drivers Archives - Ask Leo!

How Do I Force Windows to Reinstall a Driver?

My machine is an emachines T2792 and has six USB ports. No matter which port I plug into or what type of hardware that I try to use, my computer tells me that the “hardware has malfunctioned” or “hardware not recognized”. My OS is XP-Home edition. I’ve tried no fewer than a half-dozen driver repair and PC rejuvenators – all to no avail. What do you think is the most likely culprit?

My knee-jerk reaction is to say that the half-dozen driver repair and PC rejuvenators are at fault. Many are no better than snake oil; they either add problems where there previously had been none, or make existing problems worse. I recommend avoiding them completely.

However, there was a problem before you tried them, so they can’t be completely at fault.

We do need to seriously consider that the hardware here has a problem, and no amount of driver fiddling is going to fix that. But before we throw in the towel on a software solution, there is one thing worth trying.

How and When Should I Update Drivers?

I have been reading about the importance of updating, if required, the various device drivers within in a system. As I understand it, I can update drivers by identifying the driver that may require updating and then, by accessing the manufacturers web site, and determining if there are any updates. If so, I believe that the update can be downloaded. Does the download overwrite the existing data within the device in question? I must confess to being a bit nervous regarding this approach and because of this I have looked at driver update services.

Drivers are another one of those “computer things” that are just so much confusing magic to the average computer user.

I’ll touch a little on what they are, and then my philosophy about when and how to update them.

How Do I Get Printer Drivers for Linux?

If you’re running Linux as your operating system and you get a printer without a driver CD how do you get drivers for Linux? What I mostly see on printer makers’ sites are drivers for Windows.

What you’re experiencing is sort of the dirty little secret of Linux: lack of hardware support.

Along with getting used to the different user interface, and perhaps not finding a specific needed application, I would wager that driver (hardware) issues are high on the list of things that prevent people from actually switching to Linux.

Why Did I Get this Additional Driver Utility?

When I was downloading a driver to put the sound back in my system, something called “driver wiz” wound up on my system. When I went to the Control Panel to remove it, the command “move” or “remove” is no longer there – just the word “change.” When you click on Change, it tries to install the program driver wiz. I found out that I’m not the only one having this problem. Can you help?

What you have is a classic PUP – Potentially Unwanted Program.

Unfortunately, there’s rarely any “potentially” about it. The programs are unwanted. They’ve been getting more aggressive and people are saddled with all sorts of things that they really don’t want.

Let’s talk about prevention first.