I am writing a short preface for the best driver updater bearing in mind that the reader does not know the difference between a vehicle “driver” and a “device driver.”
Most software come inbuilt with the “device driver” a program that controls a specific type of device attached to your computer.
There are different device drivers for hard disk drives, plotters, CD-ROM readers, graphics cards, display units, printers, central processing units, and so forth.
Typically, the operating system, installed on your computer contains most device drivers. However, specific programs address these devices differently, hence their manufacturer includes a piece of code, known as the driver that addresses the hardware separately.
Manufacturers of hardware too, keep on updating their driver database to ensure that it works properly with the latest motherboards and CPUs.
If your software that was running smoothly on an old version of Windows is not running perfectly on Windows 10, you can be sure that the fault lies with the driver, which is not compatible with the version of Windows.
You can either search the internet for hours for up-to-date drivers or depend on a device driver software that is a collection of a massive database of drivers, updated automatically whenever developers of hardware or software come up with a new driver.
7 Best Programs to Update Drivers in Windows
I shall evaluate seven different types of such programs. Any of them will be a good driver pack solution for you.
As all of them are supposed to perform the same task… updating device drivers… I shall check them for features like ease of use, whether the vendor offers a free trial, if the software runs on different versions of Windows, if the vendor offers a money-back guarantee, the price of the software, the number of drivers in the program's database, and the hardware devices that it supports.
Quickly Navigate to:
#1 – Driver Easy
Look no further than Driver Easy if you are looking for the best driver updater for Windows 10. This program also supports versions 8.1 and 7 of the Windows operating system.
Using this best software updater is a piece of cake. Simply install this top driver updater software to keep your PC fast and secure in 2019 and click on the “scan now button.
It scans the hard drive, checks for required or outdated drivers from its database, and informs you about the number of drivers you need to update. It installs the up-to-date drivers automatically as soon as you click the “update” button. Driver Easy finds drivers for:
• Audio devices
• Chipsets
• USB devices
• Graphics cards
• Ethernet cards
• WiFi cards
• Printers
• Bluetooth devices
• Modems
• PCI cards
• CD/DVD ROM drives
• Scanners
You might be wondering what you can do if the program makes a mistake and installs the wrong driver for a specific device? This best program to update drivers initially scans all the installed drivers on your computer and backs them up in a secure location as a precautionary measure.
You can also save this information on other storage devices so that you can use them in the future in case you have to format your computer's HDD.
As of date, this software has a database of 8,000,000 drivers, updated daily. I suggest that you connect your computer to the internet so that the software can find the latest driver updates and install them. This saves you the time required to update a particular driver twice.
As a free driver scout software, the driver pack solution it offers is good. However, I suggest that you opt for the professional version that costs 29.95 for three PCs for one year.
It is awesome if you have lost the driver for your network card, as it allows you to scan the HDD offline after which you can download the required network driver on a different PC.
It also offers you the option to restore the original driver for any specific device in case the driver installed by the program does not function properly with that hardware.
You can schedule the program to automatically scan for updates or halt the scanning process when your device is running on batteries. You'll need the paid version in order to backup drivers, uninstall them, or download multiple drivers simultaneously.
The vendor of this best free driver updater windows 10, 8.1, and 7 also offers a refund if you return the software within 30 days.
- To learn more, you may go through this Driver Easy review.
#2 – IObit Driver Booster
You can depend on IObit Driver Booster if you are searching for the best software for updating drivers in Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, and XP.
Let us check why this program is often regarded by professionals as the best windows driver updater. The free download apart, it is one of the rare free driver scout programs in its category that also runs efficiently on all of Windows (XP upwards).
This is, about, the best free driver updater as this program has a database of 2,500,000 drivers, which is impressive for a free driver pack solution. The professional version supports 3,000,000 drivers, which, in my opinion, is more than enough.
One of the pros is that this vendor only provides drivers that have passed Microsoft WHQL tests.
What impressed me about this best driver updater for windows 7 is that it creates a restore point during installation. This allows you to safely restore your windows to the state it was before installation… an excellent option if something goes wrong during the installation process.
The pro version costs $22.95, allows for installation on three PCs, and has all the features of the free version along with a “game ready driver” to improve gaming performance.
The paid edition also has game components required to run your game smoothly, along with auto and secure updates. It also backs up old drivers before installing new ones… just in case anything unexpected occurs.
This is the recommended best driver download software for gamers as it is unarguably the best driver finder software that updates drivers required for a smooth gaming experience.
- To learn more, here is an IObit Driver Booster review.
#3 – DriverMax
As a free driver scout software, DriverMax has a database of 2,300,000 drivers which does not allow me to put it at the top of the list of best driver update utilities.
It is a good driver updater in the sense that it supports Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, and 10 in both 32-bit and 64-bit architecture. This is one of the rare driver update programs that also supports all editions of Windows Server, making it ideal for installing on the server of a group of networked computers.
Like other automatic driver updater programs, you can configure it for automated installs, scheduled scans, and full device driver backup. You can schedule it to check for and download driver updates whenever you want.
A good feature of this driver software for Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP, and all editions of Windows Servers is that it checks each driver before installing it.
Like other programs, this also allows you to create a system restore point during installation and is available in both paid and free editions.
A single-year subscription for the latter costs $10.39 for one PC. Alternatively, you can purchase a lifetime license for $29.80 that allows you to install the software on all of your PCs, and you also get Advanced Task Manager free.
Some of the outstanding features of the paid version of this driver updater software for Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, and XP include:
• Hourly check for driver updates
• Priority download
• Only signed drivers update
• Identification of unknown devices
• Rollback to previous versions
• Instant download start
#4 – Secur360 Driver Updater
‘Nero' is a popular company when it comes to multimedia software. The company has gone further to incorporate into its vast array of multimedia tools a software known as ‘Secur360 Driver Updater'.
This advanced driver updater provides you with a fast and secure way to update all old and outdated drivers. The interesting thing about it is that it helps you to find missing drivers for your PC ‘automatically'.
Backup Drivers
‘Secur360 Driver Updater' ensures that nothing is lost as it always creates a backup of your PC's drivers. Hence, if you need to re-import them again, you can do so with just a click of the mouse.
Warnings
You will always be warned if there are outdated drivers on your PC that need to be updated in order to keep your system secure against all vulnerabilities at all times.
More than Enough Drivers for All Windows Operating System
Are you running a PC with Windows 7, 8, or 10? Secur360 Driver Updater has got you covered with more than 1 million drivers for these operating systems in its database.
If you want to save time, Secur360 Driver Updater is worth giving consideration. It is one of the updater tools that supports both 32-bit and 64-bit.
#5 – Driver Genius
I was impressed by the features of Driver Genius, a driver updater software for Windows 7, XP, Vista, 2000, 8, 8.1, and 10. This driver management software also contains drivers for SSD drivers.
Unfortunately, this driver check software only detects and updates for the genius range of hardware. So forget it if you have hardware manufactured by other companies.
On the other hand, this driver update app also protects your motherboard as it monitors the temperature of your computer's HDD, GPU, and CPU. It limits the CPU performance or alerts you if your computer is overheated.
As with the other driver updater programs, it offers a one-click option to update all drivers and install updates automatically.
One-click rollback protection is available along with the option to remove useless or invalid drivers and devices. The system transfer assistant of this driver updater tool allows you to degrade or upgrade your Windows operating system effortlessly.
The SSD speeder module is an amazing feature and would have put this among the top-rated online driver updater program if it supported drivers for hardware apart from those by Genius.
The pro version provides 1-year driver updates for three PCs. The features include:
• One-click restore for all drivers
• Restore and backup all drivers to and from an auto-installer
• One-click download and update
I recommend this driver tool only if the major hardware of your computer is manufactured by Genius.
#6 – AVG Driver Updater
I always expect excellent software from the stables of AVG, one of the leaders of Antivirus programs. This driver update software did not let me down.
Instead of boasting about the number of drivers it can update (it supports 127,000+ major hardware drivers), it is pertinent to know that this driver scanner software scans and updates drivers for hardware manufactured by or used in worldwide reputed computer manufacturer brands like:
• Microsoft
Hewlett Packard
• Dell
• Acer
• Samsung
• Nvidia
• AMD
• LG
• Compaq
• Brother
• Logitech
• SONY
• Intel
• Motorola
• Lexmark
• Canon
Given the massive number of drivers supported by this software for drivers updater, I easily rank it among the best-rated program to install drivers.
This PC driver finder does not offer a version that is free but allows you a free online scan of the drivers installed on your computer and informs you if you require to update pc drivers.
Keeping the large number of reputed brands it supports, the annual subscription cost of this driver update checker is $39.99 for a single PC.
The prominent features of this pc driver search software include:
• Automatic Scan
• Always up to date
• Selects the best and official drivers only
• Reduces hardware problems significantly
• Makes a backup of your installed drivers
#7 – Avira Software Updater Pro
We have been discussing PC driver updater software so far. However, what if a new version of an installed program in your computer is released and you had mistakenly unticked the “auto-update” option?
You no longer need to worry as Avira Software Updater Pro scans from a collection of more than 150 software programs, identifies if an update has been released for them, and performs the update task with a single click.
It also patches security holes in these programs automatically. With the number of security exploits increasing by each day, it is vital to update patches for the programs installed on your PC regularly.
Do not expect any assistance from driver updater programs as they only check for hardware driver updates. This program complements the computer driver updater installed on your PC. Both of them run in tandem with each other and update your software and hardware respectively.
The vendor offers a comprehensive 30 days' money-back warranty. If you are not satisfied with its performance, uninstall the program from your PC within 30 days of installing it and request to get a full refund. The annual subscription charge for this software is $32.99, billed annually.
What's the Best Driver Updater Software?
As I am about to conclude this review of 6 different driver utility software and one software updater that you can download and install, I would like to make things easy for the first-time purchaser of driver detector programs.
Given the huge database Driver Easy boasts of, it is my choice of driver downloader programs. I would put “AVG Driver Updater” a close second considering the massive number of popular brands of peripheral devices, CPUs, and branded computers it supports.
I would also recommend readers to also include “Avira Software Updater Pro” along with any of the other driver finder software since the others are specific to drivers. It will help them protect their PC by automatically updating the most popular computer programs, including software to update drivers too.
