More commonly known as a driver, a device driver or hardware driver is a group of files that enable one or more hardware devices to communicate with the computer's operating system. Without drivers, the computer would not be able to send and receive data correctly to hardware devices, such as a printer.
What devices need drivers?
Hardware devices that are unknown by the operating system or that have features that are unknown by the operating system all require drivers. Below is a list of hardware devices and peripherals that require drivers.
What devices may not need drivers
AMD Rolls Out Its First 2021 Graphics Driver - Get Radeon 21.1.1 Intel Adds Support for Iris Xe Max Graphics (DG1) - Get Version 27.20.100.9168 The New RTX 461.09 Graphics Driver Adds Support for NVIDIA’s A40 GPU. Move pictures, music, and other files between your phone, tablet, and computer. Learn More; LG BRIDGE. Move pictures, music, and other files between your phone, tablet, and computer. Learn More; Smart Share. Connect devices to your smart TV through a Wi-Fi network or USB connection to view Photos, Music, and Videos.
Today's operating systems have a lot of generic drivers that allow hardware to work at a basic level without needing drivers or software. However, if that device has features unknown to the operating system, it will not work without drivers. For example, you could plug any keyboard into a computer and expect it to work. However, if that keyboard has any special keys or features, they will not work until the drivers are installed.
NoteWireless Connection Drivers
ThinkVantage Access Connections 6.26.88 on 32-bit and 64-bit PCs. This download is licensed as freeware for the Windows (32-bit and 64-bit) operating system on a laptop or desktop PC from drivers without restrictions. ThinkVantage Access Connections 6.26.88 is available to all software users as a free download for Windows. Once the drivers are installed, you need to make sure you have no other software updates available for your computer. To verify, type “Windows update” in the search box located in the taskbar and click on “Windows Update Settings”.
Drivers Computer Connections App
The operating systems generic driver may not be updated as often as the drivers from a hardware manufacturer or computer manufacturer.
What happens if a driver is not installed?
If the appropriate driver is not installed, the device may not function properly, if at all. With some devices, the device may work, but all of its features may not work. For example, a computer mouse usually works without drivers, but if it has more buttons than the traditional mouse, those extra buttons will not work until the drivers are installed.
For Microsoft Windows users, missing drivers may cause a driver conflict or an error that is shown in the Device Manager. If problems or conflicts are encountered with drivers, the computer manufacturer or hardware manufacturer releases a driver update to fix the problems. If updated drivers are available, those drivers need to be installed to replace the existing driver code.
Can a driver make my computer do more?
Computer Drivers Download
Installing a driver only makes the hardware installed in the computer function properly. If the correct driver is not installed, installing the latest driver for the hardware can take full advantage of the device. However, you cannot install a driver for hardware not installed in the computer and expect it to make your computer faster or more capable. In other words, installing video card drivers for a video card that's not installed in the computer does not give your computer all the capabilities of that video card. In this example, you'd need the video card hardware and the video card drivers to be installed.
Related pages
- Full listing of computer drivers and help documents relating to drivers.
Disk driver, DLL, Drivers CD, Hardware terms, INF, Input driver, Instructions, Mouse driver, Network device driver, Patch, Printer driver, Software terms, System software