The Role of Device Drivers

Think of device drivers as the bridge between the hardware you have and the operating system you’re running on your PC.

As the term is used here, device drivers are a special type of software designed to communicate with and manipulate the features of a particular device through the PC’s operating system. It’s for this reason that having a device known to support your version of Windows (or another operating system) should reduce problems you might otherwise encounter without that support.

Device drivers come in several types; the most common examples are generic device drivers and device-specific device drivers. A generic device driver is one that can be used by almost any piece of hardware meeting some designated standard for that class of hardware. A device-specific driver is one that has been designed for a particular make and model of a device.

By default, Windows comes with a number of device drivers for a wide range of hardware types, manufacturers, and models. When working with a piece of hardware that does not have a default driver available in Windows, it’s usually possible to obtain an updated one by visiting the device manufacturer’s web site and checking under either Support or Downloads.

Tip 

A damaged or outdated device driver is one of the top five reasons a hardware device is either not detected or refuses to operate as it should. It’s also one of the most easily solved—by updating the driver.