Driver updater...laptop

[nikroc]

Anyone recommend any totally free driver update software?...

I have tried some onlty to get hit with a pay/register to download...

Trying to resurect an old Samsung R530 and have struggled to use Samsungs site most of the afternoon..

[paula9568]

try iobit driver booster or driver max,

[paula9568]

have u tried them yet ?

[nikroc]

i use driverbooster but it will only update three drivers,unless you pay..drivermax will recognise 14 updates but only lets you download 2 in any 24 hour period..unless you pay...hmmmm

Thank you for the suggestions tho.

[paula9568]

slim driver, driver easy a few more

[Alan22]

You need to take great care with such software, especially Iobit, on the face of it they look good, but they were caught stealing antivirus definitions from another very respected maker, then they were making their program(s) with very dubious spyware and the like, and they were doing it blind, so you never knew what else was installed with it, and suddenly you start to see programs you know nothing about, you could often see them if you use the advanced install option, that way you get the chance to refuse such additional rubbish, but even then, they made some items look like you would only be installing the program.

I've spent the best part of 20 years helping people with PC problems, so was a lot more aware than most, But, even I nearly selected something that I didn't want, because it presented in a way that you either thought it was the program you want, or that you would not be able to install the program without it, it was that good in it's presentation you would be forgiven for not knowing about it, more so as they have\had removed the 'do Not install' option that the other multi installs offered prior (they often put an additional 3 or 4 installs as well in the same programs installer), and the way to avoid installing that one was simply don't touch it, hit the next button and it would skip the one that would catch many, to end up with just the program you wanted.

So take care with Iobit, every system I touch the first thing I put on them is Unchecky, it's not bullet proof, but it's a major step to cut down unwanted crud, it's an extremely lightweight program, it's free, and like all good software you can report programs that you come across, and they add them if they agree, and is so simple in it's use, it does 2 things, first, it unchecks (hence the name) stuff that is hidden and known to be bad, and you never know it's done anything, it's so smooth, there is 1 time it will pop up and warn of potential unwanted software, if it does this it's because it has not yet found a way to stop it from installing something, and gives you the option to proceed (but warns against it), or stop, which installs nothing.

By far the best and safest way to get your drivers is to use a program like Speccy, I'm a bit out of what's hot or not now, but I've used that many times to find out just what specific hardware a system has, and from memory it links you to that makers site telling you what you have, and you then navigate the site to find that driver for that hardware, just repeat for each item you need, it's far safer than alternative options, but there are many other tools to help that are safe and free if needed (just holla if needed), hope this helps.

[nikroc]

I appreciate the comprehensive response..it's all too easy to download crud unknowingly...iI would love to know of a program that enables straightforward driver updates tbh.

[Matty2Fatty]

What you can do is go into device manager (if it's a windows machine), then right click on the driver you need and select properties, then in the "Details" tab select "Hardware Ids" from the drop down box, you should see a code (e.g. PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8168&SUBSYS_2ACF103C&REV_06) if you then google that code it'll tell you what device that is and you can then go to the manufacturer website (if they still exist) and download the relevant driver. So my example is a Realtek RTL8168/8111 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC. So the network card.

It's a bit more time consuming and a bit of a ball ache, but it generally tends to be a lot safer than installing random third party software that just clogs your machine.

Ive restored many drivers this way, I recently did it with a 15 year old "hi-grade" laptop (a brand I've not even heard of) and managed to find all the drivers for it. Windows 10 also seems pretty good at installing drivers natively in it, of course depends if you're using windows 10

[Alan22]

@Matty2Fatty, very true, but very complex, as well as time consuming as you say, not for the average user, but can help you appreciate the complexity of a PC, it can also have you either chasing stuff that's not there, finding the proper version, or just finding nothing, but most things are easily sorted where you have the make\model\version of each bit of hardware involved, which often can be read from looking in the Device Manager list for clues, or read directly from the hardware, but cheaper systems often use unbranded stuff, with limited (if ever) updates, and it's where the route you mention comes into play, after all else has failed.



That said, there are very good 3rd party options about, and free versions are in one sense the most accurate, and the ones with a 'free trial' often being the absolute worst, as the vast majority of them (from what I have seen) will generate so many out of date\insecure things, to panic the user into paying to get the full paid version to repair all the items it lists as a problem, when most, if not all of them were fine to start with, the simplest way to demonstrate that is if you are all up to date, see what some of these come back with lol.

I don't think there will ever be a 100% tool to do this, simply because there are so many things out there, it doesn't have a hope of keeping up to date, But, there are some good tools and approaches to do this, the safest is if it's store or manufacturer bought, you should be able to go to the maker's site, and get the drivers direct from them, but even then they are not often the latest, but certainly the safest if you feel out of your depth, and Windows does a good job in driver updates itself, unlike they used to be.

I have just downloaded a program I had long forgot, and I have had an audio issue for a long time now, and even with me ensuring I had the latest, it was still not working right, so spurred on by this thread, I downloaded Driver Talent (Formerly called DriveTheLife), which I had totally forgotten about, who have become big business since my last use, and try to annoy\confuse you enough to buy the full version, and make it complicated enough to again get people to pay for it, but unlike others they don't tell you that you need something, when you don't, so is the best of both worlds from what I can see.

Should anyone want to give this a try let me know and I will put up some instructions to help if needed.

[nikroc]

Sooooo....I still struggling to find a completly free driver updater programme....ANYONE have anything they can recommend??