How To Update Drivers In Windows

[ad_1]

Knowing how to update your drivers in Windows is a useful skill that helps you keep your PC or laptop running smoothly and up to date with the latest security patches.

Usually, the built-in Windows Update service should keep all device and system drivers up to date, so you should never have to touch them. Sometimes though, you may have to update them manually, if your device stops working after a system update, or if Windows doesn’t recognise a specific component.

In this handy guide, we’re going to take you through the process of updating drivers using the convenient Windows Update function to make sure your system continues to run smoothly.

Hardware Used

The Short Version

Open the Settings Menu
Click on Update & Security
Press on Windows Update
Click the ‘Check for updates’ button
Press on ‘View optional updates’
Click on ‘Driver updates’
Select a driver to update
Press on ‘Download and install’

Step
1

The first port of call here to access where you update drivers is to open the settings menu. To do so, either look for a gear icon, or go into the search bar, and type in ‘Settings’.
Step
2

Click on Update & Security

Once you’re inside the Settings menu, you’ll be greeted with a multitude of different sub-menus. For the purposes of driver updates, we need to go into Update & Security, which is usually the last one on the list.
Step
3

Press on Windows Update

Down the side of the Update & Security menu, you’ll see a list of functions – the top one should be marked Windows Update – otherwise, the Settings menu should load directly into the Windows Update menu, saving you a step. You can see what the direct view looks like in the screen shot below.
Step
4

Click the Check For Updates button

Once inside, it’s a case of seeing if there are any new driver or system updates that Windows can update itself. The main button in the Windows Update menu is the large ‘Check for updates’ button – to begin the search for any new drivers, press the button.
Step
5

Press View optional updates

To see if there’s any optional drivers updates that you can then press on the ‘View optional updates’ hyperlink that sits below the ‘Check for updates’ button.
Step
6

Click Driver updates

To specifically look for driver updates when inside the Optional Updates tab, expand the drop-down menu labelled as such.
Step
7

Select a driver to update

To install driver updates, select the ones you’d like to install by checking the tick box.
Step
8

Press Download and install

Once you’ve selected them, it’s then a case of simply pressing the ‘Download and install’ button. This should then download the driver updates, and you may have to restart your PC for those changes to take effect.