What Drivers Do I update (Win 10; Very Confused!) Home PC System


  1. Posts : 53
    Windows 10
       #1

    What Drivers Do I update (Win 10; Very Confused!) Home PC System


    (Edit: I just saw the driver forum. I do not see how to delete this and repost. Can you still help?)

    I used to automatically use programs to update my drivers (3rd party updaters). But you guys yelled at me - do it manually you said.. I have an i5 4460 3.2 from Lenovo Win 10 with no avail updates. I have lots of new "parts" but the cpu. When Lenovo (The manufacturer) automatically checks my system it says I am fine. But all of the driver update programs want me to update programs/things. I do not know what any of these are. I know in 2 yrs I never intentionally updated any of them. Can you advise/opinion or just tell me what to do? Thank you!

    SATA ACHI Controller (I do not know what this is)

    Realtek 8821AE Wierless LAN 802.11ac <--- THIS IS CONFUSING AND REALTEK IS NOT REPLYING after months. There are too many options on their website I cant find the exact one I have. Realtek support in USA really has not wrote me back in 30 + emails over a several months. I think this is important?

    USB Mass Storage Device (I do not know what this is?) I think I have a Realtek in there.

    Intel (R) Management Interface Engine Interface (WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?) I checked Intels website they suggest I am ok

    Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller (What the heck is that? )

    SMBus Controller Device (I do not know what these are.



    Do I just assume because Lenovo auto updates say I am ok I am? Say if they stopped updating this CPU?
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 30,120
    Windows 11 Pro x64 Version 23H2
       #2

    Hi Tony317

    Updating drivers is one of those topics where everyone likely lines up either on the right or the left. Some believe you should always be using the latest and some say use the ones that work. Look at the date on some drivers, they are ancient but they work just fine.

    I'm in the second camp. If your drivers are working I leave them alone. Sure someday, maybe, they will cause a BSOD. If and when this happens you update.

    Unless your machine is BSOD'ing or experiencing performance issues don't fix what ain't broke.

    While we don't see it as often some vendors tweak drivers to their specific hardware. This can cause real issues when you go to use the actual vendors drivers later in life as the tweak is missing. PC vendors do not keep machines drivers up to date very long after their next new model comes out.

    Windows has also taken on the activity of keeping drivers updated on your computer and people line up on both sides of this strategy. They get them from the people who build the adapters, say Realtek.

    I use the drivers at the computers manufactures site as a base, in your case Lenovo. This all being said when Windows installs Feature updates it refreshes your drivers with the most recent it has on file. (At least this has been my experience.) This can and has caused issues. You quickly figure out which drivers you can't take. I have an old Intel AC7260 wireless card. Using the the newest driver I can't connect. I always have to fall back to Feb 2014.

    I would say the majority don't have driver issues after Feature updates. Of course no data is published..

    To see if there is a new driver in the Windows catalog you can right click on a device in device manager and then click Update driver. I would ensure you have a system image available, you need to be able to recover, and I would not do more than a couple at a time. Prove stability for a day or two, re image and move on. There is also an option to roll back a driver in device manager, the system image is for when it really goes south.

    With the pending release of 1809 and assuming you get the update soon after your drivers will be refreshed. They were refreshed with 1803 and 1709.

    I'm with Lenovo, your current drivers are fine.

    So this is from one side of driver updates debate. let's see what others have to say.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 53
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Is it my drivers I want to check


    Caledon Ken said:
    Hi Tony317

    Updating drivers is one of those topics where everyone likely lines up either on the right or the left. Some believe you should always be using the latest and some say use the ones that work. Look at the date on some drivers, they are ancient but they work just fine.

    I'm in the second camp. If your drivers are working I leave them alone. Sure someday, maybe, they will cause a BSOD. If and when this happens you update.

    Unless your machine is BSOD'ing or experiencing performance issues don't fix what ain't broke.

    While we don't see it as often some vendors tweak drivers to their specific hardware. This can cause real issues when you go to use the actual vendors drivers later in life as the tweak is missing. PC vendors do not keep machines drivers up to date very long after their next new model comes out.

    Windows has also taken on the activity of keeping drivers updated on your computer and people line up on both sides of this strategy. They get them from the people who build the adapters, say Realtek.

    I use the drivers at the computers manufactures site as a base, in your case Lenovo. This all being said when Windows installs Feature updates it refreshes your drivers with the most recent it has on file. (At least this has been my experience.) This can and has caused issues. You quickly figure out which drivers you can't take. I have an old Intel AC7260 wireless card. Using the the newest driver I can't connect. I always have to fall back to Feb 2014.

    I would say the majority don't have driver issues after Feature updates. Of course no data is published..

    To see if there is a new driver in the Windows catalog you can right click on a device in device manager and then click Update driver. I would ensure you have a system image available, you need to be able to recover, and I would not do more than a couple at a time. Prove stability for a day or two, re image and move on. There is also an option to roll back a driver in device manager, the system image is for when it really goes south.

    With the pending release of 1809 and assuming you get the update soon after your drivers will be refreshed. They were refreshed with 1803 and 1709.

    I'm with Lenovo, your current drivers are fine.

    So this is from one side of driver updates debate. let's see what others have to say.
    I am having problems (pretty serious): Latency, Lag, Disconnect, FPS, "feels slow" (the system) and more. Problems have existed for about 2 yrs. Slowly been buying new parts. I have almost all new parts a home user installs on their own. Problems happen when I play this one game only. It is the largest of its kind in the world. Millions play it 24 hours a day. This indicates I am most likely the problem.

    Over the last 2 yrs I've received 60 hours of tech support (more). The problem is.... It is a new person and I get caught in a loop of the same bandaid fixes over and over... Coping and pasting the same data for their review again and again. I know they mentioned drivers. So, I figured it could not hurt to manually and personally verify to the best of my ability my drivers are not the cause. I really have no clue if they are the only problem or no part of it at all. I am just "doing one thing at a time".

    I did what you said...I checked device manager and made it look for updates. It found none. Because I checked Lenovo and WINUPDATES as well does this mean their are no updates? Search just ends there?


    SATA ACHI Controller
    SMBus Controller Device



    those are 2 of the 7 things 6 or 7 of the automatic driver updating tools all recognize as out of date.. My problem is I do not know what they are. I do not mind taking 4 months to learn. I just do not know who the manufacturer is. It is not listed in my device manager. I am not against calling each corporation (manf) individually and paying them to help me investigate. I'd happily pay Realtek, but they are garbage and just wont reply to dozens of emails. Again this might not be a driver issue at all. I am just seeking information on ways a professional, smart or generally informed person could manually check and verify drivers.

    THANKS :) :)

    This was a lot to read. It is a bit nuts and more than frustrating. There is a problem, I am not randomly desiring to update things because I think is sounds like an ok idea. I am testing (and have been) testing everything I can. There is a glitch in the matrix and all I have is time - oddly desire to fix it too. It seems like you are indicating because I checked Lenovo/device manager and winupdates drivers are fine move on to next step?
    Last edited by Tonys317; 16 Oct 2018 at 15:45. Reason: lots of edits
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 30,120
    Windows 11 Pro x64 Version 23H2
       #4

    The SATA ACHI Controller is your disk control. Its main purpose

    and

    SMBus Controller Device is the System Management controller is part of the chipset.

    What Drivers Do I update (Win 10; Very Confused!)  Home PC System-image.png

    What is the model of you computer. Please be very specific as Lenovo generates lots of models.

    I'm going to bet both are Intel. We will see.

    So this game, is it played online? I ask ask you mentioned your wireless card.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 41,412
    windows 10 professional version 1607 build 14393.969 64 bit
       #5

    1) Update the specs in the "My Computer" section:

    System Specs - Fill in at Ten Forums | Windows 10 Tutorials
    In the left corner below in your post you find 'My System Specs'.
    After clicking it you can find a link a little below that says 'Update your System Spec', click on this link to get to the page where you can fill in your system specs.
    System Info - See Your System Specs - Windows 7 Help Forums

    Include PSU. cooler, case, peripherals and anything attached to the computer by wired or wireless (mouse, keyboard, headset, printer, xbox, USB wireless network card, etc.)

    2) Open the website for the computer or motherboard manufacturer > support > enter the product or serial number or model > select the operating system > view drivers > post a URL or hyperlink into the thread

    3) Run the BETA log collector and post a zip into this thread:
    BSOD - Posting Instructions - Windows 10 Forums
    https://www.tenforums.com/attachment...-v2-beta15.zip
    (extract all > open)



    Tonys317 said:
    I am having problems (pretty serious): Latency, Lag, Disconnect, FPS, "feels slow" (the system) and more. Problems have existed for about 2 yrs.

    4) Consider starting with a clean install.
    This will install Windows default drivers.
    Keep the internet disconnected.
    Test the performance: latency, lag, etc.

    5) Connect to the internet and perform Windows updates
    Reevaluate the performance with Windows updates of non-Microsoft drivers.

    6) Turn off Windows updates of non-Microsoft drivers.

    Enable or Disable Driver Updates in Windows Update in Windows 10 | Windows 10 Tutorials

    7) Then install drivers from the computer manufacturer's website.
    Reevaluate performance.

    8) Turn on Windows updates of non-Microsoft drivers.
    Reevaluate performance.

    9) Download an install the Intel Driver and support assistant:
    Intel® Driver & Support Assistant
    See if there are any new drivers to add.

    10) If the computer has Nvidai GPU then open the Nvidia website using IE or any browser that uses Java.
    NVIDIA

    11) If the computer has AMD GPU then open the AMD website and run the auto-detect:
    Auto-Detect and Install Radeon™ Graphics Drivers for Windows® | AMD
      My Computer


 

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