Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why do I need to update my drivers?

A: A few reasons why you might want to update your drivers:

1. You like to keep your system up to date with the latest software and updates.
2. You have a device that is not recognized or working properly.
3. You have a new game that does not work properly.
4. You have a device that is not working up to it's full potential, or is missing features.
5. You have just upgraded to a new operating system.
6. Using one device causes another not to work properly.
7. A new of piece of hardware came out and you were one of the first to own it.

Q: What is a driver?

A: A device driver is a software program that manages communication between your computer and a hardware device. Devices like keyboards, mice, disk drives, and printers all use a software driver to interact with the operating system and other software applications.

When you buy an operating system like Microsoft Windows XP, many device drivers are built into the operating system. However, if you buy a new type of device that the operating system did not anticipate, you'll have to install a new device driver. A device driver essentially converts the more general input/output instructions of the operating system to messages that the device can understand.

Q: Why is my driver still showing out of date after I installed the recommended driver?

A: The default behavior of DriverMD™ is to automatically detect a successful driver installation; however, there may be times when you want to inform DriverMD™ that your driver installed successfully.

How it works

When you inform DriverMD™ that your driver updated successfully by selecting Yes on the Installation Options window, your driver will report as up to date on the Scan Result screen and also on all subsequent Scans/Rescans until we publish a new driver update in our database for your device. If you leave Detect it for me selected, DriverMD™ will attempt to detect the successful driver installation automatically after you perform a ReScan.

Q: But I have a Dell, Gateway, IBM, Sony, HP, (fill in the blank) why I can't just go to the company site and download the latest drivers?

A: No matter which name your PC has on it that company did not make all of the parts that went into your computer. In fact most likely they didn't make any of the parts.

Q: How will I know if my drivers are the latest version?

A: If you don't have DriverMD™ you are going to have to first find out who manufactured every part of your computer and search for them one by one and compare your version to the latest version. This could take hours!

Q: How many hardware parts need up to date drivers?

A: At least 16. Here is a list:

1) Audio Card Drivers
2) Backup Unit Drivers
3) Chipset Drivers
4) Digital Camera Drivers
5) Firewire Drivers
6) Input Device Drivers
7) Modem Drivers
8) Motherboard Drivers
9) Networking Drivers
10) Optical Unit Drivers
11) Printer Drivers
12) Scanner Drivers
13) Storage Drivers
14) USB Drivers
15) Video Drivers
16) Video Monitor Drivers
Q: So can DriverMD™ save me time?

A: Yes. DriverMD™ will scan your computer in just a few minutes and instantly tell you the latest version for all of your different PC's hardware parts and allow you to download them.

Q: Can DriverMD™ save me money?

A: Yes. You've made an investment into your computer and many times as soon as you buy it your computer drivers are out of date. This means you are not getting the most out of your PC and after only a few years you buy another one because your PC's performance has deteriorated. However if you only had updated your computer's drivers you may have added an extra year or more to the life of your computer saving you thousands of dollars.

Q: How much does DriverMD™ cost?

A: There is no charge to download DriverMD™ and use DriverMD™ to scan your PC for out of date drivers you need. If DriverMD™ finds drivers that need updating we recommend using DriverMD™ to download, install, and update those drivers. DriverMD™ has a database of more than 20 million drivers that is updated daily by a full time staff of employees who spend their day updating the driver database. They also test and repackage the drivers to make them easy to download and install. To save you countless hours of searching and installing the latest drivers our staff does this for you, and no matter how politely we ask them to, they do not work for free. So a 2 year subscription with UNLIMITED driver downloads is only $39.90. A small investment that will keep your expensive PC in tip-top shape.

Q: I just upgraded to Windows 7 why is my printer, scanner, or digital camera is not working?

A: Your computer drivers, the software that allows your hardware to communicate with Windows, has not been upgraded to communicate with Windows 7. Download DriverMD™ to find out instantly what drivers you need and download them to get your hardware working again now.