Update drivers

Piccy said:

Hello newbie to windows here again
Regarding checking and updating drivers, I have read that there are programs that can do this, is it reliable ?
Some people also say go to manufacturers website or Microsoft to do this, I have a notice that there is no driver or words to that effect on my computer, a dell optiflex 9020
Windows version 10.0.19045 build 19045

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en...esktop/drivers

Hi,
1. If your PC has all its drivers and is running normally, don't worry about drivers. Windows takes care of these - usually.
(Don't 'fix' it if it's not broken).
2. Do not use 3rd party driver updater tools routinely. If you cared to search tenforums, you would find threads discussing these and advising against. "snake oil" "unpredictable results"
3. The only case where I suggest using one (Snappy Driver Installer or Drivermax) is where Windows fails to find a driver - e.g. old or incompatible PC. That may be so in your case- it's not clear what the driver is. If you found the hardware id for that you could investigate further. E.g. post #8:
Driver updates
4. Some PCs need a specific driver from their manufacturer's site - e.g. for specialised hardware. This might not be supplied if you clean install Windows.

I would only use drivers installed by Windows or on the manufacturer's site for your hardware

Piccy said:

I have a notice that there is no driver or words to that effect on my computer, a dell optiflex 9020

The warning shown in your diagram is a bit misleading. It's really only there to tell you to check for driver problems in Device manager.

Take notice of driver warnings shown in Device manager [right-click on the Start button & select Device mgr from the list].
- Investigate any yellow warning triangles
- Investigate anything in an Other devices section. Other devices is a euphemism for no driver installed and the section is only displayed if there are any devices with that problem.



And I agree about getting all your drivers directly from Dell for as long as your computer is supported.
Go to Dell Drivers & downloads - Dell
then put in your Dell Service tag so it knows your as-sold hardware configuration. That's how it knows which drivers to offer you.

When Dell stops providing drivers for your model, you will probably be able to get some automatically / semi-automatically from Intel for a few more years using their Intel Driver & support assistant.
Other than that, it's just Windows update.
I agree that third-party driver software might not always get it right.

I have never had a problem with a driver from Dell.
I have never had a problem with a driver from Intel.
I have only once had a problem with a driver from Windows update. That was a printer driver update that many others also had problems with; I only use drivers & software packages from my printer maker nowadays.


All the best,
Denis

Piccy,

I was still adding to my last post when you replied to it.
I'm always doing that.


Denis

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Steve C said:

I would only use drivers installed by Windows or on the manufacturer's site for your hardware

Agreed, but even then, updating from manufacturers site is not always a good plan, as they often are new and have not been fully tested yet.

One should always keep a copy of the drivers windows installs (see tutorial section for guide on how to export drivers) if you need to revert. Also always a good plan to make an image backup first.

As a rule, I only update drivers via WU although once in a while (Intel Graphics Drivers are the worst offenders), Windows tries to install an older version of a driver.

I use wushowhide to block this but that is soon to be retired and users will have to use a more complicated method to block updates but problem is method blocks all updates for a device (e.g. graphics card) nkt just specific ones.

Easy enough to unblock but if you want to reblock, it does not remember previous blocking commands and you have to go though it all again.