Computer Hardware Device Drivers: What they are and Where to get them
If you’ve been tinkering with computers for a while now, chances are you’ve stumbled upon the inconveniences caused by computer device drivers. Most likely, this has happened when you bought new hardware devices to attach to your computer, such as a new webcam or printer. Or perhaps you needed to reformat and reinstall your computer. In such cases, you had to deal with device drivers.
So what are device drivers anyway?
Device drivers are computer programs that control the hardware connected to your computer. Basically, it makes your devices work.
Let’s say you buy a new printer and attach it to your computer. Naturally, it wouldn’t work right away. Your computer can detect that you plugged something (the printer) in, but cannot use it because it doesn’t know how to communicate with the device yet. This is where device drivers come in. They act as translators between your computer and the device. It translates what the computer wants into a language that the device can understand so it can perform the task.
Each piece of hardware has a special “language” with which the computer must use to communicate. These languages are written in very low-level commands, such that the average computer user or even the tech-savvy ones cannot understand. These languages are programmed by the manufacturers of the devices themselves. They are in the best position to create drivers because they have better information regarding the design of the devices than any outsiders, and hence only drivers that come from these entities can really be trusted. One must always be wary of using drivers that do not come from the original manufacturer of the hardware device. This can cause problems ranging from not being able to get the device to work, or destroying it completely.
Some hardware devices that need drivers include printers, graphics cards, modems, network cards, and sound cards. Meanwhile, hardware devices that need drivers that can automatically be provided by your operating system usually include keyboards, mice, USB flash drives and most other USB devices.
If you ever find the need to install device drivers for your hardware, here are some of the most common solutions.
- Plug in the device to your computer. Your operating system (say, Windows, Mac or Linux) will automatically try to search its database of drivers for a match. If a perfect one is found, it is automatically installed and your device is ready to use after just a few seconds. However, if your operating system was not able to find a suitable driver for your device, it will ask you if you’d like to connect to the Internet to find one, which usually does not work for Windows, but works for Linux. You can give it a try, or go to step 2.
- Insert the installer discs that came with your hardware device. Use the drivers provided by your hardware manufacturer. These drivers are usually stored on CDs or DVDs. You can either have your operating system search for the drivers on the disc, or open the disc yourself and find the “Install” or “Setup” icon.
- Go to the hardware manufacturer’s website. Usually these websites provide a way for users to search for drivers of the devices that they have created. Be sure to look for the specific model and one that have been created especially for your operating system and its version.
- Go to driver search websites, the most popular of them being driverguide.com. You can specify what you are looking for: the type of hardware, brand, model and your operating system. They even have a software program you can install, which detects the drivers that you need and automatically download and installs them. Other driver search sites include driverzone.com, driversplanet.com and drivershq.com.
- When all else fails, goggle it. Chances are, if you still haven’t found the driver you need, someone else has also experienced the same problem. Just try to search for the drivers using Google or your favorite search engine, and hopefully you will stumble upon websites or forums that will guide you on where to find that elusive driver you’ve been looking for.
Finding and installing device drivers can be an excruciating experience if you do not know what they are, what they do and where to find them. Hopefully, you are now fully equipped to start your quest for the perfect driver.
Happy searching!
The Computer: A Need for Device Drivers
A computer or a computing machine is a device which receives information, acts upon it, and furnishes the results in a form readable by either a person or by a machine. In most cases, the computer performs some mathematical operation upon the data which it receives. Sometimes, however, it is used simply to rearrange or translate information. The chief advantage of a computer is the speed with which it operates.
Among the various names by which computers are, or have been, known are mathematical machines, automatic data processors and colloquially, electronic brains and thinking machines. Actually, the latter two are misnomers, for a computer cannot think- it can only carry out those operations that a person has programmed, or instructed, it to perform. In this way, a computer functions as an extension of man’s intellect, just as a steam shovel, for example, functions as an extension of his muscles.
In little more than a decade, the computer has become an integral part of science, government, and business. Each year new ways to use these machines are being discovered. Technological developments have been so rapid and of such magnitude, that in some cases they have overlapped.
Despite its advanced stage, therefore, the computer must be considered to be in a continual state of development. Man has only just begun to understand how much this versatile tool can do for him. New components are continually being developed and existing ones refined. As programming techniques are advanced to utilize these improvements, expansion into new and presently uninvestigated areas will be increased.
Computer in itself is a complex machine. With the word machine alone, it is relatively made out of many parts. These parts help hand in hand to create the necessary output as it accepts input and utilizes this to process the output needed. The computer can also store data. It is the discretion of the owner as to saving his work or not. Indeed computer nowadays are very useful and that it is of big help to companies and even in little ones who are still learning. There are programs that help them learn and further understand their lessons in school.
Your body has different parts. Some parts help you move. Some parts help you observe things. Some even help you read and understand data and apply it in different aspects in life. Indeed, the whole is the sum of its parts. With missing parts, one cannot do an appropriate tasks built for the part that is missing. Computers too are made up of different parts. These parts work together in unison as they do their specific tasks.
Input devices. These are devices that serve as the computer’s eyes and ears, otherwise known as your senses. You get information through your eyes and ears. Similarly, computers take in information such as words and numbers. Among the input devices are the keyboard, mouse and the joystick. The keyboard looks like a typewriter. It has many buttons. The buttons on it are called keys. The keyboard is used to type in letters, numbers and symbols. The mouse on the other hand allows you to control the movement of the cursor. You can use the mouse to tell the computer what to do to perform commands and functions. The joystick is often used in games. It controls the movement and direction of objects displayed on the screen.
Processing device. It is like your brain. When you think, you use your brain. It is used to process data given to the computer. The central processing unit acts as the brain of the computer. It tells the other parts of the computer what to do.
Output devices. When the computer sends out information through one of its parts, usually printed or on the screen, it is called an output. They are used to show what the computer has done. Among the output devices are the monitor, printer and speakers.
Storage devices. You can save your work through this device. Among these storage devices are hard disk, diskette and a compact disk.
All of these, in order for it to work in unison is through the use of a computer device driver. This device driver acts as a messenger and as a bridge from one specific device to another. Such as your audio device, it needs an audio device driver for the CPU to understand the data and to relay it to the audio devices such as your speakers.
In all of this, there is only one lesson learned. “United we stand, divided we fall.” Each part has importance to the whole.