Using Device Manager to Update Drivers

After you've downloaded new driver, it is time to install using the Update Driver Software window. To access the Update Driver Software window, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, Control Panel, Hardware and Sound, Device Manager. (If you are not logged in with Administrator privileges, the Device Manager box will not open without additional input.) You can also type device manager in the Start Search box and select it from the results list.
2. In Device Manager, locate the device, right-click it, and choose Update Driver Software.

The Update Driver Software window gives you two choices.

• Search Automatically for Updated Driver Software-Gives permission to Windows to search and locate any drivers on your computer and on the Internet. After Windows searches your computer and the Internet for drivers, if it finds a new driver, it automatically installs it. If no new drivers are found, Windows tells you that your current driver is the most up to date.
• Browse My Computer for Driver Software-If you've already downloaded the driver or want to use a specific driver, enables you to choose to browse and locate that selected driver. When you choose to find the driver by yourself, Windows again gives you options. The first option is to manually locate the driver. To locate the driver you can either type in the location or click Browse. The second option is to choose a driver from a list of device drivers on the computer. When selecting to choose the driver from the list, a selection of device drivers is generated. You can decide which driver you want and install it.

Tip Downloadable drivers are usually stored in compressed form on the manufacturer's website. If the file is an EXE (executable) file, you will need to open it before you can use its contents; opening it might also install the driver for you. If the driver is in a ZIP archive file, you will need to uncompress it. Fortunately, Windows 7 can uncompress ZIP files for you. You won't need to download a separate unzipping utility.