processes that rely on the files, including hardware like USB ports, also fail. Restoring the damaged or missing system files solves the other symptoms.

How do you know if you need a USB driver? Once again, take a look at Device Manager. Go to the Universal Serial Bus controller category and look for yellow error icons. If an icon is present, something is wrong with the device. Double-click the device and see what the General tab’s message says. It usually has an indication of what’s wrong such as “missing driver.”

To update the driver, use the Driver tab and choose Update Driver. Next, select the option that lets Device Manager search automatically for updates. If any USB driver updates are available, Device Manager will automatically install them.

You can also download drivers directly from the manufacturer’s website. For example, if the USB devices on your system are from Intel, go to Intel’s website and look for their USB drivers section. Make sure to get the exact USB driver for your device and operating system.

In addition to these steps, you can also set up Windows Update to keep your computer updated with the latest updates from Microsoft. Along with operating system updates and hotfixes, Microsoft also includes major hardware driver updates with the updating service as you saw in the USB driver update in SP 1 for Windows XP. By keeping your computer updated, you’ll avoid many potential problems.

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Hewlett Packard (HP) Drivers

Installing new HP drivers involves a different process than installing updated device drivers for your other hardware devices. Normally, when you need to install or update a new driver, you’d go into Device Manager and take care of it there.

However, you may have noticed that printers are not listed in any of the categories. If you need to update a printer driver such as an HP driver, you will need to bypass the Device Manager and head directly to the Control Panel.

Go into the Control Panel and find the Printer icon, double-clicking it to see its contents. Now, find your HP printer in the list and right click it. Choose Properties.

The dialog box that you’ll see will be fairly complex with multiple tabs and options. When you are working with an HP driver, the tab you’ll be most interested in is the Advanced tab.

In this section, you’ll see an area covering the HP driver. In this example, you’ll see that the HP driver is an HP Deskjet 6980 series driver. What if you want to use a different HP driver? You can click the down arrow and choose other currently installed device drivers though unless you’ve installed other compatible drivers, the list may not be terribly useful. Instead, click on the New Driver button. This launches the Add Printer Driver Wizard.

This wizard will walk you through the various steps involved in adding a new printer driver including a new HP driver. First, the wizard creates a list of printer manufacturers. Scroll through the list until you find HP.

Clicking HP will populate the right side pane with related HP drivers. Scroll through until you find the one that matches your HP printer. If you have a disk or have downloaded the HP driver earlier, click the Have Disk button instead. Follow the wizard’s prompts to install the selected HP printer.

If this wizard does not list a driver for your HP printer or for the series that matches your printer, you’ll need to either use the supplied device driver on CD or download a fresh driver from the HP website.

HP’s website is loaded with updated device drivers for HP and Compaq products. If you need an updated HP driver, this website should be your first stop. The HP printer driver page is located here: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/

You’ll find updated drivers for all of the supported HP and Compaq printers. First, find your product in the list and click it. Next, choose your language in the drop down text box.

Now, choose your operating system. This used to be easy; you either had a Windows or Mac and you knew the operating system. These days, if you have Windows Vista, that’s not good enough. You need to know which version of Vista you have: Business, Home (Basic or Premium), Enterprise, Ultimate, or Starter. Even if you know which version, you’ll need to take it to the next level: 32-bit or 64-bit version?         

It’s important to select the right operating system because each HP driver is written for communicating with your specific operating system. Download the wrong version and you’ll get unexpected, and unsatisfactory, results.

Once you find the HP driver on the HP website, compare its version number to the version on your computer. To do this, move away from the Advanced tab of the printer properties dialog box and click the About tab. You’ll see the version number along the top.

Installing or updating an HP driver for your HP printer isn’t difficult, it’s just different than what you may be used to with other devices. Remember, anytime you need to work with the printer drivers, go straight to the Control Panel and find the Printers icon. Who knows exactly why other than Microsoft, but printers have their own system for dealing with device drivers. This system is completely separate from the Device Manager.

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Microsoft Device Manager

Microsoft Windows comes with a useful little utility that most computer users should take some time getting familiar with called the Device Manager.

Let’s face it, computers don’t always cooperate. Devices stop working, programs lock up, memory runs low, and computers crash. Some of these problems are caused by having too many resources running at once; others are the result of virus attacks; others are due to invalid registry entries; and some are because the device drivers are damaged or out of date.

Those are just a few of the dozens of potential causes of system errors. Troubleshooting your computer is an involved process and one of the first steps is to rule out hardware issues as the cause. Once you know that all of your system hardware is fine, you can then move on to other tasks such as virus removal, system maintenance, or registry cleaning. The Device Manager helps you rule out hardware problems; it also features basic troubleshooting tools that you can use should problems be found.

To use Device Manager, go into the Control Panel and find the Device Manager icon. Depending on the current view you have set up, this icon may show up right away or you may need to click the System icon first. Once Device Manager opens, you’ll see a list of hardware categories such as: computer, disk drives, display adapters, DVD/CD-ROM drives, keyboards, monitors, and so on. Each category has a small plus sign to its left. When you click the plus sign, the list expands to show the installed devices that fall under that category. For example, if you click the category called Mice and Other Pointing Devices, you’ll see all installed pointing devices such as your mouse and touchpad.

The list in Device Manager also has tiny icons which give you a visual indication of the installed device. A small image of a keyboard is next to the Keyboard category; a speaker icon is next to the category for sound cards. If a device is experiencing some sort of problem, you’ll see a bright yellow triangle with an exclamation point inside. This indicates that the device is malfunctioning.

Okay, so you now know that a device is malfunctioning. In fact, you may have already known that based on the fact that it hasn’t been working properly (like no sound coming out of the sound card). Now what?

If you double-click on the device that has the yellow triangle, you’ll see a dialog box with several tabs. The General tab should show an error code inside explaining the problem. For example, it might say something like “the device driver is damaged or missing” or “the device is disabled.” Depending on the nature of the error, a button may appear that you can use to remedy or troubleshoot the error. For example, if the device has been disabled, you’ll see a button that says “Enable Device.”

The Driver tab is an important feature of Device Manager. Here, you’ll see options for updating and rolling back the driver. If you ever need to install or update device drivers, this is where you do it. You have several different ways to obtain driver updates. One way is to click the Update Driver button and then choose the “Search Automatically” option. Device Manager then searches for updates on the Internet and then automatically installs any update found. Another way is to manually obtain driver updates from the manufacturer and then use Device Manager’s “Browse My Computer” option. A third way is to use third party device driver tools.

No matter which way you choose to update your drivers, it’s important to do so periodically because even if your device is currently running fine, updated drivers often address known issues and repair bugs. By keeping your devices current, you’ll prevent many potential problems. When your devices are acting up, updating or reinstalling the device drivers may solve your problems. At the very least, use Device Manager as a tool to rule out device problems when troubleshooting system errors.

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