akabubblbutt
Posts: 23 +0
hi umm i have had my computer for 2 years but havent updated any of my drivers xcept my graphics driver and wondering what drivers i should update thx =]
What drivers are we suppose to update?
- Thread starter akabubblbutt
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DonNagual
Posts: 2,385 +5
You don't HAVE to update any drivers if you are not having any problems.
But if you are like me, I like to have the newest of everything in hopes of squeezing out more performance. Sometimes it'll hurt you though, so be forewarned. A perfectly working system can sometimes become glitchy with a driver update. As a rule, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Also, don't forget about the BIOS itself. If you are adding new hardware, updating other drivers, it's probably a good idea to be sure you have a recent BIOS, as without it the newer hardware/drivers may not work on your system.
But to answer your question, every single piece of hardware on your system uses drivers to make them work, so we can't really answer your question without knowing the details of your system. But your chipset drivers are another one that can often make a difference when updated. These can be found on the website of your board's manufacterer.
But if you are like me, I like to have the newest of everything in hopes of squeezing out more performance. Sometimes it'll hurt you though, so be forewarned. A perfectly working system can sometimes become glitchy with a driver update. As a rule, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Also, don't forget about the BIOS itself. If you are adding new hardware, updating other drivers, it's probably a good idea to be sure you have a recent BIOS, as without it the newer hardware/drivers may not work on your system.
But to answer your question, every single piece of hardware on your system uses drivers to make them work, so we can't really answer your question without knowing the details of your system. But your chipset drivers are another one that can often make a difference when updated. These can be found on the website of your board's manufacterer.
akabubblbutt
Posts: 23 +0
my computer crashes like everyday and im getting sick of it and i need hlp plz and thx =]]
DonNagual
Posts: 2,385 +5
The more details you give us, the better.
Do you notice any pattern to the crashes? What exactly happens when it crashes? (blue screen of death? or mouse freeze? or computer reboot?).
Does it happen during certain programs?
If you are using XP, right click on my computer, select "manage" then "event viewer". Take a lot around in there for any errors, and post what you find.
And any other info you can think of to help us narrow it down. As you are not asking for help from a live person who can take a look inside your computer, we need you to do a little bit of the groundwork and give us as much as you can. At least narrow it down from a billion possibilities to a couple hundred.
Do you notice any pattern to the crashes? What exactly happens when it crashes? (blue screen of death? or mouse freeze? or computer reboot?).
Does it happen during certain programs?
If you are using XP, right click on my computer, select "manage" then "event viewer". Take a lot around in there for any errors, and post what you find.
And any other info you can think of to help us narrow it down. As you are not asking for help from a live person who can take a look inside your computer, we need you to do a little bit of the groundwork and give us as much as you can. At least narrow it down from a billion possibilities to a couple hundred.
akabubblbutt
Posts: 23 +0
umm when it crashes sometimes its the blue screen of death and usually it just reboots. i looked and there only information from the application section and system section. in the system section it seems to be like the service control manager? under the application section there are errors on firefox,winamp, and winrar. i do not know and the crashes are just like random like after either a few hours or 1 hour or 2 or 3 hours sometimes never. umm when my computer crashes it will sometimes crash after it boots then crash again then be fine for a while then crash later on. hmm =\ umm sometimes it crashes during wow, aim, sometimes just no program is up, winamp yeah mostly sometimes just yeah =[
DonNagual
Posts: 2,385 +5
There are so many ways to try and diagnose these things.
Some may suggest updating all your drivers first, but to be honest, if I were you I'd seriously consider doing a fresh install of windows just to completely clean your system out.
After a few years of using it, I imagine there are a fair number of resource suckers hidden in your computer. But before you do a reinstall, a couple of questions:
What version of windows are you using?
Do you have the instal disk?
Do you have disks for all your software?
Can you do a back up of all your important data (my documents, saved games, videos etc.)
Do you have all your drivers for your hardware?
If the answer is no to any of these, then you probably shouldn't do a reinstall, instead to a windows REPAIR (I am assuming you are on XP).
But before doing that, I would run a test on your memory to make sure it is still up to par. Download and run www.memtest.org and run it for a few hours.
If you want to skip all of the above, and try another possibility, then let's just go ahead and update your drivers.
We need the details of your computer in order to help you find your drivers. What make/model is your motherboard? Is your computer a brand name like a Dell or something? If so, what model. If your system is NOT a brand name, and you don't know what parts you have inside, download and install https://www.techspot.com/downloads/433-everest-home-edition.html software and tell us what it says about:
motherboard
memory
graphics card
sound card
Also, open up your case, and look at the sticker on your power supply. What make/model is it? How many watts is it rated at?
Some may suggest updating all your drivers first, but to be honest, if I were you I'd seriously consider doing a fresh install of windows just to completely clean your system out.
After a few years of using it, I imagine there are a fair number of resource suckers hidden in your computer. But before you do a reinstall, a couple of questions:
What version of windows are you using?
Do you have the instal disk?
Do you have disks for all your software?
Can you do a back up of all your important data (my documents, saved games, videos etc.)
Do you have all your drivers for your hardware?
If the answer is no to any of these, then you probably shouldn't do a reinstall, instead to a windows REPAIR (I am assuming you are on XP).
But before doing that, I would run a test on your memory to make sure it is still up to par. Download and run www.memtest.org and run it for a few hours.
If you want to skip all of the above, and try another possibility, then let's just go ahead and update your drivers.
We need the details of your computer in order to help you find your drivers. What make/model is your motherboard? Is your computer a brand name like a Dell or something? If so, what model. If your system is NOT a brand name, and you don't know what parts you have inside, download and install https://www.techspot.com/downloads/433-everest-home-edition.html software and tell us what it says about:
motherboard
memory
graphics card
sound card
Also, open up your case, and look at the sticker on your power supply. What make/model is it? How many watts is it rated at?
DonNagual
Posts: 2,385 +5
Actually, if you just want to update your drivers/bios, here is the easiest way to do it.
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_liveupdate.php
I'd still consider doing a fresh install of windows though, just to completely clean your system of all the trash that is in there after using it for a couple years. As I mentioned above, do a memtest first, and you should also go to the maxtor website and download powermax to run the diagnostic on your hard drive as well. Good to check these before reinstalling windows.
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_liveupdate.php
I'd still consider doing a fresh install of windows though, just to completely clean your system of all the trash that is in there after using it for a couple years. As I mentioned above, do a memtest first, and you should also go to the maxtor website and download powermax to run the diagnostic on your hard drive as well. Good to check these before reinstalling windows.
akabubblbutt
Posts: 23 +0
if i reformat,reinstall windows, install/upgrade to windows media center edition, and update drivers and bios will that do any good?
DonNagual
Posts: 2,385 +5
Assuming that none of your hardware is dying, yes it would do a LOT of good.
It will completely clean your system of all the junk that has accumulated over the years.
But first, you want to run some diagnostic programs on your memory (www.memtest.org) and your hard drive (click HERE
If you have never done it before, and don't have the confidence, you can just follow that link to the msi site for the auto-update of all your drivers. That just may fix your problems as well.
It will completely clean your system of all the junk that has accumulated over the years.
But first, you want to run some diagnostic programs on your memory (www.memtest.org) and your hard drive (click HERE
If you have never done it before, and don't have the confidence, you can just follow that link to the msi site for the auto-update of all your drivers. That just may fix your problems as well.
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