Updating Drivers with an App

What's your take on Apps like this: http://download.raxco.com/perfectupdater for keeping drivers up do date? Good/bad idea? Safe? Really needed?

 

The ones that are most useful have a backup feature, and that is priceless if you have to rebuild your system and need a bunch of special drivers not in the Windows build. There they are on your secondary storage or USB stick or whatever.

As far as keeping your drivers "up to date," drivers should be treated like FIRMWARE... if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If you're experiencing a problem and a new driver is available, go for it. Almost everytime I've used a tool like this and allowed it to "keep my drivers up to date," I've been burned, especially where nVidia is concerned, as well as other driver collections.

The backup feature (if this tool has it) would be very useful...

 

Don't know anything about the program you mention – but my advice is to use any driver updating programs with caution! They can do the job – but can also install outdated and\or the wrong drivers!
If you're going to use them, I would suggest installing several to get 2nd\3rd opinions.

Agree with TheRollbackFrog – if it ain't broke, leave it alone - and above all, make sure you backup current driver setup before upgrading drivers.

 

Thanks for the advice. I've read similar comments in the past, and you guys have reminded me to leave well enough alone.

 

All of it - spoken with experience. Drivers are indeed to be handled like firmware. Only change them to fix a specific problem or gain a required feature.

Furthermore, drivers don't always improve with age. Features are sometimes dropped or changed which tend to do undesirable stuff from time to time. Sometimes they become bloated with excessive micro-management options.

I feel programs such as these fall into the realm of registry cleaning and pc optimizers. Busywork. Makework. Psychological feel-good material.

 

One more thing, since I image my system 2 or 3 times a year as part of a backup plan -- A driver update is reason to trigger an immediate do-it-now backup.

This way I can go back exactly as before. Or run with the new configuration if it's looking good.

Having said all that, the last time I updated drivers was to handle a known specific reproducible BSOD condition on a wireless network card - this was almost 3 years ago.

 

If I didn't know better, I'd think Keatah and I were working on the same system

A specific reference to his statement above (and my nVidia mention)... during an nVidia update (not just graphics but their mainboard chipset), all of a sudden the HOT SWAP capability I had on all my SATA devices dissappeared and they became "wired" in. It looked like some of the ACHI capability of the disk subsystem drivers DISAPPEARED. Having not backed up the current driver set at the time (silly me... have since learned in spades), I then spent an inordinate amount of time trying to find a previous driver set that had an operational HOT SWAP feature... what a PITA!

Quote the Raven... "Nevermore!"