The driver , perhaps a great forgotten nowadays, is a software that we give very little value and we don’t know how to know, despite being present in practically any device .
This is in charge of controlling a hardware element , whatever it is, getting it to work and, in addition, in the best conditions. Imagine what your GTX 1060 6 GB would do if nothing and nobody told the OS of your computer how to use it !
Thus, we think it may be very interesting that you know what exactly the drivers are, what they are for, what types exist and, of course, how you can verify that you have them installed correctly and, of course be like this, put a quick solution to the problem.
Index:
What is a computer driver or device controller?
We call any driver capable of making the operating system of a device interact with the elements that compose it . That is, it is a program specifically designed for a particular hardware which will give a series of features or functionalities to make it work properly.
To achieve this, what is sought is an abstraction of the hardware in question (chipset, monitor, graphics card …) and the granting of an interface and features that enable and improve what that element offers.
This can be achieved in two ways, receiving and sending the information character by character or by blocks of a specific size of bytes.
The traditional thing has always been to use binary language for programming with an ORG 0 type assembly with a SYS extension . Although, although it is what we usually find, knowing that this does not always have to be this way, being able to include it in a simple .exe on condition that this is its first segment.
This means, therefore, that this is as important as the piece that controls because, in fact, makes it work and already, in passing, allows you to offer us improvements , but the main thing is enable the operation, both of those more “superfluous” elements to those that make up the very heart of a device such as a smart TV or a computer.
This implies, of course, that a failure with them will often have important and negative consequences; It all depends on what is being controlled in particular, because obviously is not the same as a mouse control failure as well as the BIOS .
Typically, this resource is created by the same hands that design and manufacture the hardware they accompany. While it is true that, at a time where application development and online content sharing is so simple , we can find unofficial developers and distributors who work to improve product drivers that, for example , they no longer receive assistance from brands or simply want to incorporate improvements.
What are the drivers or device drivers for? Functions
The function of the drivers is to act as intermediaries between an operating system and the device they accompany . We can make a simile in which the OS would be a painter, the hardware would be the canvas, the driver would be the brush and the final work, the painting, would be the piece in operation.
On the one hand, they enable that any element they control works . On the other, that the operating system that you have installed on the same computer as the hardwares, is understood with these. That is, compatibility is created, the OS learns how they work and «adapts» to capture the way they work to be able to reproduce it and for the user to enjoy.
In any case, each driver is specific to a product model and operating system , so it is essential that we always have the one that is consistent with the characteristics of our equipment, if not they will create errors or directly the elements cannot even work.
Types of device drivers that we can install on our computer
Classifying device drivers may not make much sense because, in the end, they are all completely different, each brand will include for its hardware elements, whether internal or peripheral, software different from each other.
Even so, we can consider the following:
- Of peripherals : Obviously, each type of peripheral will require a different driver and, in fact, two mice, for example, will have two versions or even two softwares with features well differentiated. Thus, we find a printer, scanner, webcams … All with similar parts and with very different parts between them, even if they are of the same subtype. These usually come accompanying the device in question, either in CD format, with an address to access to download them, etc.
- Ethernet / LAN: They control the devices that connect via cable to the network.
- Wireless: They are the ones that require those components necessary to make use of wireless networks.
- USB: They enable the use of the USB type ports of our devices and keep them updated. It is not common to buy them as such, because, today, they are integrated into general updates of the equipment
- Chipset: Essential for the operation of any equipment, since the chipset is the integrated circuit that makes a particular processor work. You need the drivers to increase the performance of the elements that are interconnected on the motherboard.
- BIOS: There is not much mystery; They are specific to this part of your equipment and tremendously important, as in the previous case, because they support an essential element for your device to work. Even if they are available, the average user is not advised to update their BIOS if they do not have specific knowledge, since the consequences are serious and costly.
- audio: They are installed to enable audio or improve its characteristics both in the elements of the motherboard of a computer (or other equipment that contains it), in sound cards or modems.
- Video: Same as in the previous case; Video card work, whether integrated or coupled.
How to view and manage all device drivers on our Windows computer?
After knowing this information it is logical that you want to check if your device is ready about it. If this is your case, pay attention because we are going to tell you how you can see, yourself, the drivers that you have installed on your Windows computer. You can see the best programs to update the drivers from here.