Good day!
Drivers are like gears in a mechanism, if they are not on your computer (or they are not "native") - the system does not work in normal mode: then something hangs, then it does not start, various slowdowns and errors.
Video and audio drivers are especially difficult (in the first case - problems with games, in the second - no sound). I think this is why there has always been an interest in programs that allow you to update drivers without the direct participation of the user (so that you press 1 button and that's it ...). 😉
Actually, in this article I decided to collect a dozen of similar programs that will help save time and nerves in case of problems with drivers.
By the way, the list of programs below is relevant at the end of 2020, it is presented, in a way, the top 10 best products with their pros / cons.
And so, more to the point ...
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The main
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Driver booster
Website: //ru.iobit.com/driver-booster.php
Review: "step by step" analysis of the utility
It is considered to be one of the best auto-search and driver update programs. Judge for yourself: to start the update - you only need to press one button!
After that, the program will scan your PC and show the current driver version for each of your hardware (it will recommend what to update and what you can leave - you just have to agree and update everything. Very quickly and conveniently ✌).
In addition to drivers, the program also updates important components in Windows related to games (so if you have problems with them, it might be worth checking your system with Driver Booster 👇).
Note: An Internet connection is required for Driver Booster to work.
Driver Booster - found 4 outdated drivers, and 1 game component // example of the program
Features:
- a simple and convenient interface that even a completely novice user can understand;
- a huge database of drivers that is constantly updated (for more than 1 million devices);
- in addition to drivers, the program can update the most important libraries for games: DirectX, NET FrameWork, Visual C ++, etc.;
- the update process takes place in 2 stages: first, the program scans your PC, then asks you what exactly it will update (you can simply agree with the recommended settings, or you can configure everything yourself);
- before updating - the program archives your old drivers (so that you can roll back if something happens ...);
- there is a possibility of autonomous work (without an Internet connection! Note: only in the 8th version of the program);
- there is a batch driver update (i.e. for several devices at once).
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DriverPack Solution
Website: //drp.su/ru/
Approx. : can work without internet access.
DriverPack Solution (or DPS) is fundamentally different from Driver Booster - it can work even without an Internet connection. DPS just has 2 versions of the program:
- the first one represents several folders and files, with a total size of 20 GB. If you download it in advance, then later you will be able to run DPS and install drivers on any PC that does not have Internet (For example, sometimes it happens that the computer is connected to the network, but the network card does not work due to the lack of a driver (which must be downloaded ☺). In this case, such a "spare" helps a lot!);
- the second is a regular program like Driver Booster. You also start it, then DPS scans the PC, and then downloads all the necessary drivers from the Internet.
Driver Pack 2019 - offline version / example of a window with update recommendations (I recommend enabling the "Expert" version)
Features:
- there are two versions of the program: one for online updating, and the second for offline work (an independent collection of drivers can greatly help out in case of network problems);
- a large database of drivers (usually found for all equipment);
- in addition to DPS drivers, it offers to install other necessary and useful programs (convenient);
- batch driver update;
- the ability to create a backup of drivers;
- it is possible to conduct an anti-virus scan of the PC, check RAM, etc.;
- of the minuses: the latest versions have a lot of ads built in, see carefully behind all the checkboxes!
Important!
1) Some of the files from Driver Pack Solution are in 7z format (to open which you may need an archiver).
2) The old offline DPS versions were generally in the ISO image. To open them, specials are also required. software.
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DriverHub
Official website: //ru.drvhub.net/
Completely free utility for auto-searching, installing, and updating drivers. I note right away that the utility needs access to the Internet!
The use is very simple: just start and press only 1 button "Find Now" (as shown in the screenshot below 👇).
DriverHub - main program window
In a minute or two, a driver will be found for each piece of hardware on your PC / laptop (see example below). You just have to tick off everything you want to update and click the button "Install" ... Actually, this is the whole process. Very convenient! 👌
List of found drivers (DriverHub) / clickable
Features:
- a large database of drivers for a wide variety of equipment: audio and video cards, USB devices (scanners, printers, etc.), mat. boards, etc .;
- When updating, the utility uses drivers from the official sites: Intel, AMD, Microsoft, Sony, etc.
- completely free: download speed, the number of updated drivers, etc. moments are not limited in any way!
- it is possible to roll back the system to a previous state (if you are not satisfied with how the new driver works);
- the program is completely in Russian;
- the menu contains links to quickly configure the OS: power supply, disk manager, computer management, network management, etc.
- works in Windows 7/8/10 (32/64 bits).
Please note: all the "checkboxes" during installation (sometimes the Avast download offer pops up)! Besides, the program does not behave very well on laptops with low resolution (the window is not "scaled").
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Snappy Driver Installer
Website: //sdi-tool.org/download/
Approx. : can work without internet access.
Snappy Driver Installer is a free auto-installer of drivers (very similar to DriverPack Solution, a direct competitor to it, although the package is not so popular).
What distinguishes it favorably from the previous program (DPS) is that the offline version is distributed not in the form of an ISO image (to open which additional programs are needed), but in the form of a simple folder with an EXE file - they launched it, and the drivers were updated. Very comfortably!
By the way, Snappy Driver Installer also has a compact version, which is only a few megabytes in size. But it requires an internet connection to work.
Snappy Driver Installer - offline version (main window screen)
Features:
- a huge collection of drivers for all occasions (I recommend writing it to an emergency flash drive so that it is always at hand);
- two versions of the package: full 19 GB (without the need for an Internet connection), and compact - the program weighs 10 MB (but you need unlimited access to the network);
- minimum of advertising and unnecessary programs;
- quick update;
- customizable shell for the user's taste;
- completely in Russian.
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Utilities from Intel, AMD, NVIDIA
Intel Driver Update
Website: //www.intel.ru/
An official utility from Intel that will help update drivers for any product of this company: processor, network devices, disks, and more. Compatible with all versions of Windows, completely in Russian.
After launching the utility, it will automatically recognize the hardware and find all the necessary software for its correct operation. Installation of drivers is fully automatic.
Intel utility
In general, if you use Intel products, of course, I recommend using the native utility ☺. The rest, it is unlikely to come in handy ...
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AMD Driver Autodetect
Website: //www.amd.com/ru/support
These are tools to automatically search for a video driver for AMD products. After starting, the utility will automatically detect your video card, system and other characteristics and provide a link to download the optimal driver.
AMD Driver Autodetect - automatic work to find a video driver
The utility is completely in Russian, works in the Windows environment.The program, by the way, can be used not only to search for a driver, but also to update an already installed one (you must agree that it is much easier to press one button in the program than to independently climb through the jungle of official sites, where there is a mountain of all the semi-necessary information 😉).
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NVIDIA Update (GeForce Experience)
Website: //www.nvidia.ru/
Official utility for NVIDIA users. After running the utility, it will scan all your hardware on your PC, evaluate if there are drivers for them, and offer to update them (if necessary).
By the way, in the settings profiles, you can set how often updates will be checked (whether to allow the use of beta versions, whether to notify pop-up messages in the tray).
NVIDIA Update utilities - install the driver in a couple of minutes!
Also note that starting with version R275, NVIDIA Update updates not only drivers, but also game profiles automatically (including SLI profiles). On the official website (the link is given above), the step-by-step configuration of the program is painted (although there is nothing special to configure there ☝).
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Driver genius
Website: //www.driver-soft.com/
A very popular program for working with drivers. It is quite multifunctional: it can automatically find and update to the latest driver version, create backups of already installed drivers, restore lost ones, delete old and unnecessary ones.
It is quite easy to use: after starting the program, it will automatically collect information about your PC, hardware, evaluate the system and offer an update option. Supports Russian.
Welcome to Driver Genius
Features:
- a huge database of drivers, support for more than 300,000 different devices;
- backup of current drivers (moreover, you can put them either in the archive or create an EXE installer so that in case of problems you can run it and install drivers without Driver Genius);
- the ability to remove old or redundant drivers;
- command line support;
- Russian language support;
- works under all popular Windows: 7/8/10 (32/64 bits);
- of the minuses: the program is paid (in the free version there is a limitation on updating and working with backup).
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SlimDrivers
Website: //www.driverupdate.net/
A free and rather multifunctional program for automatic search and updating of drivers (by the way, it copes with this quite well).
In addition to its main duty (👀), the program does a good job of creating backup copies of "firewood" (and in case of problems - restoring them).
There is also a task scheduler (for example, for regularly checking for updates), there is a function to remove any driver from the system (clean!).
SlimDrivers - warning about the need to update 4 drivers
Features:
- fast automatic search and update;
- task Manager;
- the function of completely removing the old or unnecessary driver;
- backup and restore;
- all functions work in the free version (many similar utilities ask for payment for the same functionality);
- works in all common Windows: 7/8/10;
- of the minuses: an abundance of advertising during installation (see carefully at the checkboxes).
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Subsidiary
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3DP Net
Website: //www.3dpchip.com/
3DP Net - found a driver for a network card. Hooray!
3DP Net is a specialized utility that is required to update the driver for a network adapter (network card). Imagine: you do not have the Internet, because the network card does not work (there is no driver for it). And for the network card to work, you need a driver that is available on the Internet.
How to solve this puzzle? That's right, download 3DP Net, which is only about 100 MB in size (you can from your smartphone), and run it - the utility will automatically select the driver and you will have a network. Recommend!
Note: please note that there are 2 utilities on the official website - 3DP Chip and 3DP Net (we are talking about the second one!).
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Double Driver
Developer site: //www.boozet.org/
Softportal: //www.softportal.com/
Double Driver - the main window of the program (getting ready for backup ☺)
This small free utility is required to create a backup of all installed drivers. Moreover, she does this very quickly (often the time required is no more than 1 minute!).
I want to note that the drivers in the utility are displayed in a convenient list (in order), which can be saved or printed. The drivers in the backup also carefully lie, each in a hotel folder, the names of which are identical to your devices.
In general, an extremely necessary, useful and free utility (similar backup programs cost money) ...
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Driver sweeper
Developer site: //phyxion.net/
Softportal: //www.softportal.com/
Driver Sweeper - we look at all drivers (important - be careful, because the program does not limit us in any way and shows everything and about everything)
A simple and reliable program to remove absolutely any driver in the system clean! Be careful with her, because it does not limit you very much in your possibilities. It helps a lot in cases when it is not possible to remove any driver "stuck" in the system (or you do not see it and cannot find it, but it is there 👀).
Before deleting it, you can create a backup copy of all "firewood" (just in case) ... The program works in all versions of Windows, Russian language is supported.
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DDU
Website: //www.wagnardsoft.com/
Display Driver Uninstaller - remove video card drivers
A simple and effective utility for completely removing the video driver from the system (I think many have encountered the problem of updating the video driver, due to the fact that the new one was not installed until the old one was completely removed). This is exactly what DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) can handle.
The program supports all software for video cards from manufacturers AMD, Intel, NVIDIA (including various registry keys, components, folders, etc.). I would also like to note that after DDU is running, your system does not have any traces of the presence of the old driver at all.
Display Driver Uninstaller has three modes of operation: the first is simple removal of the driver and restarting the PC / laptop; the second is the usual deletion (reboot is on your conscience 👌); the third is to remove and turn off the PC.
By the way, the utility keeps a log in which it records all the actions that you perform. For example, you can use it to see which driver versions have already been installed (it is convenient if you are looking for the current working version of the driver and do not remember which ones you have already tried).
In general, I recommend it to everyone who has problems with video drivers.
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Results (what to remember!)
- One of the easiest ways to update all drivers and game components in Windows is to use the Driver Booster program;
- if you do not know for which device you do not have a driver, open the device manager: next to a device for which there is no driver, a yellow exclamation mark will be lit;
- it is highly advisable to write some driver package that can work without an Internet connection (for example, Snappy Driver Installer or DriverPack Solutions) to the emergency flash drive in advance;
- if you were unable to update the driver using automatic updates in similar programs, try the manual method;
- in case of problems with audio drivers, I recommend that you read this article;
- in case of problems with video drivers, I recommend this material;
- instructions on how to update the driver for the Wi-Fi network adapter can be found here;
- if you cannot remove the old driver, I recommend this method;
- if you do not know how to update drivers when the Internet is down, check out these methods.
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That's all for now, for the additions on the topic - a separate thanks in advance!
Good luck to all!
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First published: 23.10.2016
Article update: 10/15/2020
