How To Keep Your PC Running Smoothly Part 5: drivers

With great hardware comes great driver installations. Which unfortunately usually end up looking like the picture to the right. Lucky for you I just so happen to be into depriving myself of all sleep whatsoever and disreguarding all pain coursing through my body. Yeah!

Anywho, let me break down what hardware actually requires drivers, where you can get them, and what exactly to do with them. After all, I'm here to keep you from having to pay the techs. Remember, no matter what you're doing with a computer.. patience is key. If you start losing your cool or can no longer concentrate, just walk away. You'll just do more harm to your stress level and possibly damage your hardware otherwise.

Previously covered was Part 4: upgrading hardware .

Well, in short, it's exactly what it sounds like. See unless your hardware is specifically labeled 'Plug and Play', your Operating System won't know how to interface with that device. What the driver does is interpret the commands given to the device by the user and conducts the hardware on what to do. A computer is kind of like a symphony, and then a 92 car pileup, and then a symphony. They're moody. :-)

If you're sound isn't working, the problem usually lies in one of three things. All of which are very easy to fix, though today I'm just here to talk about drivers.

Due to being the most reliable and cheap means of implementing an audio system on a computer. Realtek has nearly every contract for onboard sound. That being said, here's a link to your likely audio drivers. Download and install this just as you would any other program. After installation and a reboot if you still don't have sound:

• right-click on My Computer
• left-click Properties
• left-click on the Hardware tab
• left-click on Device Manager
• Expand the 'Other Devices', it should have a yellow question mark in front of it.
• If you see something that says 'Audio Device' or 'Audio Controller' in that category, you don't have Realtek onboard audio. If this is your dilemma, turn off your computer, take off the side and search for a part number, serial number or model number. The model number is your best bet, usually shorter than both the part and serial numbers and starting with a series of letters. Place the removable panel back onto your PC, power it on and search that model number in google. What you're looking for is hardware specifications for your motherboard, located somewhere within will be your audio device. Once you have the name, navigate to the manufacturer's site and download your proper drivers.
• If you don't see your Audio Device in the expanded Other Devices, expand "Sound, Video and Game Controllers" If you see anything that has anything to do with audio in there, your drivers are installed. If it's got an icon to the left with an exclamation point, chances are your device is disabled for some reason. Right click the device and choose 'Properties'. When another window opens there should be a drop down menu at the bottom in which you can choose "Use This Device (Enable)" Do so and hit 'Apply' 'Ok' and you should be fine. Try a reboot.
• If you still don't have sound, make sure your speakers are plugged in and turned on, and properly connected to the audio out or headphones jack on the back of your PC.
• If you still don't have sound, expand the menu of icons to the right of your task bar and double click on the speaker icon. Make sure that none of your volume controls are muted, and that none are turned all the way down.
• If your audio device was not listed in either Other Devices or Sound, Video And Game Controllers and you use a PCI-slot audio card it might have shaken loose or not properly physically installed. Turn off your PC and remove the side panel, if it's screwed in remove the screw and pull the card completely out. Put it back in it's proper slot, replace the securing screw, put your side panel back on and turn your computer back on. This should cause your computer to recognize it as new hardware and prompt you to install the drivers, or simply start working after it defines the device.
  

If you've just installed Windows and everything seems to be HUGE on your screen. You need to install some video drivers. Another easy way to tell is if you've got a window open and try to drag it from one side of the screen to the other and it traces and chops the whole way, you definitely need to install video drivers. If you're playing a video game and things start to get choppy and slow, check for a driver update.

If you have a PCI-slot video card, you probably know your video card's manufacturer. Simply visit their website and download the proper drivers. If you don't have a PCI-slot card and you're using an onboard GPU and don't know your GPU's manufacturer, follow the steps from above to find your MOBO specs, and navigate yourself to the proper drivers. Always reboot after you install drivers.

While most CPUs will give you base productivity as soon as it has been physically installed. There are still a lot of options and performance you're missing out on without the correct driver. If you've just purchased a CPU, it most likely came with a driver CD/DVD--if not you can find the support page for that manufacturer on the box.

If you don't know what CPU your computer is using, there is a simple way to tell. Right-Click on My Computer, left-click 'Properties'. The window that should now be on your screen will list some basic system specs for you. For instance, I have an AMD Athlon 64-bit Dual Core processor. Now I know exactly what drivers I need to bring my CPU up to top performance.

This window also gives you information of what Operating System you are running, what Version and Service Pack, and the total amount of RAM installed on your motherboard.

NIC (Network Interface Card) drivers are a little difficult to obtain without having the internet already. And if you do have access to the internet, you probably don't need the drivers for this--kind of a catch 22.

Every network card purchased comes with a CD containing a driver installation package. Careful though, don't ever put your new NIC in your computer before the software instructs you to.

If you have a second computer connected to the internet, you can write down the hardware configuration for your computer, visit the manufacturer's websites, download and transfer all drivers that you don't have onto a flash drive. Since memory sticks and USB ports are plug and play, you don't need to install a driver to use it. This can save A LOT of time when bringing up a new computer or installation as you've got every driver installation package already there in front of you, and you don't have to search for anything!

Remember to reboot after each driver install, some packages require a reboot before it can finish the installation. So installing multiple drivers that require this can corrupt the installs on startup, causing you to have to start from square 1.

On of the most important sets of drivers to make sure you have is your motherboard or chipset drivers. As I explained in Part 4, your motherboard regulates the communication between every piece of hardware in your computer. It also regulates your fan speeds based on temperature sensors placed around the board.

If you don't know your motherboard's manufacturer, simply refer to the steps I listed in the Audio Driver section.

Well, that's about it for this one. Short, sweet and informative. I hope this set of How To's serves you well!