Resources

Acer Drivers

If you own an Acer notebook or desktop computer, an Acer monitor, projector or LCD display, or an Acer modem or Bluetooth device, you will need to ensure you have the latest Acer driver programs.

In simple terms, a driver provides the interface instructions between the main computer and any hardware connected to the computer, such as printers, digital cameras, servers, fax machines, web cameras, and scanners. 

If you want your Acer computer to work at peak efficiency with any devices, even from other branded companies, it is worthwhile checking out the Acer website and downloading the latest Acer drivers that are compatible with your computer.

Acer has specific drivers for all models of Acer notebooks, including:

• Extensa series from 2000 to 7630;
• Travel Mate series 200 -800, 2000 - 8210 and C100-C370;
• Aspire series from Aspire One to models in the range of 2420 to 5050; and
• Ferrari Notebook models from 1000 to 5000.

You can download audio, chipset, LAN, Lifeview, Modem, S3, and TV Leadtek drivers for the range of Acer desktop computer systems, including:

• Veriton series including models starting with L, M, S, T, and X, 3200 - 7500G and the FP2 models;
• Power series including any model numbers starting with F, M, S, K or 8600;
• Extensa series models from E210 to E464, and M261; and the
• Aspire series starting with X, M, L, SA, RC, T and iDEA.

Acer also has a variety of drivers available to enable any brand of computer to connect properly to Acer’s communication devices including modems, ADSL /ISDN, wireless LAN and Bluetooth.

If you have purchased an Acer product, including LCD display screens, projectors, CRT monitors, TVs, handheld PCs or multimedia devices such as USB sticks and USB flash drives, CD writer, or Acer Easy Store, you will be able to download an appropriate driver to enable your computer’s operating system to communicate effectively with your Acer device.

Acer offers technical support and advice via email contacts on the website. This feature, and the how to guides, are available in many different languages. 

To ensure your Acer computer or components can work at the optimum efficiency all the time; make sure you have downloaded the latest Acer drivers.

I do not have the disk to my Memorex 6142u scanner. I was wondering if there was any free software that I could download so that I can use my scanner.

Fortunately, many manufacturers provide software downloads as well as online manuals and installation guides for many of the devices that they make. Memorex is one of these companies. Keep reading to find the links that you need to get your scanner up and running again.

Where to Download Memorex 6142u Scanner Software

Memorex offers a free download for the software that came with its 6142u scanner. Simply follow this link to access the page where it is listed: 6142u Software Download. Look on the right-hand side of the screen and click on the link below the title, Downloads. For the best results, close all other applications before downloading your software. Make sure that you save the download to a location where you can readily find it.

Where to Download Memorex 6142 USB Scanner Installation Guide

On the off chance that you no longer have your installation guide handy for the Memorex 6142u scanner either, I’ve discovered an online version that is accessible to you free of charge. Simply follow this link to access it: Memorex 6142u Scanner. It will take you through each step that you need to install your scanner along with strategies for using it and cleaning it.

Tips for Securing Installation Disks/Software/Guides

One of the best pieces of advice that I can offer to a fellow computer user is to purchase a sturdy folder, CD case, small box, or accordion folder to store all of your installation disks/software/guides in. Quite often, it isn’t until we have a problem or switch computers that we want to place our hands onto the software that we need. Then, many of us discover that we can’t find it. Take the time to create a small storage location for your installation disks/software/guides today to prevent this from happening to you again.

How can I transfer a network driver onto a CD, before I format my computer? I run XP and it does not have a network driver for my computer.

Fortunately, there are a number of websites that offer tools for downloading the device drivers that we need to use our computers. All you’ll need is access to the Internet, a storage device such as a CD or flash drive, and the correct website to use. You can also use software such as Driver Genius, DriverCure, or Driver Detective in order to locate the backup drivers that you need.

What is Driver Genius?

Driver Genius is an application that has been designed to help computer users keep their devices updated with the latest drivers. It lets you copy the drivers that you need. It’s always nice to have a backup copy of a driver or two just in case you need them.

Currently, version 8 of this application is available with a free trail download that you can access here: Driver Genius. Once you download it, you will be amazed by how easy it is to use. The instructions are easy to follow and all you need to do is look in the left-hand side of the screen and select your option. In regard to the drivers you need to use on the computer, Driver Genius will allow you to:

• backup drivers
• restore drivers
• uninstall drivers
• update drivers
• use a variety of functions including tools, options, help, and LiveUpdate

It also features an option that you can use to obtain the latest updates on the drivers that you use. This will keep you informed whenever improvements have been made to existing drivers.

What is Driver Cure?

Driver Cure is a tool that makes it easy to keep all of your system’s device drivers current. A huge database of over 4000 software programs and over 3000 hardware vendors is constantly updated with the latest device drivers. This particular product is easy to use and is even compatible with Windows Vista 64-bit version.

What is Driver Detective?

Driver Detective features more than one million drivers for computer devices. It does all of the hard work for you since it scans your computer and identifies which device drivers you need. It saves you from having to track down all of the information you need in order to find backup drivers for your devices. Plus, it does it quickly. Plus, you can burn the backup driver to a CD or use an alternate form of storage media.

To obtain the manufacturer-specific device drivers that you need, access this link: Driver Detective.

All of the instructions are provided for you in an easy-to-understand manner so that you can readily obtain and save the backup drivers that you need for your computer. It’s a simple matter of selecting from among the available options.

Manual Driver Downloads

Any of these products is a good choice for users concerned about keeping their drivers current. The Driver Genius trial version allows you to backup your current drivers to disk and restore them later, so that may be a good choice. If you don’t want to go the software route, you can copy your network driver to CD by going to the Web site of your network adapter and downloading the latest version of the driver directly to your CD. Simply find the correct download and when the screen appears asking you to save it, save the download to your CD-R drive. After reinstalling Windows, use the CD to install the driver.

What are Drivers anyway?

The average personal computer contains tens of thousands of different files, from essential operating system files and hidden system files to precious and irreplaceable user data.  Keeping all of these files working smoothly is quite a task, and given the complexity of modern systems it is amazing things work as well as they do.

Of course problems do arise from time to time, and when that happens it is a good idea for the computer user to have some idea what is going on behind the scenes.  Understanding a bit about how the various files and systems interact can help PC owners pinpoint the source of the problem and resolve it before major issues arise.

One of the most important class of files PC owners should understand are device drivers.  These files are generally quite small, but they are very important.  When there is a problem with a device driver printers, scanners and other pieces of hardware may suddenly stop working, putting a major crimp in productivity and causing other problems.

So just what are device drivers, and why are these tiny files so important?  Simply put, device drivers help the computer’s operating system - the software - talk to the various pieces of hardware installed on the system.  These pieces of hardware include everything from printers and scanners to digital cameras and external backup drives.  The device drivers allow the computer’s operating system to “see” each piece of hardware and effortlessly send instructions to it.

In addition to printers, scanners, digital cameras and the like, a number of other system components generally require device drivers in order to operate properly.  These components can include keyboards, mice, game controllers, sound boards, graphics cards, CD and DVD readers or burners and more.

Of course most of this is transparent to the end user, and many computer owners never know that all those device drivers are working so hard to make the hardware work.  Creators of computer operating systems like Microsoft’s Windows family of products already include a wide array of device drivers in their code.  This makes it easy for the operating system to recognize and load the appropriate driver as each new piece of hardware is added to the system. 

When the operating system is first installed it looks for installed pieces of hardware and loads the appropriate driver.  When new hardware is added later on the operating system again searches for device drivers and loads them automatically.

While most of the time device drivers will be loaded automatically and everything will work as intended, occasionally the operating system will not be able to find the proper device driver.  When that happens computer owners will need to find the appropriate driver and load it themselves.  Sometimes the device driver can be found on the CD-ROM that came with the hardware.  Other times the driver can be downloaded at the manufacturer’s website.

After the driver has been found computer owners can simply follow the instructions provided to load the driver and get the hardware up and working.

It is also a good idea for computer owners to check for updated device drivers from time to time.  Hardware manufacturers often write updated drivers to help their products work better and eliminate potential conflicts with other programs. 

Keeping those drivers up to date can help ward off potential problems and keep the system humming along. We suggest Drivercure and Driver Detective as suitable free tools to automatically check for all your system updates

Device Driver Problems

Many computer users are blissfully unaware of the existence of device drivers - at least until something goes wrong.  While most of the time these tiny little files work as they are intended - relaying information and instructions between the computer’s operating system and the connected hardware, occasionally problems do arise.  These problems can be due to a number of causes, including having the wrong device driver installed, having a corrupted device driver or having a device driver that is outdated.

No matter what the cause it is important for computer users to be able to recognize some of the possible signs and symptoms of device driver problems.  If your computer has been experiencing any of these symptoms it may be time to start looking for updated device drivers.  In many cases the symptoms themselves will tell you which device is misbehaving, making it easier to find the right device driver to resolve the issue.

Error Messages

While the error messages provided by Windows can be vague to say the least, they may be able to give you some clues as to which device is causing the problem.  If the error messages appear when you attach or power on a specific piece of hardware the device driver associated with that hardware may be corrupt or outdated.

Frequent Crashes

The causes of computer crashes can be notoriously difficult to pin down, but in some cases outdated, missing or corrupt device drivers can cause these problems.  Device drivers are more likely to be the culprit when the crashes are consistent - always occurring when a particular piece of hardware is in use for instance.

Poor Audio Quality

If your speakers are producing more noise than music your audio card drivers may be to blame. . Frequent pops, crackles and other extraneous noises can be symptoms of corrupt or outdated audio drivers.  If you notice these problems head over to the audio card manufacturer’s website to see if updated drivers are available.

Flashes and Poor Color Quality

Flashing, dimming and poor color quality can be symptoms of missing, corrupt or outdated video drivers.  If you notice any of these symptoms it is a good idea to check the manufacturer’s website for updated drivers.  If the driver for the video card has failed completely you may even see your computer’s display revert to that ugly 16 color state.

Sudden Problems After New Hardware is Installed

If you start to see problems like crashing and poor performance right after a piece of new hardware has been installed device drivers are most likely to blame.  In some cases the problem may be that the device driver is corrupt, while in other cases the driver may be conflicting with existing hardware or software.  In other cases the device driver may already be outdated, even if the hardware has just been installed.  If you start to see problems following the installation of new hardware it is important to head over to the manufacturer’s website.  In some cases the source of the problem will already have been identified and corrected with the release of a brand new device driver.  Downloading the updated driver may solve the problem and allow the new hardware to function as intended.

Just another bad driver

If you notice any of these signs and symptoms a bad device driver could very well be the culprit.  Keeping your drivers up to date can help fend off these problems before they start, so it is important to review those drivers periodically in order to keep your system operating smoothly and efficiently.

We recommend 2 different tools to ensure your drivers are -up-to-date Drivercure and DriverDetective. We give the edge to Drivercure since that tool ensures your software is kep updated as well as of course your system drivers.

I have a CD drive on my laptop and it is not launching on the computer. In Hardware Manager it shows that the driver failed to launch. I tried updating the driver and an online forum told me I had to delete iTunes so I did, and it started working, but then it stopped again and I don’t have any iTunes on my computer.

Completely Remove iTunes

There are some CD drives that are incompatible with iTunes. As annoying as this is, you might need to make sure that the iTunes installation is completely removed before troubleshooting the disk driver. Here are the steps to remove iTunes according to Apple.

1. Close and quit iTunes
2. Click Start and then Control Panel
3. Chose Add/Remove Programs
4. Scroll through the list and find iTunes. Click to select it, then click Remove
5. When asked to confirm, choose Yes
6. Allow the process to run, if asked to restart your computer, DON’T
7. Repeat these steps for any other iTunes listings and any iPod Updater listings
8. When complete, restart your computer
9. Click to open Computer, then choose Local Disk C - your hard drive - and click to open Program Files
10. Right click on the iTunes folder and choose Delete, then Yes to confirm. If no folder appears, that’s ok, it was removed during the uninstallation
11. Right click the iPod folder, choose Delete, then Yes to confirm
12. If Windows asks for permission, click Continue
13. Now, right click on your Recycle Bin and choose Empty
14. Restart your computer again - this should have removed all traces of iTunes

Update your CD Drive Driver with Windows

Now you will probably need to re-install or update your CD drive’s driver. Windows has an updater tool that should work, as long as the CD drive you are using came stock with your laptop.

1. Click Start, then Control Panel, then System and Maintenance, then Administrative Tools
2. Click twice on Computer Management, then choose Device Manager
3. Scroll to find the CD drive listing and click the + to expand the section
4. Right click the CD driver listing, then choose Properties
5. Choose Driver, then click Update Driver to launch the wizard
6. Follow the on-screen instructions to find and install a driver update

If you are still having driver issues, visit the CD manufacturer’s website. You can find details about the device in Device Manager and then search the website for a drivers and downloads page and access the new driver that way. I hope this does the trick! Good luck!