- Drivers work by essentially connecting a hardware peripheral to a software program. It manages these connections through your computer's CPU, and facilitates communication between these two components. More advanced drivers manage the performance of computer peripherals, and can give advanced users a greater amount of control over their device performance.
- Drivers are often at the root of many software and hardware issues you may encounter. If your connected device stops working, it is often the result of a corrupted or missing driver. This can occur if a file is downloaded to the wrong directory, or is moved or accidentally deleted. The best way to identify this problem is to find out what drivers are associated with the malfunctioning program. This information is often located in a user's guide or manual.
- If you find that a driver is corrupted or missing, there are several things you can do to remedy this issue. If you still have the install CD for the program or peripheral, it will often have backup driver information for you to download. However, if this is not the case, or you are missing a driver that came with your OS, there are several free rudimentary drivers that can restore functionality to everything from printers to webcams. See the Computer Hope list of drivers in the Resources section for more on this.
- The best way to keep your drivers from malfunctioning is to keep them all in a locked or off-limits directory. If you have drivers that have been installed automatically, this may have been done for you. If you are installing your own drivers, consult your operating manual for information about safely storing drivers.
- It is important to make sure that any drivers that you download from the internet are legitimate. Many times sites that claim to have drivers for download often contain harmful spyware and adware instead that can severely affect your computer's performance.
