Drivers & Firmware
Very often I come across a situation where I need to find and download drivers for various devices. Especially often this has to be done when repairing computers (reinstalling the system, for example). Sometimes they bring PCs for repair that were bought 3-5 years ago and have never been opened since the time of purchase. In this case, the drivers that come with the PC are often out of date or not at all suitable, because at the time of purchase contained errors or did not work correctly.
Therefore, I advise you to download updated drivers from the device manufacturer’s website. Many are looking for drivers through search engines, but this is a double-edged sword: in issuing hundreds of results with links to third-party resources. Who is there and what flooded is unknown. Programs for checking the relevance of drivers are likely to find more outdated and missing drivers than they actually are. And also with a high degree of probability they will demand to buy themselves before they show you the treasured list of drivers with download links.
It will be safer and more reliable to download drivers from the source, i.e. manufacturer’s site. And only in case of failure to download drivers from third-party resources.
In this case, failure is understood as a complete cessation of user support from the manufacturer. A good example is the situation with the company Chaintech, which after the absorption switched from the production of motherboards to storage devices, etc., and all support resources for motherboards ceased to exist. There are some changes on the site, but the drivers sold before the absorption of the motherboard models are not there and will never be there.
Software for backup drivers
Downloading drivers is sometimes not possible. For example, when a laptop with only windows7 support is installed, windows XP is installed, selecting drivers from other models. They will bring such a laptop with a diagnosis of only reinstallation, and on the new system it will be necessary to have at least an Internet connection in order to find everything else. In such cases, programs for archiving drivers are saved. In this article, I will present to the reader two of them that I use myself:
DriverMagician LiteDriver Magician Lite Go To Website
In general, Driver Magician Lite comes with limited functionality. It archives the necessary drivers, but you have to install them back by hand. But this is not a very big problem.
The paid version can archive drivers and install them back on a clean machine, search for and update drivers, and much more. But for all the time, these options were somehow not useful to me, although using the paid version in demo mode, I appreciated the convenience of paid program services.
DriverBacup! DriverBackup! Go to the website
For lovers of completely free software I can offer DriverBackup! The program is free and has no restrictions. However, its functionality is also not very wide due to its gratuitousness. Nevertheless, it will be able to solve the issue of archiving drivers. So, as an option, it’s quite good software.
Download drivers, firmware and manuals
Intel AMD ATI NVidia Gigabyte Samsung LG Sony Toshiba Dell ASUS Fujitsu BenQ Apple ESC AsRock BioStar Foxconn MSI Acer Lenovo Creative Logitech Genius RealTek Marwell Epson Panasonic HP Canon ZyXEL TrendNet TP-Link D-Link Seagate Transcend Microsoft KWorld TekRam BroadCom
Flashing devices using firmware
Probably the most common firmware method is BIOS firmware on the motherboard. Also, many, I think, faced with the need to upgrade the router (router), especially when it comes to D-Link products. There are also all sorts of unofficial firmware. I somehow requested, at my own risk, the Asus dvd drive with Pioneer firmware, so that it can learn how to work with Labelflash disks. However, I definitely knew at the same time that the spare parts for this Asus model were ordered the same as Pioneer. Those. the faces of the drives were different, but the filling was the same.
In general, in matters of firmware, you need to clarify several points:
If the device works properly and fully meets your needs, do not flash it, because do not break the first eternal rule – do not touch what works. And the firmware process can end with a permanent failure of the device. In addition, independent firmware of the device is a possible reason for refusing warranty service or returning funds.
If for some reason you still decide to flash the device, the firmware (firmware) must be downloaded ONLY from the device manufacturer’s website. The only exception is firmware with unofficial firmware, but here you should already be fully aware of what you are doing and why.
Do not chase the latest firmware versions. If the version is fresh, it may contain errors. Read reviews on online forums and on the manufacturer’s website (if any). It is highly likely that if there are problems with the firmware there will be a lot of information on the topic.
