Finding Drivers

Sometimes it is difficult to find drivers for old laptops that are supported by manufacturers any longer. In such cases, we almost always use a search engine. But there is a lot of noise when we look for keywords like “computer and drivers”. Almost every computer repair or service related website claims that they have all necessary drivers. They ask us to just go there and download the special software and everything will be solved automatically. Actually speaking, automatic driver-finding tools in computers use the same information as the Device Manager does. So if your Device Manager devices are not recognized, the hardware still will still not work.

In our opinion, the best way to update or to find the necessary drivers is the manual method. There are a lot of good programs that can show exactly what configuration the computer is. For example, SIW (System Information for Windows) is very good software for this purpose. It shows even the memory type and speed.

Another good software application for this purpose is Everest. It is also a free software application and can run even from a USB dongle.

Here is how the Everest looks.
 
 

It is similar to SIW.
 
After we have identified the drivers, it is time to get them from the Internet. Here is a very good website to get rare drivers—www.driverguide.com This website has loads of drivers. However, since all drivers are free, there is a lot of advertising on this website, which could even be termed as distracting.

But there is a quick method to get drivers from the website. Just type in the search engine something like this: “ATI Radeon driver site:driverguide.com” and usually this gets you straight to the download page. Usually, the download link or button is buried in the text. But it is really worth the minor hiccups, as this website has almost all possible drivers.
 
If you are looking for laptop drivers, then the first source would be a manufacturer’s website. To find drivers there a service tag (for Dell laptops), laptop model number or part model number that is needed. Sometimes, the laptop manufacturers provide special software that will assist with finding necessary drivers.
 
Another way to identify what devices we have in the computer is to look at the actual device and find there a model number. For example on the video card, there is always a model printed. The next step would be to submit this number to search engine or go to the manufacturer’s website and search for drivers there.
 
With a laptop, the situation with drivers is little bit different. All necessary drivers for a laptop are on the installation disk. If you do not have an installation disk, then the best way is to go to the manufacturer’s website and search for drivers. Usually they are under support link.

Also, laptop installation disks can be bought online, for example on eBay.

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