Device-Driver Scanner & Updater

I'm looking for a reliable Windows device-driver update app - preferably one that does not require .NET Framework and can backup my current drivers before updating.

Recommendations would be appreciated.

Wendi

 

Driver Genius Professional Edition (not free) is the oldest driver updater on the web and is a very safe and reliable tool to update, backup, download drivers.
http://www.driver-soft.com/index.html

 

Don't pay for these thieves (Paid Driver apps) because you have to buy a subscription which is only valid for 1 year then you have to renew it again as if it was an AntiVirus...spend your money somewhere where its worth like on an Antivirus or Security Suite...


Here is a FREE one that has updated all my drivers and is reliable. all download links come from the manufacturers: My-Config - Free Driver Updater

 

+1 , I have been using Driver Genius Professional Edition almost as long as it has been around. It is very good, reliable, and safe to use. I have never had any problems with it.

 

+2

Wendi, Driver Genius Pro isn't free, but it satisfies all of your requirements!

• Reliable
• No .NET stinky!
• Backup for safety

 

http://www.innovative-sol.com/drivermax/

 

Thanks for those suggestions - I'll be sure to check them out.

Wendi

 

This is not the case for Driver Genius which has been mentioned here. you only have to pay to upgrade to a new version if you want. However you can keep using an old version and still get database updates.

For a free driver updater, SlimDrivers is worth a look. http://driverupdate.net/

I personally use a free program called Driver Wizard a lot, but since it's in Chinese it makes it a bit hard to understand to use.

 

Surprisingly this is the first time I have heard of this. I was not less than impressed with the scan results where some of the "updates" found were the same version of drivers I already have installed, and yes I did tell it to only list new drivers.

 

I have the paid version of DriverMax and it works well. However I also use several other free and paid driver update softwares.

 

Well that's good to know in that case. But tell me something. What does SlimDrivers offer me more than the FREE My-Config Drivers updater? ( no offence meant )

 

Different software finds different updates. Also it is free as well.

 

I wouldn't recommend buying these programs. I was kinda of "scammed" by Driver Detective some months ago. Although the app worked just fine and solved the problem I was having (as I told here), DD's support proved to be 100% useless (= dead). They never answered any of my e-mails and support queries.

 

I second slimdrivers

 

SlimDrivers? Another "no thanks" or "use with extreme caution", in my opinion. One time, I cluelessly accepted all updates pointed out by SlimDrivers, but many of these updates weren't needed/accurate and they wrecked up the system. I had to restore a system image with Macrium Reflect because of the mess.

 

The problem with updating any drivers from any source such as third party programes or from device manager itself is that ,the updated driver can conflict with other programes that once coexisted.Yesterday i had to roll back a nvidia display driver on a friends desktop to the original 2009 driver ,as after updating it ,his photoshop continually crashed.It is always best to image a pc before any driver updates no matter what the source, and sometimes "if it aint broke ,dont fix it "rule applies.

 

The beauty of My-Config Driver updater:

1) I have used it for a while, it never caused any trouble. I updated the Intel Chipset Drivers, Realtek Flash Card Reader drivers, Logitech Anywhere MX mouse drivers, USB 3.0 Drivers

Note: if you download an Intel Driver update and you already had the intel drivers installed previously, you NEED to do this otherwise the setup will just end almost instantly without installing anything:
a) Copy the folder which contains the intel chipset drivers to the root of C:\ or if it was a single setup file then copy that setup file
b) Run command prompt as administrator
c) launch the setup with the -overall -overide command to install all the drivers comprehensively
example: c:\setup -overall -overide OR if you copy them to a folder c:\chipset\setup -overall -overide

2) The driver downloads are accurate and from the original vendors only

3) It's free + no scamming installed

4) No software installation required other than a small browser plugin that is compatible with all browsers I've tried, IE + Firefox although Im sure it should work for Chrome too

 

I don't think it is fair to judge all paid driver update software based on experience with just one program.

Drivers HQ do sometimes answer emails. I purchased Driver Detective a few years back, and installed it on too many machines, which prevented me from using it due to exceeding the number of installations for my license. I contacted them about deactiving it on some computers so I could still use it. I received no response. I emailed them again a few years later they did respond, and added 4 extra licenses so I could use it again.

 

In my limited experience with SlimDrivers it has found correct drivers, and also user reviews on download.com are mostly positive. Certainly at times driver update software can suggest incompatible drivers, but in my experience this is a problem with just about all driver update software.

 

Interesting. I may install the version for IE and give it a try. But, are there available instructions on how to completely get rid of the plugin when it's not needed anymore?

 

Just tried ''My-Config Driver updater'':

- The install/uninstall process runs smooth, no traces left (used last version of Firefox).
- The result page is a mess, it took me about 4-5 minutes to understand what driver I have to update.
- Driver Genius found two more outdated drivers (Realtek & Nvidia) My-Config didn't catch them.

Overall: I'm not saying the My-Config is bad, is a good, tiny tool that runs in your browser and can find SOME updates but if you need a complete solution to backup, update, restore drivers, again, Driver Genius wins.

@guest
Add/Remove programs, it uninstalls very easy.

 

I just tested my config driver a few minutes ago ,and it showed 4 out of date drivers on my system ,whereas slim drivers showed zero.Bear in mind that updating via device manager also showed zero updates (although im not sure how windows determines this?).To cut a long story short ,of the 4 updates shown with my config driver ,only wireless lan update was revalant and was installable.The other 3 gave an error on installation saying they wasnt "validated for my computer".I dont know what that means,all i know is that they would not install.This just reaffirms my experience that its always best to image before any updates ,and its pretty much difficult to get 100% reliability with any of these utilities.

 

Microsoft has a large amount of drivers available as part of Windows Update. The amount of drivers increases substantially with each new version of Windows, but remains somewhat limited, e.g. limited range of drivers and usually not the most recent version.

 

Thanks for the info.I knew it always seemed to be behind third party software when finding more recent drivers,but wasnt sure how often they update thier database.

 

Just tried SlimDrivers and it found nothing...

But with my-Config it found: Intel Management Engine Components v8.0.4.1441 WHQL. It gave me 2 options for download, one from Intel Directly and the other from Toulous Drivers (French Server)

Guess that sums my point as to which is better