Drivers need to be updated to match the improved performance and interoperability of hardware devices. You can update or install driver software manually from installation CD or external storage device. You can also check available windows updates, important as well as optional, to look for driver update. These things along with other ways to update drivers are given below. You can follow the steps below to update drivers.

1. For Windows XP or earlier versions: Go to Start> Control panel> System> Hardware> Device Manager.
For Windows, 7 or Vista: Click on Windows icon in the taskbar and type “Device manager” in search field. It will appear in the top of start menu. Click to open.

2. Expand “device category” by clicking on the arrow to find your device. Right click on the device to install, uninstall, disable, or update your device.

3. For now, right click on your device and go to properties. Under “General” tab, you will see “Device status.” If it is working properly, then that’s fine. If there is any problem with your device, such as missing drivers, then it will be written. You can do two things.

a. Click on “update driver.” If you have an installation disk inserted, you can choose “Browse my computer for driver software.” It will start the manual process mentioned in the start of the article. If you do not have CD or something like that, click on “search automatically for updated driver software.” Make sure you are connected to internet. It will search for compatible driver software and install it. If it is unable to find any suitable driver for you, follow step b to update drivers.

b. Note down name of the manufacturer and model of your device.

4. Open manufacturer’s website in your browser and find drivers for the specific make and model of your device. For instance, if manufacturer’s name for your device is Microsoft, then type www.microsoft.com in the address bar. When the page opens, go to either “support” or “downloads” to find your desired driver. Otherwise, simply type in the search box.

5. If you have located the driver, download the latest driver by following the instructions that appear on your screen. After it is downloaded, you might have to double click the downloaded file to begin installation. Or some drivers start getting installed automatically. After the installation is complete, you will be able to use the device properly by then.

Note: Make sure you uninstall the old driver before downloading new one. Read more ways to install/ update driver.