How do I update the video driver on my computer?

The video card is the "holy of holies" for many modern users, since it depends on its characteristics that the computer performance in the latest game blockbuster depends. Yes, and many programs in recent years, to a large extent, use its resources to free up the CPU.

Unsurprisingly, many are wondering how to update the video driver on their computer. This is due to the fact that the new driver version often adds performance to the entire system, eliminating old errors in the code. First, we'll look at how to install a new version of the program, if you recently got the same new graphics card.

Use the installation disc

Of course, the time of ubiquitous distribution of CD-blanks has long since passed, but video card manufacturers often write down all the accompanying programs on them. In the end, the Internet is not at all and not everywhere.

If you have such a medium, there will be fewer problems immediately. To update the video driver using it, you need to insert the disk into the drive, and then wait for the unattended program to run. Typically, there you will need to click on the "Next" button a couple of times so that the driver on your machine becomes the newest.

What should I do when no dialog boxes appear? Open "My Computer", you search there for the necessary drive (as a rule, it is all the same), and then open its contents by double-clicking the left mouse button.

The root of the disk should be the file "Setup.exe" or something like that. Run it, again, after double-clicking the left key of the manipulator, after which you thoughtfully click on the buttons "Next".

We update the existing version of the program

All this is good, but what if you need to update the video driver when the computer already has its predecessor? Do not be afraid. There is also nothing complicated here.

Download from the official site

Here you will need to find out which manufacturer has applied his Chinese hand to the process of creating your video card. Do not worry: at this moment you have a 100% chance to meet the products of only two companies - ATI and NVidia. Sites and both are easily "bumped" in the first line of the search, and therefore you should not have problems with downloading the installation files.

To update the video driver, simply start it. Previously, it was universally advised to delete the old version before installing a more recent version, but today it is not necessary anymore: as a rule, the "Setup Wizard" itself will perform all the required actions.

If there is no suitable driver version

Alas, but so it also happens. Often, when the hands of not too happy users have a computer almost a double issue, the manufacturer of the video card which it is already impossible to find. In these cases, it remains to rely only on the Windows Update service.

How do I start it? Of course, you can just try to perform a standard update search, but in our case the situation is more delicate. For the normal passage of the process, you must right-click on "My Computer", then select "Properties" from the list that appears.

A dialog box opens, in the left part of which we are interested in the link "Device Manager". In it, you should draw the item "Video adapter". If there is an exclamation point next to it, so much the better! This indicates that you must always update the video driver. NVidia still releases their old versions, while ATI was not caught in it. If you are the owner of the first, you can try to find "firewood" on the official website.

Are looking for? Are looking for!

So, after finding the name of your adapter in the list, right-click on it. A dialog box appears, in which you should select the "Update driver" item. Choose "Automatic search for updated drivers", in which it will be executed on the Internet. If you're lucky, the system will be able to detect even the old AMD, update the video driver for which, at best, it can be quite problematic.

We use utilities for diagnostics

If you do not know the manufacturer of the video card, and the system can not find a driver for it, we suggest using specially created utilities for diagnostics.

The best of these is the AIDA64 Extreme Edition program. How to determine with its help the manufacturer and model of the video card? All this is quite easy to do. After launch, open the "Graphics Processor" section, from which you can find out all the necessary information about your own video adapter.

The list will include not only the model of the graphic professor and the manufacturer, but also the most detailed characteristics of the RAM on the board, the manufacturing process and other information.

Another similar program is SiSoftware Sandra. It is known since the "prehistoric" times, contains information about thousands of models of the most diverse computer hardware. After launching it, you are looking for the "Video adapter" item in the list, which also contains detailed information about your hardware.

The only drawback of the applications described above is that they are all paid. But only with their help you can actually update the video driver on the laptop when you do not even know its model.