Back in the days of Windows 95, 98, and Me, new and improved hardware for Windows computers was being released in flurry of activity — and it was really important to keep your drivers updated – and so, back in the day, we used to recommend that everyone keep drivers updated. But that all changed with the release of Windows XP: and newer versions of Windows. Updating drivers unnecessarily now leads to headaches and serious Windows errors. Now, newer is rarely better and unless you have a hardware device or peripheral which is not working properly, you do not need to update drivers.
We’ve had hundreds of rewarding Cloudeight Direct Computer Care sessions since we started our computer repair service. And we have learned a lot about how people use their computers and even more about common concerns users have. During our visits to customer computers, we’ve seen a lot of problems that are caused by programs which constantly search for and install the latest hardware drivers. And it sounds like a jolly good idea, right? In theory, you’d think that installing new drivers for your devices would be the thing to do. But in practice it can often lead to some really bad things.
Unfortunately, we see driver update programs installed on around 50% of all the computers we work on. Not only are most of these programs useless, they’re dangerous, and many are malware.
Folks, the only time you ever need to update your drivers is if something isn’t working correctly for you. Otherwise, leave them alone and never install a program whose main or only purpose is to update drivers. If you have such a program on your computer we can assure you of three things:
1. It will start with Windows
2. It will find drivers that need updating
3. If you allow these kinds of programs to update your drivers regularly and automatically, it will eventually cause you big problems.
The best advice we can give you about updating drivers is: Don’t do it unless your device isn’t working properly. If your printers, mice, display, scanners, etc. are working fine, don’t install new drivers just because there are newer drivers available…if the old drivers work, don’t mess with them Installing drivers is serious business and a bad driver or one that’s not compatible with your computer’s unique environment may cause you all kinds of problems.
The time to worry about new drivers is when one of your hardware devices isn’t working as it should. A new driver could definitely help you in that situation. And if this occurs ALWAYS get the driver you need from the hardware manufacturer’s Web site — never via a driver updating program or from a random search for drivers.
The old adage…”If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” is a good rule of thumb for all of us computer users to remember when it comes to updating drivers and just about everything else.
Would your comment be the same for a persistant REMINDER! saying ‘Your computer is not backed up.
Backup your files today. Free computer backup available now’. The only identification of who is making this offer is a yellow shield with a big exclamation mark on it. Bearing in mind your advice to not click on the X to get rid of it, what to do?
I recently had a Cloudeight Direct session & we spoke of updating drivers. I did use a driver updating program before my session that didn’t fix my problem & I would like to uninstall the program . Can I uninstall it safely? Or should I just leave it alone?
We would have never recommended a driver updater program –ever. Unless a hardware device was not working on your computer — we would have never recommended updating your drivers. We don’t normally work on hardware issues anyway since we cannot physically access your machine. So, I’m really not quite sure who told you to update drivers but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t either of us…and I know 100% for sure we never told you download a driver updater program.
As far as removing a driver updater program, you should definitely get rid of it.