Update old drivers to ensure smooth run

Advice column
KEEPING your hardware device drivers uptodate is an important step to help keep your computer error free.
A driver is a small piece of software which represents a piece of hardware and tells Windows and that piece of hardware how to cooperate smoothly.
It is important to update drivers because as new and more advanced programs are installed on computers, the environment of your computer changes but old drivers do not.
You will need new drivers to help your hardware and Windows cooperate under the new environment.
These can be downloaded via the internet from a hardware manufacturer’s website as a free part of customer support. The downloads or their websites also include instructions on how to install your drivers.
If you happen to own a PC that is made by a large brand such as HewlettPackard, Dell, Asus or similar, then more often than not you can visit that company’s support website (listed in documents that came with your PC) to easily download drivers and find instructions to install them.
Otherwise, if your computer was handbuilt by a computer shop, or by yourself, you will need to know which manufacturers built what parts, so you can visit respective websites to download drivers.
Nearly every piece of hardware has a driver and while you may never have to update some, you will commonly update a select few that are crucial to your computer’s operation.
You will find that sound cards, video cards and some motherboard drivers may need updating every several months, particularly if you notice problems with any of the functions they provide.
You may need to update a driver when you encounter the following symptoms: freezes, blue screens (known as Windows’ Blue Screen of Death) which require you to reboot your computer, programs not launching and giving you error messages instead.
The problems will most likely be repeatable, not just a oneoff error.
Beware, updating drivers is a technical feat, and if you are not sure what to do, contact a local PC expert and arrange a service for your computer.