How to Install a New Sound Driver
A sound card is the hardware in a computer that makes the sound play. It needs software called a sound driver or sound card driver to function. One of the steps to installing a new sound card is installing a new sound driver. When a manufacturer upgrades a driver, you may also need to download and install the new sound driver. Properly installing a new sound driver requires that you take some steps to make sure the right driver is installed at the correct time.
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Instructions
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Read the sound card installation instructions. Some sound card manufacturers ask that you install the new sound card driver before you install the hardware, while other instruct you to wait until the hardware is installed to load the new driver.
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Get the right driver. Most sound cards come with a CD-ROM with the correct driver in the package with the sound card. For new driver upgrades, download a copy from the manufacturer's website.
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Install the software. For drivers located on a CD-ROM, load the disk into the CD-ROM drive. If the driver installation program is not autorun, locate the CD-ROM drive letter in your computer directory and run the driver installation program manually.
New driver software downloaded from the manufacturer's website can be installed by double clicking the downloaded installation package.
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Complete the steps in the installation program. You may need to restart your computer to finish the installation.
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Test whether the device functions with the new driver. Hook up the speakers to the sound device and play a test sound to verify that the driver is installed correctly.
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Tips & Warnings
Some sound card models may have similar numbers but require different drivers. When downloading drivers from a manufacturer's website, ensure that you have the right new driver for your exact sound card model.
Avoid drivers downloaded from anywhere but the manufacturer's website. Unofficial drivers can be buggy and at worst can contain viruses.
References
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