When and If To Upgrade Drivers?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Danno
  • Start date Start date
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Danno

Hello to all,

Can someone please advise me about driver upgrades! I don't know how to
tell if the drivers in my machine should be upgraded. I'm a believer in 'if
it isn't broken, don't fix it', but at the same time I would like to know if
there is a way to find out if there are legitimately good upgrades that
would improve my machine's performance with little likelihood of screwing it
up.

I can't really tell if my machine needs upgraded drivers or not. It might
be a situation where if I upgraded a particular driver, only then would I
realize that that particular aspect of my computer was indeed acting poorly
and is now much better.

Or should I just leave things alone until something just gives out some day?
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Danno
 
Danno said:
Hello to all,

Can someone please advise me about driver upgrades! I don't know how
to tell if the drivers in my machine should be upgraded. I'm a
believer in 'if it isn't broken, don't fix it', but at the same time
I would like to know if there is a way to find out if there are
legitimately good upgrades that would improve my machine's
performance with little likelihood of screwing it up.

I can't really tell if my machine needs upgraded drivers or not. It
might be a situation where if I upgraded a particular driver, only
then would I realize that that particular aspect of my computer was
indeed acting poorly and is now much better.

Or should I just leave things alone until something just gives out
some day? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Danno
Click to expand...

Generally you gut feeling is right. You need new drivers if there is a
problem. Usually this happens when you upgrade some hardware. Sometimes
new versions of software may also mean you need new drivers and sometimes
new drivers offer additional features.
 
Hi Danno

You have it right 'if it ain't broken, don't fix it'. Unless your PC is showing any kind of problems, may I suggest that you stick with what you have got.

--

Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User


| Hello to all,
|
| Can someone please advise me about driver upgrades! I don't know how to
| tell if the drivers in my machine should be upgraded. I'm a believer in 'if
| it isn't broken, don't fix it', but at the same time I would like to know if
| there is a way to find out if there are legitimately good upgrades that
| would improve my machine's performance with little likelihood of screwing it
| up.
|
| I can't really tell if my machine needs upgraded drivers or not. It might
| be a situation where if I upgraded a particular driver, only then would I
| realize that that particular aspect of my computer was indeed acting poorly
| and is now much better.
|
| Or should I just leave things alone until something just gives out some day?
| Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
|
| Thanks in advance!
|
| Danno
|
|
 
/Danno/ said:
Can someone please advise me about driver upgrades! I don't know how to
tell if the drivers in my machine should be upgraded. I'm a believer in 'if
it isn't broken, don't fix it', but at the same time I would like to know if
there is a way to find out if there are legitimately good upgrades that
would improve my machine's performance with little likelihood of screwing it
up.

I can't really tell if my machine needs upgraded drivers or not. It might
be a situation where if I upgraded a particular driver, only then would I
realize that that particular aspect of my computer was indeed acting poorly
and is now much better.

Or should I just leave things alone until something just gives out some day?
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

There are several strategies. One is to create a restore point (if not
done automatically) prior to the upgrade. If results are unsatisfactory,
restore. However, that method can fail - or not cover the driver in question.

For some drivers, there is a ROLL-BACK feature, which is usually reliable
- when it applies.

Perhaps the best approach is to install an imaging utility. Create an
image of the partition immediately prior to making changes. If results
are unsatisfactory, simply restore the image. EVERY personal and system
file, every setting and parameter will be exactly as it was. No files or
settings will be left over from an UNinstall, which often leaves detritus.

As an example, it took many hours to find just the right video driver
files to make this PC operate as it should. But occasionally I get the
urge to install newer drivers, on the chance that performance may improve,
or that new features may prove useful.

Yesterday I created an image, then installed the newer video drivers. As
in earlier tests, they proved unsatisfactory. Ten minutes later, the
system was totally restored, using the image I had made, with no
absolutely no remnants of the tests that I had made.

http://www.powerquest.com/driveimage
http://www.ghost.com
http://WWW.TERABYTEUNLIMITED.COM/ (Image for Windows)

Caution: It is not difficult to use these tools, but be CERTAIN that you
understand the process, because ALL DATA can be lost with just a click of
the mouse. Enlist the help of a knowledgeable friend.
 
Wow! Great advice guys!

Will, my computer is showing signs of slowing down. I've made sure there
are no spyware, no viruses, disk has been cleaned and defragged. Yet
sometimes there are weird little glitches. For example, there can be a
delay when I want to drag a window. The window in question doesn't follow
the mouse pointer for a fraction of a second, then suddenly jumps to where
the pointer is located. This didn't used to happen. The computer should be
quick enough not to let this kind of thing happen (Dell Dimension P-4
running at 1.9 gig and 512 of ram running Win XP Pro). I've noticed lately
that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 runs very jerky as well. It used to
run quite flawlessly.

Dev, I'm quite interested in creating an 'image'. Can you explain a little
more what that is? Is it kind of a summary of all my personal settings,
personal data etc.? Something like System Restore? Is it the same thing as
a 'back-up'?

I've only had a computer for two years, and haven't yet once been able to
successfully create a back-up. I'm on thin ice every single day, because
I've never been able to back-up my data without completely screwing up. If
I successfully create a back-up, I don't have the confidence that I would
even know how to use it when the time comes. So for the time being, I've
just been able to stay out of trouble by a whisker. For what it's worth, I
do have a CD burner. And the hard drive is 40 gig with 24 gig of free
space.

I've been tempted to create a partition, reinstall a new WinXP onto it, and
gradually over time, transfer my stuff over to there...and then totally wipe
out the original XP installation. I don't even know where my personal data
is stored. I would imagine it is in a thousand different files all over the
place.

Any further comments would again be appreciated.

Regards,
Danno
 
Danno said:
Wow! Great advice guys!

Will, my computer is showing signs of slowing down. I've made sure
there are no spyware, no viruses, disk has been cleaned and
defragged.
Click to expand...

I write some of that off as "that's life."

You did not say how much free space you have on your hard drive. That
could be an issue as could some programs running in the background. In any
case, if it was working, I really don't think it has anything to do with a
driver, unless you have changed some hardware.
 
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