When you plug a USB device in a Windows computer, you will see a small popup in the notification area of the taskbar informing you of the USB device. If it is a known device, the driver will be installed and the device will be ready for use.
If there is no driver for the device, or the device is not recognized, you will be informed of that fact as well. In some cases the driver installation and device activation actually will show several of these popup messages in the notification area. This can be the case if the USB device has multiple functions.
Unfortunately there are also scenario’s where these popup messages in the notification area do not seem to make sense. No USB device is being plugged, only existing USB devices are present, or maybe no external USB devices are present at all.
If you are not interested in the USB notification messages in Windows, you can actually disable them. Basically you tell Windows to not report and USB errors on the USB controllers.
To disable USB notifications, simply open the Device Manager in the Control Panel and open up the branch called: Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
You will see quite a few devices in the list. But we are only interested in the Host Controller devices. Right-click the first entry and select Properties in the popup.
Next, select the Advanced tab and then select the checkbox named Don’t tell me about USB errors.
Click the OK button and repeat these steps for the other Host Controller devices.
When you are done, close the device manager and you should no longer see and USB device notifications in the Windows taskbar.
Keep in mind that if you were receiving the USB notifications because of real USB errors, they will be now be ignored. If possible try to address the errors first. Power management and bad cables (connections) can also be the cause of erratic USB notification messages.
Device drivers in Microsoft Windows can be signed or unsigned. But what is the difference, what are the risks, and how can you find unsigned drivers? Find out the answers and learn how to make sure your system is not affected by bad drivers.
Updating your Windows system is generally a good thing. Bugs are fixed, new features are added and problems prevented. Driver updates can be part of a Windows update or it can be a separate driver update. But if things go wrong after the update you want to uninstall the update. With device drivers you can use the driver roll back.
Networking was once limited to businesses, where a client/server set-up involved many PCs (the clients) being linked to a central server. The aim is generally that all PCs can access data that they are allowed to see from anywhere on the network. Clients can also use central services such as shared printers.
With many homes now having multiple PCs and using them for entertainment purposes, networking is becoming more common. Messages can be sent from one PC to another while any data, such as music and videos, can be distributed around the network. A more informal type of network is the internet, with millions of computers around the world being able to connect to numerous sites.
Whilst internet connections are via a modem or router, PCs need a network interface card, either built into the motherboard or inserted into a slot. Each of these cards has a network driver, which is a form of a device driver or PC driver. This handles all communication between the computer’s operating system and the network card so that it can interface with other points on the network.
Why We Need Network Drivers
There are a bewildering number of network cards available from a variety of manufacturers. Each of these may be fitted into various motherboards and there are several different types. Many are PCI cards, although 10/100 types are the most common and Gigabit cards are now providing additional speed. Although relatively new, wireless networking is becoming increasingly popular. This is especially true in home networks where it reduces the need for unsightly wires.
All these options make it impossible for the operating system to deal with the many combinations. This problem is overcome by the use of network drivers, which are developed specifically for each network card and have versions for the different operating systems. A network driver provides a link between the operating system and the network card. Its role is, like any other device driver, to interpret the high-level commands issued by the operating system into a form that the network card can understand and conversely to translate network card messages for the operating system.
A network driver needs to be more adaptable than any other device driver because, not only does it have to deal with requests from the operating system, it can also receive packets of data from anywhere on the network. Additionally, it has to handle several administrative tasks such as compiling traffic and error statistics, setting addresses, and modifying transmission parameters.
Why You Need to Update Network Drivers
The efficient operation of a network is vital because problems can impact the whole network rather than simply affecting a single PC. A network fault on one computer can cause a bottleneck that brings the whole network to a halt or at least slows its performance.
Problems are often due to faulty, outdated, or corrupt network drivers and so it is important that new drivers are installed as they are released. Manufacturers generally develop new drivers to fix known faults, improve security, or provide enhanced performance and so you should take advantage of these features.
To install new drivers, access Device Manager. Depending on the operating system you use, this may be available from the Control Panel or by right-clicking My Computer then choosing Manage.
Device Manager will list the types of device in the right pane and you need to select Network Adaptors and the network card you have installed. Right-click it, select Properties, and then the Driver tab. Afterward, click the Update Driver button to download drivers and install the latest version on your PC. When you complete the process, restart your computer.
All PCs have several devices, which may be permanent features of the machine or may be connected as required. Internal devices include audio cards and disk drives while external devices include printers and scanners that may be connected all the time or digital cameras and MP3 players that are connected occasionally to transfer data between the device and the PC.
There are a large number of devices that may be connected to a PC, with numerous manufacturers adopting different standards and formats for the devices they produce. The problem is that the operating system has to communicate with each device that is connected but the large number of variations means that this is impossible to do so directly.
This problem is overcome by each manufacturer developing device drivers or PC drivers for each of their devices, with separate versions for the different operating systems. These drivers handle the communications between the operating system and the device. Laptops are simply mobile versions of the previously more common desktop PCs. They have their own devices and so also have device drivers, known specifically as laptop drivers.
Why We Need Laptop Drivers
Since laptops are mobile appliances, they are necessarily smaller versions of their desktop equivalents. This means that all their components have to be smaller and so all the devices installed in a laptop are designed specially for them. A laptop very rarely uses the same components as a desktop PC but instead has miniaturized versions of them.
The outcome of all this is that, since laptops have their own range of devices, they need laptop drivers to make them work. These have similar functionality to desktop device drivers but are designed specifically to work with mobile devices.
Of course, devices such as printers and digital cameras can be connected to a laptop in the same way that they can be connected to a desktop PC. They will have their normal drivers and so a laptop may have a mixture of laptop drivers and standard device drivers installed.
Why You Need to Update Laptop Drivers
In the same way as for a desktop PC, a laptop and all its components work best if everything is correctly installed and up-to-date. This includes all the device drivers and laptop drivers for the various devices. If you experience problems or poor performance, these can sometimes be corrected by re-installing or updating the drivers. The procedure for doing this is the same for the laptop drivers and the standard device drivers, only the source of the new drivers is different.
To install new drivers, access the Device Manager. Depending on the operating system you use, this may be available from the Control Panel or by right-clicking My Computer, choosing Manage and then Device Manager to list the types of device in the right pane. Right click each device and click Properties, then click the Driver tab to see details of the installed laptop driver.
Click the Update Driver button to download drivers and install the latest version on your PC. When you complete the process, you may be prompted to restart your computer. Choose to do this only when you have completed the process for all drivers.
You can update drivers individually by visiting the device manufacturer’s website and following the instructions there to do it. However, you will need to identify each device first through System Tools. If the whole process seems a bit long-winded, the alternative is to use a dedicated service that will download and update drivers automatically.
There are several of this type of service available and each one will generally hold a comprehensive database that contains the latest versions of all device drivers. Once you have the necessary software installed, it will identify the devices you have connected and the version of the driver for each one. A scheduled process will then download drivers as later versions become available and install them automatically. This ensures that you always have the latest version of device drivers installed, avoiding problems and making sure your computer and its devices operate efficiently together.
Every Windows PC has several device drivers or PC drivers installed, each of which controls a particular device (printer drivers allow Windows to communicate with a printing device). These devices may be fitted into the computer (a sound card or disk drive) or be connected to it (a broadband router or scanner). Since there may be many devices of different types, the operating system can’t communicate with them all directly as each has different characteristics.
To overcome this problem, a device driver sits between a device and the operating system, translating operating system requests so the device can understand them. Device responses are similarly converted into a form suitable for the operating system. One of the most commonly connected devices is a printer. Communication with the printer is by a type of device driver known as a printer driver.
Why We Need Printer Drivers
Printers come in a variety of types, from outdated dot matrix printers to the more modern color and monochrome laser printers and inkjet printers. Printing devices also come in other forms, including plotters and fax machines that can be connected to a PC. The common feature is that all create printed output and all need the content and format of that output to be communicated to them. The way the format of the output is described may vary, with PostScript printers being common and all having a Printer Description Language that defines the output.
Printing from a Windows-based computer is via a print spooler and printer drivers. Output for printing is created by an application program and sent to the operating system. This will create high-level print instructions that are sent to the printer driver for conversion into a form that the printer that is actually being used understands. This is then either sent directly to the printer or the print spooler for later printing. The printer will then send a response to indicate if printing was successful and this is converted by the printer driver so that the operating system knows what it means. The availability of printer drivers, therefore, means that the operating system can organize all required printing without needing to know anything about the device that will actually do it.
Dealing with Common Printer Problems
Although there is a wide range of printing devices, there are some printer errors that are common to most of them. Some of these may be accompanied by a displayed error code and message, which will vary between printers. In the case of a networked printer, if no one can print, the problem is with the printer. However, if only you are having difficulties, it’s likely to be at your end.
1. Printer Not Printing
First, check the basics. Make sure the printer is plugged in, turned on, and has not run out of paper or ink. If the print job is being processed but nothing is outputting, it may be a big job. Give it time and, if nothing happens, cancel the job and try again. If the job won’t cancel, turn off the printer for a minute, then turn it back on and try again. This will clear any input/output errors.
At the Windows Start menu, select Settings then Printers, and right-click the one giving the problem. Make sure it isn’t paused or set offline. If this doesn’t fix the problem, reboot your PC and try again.
2. Paper Jam
Sometimes paper gets stuck as it is going through the printer. In this case, follow the instructions for your printer to clear the jam. Remove the paper very carefully to avoid damage. If the error remains when all the paper is out, turn the printer off and then on again after one minute.
3. Poor Printing Quality
If the output is blurred or faded, the print cartridge may be out of ink. In case of a laser printer the tone may need replacement. Check and replace. Some printers can also benefit from doing a re-alignment, which is like a calibration process to tune-in the printer. In most cases that option is available through the printer interface, or the printer software on the PC.
Here are examples on alignment instructions for Canon and HP.
4. Software Problems
If the printer fails to work only for a particular application, the problem may be due to that application or the file it is creating. Try to print a different file or close the application, reboot and try again. If that fails, you could try to re-install the application.
5. Printer Drivers
Sometimes, printer problems result from faulty printer drivers. In this case, install the latest drivers by accessing Device Manager. Depending on the version of Windows you use, this may be available from the Control Panel, by right-clicking My Computer and then choosing Manage, or by using Search from the Taskbar or Start menu.
Device Manager will list the types of devices in the right pane and you need to open Ports and select the Printer Port. Select the Driver tab and click the Update Driver button to download drivers for the port and install the latest version on your PC. When you complete the process, restart your computer.
You can also install the latest driver for the printer itself by selecting Printers at the Control Panel, right-clicking the problem printer, selecting Properties, and then clicking New Driver at the Advanced tab. If this doesn’t solve the problem, uninstall and reinstall the printer by right-clicking the printer and choosing to delete it. Then right-click the Printers heading, choose Add Printer, and follow the prompts (in the latest Windows versions, use: Settings -> Bluetooth & devices -> Printers & scanners, and then click the Add device button).
Discover the importance of installing and updating video drivers on your computer to enable enhanced display capabilities and graphics processing / editing.
Problems with device drivers can be hard to solve. Possible conflicts, driver versions, device incompatibility, they can be quite annoying. If you want to clean up your system and prevent problems caused by unused devices, try removing the device drivers for such devices. Here is how to remove unused device drivers from Windows XP or Vista.
Not all computer hardware has Vista drivers available and some hardware devices might not work under Vista as a result. If you can not find Vista drivers, you can try installing the Windows XP drivers for the device in Vista. In some cases the XP drivers work fine in Vista. Here is how to do it.
This article explains the importance of keeping your device drivers updated on your Windows computer. It also provides basic tips on how to perform these driver updates. Updated device drivers will help maintain your system stability, security and performance.
