8 what is a driver. More information about device drivers. How to revert to the previous driver for a specific device if it does not work correctly with the new driver

I would like to touch on a very important topic, the topic of drivers. Because, having no understanding of what is a driver, a novice user may encounter problems. It will not be possible to start a printer, for example, or a scanner, a copier, or any device connected to a PC. In general, in this note, read about where to download, how to install and remove drivers.

What is a driver and why is it needed?

The driver is connecting link between the computer and an external device. Driver (from English driver) - computer program, through which the operating system gains access to hardware any device and subsequently has the ability to control it.

Drivers are needed for all external and internal PC devices. Video card, sound card, printer, scanner, etc. need drivers (in slang they need firewood) For example, we bought a scanner, connected it to the PC, a message appears in the lower left corner of the screen saying that such and such a device was detected and even the manufacturer was identified. But as soon as we try to scan old photographs, for example, nothing will happen. The computer does not know how to interact with this scanner. This is where the driver of this scanner comes to the rescue. If the system does not have a sound driver, it will be impossible to listen to music. It’s the same with video; you won’t be able to adjust the screen resolution; it will be impossible to play games.

Some drivers are already available in Windows OS. We don’t need to specifically install a keyboard driver; mice, even simple web cameras, no longer require drivers. Well, if you have a fancy mouse with a bunch of extra buttons or a keyboard with buttons for multimedia, then you can’t do without additional firewood.

Where are the drivers stored?

IN Windows drivers devices are stored in the directory C:WINDOWSSYSTM32. Driver files can have the following extensions: *.vxt, *.drv, *.sys, *.dll, also *.inf - the file contains installation information.

Where can I download

In general, as a rule, a disk is always attached to the device, which contains all the necessary firewood. At the time of buying motherboard CD is always included with necessary set of them. The same goes for video and sound cards if they are purchased separately. If you purchase system unit, then be sure to check the presence of disks: on the mat. board, video card ( if it is not built into the mat. fee). The same applies to the sound card if it is built into the mat. fee, then required driver is on the disk for the motherboard, and if the card is installed separately, then the disk must be separate.

With disks, everything seems to be clear as 2x2, but what to do if the disk is lost, damaged, or something else. For example, they gave me an old, unnecessary, but working printer, but there was no disk for it. Or there is a need to preinstall the OS, but there are no disks at all, you can’t find them. So think about it how to install sound driver, where to get drivers for a printer, video card or laptop. In this situation, those who have Win7 installed are lucky (my opinion about this system), after installation on the PC it will automatically connect to the Internet ( provided there is an Internet connection of course) and downloads all the missing firewood. In any case, I haven’t installed a driver from a printer disk for a long time. Everything happens by itself. But for XP you will have to look for it yourself. Although it also seems to have a download function, but how many times have I tried it to no avail. Maybe I’m doing something wrong, please tell me...?

To download, you first need to know everything about the device. necessary information. This can be done, for example, using the program ( this concerns the video card). Another one useful thing- this program will help you find out information about the motherboard, and about the video card too.

You can also find out by following the path 6 Start - Control Panel - System-tab Hardware - Device Manager. In the Device Manager window that opens, you can select the required device and obtain information about the manufacturer and driver of this device.

We get information about the video card.

After you have received information about the device, you can safely go to the Internet and look for the necessary driver.

You can find, download and then install drivers by following these proven links:

How to install the driver

After everything is downloaded you need install the driver correctly. If from a disk, then just insert it and wait for it to start automatically. If auto startup does not work, then open the disk through my computer and look for the setup.exe file. The same applies to the downloaded driver, run setup.exe. It seems like everything is simple. But what to do if no way Can't install driver. I had a case when I could not reinstall the driver for sound. At the same time the following message was displayed: realtek hd audio driver installation failed .

I also encountered such a dirty trick when the scanner driver from the disk did not want to be installed in any way, or rather did not want to be installed in a standard way- this is when I inserted the disk and ran setup.exe. Just for no reason the installation stopped in the middle and completely froze. Requires you to plug the cord into the USB and even if you crack it. A solution to the problem was found, so I’m sharing it :)

We insert the disk, after auto startup, close the installation window and go to the already familiar device manager. It should appear there unknown device with a yellow question mark.

Next, click on this device right click mouse and select update the driver, and there you can select automatic search, the system itself will find it on the disk. In general, I read somewhere that all firewood needs to be installed this way. I don't know how true this is. But this is how I made friends with my scanner and computer.

Driver problems

Drivers are an integral part software package computer, but sometimes there are also problems with them. It happens that drivers conflict. consequences: Blue screens, device malfunctions. In both cases, you need to either reinstall, update the device driver, or, if problems started after the update, roll back, as can be seen in the screenshot above, the button Rollback. Often blue screens arise due to problems with vidyakha firewood. The next update solves the problem.

In general, the topic of drivers is quite extensive and I did not stupidly copy texts from other sites. I described what I experienced, tried it more than once, so that’s all, if I didn’t finish anything, I apologize, I also don’t know everything yet, I’m just learning Bye, good luck and less problems with firewood.

Driver (from English Driver - driver) - a program responsible for the operation of this device or hardware that enables communication between a computer and a device. Drivers are sometimes called “firewood” (), and any device is also called a “device”.

For example, the expression “firewood for the camera” means “drivers for the camera,” which in turn means “programs for compatibility of the operating system with the camera.”

Why are drivers needed?

The emergence of new devices, increasingly complex, occurs extremely quickly and in huge numbers. These are being developed various companies by holding to your own standards and outlook on life. Accordingly, it is impossible to install in advance some programs into the operating system that would ensure compatibility of the operating system with all existing and not yet invented devices.

So it turns out that every manufacturer of a particular device must write drivers for their new devices, otherwise who will buy such a device that is incompatible with a computer? Moreover, programmers from the company where the device was developed write several drivers to ensure compatibility of the new device with different operating systems. Then the same device can be sold to users of different operating systems.

How can I find out what devices and drivers are on my computer?

To find out what devices are on your PC, you can go to Device Manager. To open Device Manager, go to Start – Settings – Control Panel – System – “Hardware” tab:

Let's take a closer look at how to find out what devices and drivers are on your computer using an example. Windows 7. To change settings and update drivers, use device Manager. To open Device Manager ( Device Manager) in Windows 7, click the Start button, in the Search bar of the Start menu, type “Device Manager” and click the program name.

Another way to open Device Manager in Windows 7: go to Start - Control Panel - System and Security - Hardware and Sound tab - Devices and Printers - Device Manager:

In Device Manager select required device, for example, Video adapters, click on it 2 times with the left mouse button, in the drop-down list click on to the desired device right-click and then click on the “Properties” button. As a result, the “Properties” window will open, where on the “Driver” tab we find information about the manufacturer and driver of this device:

Do I need to update device drivers and how?

In the "Properties" window above, you can update device drivers, as well as failed update drivers to roll back to the old driver.

For example, I do not update drivers for my device due to the inevitable problems that follow. operating system.

On the other hand, if you do not update some drivers, the devices corresponding to these drivers may no longer function normally. Therefore, you have to use both the “Update” button of the driver in the above screenshot and the “Roll Back” button.

Where can I find drivers?

The short answer to this question is:

• Drivers are sometimes found by the operating system Windows system 7 independently on the Internet and installs them herself,
• drivers can be installed manually from CD or DVD disc A,
• or install manually from the official website of the device manufacturer.

And now a little more detail. Typically, the operating system comes with drivers for devices without which the system will not be able to function.

However, some devices may require special drivers, usually provided on a licensed CD or DVD by the manufacturer of a particular device.

For example, a driver for a standard mouse is included in the operating system. But if you buy a special mouse for computer games With additional buttons and functions, then such a mouse will not work fully without installing the appropriate driver.

The driver is usually included with the mouse on a disk upon purchase. It is advisable to save a CD or DVD with this driver even after installing the corresponding program on the computer from it in order to avoid later misunderstandings, for example, when reinstalling the operating system.

A CD or DVD with drivers recorded on it is also included with a new printer, a new webcam, etc. If there is no such disk, and the seller suggests that you look for the necessary driver on the Internet (by the way, this is a real case), then he is being clever and you should not buy the device from him. Therefore, when purchasing, you should check with the seller for the availability of a driver disk for the new device.

If you received a “used” device and there is no CD or DVD with drivers, then you should look for the driver for such a device on the website of the manufacturer of this device. To do this in the search engine Google line or Yandex, you should enter a request with approximately the following content: “official website Device name.”

For example, for Hewlett-Packard printer You can enter the query “HP official website”. I wrote about this in more detail in the article “”. You probably already guessed that the problem with the printer arose precisely because of the printer driver, that is old driver under Win XP with licensed disk not suitable for Win 7.

Drivers are needed not only for external devices such as a printer, webcam or mouse. Drivers are also required for internal devices, for example, for a motherboard (system) board, for a video card, for a sound card.

If the video card or sound card is built into the motherboard, then drivers are not needed for them, because they are built into the drivers for the motherboard. If a video card or sound card is installed separately, then for each card you need separate disk with drivers.

How to install drivers?

If there is a disk, then insert it and wait for it to automatically start, load the software and then the driver installation is completed.

If for some reason this does not happen, then go to Start - Computer, click on the inserted disk, find and run the setup.exe file.

If the driver was downloaded from the manufacturer’s official website, then we find and run setup.exe in the same way.

The computer you are currently working on consists of many components.

If you have a personal computer, then this is a separate system unit (often called a processor, which is not entirely true), a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse, maybe also a printer, a video camera, speakers and a microphone. May be something else. And all these components of a personal computer are connected by wires.

Among the devices invisible to us (hidden in the system unit) are the video card and sound card, to which the monitor, speakers and microphone are connected.

If you have a laptop, netbook or all-in-one, then all of the listed components (well, almost all) are compactly combined into one case. But in any case they are components computer.

So here it is. In order for each of these components to work and function correctly, it is necessary special programs, which allow these devices to function.

For example, a special program installed for a video card allows you to admire the screen of your monitor, the pictures on which have 32 million color shades and the flicker of the monitor does not irritate your eyes.

Moving a physical mouse, which is in your hand, across a table or mat causes the mouse pointer to move across the monitor screen in the same direction in which you move the physical mouse. And these manipulations are also controlled by a special program.

When you press a key on your keyboard, the exact character that is “drawn” on the key is printed on the monitor screen. And this symbol is printed exactly in the place you specified. And this is also done by a special program installed on your computer.

And all these special programs are called drivers or device drivers. Essentially this is device management programs.

So, I hope we have received two answers to the question, “What are drivers, why are they needed?” Now we just have to figure out how to install them.

I would rephrase this question a little. Do I need to install drivers on your computer? And if necessary, then how?

In most cases, you do not need to personally install drivers on your computer, and here’s why.

If you bought a computer in a specialized store, then, as a rule, all the necessary drivers for your computer’s devices are already installed and installed correctly (i.e. they provide correct work your devices).

Even if you have to reinstall the operating system, you shouldn’t have too many difficulties with drivers. The operating system distribution kit (installation CD/DVD disk) contains almost everything standard drivers. And during installation, the operating system itself will determine what equipment is installed and install it itself necessary programs.

The latest versions of operating systems are generally simpler. If after installation it turns out that the distribution does not have the necessary driver, then the operating system goes online, downloads the necessary driver and installs it. True, there is one subtlety here. The network must be configured and the Internet connected, i.e. drivers for the network card must already be installed.

But in any case, when purchasing a personal computer, a disk with the necessary drivers must be included with it. Well, if it's a laptop, then setup files to restore the operating system and drivers are usually recorded on a protected hard section disk.

But, of course, there are situations when you yourself will have to install the drivers manually.

Here are a couple of examples. You have decided to change your video card (in personal computer it's quite simple) to a new sophisticated one with some of the latest graphics accelerator for professional work with 3D graphics. Or bought a new MFP ( multifunction device- copier, scanner and printer - all in one).

In this case, a disk with the necessary drivers must be included with the video card or printer. The disc is inserted into the CD/DVD drive. The program automatically starts with a “beautiful” menu with offers to install drivers and related software. Select the necessary programs and applications. Start the installation. After some time, the operating system will inform you that the drivers and necessary programs and applications are installed.

Okay, this is new equipment. How can I see what equipment is already installed and whether there are any problems with the drivers? Are all drivers installed and, if not, how to install them?

In order to see what equipment is installed on your computer and in what state it is, you need to “call” Device Manager.

I will show you how to call the device manager using examples for two popular operating systems from Microsoft - Windows XP and Windows7.

For Windows XP:

For Windows 7:

In the Device Manager window you see a description of the devices installed on your computer. If opposite the description you left-click on the “plus sign” (Windows XP) or “arrow (Windows 7)”, a description of which specific hardware model you have installed will open.

It is from this window that device drivers are installed or updated.

If your list is “clean”, that is, without yellow exclamation marks and red crosses, then all your drivers are installed and working correctly.

It’s a little worse if you see exclamation marks against the devices against the background of yellow circles.

This means that the driver is not installed entirely correctly and conflicts with another device. In this case, you need to remove this driver and restart the computer so that it detects the device again and installs the driver again. If the exclamation mark remains after this, then you will have to look for the last one updated version drivers for this device on the Internet.

And it’s really not good if there’s a red cross next to the device.

This means that the operating system does not have a driver for this device in its arsenal. This means you need to look for the driver on the Internet, download it and install it.

A reasonable question may arise: how, what and where to look, if we have the most general idea about these same drivers.

Users know that for the correct functioning of absolutely all components of the computer, sometimes called “hardware,” and some virtual devices, the system must contain special software called a driver. But what is a device driver? The answer to this and some other questions can be found in the material below.

Driver: what is this in the general sense?

It was possible, of course, to bring great amount technical terms and definitions about what control programs of this type are, but the average user does not need this. Therefore, we will speak, so to speak, in human language.

Generally accepted interpretation this term says that a driver is a program that allows the operating system to identify a hardware or virtual device and make it work in a computer environment. But this is only one side of the coin. In fact, we can say that a driver is a kind of bridge that connects the hardware or virtual component of the computer itself with the operating system and applications installed on it, and ultimately with the user.

Device driver installation issues

Now a few words about the installation. Since the driver is the link between the computer hardware and the existing software environment, for each device this must be set in mandatory(otherwise it will not work, or its functionality will be impaired).

Windows systems install the main drivers at the installation stage, detecting devices automatically. But this does not always work, and sometimes unidentified components remain in the system, for which the system’s own database, alas, does not have a suitable software not found. What to do in this case?

The first thing you need to do is look through the entire list installed equipment in the “Device Manager”, which is easiest to call with the command devmgmt.msc through the “Run” console. You can also use the standard “Control Panel” or the administration section through RMB menu on the computer icon.

To see all devices, the list must be expanded using the show hidden devices command. Any hardware for which drivers are not installed, are out of date, or are not working correctly will be marked with a yellow triangle with exclamation mark. The description can have two options: either the device is recognized (its name is displayed) or not (unknown device). For such components, it is necessary to install the corresponding software again, using the system’s own database, and if the driver is not found - original disc supplied with your computer purchase. But it happens that the disk may not exist.

How and where can I find the right driver if Windows doesn’t have it?

For example, the system does not have network driver. For most networks Ethernet adapters The control software installs without problems. But in the case of non-standard equipment or network card it may not be available from a little-known manufacturer. You will have to download the driver yourself. But how to find exactly what you need?

For this purpose, special identifiers are provided that correspond to specific device(DEV and VEN). To find them, you need to use RMB in the properties menu to call up the properties section and go to the details tab, where the equipment ID is selected in the information list. The most long string and will fully comply with the description of the device. Thus, the same network driver can be found on the Internet by searching for this particular combination.

After downloading, you can install the driver yourself. If this is an EXE file, there are no problems, you just need to run the installer as an administrator.

In the case of an INF file, the driver can be installed through the RMB menu or you can tell the system to install from a specified location when updating the driver in the Device Manager.

Using automated utilities

However, as practice shows, even a search by identifiers may not give the desired result. But there must be a driver somewhere? After all, such control software is produced for all equipment without any exceptions (otherwise it would not have been on sale).

This is where specialized specialists come to the rescue. software packages For automatic search and installing drivers like Driver Booster, DriverPack Solution and the like. But such utilities, having identified all the devices that are present in computer system, do not turn to their own or third-party databases, but directly to the resources of equipment manufacturers and developers of the corresponding software, downloading and installing it without the visible participation of the user himself (his participation is limited only to agreeing to the installation or update offer). Plus, these programs monitor the current state of drivers, constantly checking for the release of new versions (which Windows, with all due respect to these systems, cannot do).

Conclusion

Now it’s clear that the driver is a mandatory component to install software class, without which not a single device will be recognized by the operating system, not to mention the functionality of the hardware itself. ABOUT virtual devices we can only say that they are some kind of analogues of “hardware”, made in the form of some kind of emulators, but, in fact, their functionality also depends on the availability and correct installation control software called drivers.

Drivers - is a computer program that allows other programs (usually an operating system) to access the hardware of a device. Typically, operating systems come with drivers for key hardware components, without which the system will not work. However, some devices (such as a video card or printer) may require special drivers, usually provided by the device manufacturer.

In general, a driver is not required to interact with hardware devices, it can only simulate them (for example, a printer driver that writes output from programs to a file), provide software services not related to device management (for example, /dev/zero in Unix, which only produces null bytes) or do nothing (for example, /dev/null on Unix and NUL on DOS/Windows).

Also in business terminology there are the terms “project drivers”, “business drivers”, etc.

If the device is internal, i.e. made in the form of an expansion board:

remember that you can install devices into your computer yourself only if this is covered by the warranty on the system unit or if the warranty has already expired;

turn off the computer (you need to turn off the computer completely, and not put it into standby mode!);

remove the cover of the system unit;

make sure that you have a free expansion slot of a suitable type (let me remind you that modern expansion cards can be made in the form of PCI, PCIeX cards or AGP cards for video);

install the device (you don’t need to press hard to avoid breaking it);

close the system unit cover;

turn on the computer's power.

If the device is external:

if the device is connected to the USB bus, then simply connect it to a free USB socket;

If the device is not a USB device, then turn off the computer, connect the device, and turn on the computer's power.

USB devices can be connected and disconnected while the computer is running without turning off the power. Also, in most cases, USB devices do not require their own power supply, since they receive power from the computer. Rest external devices(not USB) are equipped with power supplies.

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is a set of network protocols published by the UPnP forum. The goal of UPnP is universal automatic configuration of network devices both at home and in a corporate environment. Consists of a set of related protocols built on open Internet standards.

UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) is an architecture for multi-peer connections between personal computers and smart devices installed, for example, in the home. UPnP is built on Internet standards and technologies such as TCP/IP, HTTP and XML, and ensures that similar devices automatically connect to each other and work together in network environment, as a result of which a network (for example, a home one) becomes easy to set up for a larger number of users.

Plug-and-play ( abbr. PnP - "plug and play (work)") - means that you do not need to configure anything, just connect the device to the computer and you can start working. A good example of this type of device are concentrators (hubs). It is enough to connect cables to the network adapters and hub ports so that you can work on the network.

Developed by Microsoft with the assistance of other companies.

Basic knowledge about PnP:

PNP BIOS - BIOS extensions for working with PnP devices.

Plug and Play Device ID - the PnP device identifier has the form PNPXXXX, where XXXX is a special code.