Troubleshooting Driver Problems
| Intended For |
Windows Vista
Windows XP
Windows 2003
Windows 2000
Windows Me
Windows 98
Windows 95 |
|
Drivers are used to help your computer communicate with a specific piece of hardware, and if the driver is flawed or outdate (both very common), the device will either not work properly, or will cause another device not to work properly.
Contact the manufacturers of the various devices in your system for their most recent drivers; most are available for free download (be sure to scold the company if they try to charge you for drivers for their products).
Newer drivers can also improve performance and add new features.
This is especially true of video drivers; new versions can improve speed and can increase the maximum resolution and color depth of your display.
In fact, most visual problems (flicker, mouse cursor problems, and even errant font behavior) can be attributed to buggy video drivers.
Although it's a good policy to check with your manufacturer for the most recent drivers on a regular basis, you should only do so if you have the time to spend on it (new drivers may introduce new problems, as well).
In other words, if it aint broke, don't fix it.
See Version Control for more information.
Written by: Annoyances.org Last updated: Wednesday, February 7, 2007
| |
Previous discussions about this article: (open a message to see applicable responses, if any)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (micki landry: Friday, September 14, 2001)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Johnny: Saturday, September 29, 2001)
- [Windows 95] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Geoff Viljoen: Tuesday, October 2, 2001)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Bobby : Wednesday, December 19, 2001)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (sowle: Tuesday, January 1, 2002)
- [Windows ME] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Jim: Wednesday, January 2, 2002)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Paul K: Friday, January 4, 2002)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Bobra Wilbanks: Sunday, January 6, 2002)
- [Windows 95] mwave drivers (gerald carey: Saturday, January 19, 2002)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Tom Adams: Thursday, March 14, 2002)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Rob: Friday, March 22, 2002)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (James Alexander: Saturday, March 23, 2002)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (John: Monday, March 25, 2002)
- [Windows Me] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (mick bollands: Tuesday, April 2, 2002)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (dugy: Saturday, April 27, 2002)
- [Windows Me] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Richard: Monday, May 6, 2002)
- [Windows Me] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Richard: Saturday, May 11, 2002)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Ide Controllers not working' (Bren Maddick: Saturday, May 11, 2002)
- [Windows 2000] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Clint Simpson: Sunday, June 9, 2002)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Michael: Sunday, July 21, 2002)
- [Windows XP] Printer drivers (Robert: Friday, August 23, 2002)
- [Windows 98] 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Mike LaFontaine: Wednesday, August 28, 2002)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Vilnis Vulfs: Monday, September 23, 2002)
- [Windows 2000] Question about reading CD-R discs within W2K. (Harry: Tuesday, September 24, 2002)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (brian d. grimes: Sunday, October 6, 2002)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (jay: Friday, October 18, 2002)
- [Windows 98] cd drive help. (graeme: Friday, November 15, 2002)
- [Windows 95] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (TED WEBB: Saturday, November 16, 2002)
- [Windows XP] XP does not recognize my sound card (natts: Tuesday, November 19, 2002)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Rastko Anicic: Wednesday, November 27, 2002)
- [Windows 2000] Question about myIntel Graphics Technology driver problem, I NEED HELP! (Diane Paolangeli: Monday, December 2, 2002)
- [Windows 95] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Chris: Wednesday, December 4, 2002)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Jo Luebbers: Monday, December 9, 2002)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (zsolt: Sunday, December 15, 2002)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (lora: Sunday, December 15, 2002)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (dan: Tuesday, December 24, 2002)
- [Windows Me] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Paulson Raphel: Friday, January 3, 2003)
- [Windows 2000] Mouse cursor jumping around (edlord: Sunday, January 5, 2003)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (vishnu charan: Wednesday, January 8, 2003)
- [Windows 2000] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Jay: Sunday, January 12, 2003)
- [Windows XP] Scanner driver disappears after installing in XP HE (Niistoo: Monday, January 13, 2003)
- [Windows 95] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Kehinde: Tuesday, January 14, 2003)
- [Windows Me] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Rick Horn: Thursday, January 16, 2003)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (pj: Monday, January 20, 2003)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (novan: Saturday, January 25, 2003)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (paul given: Saturday, January 25, 2003)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Sound Driver Problems' (Steve Farmer: Thursday, February 6, 2003)
- [Windows XP] need driver to make video in/out work (Patrick: Wednesday, February 12, 2003)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (mike: Wednesday, February 26, 2003)
- [Windows 2000] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (DARRIN QUERIN: Sunday, March 9, 2003)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (SUZETTE: Wednesday, March 19, 2003)
- [Windows XP] sound card yamaha 740 (Jim : Wednesday, April 2, 2003)
- [Windows Me] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Lisa: Tuesday, April 8, 2003)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Eric Smith: Tuesday, April 22, 2003)
- [Windows 98] I've accidently deleted my sound card driver (daggers: Monday, May 12, 2003)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Homer: Friday, May 16, 2003)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (michael: Thursday, June 12, 2003)
- [Windows 98] sis 300/200 driver (Jebasingh: Thursday, July 3, 2003)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (NaeNae: Tuesday, July 15, 2003)
- [Windows XP] Video Drivers and XP (Henry: Sunday, July 20, 2003)
- [Windows 95] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Sandy: Monday, July 28, 2003)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Dan Michniewicz: Sunday, August 10, 2003)
- [Windows 2000] Sound Driver Problems (Drew George: Monday, August 11, 2003)
- [Windows 98] startup problem (jennifer mcatee: Wednesday, August 13, 2003)
- [Windows XP] The Tale of a Driver (udr: Friday, August 15, 2003)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (ian: Thursday, September 4, 2003)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting windows protection error (prem: Tuesday, September 16, 2003)
- [Windows 98] DirectX problems (Dallas: Monday, October 6, 2003)
- [Windows XP] Phantom Driver for NVIDIA PCI Controller (N. blake: Thursday, October 23, 2003)
- [Windows Me] Display Settings Stuck (don bowen: Tuesday, October 28, 2003)
- [Windows 2000] Strange Driver problem (Dinesh Kumar: Thursday, November 6, 2003)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Tom Thumb: Tuesday, November 25, 2003)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Jared: Friday, November 28, 2003)
- [Windows 98] unused drives (Zach: Saturday, November 29, 2003)
- [Windows XP] can't install drivers for cd-writer (Yolagp: Friday, December 5, 2003)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Erich: Sunday, December 7, 2003)
- [Windows 2000] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Craig: Monday, December 8, 2003)
- [Windows XP] Problem with installing a compactflash card reader/writer on a usb port (Jeanine: Wednesday, December 17, 2003)
- [Windows Me] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (phil: Wednesday, December 17, 2003)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (chad: Friday, December 19, 2003)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Matthew Simpson: Saturday, December 27, 2003)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Billy : Wednesday, January 7, 2004)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Khangaxx: Monday, March 1, 2004)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Amber: Tuesday, May 25, 2004)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (David: Sunday, August 15, 2004)
- [Windows XP] Blank Screen & DirectX Issue (Petra: Thursday, August 26, 2004)
- [Windows 2000] Lexmark printer doesn't read (lila levister: Wednesday, September 15, 2004)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Ming: Monday, November 15, 2004)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Al: Sunday, November 28, 2004)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (steve: Friday, February 11, 2005)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Spurgeon Secrest: Saturday, February 26, 2005)
- [Windows 95] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Charles Kirkland: Monday, March 21, 2005)
- [Windows 95] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Charles Kirkland: Monday, March 21, 2005)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Austin: Wednesday, March 30, 2005)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (kelsmit3093: Tuesday, April 5, 2005)
- [Windows XP] replacing a hardrive (sandra braley: Saturday, May 14, 2005)
- [Windows 95] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Melissa: Wednesday, June 8, 2005)
- [Windows 2000] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (JASPER: Tuesday, July 12, 2005)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'USB 2.0 Drivers and Windows XP' (guitarzan: Sunday, August 14, 2005)
- [Windows 98] I must uninstall the present driver first. I can find no way to remove this driver (Julian Conde: Monday, September 12, 2005)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (roberta Thomas: Friday, September 16, 2005)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Kate: Saturday, September 24, 2005)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (satish: Monday, October 3, 2005)
- [Windows 98] Question about installing SATA drivers. (David Meacham: Saturday, October 15, 2005)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Hansley: Friday, November 11, 2005)
- [Windows Me] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Rick: Thursday, November 24, 2005)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (chris: Sunday, January 8, 2006)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Lt Col JS Pandher: Thursday, March 23, 2006)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Robin Quinn: Monday, August 7, 2006)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Nick Cowan: Tuesday, August 29, 2006)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (softman6042: Thursday, November 23, 2006)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (sean ross: Thursday, March 8, 2007)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (jamielei chen: Friday, September 28, 2007)
- [Windows XP] Downloads have suddenly become impossible (William Goldman: Wednesday, October 3, 2007)
- [Windows 98] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (John: Tuesday, November 13, 2007)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (shweta: Monday, February 25, 2008)
- [Windows XP] Question about 'Troubleshooting Driver Problems' (Neal Dodd: Tuesday, April 29, 2008)
- [Windows XP] video driver won't load (Craig A Elshaug: Friday, October 3, 2008)
- [Windows Vista] How effective are driver updating tools (Bobtech: Thursday, June 4, 2009)
| |
Return to "Troubleshooting"
|
|