#How to get drivers from windows update catalog how to#
#How to get drivers from windows update catalog install#
#How to get drivers from windows update catalog driver#
#How to get drivers from windows update catalog windows 8.1#

#How to get drivers from windows update catalog install#

If you install Windows on your PC or insert a new hardware device and it works out of the box - great! If everything is working properly, you probably donвЂ™t need to install hardware drivers.

#How to get drivers from windows update catalog how to#

RELATED: How to Update Your Graphics Drivers for Maximum Gaming Performance

The one exception is graphics drivers, where you do want the latest versions of your graphics drivers if you play PC games. We donвЂ™t recommend updating hardware drivers - this can introduce problems. However, using older drivers often isnвЂ™t a problem. Microsoft doesnвЂ™t update these drivers as frequently, so your device manufacturer may have newer versions on their website. The versions of the drivers Microsoft provides are also a bit older.

However, you may not always want these hardware utilities. Plug in a wireless mouse and it will work immediately, but youвЂ™ll need the manufacturerвЂ™s control panel if you want to view the mouseвЂ™s battery level or customize what the buttons do. Connect a printer and the automatically provided drives wonвЂ™t include the printerвЂ™s control panel.

#How to get drivers from windows update catalog driver#

For example, when you get drivers for NVIDIA or AMD graphics cards from Windows Update, youвЂ™re getting a driver package without the NVIDIA Control Panel or the AMD Catalyst control panel. However, Microsoft provides these drivers in stripped-down form.

The core drivers are created by your device manufacturer and provided by Microsoft after they go through MicrosoftвЂ™s WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Labs) testing to ensure theyвЂ™re stable. The driver packages Windows automatically installs are different from the ones your device manufacturers provide. RELATED: When Do You Need to Update Your Drivers? How Manufacturer-Provided Drivers Are Different Microsoft also distributes updated drivers via Windows Update, so you can get any necessary driver updates from there instead of hunting them down. By default, Windows will check Windows Update for a driver is no drivers exist on the PC. When you connect a device to your PC, Windows attempts to automatically configure it and install the appropriate driver.

#How to get drivers from windows update catalog windows 8.1#

If you installed Windows 8.1 on that same PC, everything might work out of the box because Windows 8.1 come with more modern drivers. For example, if you installed Windows 7 on your PC and a piece of hardware didnвЂ™t work immediately, you might have to download drivers for that hardware component from its manufacturerвЂ™s website and install them manually. Manufacturers donвЂ™t have to create their own drivers for USB devices, mice, keyboards, computer monitors, and certain other types of peripherals.Дrivers are integrated into Windows itself, which is why the latest versions of Windows will provide the best out-of-the-box hardware support on newer hardware. For example, when you connect a USB drive to your PC, Windows uses standard USB mass storage device drivers. Some components also have standard, вЂњgenericвЂќ drivers. Windows itself includes drivers, and new drivers can be automatically downloaded from Windows Update. To ensure hardware works as well as possible, Microsoft doesnвЂ™t force you to install drivers from your manufacturer before hardware will work. If you build your own desktop PC, youвЂ™ll find hardware drivers for each component on each manufacturerвЂ™s website. For example, if you have a laptop, all the drivers for your laptopвЂ™s hardware will be available on the manufacturerвЂ™s website - find the downloads page for your specific product model. The latest versions of these drivers are also available or download from the manufacturerвЂ™s website. You may even get a driver CD containing drivers you can install on your computer.

If you buy a complete PC or laptop, it will come with the manufacturerвЂ™s drivers integrated. Manufacturers write drivers for their hardware and provide them directly to you.