Identify some outdated drivers with Windows Device Manager in Windows 10 & 7
![](/images/site-logo.png)
How to identify (some) outdated drivers with Windows Device Manager
Identifying outdated drivers with Device Manager is a very tedious process. You can’t tell, just by looking at the device in Device Manager, if its driver is out of date. You have to actually try to update the driver, If Windows thinks the driver is out of date, it will update it for you; if not, it will tell you you already have the latest driver.
IMPORTANT: As discussed later on this page, Windows Device Manager doesn’t always detect outdated drivers. Nor does it always give you the latest available version if you update a driver. If you want to be sure you have the latest available version of a driver, you need to source the driver directly from the device manufacturer or use a tool like ours, called Driver Easy , to do it automatically.
Why you can’t rely on Windows to keep your drivers up-to-date
Windows comes with an inbuilt tool, called ‘Windows Update’, that’s supposed to automatically keep your drivers up to date. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work very well.
There are two reasons why…
Device manufacturers often take a long time to get their drivers into a Windows Update – It’s a time-consuming and difficult process. Sometimes they just miss the deadline and have to wait ‘til the next Windows Update, and sometimes they just give up altogether. In fact, for older devices, this is the norm.
Windows Update ignores driver updates it considers ‘optional’ – It categorizes driver updates as either ‘critical’, ‘automatic’ or ‘optional’, and it doesn’t usually concern itself with the ‘optional’ ones – even when they’re actually important. You can install them manually by going to the ‘Optional updates’ screen but, even then, as described above, you’re unlikely to get all the latest drivers.
What are drivers?
Drivers are like interpreters between Windows and your devices. For example, when Windows needs to display something on your monitor, it sends a command to your graphics card, and your graphics card then displays what Windows wants on your monitor.
But Windows and your graphics card don’t actually speak the same language. To understand each other, they need a translator. That translator is called a driver. It takes the Windows command and translates it into something your graphics card can understand. Your graphics card can then do as it’s told, and display the right thing on your monitor.
Similarly, if your graphics card needs to send some sort of response back to Windows, the driver translates the response into something Windows can understand.
In this example, what we’re talking about is a video driver, but your computer has many other drivers on it too – one for each device. Your speakers, your printer, your mouse, your USB hard drives, your network card, your keyboard and so on – they each have an associated driver.
And without all these drivers, none of your devices will work.
How to update all your drivers with just 1 click
The easiest way to automatically update your drivers is with our tool, Driver Easy Pro.
With Driver Easy Pro :
- You can update all your drivers with just one click.
- You don’t have to know anything about computers. Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and all your devices, and install the latest correct drivers for you – direct from the manufacturer. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to risk downloading and installing the wrong drivers, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing.
- You get the latest version of every driver, direct from the manufacturer, certified safe and stable.
- You get all driver updates, even the ones Microsoft considers ‘optional’ and wouldn’t provide.
- You’re not relying on the device manufacturers getting their updated drivers into Windows Update on time (because we proactively source the latest drivers from them).
Here’s how Driver Easy works:
Step-by-step instructions
To automatically update to the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system:
(To automatically update all your drivers with 1 click, you’ll need the Pro version of Driver Easy. Don’t worry, it comes with a 30-day, no-questions-asked, money back satisfaction guarantee.)
- $29.95- Single Computer License / 1 Year
- $29.95 - 3 Computers License / 1 Year
- $59.95 - 5 Computers License / 1 Year
- $99.95 - 10 Computers License / 1 Year
- $269.95 - 30 Computers License / 1 Year
- $399.95 - 50 Computers License / 1 Year
- $795 - 100 Computers License / 1 Year
- Run the downloaded executable file and follow the on-screen prompts.
- Run Driver Easy and click
UPGRADE
.
- Paste or type the software key you were emailed when you bought Driver Easy.
- Click
Scan Now
. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any devices with missing or outdated drivers.
- Click
Update All
to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system. - That’s it. You can go grab a coffee, while Driver Easy does all the work for you!
Download Driver Easy FREE
If you’re having computer issues, the first thing you should do is see if it has outdated drivers. If it does, updating them will very often fix things.
And for this, our tool, Driver Easy FREE, is the ideal solution.
Driver Easy FREE is a driver update tool used by more than 3 million customers around the world. It will automatically identify and download all the drivers you need, so all you have to do is install them.
In other words, it eliminates the need to find and download your drivers the difficult way (via the manufacturer’s website).
You don’t need to know what system your computer is running, you don’t need to scour the web for the right driver download, and you don’t need to risk downloading the wrong driver. Driver Easy does it all for you, automatically. No computer knowledge needed, and it’s completely free.
This page describes how to do this.
The free version will identify all your outdated drivers, and allow you to download them all. But only one at a time and, once they’re downloaded, you have to manually install them using the standard Windows process. (To automatically update all your drivers with 1 click, you’ll need the Pro version of Driver Easy . Don’t worry, it comes with a 30-day, no-questions-asked, money back satisfaction guarantee.)
What happens if a driver is missing or outdated?
Every now and then, Microsoft will change the commands Windows sends to one of your devices (e.g. your network card). When this happens, the manufacturer of that device need to change the device driver too. They need to teach it the new Windows commands. Otherwise the drivers won’t be able to translate those commands for your devices, and your devices won’t work properly.
The same thing needs to happen when your device manufacturer changes the way your device talks, or the things it can do. They need to change the driver too. Otherwise Windows won’t be able to talk to the device, or take advantage of its new functionality, and your device won’t work properly.
Now when we say “your device won’t work properly”, sometimes this means simply that you miss out on new functionality or minor bug fixes. But it’s often a lot more serious than that. Your computer may even hang, crash or stop working completely. Remember, there’s a driver that controls your hard drive, for instance. If Windows can’t talk to your hard drive, it can’t access any of the data on your drive. Similarly, if Windows can’t talk to your network card, you won’t be able to access the internet, and if it can’t talk to your graphics card, you won’t be able to see anything on your monitor. These are just a few of the more serious issues outdated drivers can cause.
Also read:
- MOV playback issues on Galaxy S23
- In 2024, Does Life360 Notify When You Log Out On Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G? | Dr.fone
- Possible ways to recover deleted files from Infinix Note 30i
- In 2024, Fake the Location to Get Around the MLB Blackouts on Apple iPhone 6 | Dr.fone
- In 2024, Fixing Foneazy MockGo Not Working On Vivo V27e | Dr.fone
- In 2024, Full Guide to Fix iToolab AnyGO Not Working On Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 4G | Dr.fone
- How to Update iPhone 6s to the Latest iOS/iPadOS Version? | Dr.fone
- How to Update iPhone XS without Losing Anything? | Dr.fone
- Possible solutions to restore deleted contacts from Nokia XR21.
- Redmi Note 12T Pro Unlock Tool - Remove android phone password, PIN, Pattern and fingerprint
- Does Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 Have Find My Friends? | Dr.fone
- In 2024, How Can I Use a Fake GPS Without Mock Location On Vivo Y36? | Dr.fone
- How To Transfer WhatsApp From iPhone 13 to other iPhone 11 Pro Max devices? | Dr.fone
- Realme C55 Video Recovery - Recover Deleted Videos from Realme C55
- Possible solutions to restore deleted pictures from Samsung Galaxy XCover 6 Pro Tactical Edition.
- Lava Yuva 3 Pro support - Forgotten screen lock.
- How To Transfer WhatsApp From iPhone 15 Pro to other iPhone 12 devices? | Dr.fone
- How To Update or Downgrade iPhone 6 Without Data Loss? | Dr.fone
- In 2024, Does Airplane Mode Turn off GPS Location On Xiaomi 13T Pro? | Dr.fone
- In 2024, Fixing Foneazy MockGo Not Working On Samsung Galaxy F15 5G | Dr.fone
- In 2024, Fake the Location to Get Around the MLB Blackouts on Samsung Galaxy F54 5G | Dr.fone
- How To Update or Downgrade iPhone 13 mini? | Dr.fone
- How Can I Catch the Regional Pokémon without Traveling On Tecno Camon 30 Pro 5G | Dr.fone
- In 2024, How to Make the Most of Your iPhone XS Lock Screen with Notifications?
- Finding The Finest Way to Add Subtitles to Videos | Filmora
- New Best Toolbox to Translate YouTube Videos to English Subtitles
- The way to get back lost videos from Nokia 130 Music
- In 2024, Overview of the Best Honor X50i Screen Mirroring App | Dr.fone
- Top 15 Augmented Reality Games Like Pokémon GO To Play On Honor X50i+ | Dr.fone
- Introduction of Virbo Windows | Wondershare Virbo
- Best Free Video Hosting Solutions for Individuals and Businesses
- 4 Most-Known Ways to Find Someone on Tinder For Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 by Name | Dr.fone
- Fix Cant Take Screenshot Due to Security Policy on Vivo S17 Pro | Dr.fone
- A How-To Guide on Bypassing iPhone 14 Pro iCloud Activation Lock
- In 2024, Best Ways to Bypass iCloud Activation Lock from Apple iPhone SE (2020)/iPad/iPod
- New Best Guide of 8 Photo Collage Apps for PC for 2024
- How To Remove Passcode From Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max? Complete Guide
- New Free MOV Video Cutting Software Top Recommendations
- Why is iPogo not working On Tecno Spark 20C? Fixed | Dr.fone
- In 2024, What Legendaries Are In Pokemon Platinum On Tecno Phantom V Fold? | Dr.fone
- Title: Identify some outdated drivers with Windows Device Manager in Windows 10 & 7
- Author: Vivienne
- Created at : 2024-05-19 18:09:42
- Updated at : 2024-05-21 02:11:54
- Link: https://review-topics.techidaily.com/identify-some-outdated-drivers-with-windows-device-manager-in-windows-10-and-7-by-drivereasy-guide/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.