What is a Driver Software and Best 4 Tools to Keep Your Drivers Up to Date
Driver software, also known as a driver, a device driver, or a hardware driver, is a one-of-a-kind software program that controls a specific hardware device connected to a computer.
The device works correctly only if the necessary driver software is installed. For example, missing drivers in Microsoft Windows may result in a driver conflict or an error in the device manager. When systems encounter issues or conflicts with drivers, the computer or hardware manufacturer releases a driver update to resolve the problems.
Let’s dive into the article to understand driver software and its importance.
What is Driver Software?
Driver software facilitates communication between the operating system and the computer’s various hardware components. When you download driver software, it begins to act as an intermediary, allowing computers to send and receive data from hardware devices. They are in charge of the hardware that is connected to the computer. The drivers ensure that the interaction goes as planned.
Types of Driver Software
There are two types of driver software, as we discuss here.
- Kernel-mode Device Driver: This component of the kernel-mode operating system manages input-output operations, threads, and security.
- User-mode Device Driver: Devices that require drivers are brought by users. These are called user-mode device drivers.
The kernel layer of the operating system is where device drivers operate. The kernel is the component of the operating system that interacts directly with the system’s physical structure. An operating system loads device drivers and calls specific functions in the driver software to execute specific tasks on the device rather than directly accessing the device. Each driver includes the device-specific codes needed to perform the actions on the device.
How Does Driver Software Work?
A driver is a software component that allows the operating system and a device to communicate.
Assume an application needs to read some data from a device. The application invokes a function implemented by the operating system, and the operating system invokes a driver-executed process. The driver, written by the company that designed and manufactured the device, understands how to communicate with the device hardware to obtain the data. After receiving data from the device, the driver sends it to the operating system, which generates it for the application.
Applications of Driver software
These fundamental components of personal and enterprise computing are used to perform various functions. Here, we look into some applications of driver software.
1. Accessing storage systems
Computer storage systems enable users to save data and access it when needed. External and internal devices such as USB flash drives, hard drives, and network-attached storage fall into this category.
2. Input and output devices
The computer’s operating system interacts with device drivers to ensure its hardware performs as expected. Mouse and keyboards are examples of input devices, while monitors are examples of output devices.
3. Digital cameras
A digital camera driver is a program that allows the camera to communicate with other devices, such as computers. The OS will only recognize it if the drivers are installed.
4. Mobile operating systems like Android
Drivers enable mobile phones to communicate with computers. Most phones include drivers with firmware, allowing computers to load them to support hardware. However, for drivers to be installed and data transfer to occur, users may first need to install OEM PC software.
5. For superior video performance
Graphic cards are essential components of a computer system that enable superior video performance in computers, games, and other graphically intensive tasks. Graphic drivers allow graphic cards to interact with the computer’s operating system and thus require the graphic cards to perform optimally.
What is The Benefit of Installing Custom Drivers
Both Windows and MacOS now have extensive driver support. When you connect devices to your computer, they will start working immediately. This plug-and-play functionality makes adding peripherals a breeze.
If you want to get the most out of your devices, try to find drivers that support each piece of hardware. This is because custom drivers allow you to use the exact features of that model.
Features may include:
- Sound cards have various audio modes.
- Graphics card compatibility has been improved.
- Webcams can be controlled manually.
- Control RGB lighting on RGB-enabled devices.
Best Software to Manage Drivers
Driver software enables your computer’s hardware and operating system to communicate effectively. But, these drivers can become obsolete over time. That is why you need to update them regularly.
Apps for updating device drivers check the driver version and automatically update the driver in the background. Using such driver-managing software saves you significant time and the hassles associated with manually updating device drivers.
1. Ashampoo Driver Updater
Ashampoo is the best driver-managing software for troubleshooting issues caused by outdated drivers. To keep your system up-to-date, you can use it to search for new driver versions on official websites or in relevant databases.
2. Driver Easy
Another popular tool for detecting and updating outdated drivers is Driver Easy. It allows you to download approved drivers. It will enable you to scan your computer for outdated drivers even if you don’t have an Internet connection. This is one of the best free driver updater tools for updating drivers once the system is connected to the Internet.
3. Driver Genius
Driver Genius is a driver updater with additional features and driver updates. This driver updater also displays hardware information, transfers files, optimizes the system, and removes junk files.
4. Avast Driver Updater
Avast Driver Updater is one of the best driver software options. This driver updater detects outdated, missing, or corrupt drivers. It also performs a complete scan of your device before proceeding with driver restoration.
Takeaway
Device drivers are critical to IT infrastructure as consumers and businesses use more devices and peripherals. Modern driver technology can improve computer performance by lowering resource consumption and increasing speed. That is why it is critical to understand how drivers work and to maintain a regular driver patching and update schedule to ensure that the entire device ecosystem runs smoothly. If you want to learn more about driver software, connect with our experts.
FAQs
1. What is a device driver or driver software?
A Device Driver is a software that allows your PC’s operating system and hardware to communicate appropriately.
2. What types of driver software are there?
There are two varieties: Kernel device drivers are pieces of generic software loaded as part of the operating system (OS). The other is user mode device drivers, which run in user mode.
3. What is the function of driver software?
Driver software acts as a bridge between the operating system and the device. For example, Nvidia and Radeon video adapters are internally distinct, but the OS must support both. Their respective software drivers enable this.
4. Why do I need driver updater?
Simply put, drivers make your computer work. Drivers are tiny bits of software or files that tell computer hardware and devices how to communicate with the operating system. Without drivers, your computer won’t work.
5. How is application software different than driver software?
You usually install application software on your computer to do various things, such as view web pages, write emails, play games, etc. Driver software may be manually or automatically installed. They allow your computer to work with printers, mouse, keyboards, monitors, etc.
