How to Update Drivers in Windows 8

Recently I bought a new copy of the latest operating system from Microsoft and I needed to update drivers in Windows 8. I found out what I needed to upgrade when I ran a test to see if my laptop was compatible with Windows 8. This usually happens with every new operating system you install, so it is nothing new for Windows eight. Years ago I upgraded from windows XP to Windows Vista and had to update the drivers then as well.
Learning how to update drivers in Windows 8 is not only good to get your system working correctly with your components, it is also good to troubleshoot problems when they happen. Out of date drivers can cause many problems on a computer.
If you are lucky, Windows 8 will take care of most of the work and upgrade the drivers for you. But sometimes this does not happen automatically so you need to do it yourself.
Applies To: This tutorial can apply to Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.
Difficulty: Medium to Easy.
Time Required: If you are only updating one driver in Windows 8 then it might only take you a couple of minutes. If you need to go to different websites to get new drivers for a few more devices than it could take up to 15 min.

Do You Need to Update Drivers in Windows 8?

Sometimes you can install Windows 8 and it will automatically update all of your drivers for your devices and components automatically. the only way to tell if Windows has done this automatically is to check the device manager in Windows 8 or to try to use a device and notice it is not working. For example you might try to print a document and realise that the computer is not communicating with the printer. That means you have to update the driver.
Where is Device Manager?
To access the device manager in Windows 8 simply press the WIN KEY and X on your keyboard. This will bring up the power menu and there will be a link to device manager. You will see a list of devices on your computer and if any of them have a yellow exclamation mark you should investigate.

How to Update Drivers in Windows 8

The first thing you should do when updating drivers in Windows 8 is to go to the manufacturer’s website to download the original drivers for your device and further Windows 8 operating system. You should never go to websites that offer free drivers as the real drivers are always available at the manufacturer’s website. See how to find device drivers.
When downloading drivers it is best to take note of the instructions on how to install. Some drivers need to be unpacked and some drivers simply need to be downloaded and double clicked on to install. You should also take note of where the driver is downloaded to so you can access it later.
The driver file that is downloaded is usually a packaged up executable file that you can simply download and click on to install. If this is the case then you do not need the instructions below because it will all be installed for you.
On the other hand if you download a file that has to be extracted, there are usually different versions of the driver contained within. This is when you have to search through the folders to find the right drivers for windows eight.

1. Go to device manager. See the instructions above.
2. Find the device that you want to update drivers for.
3. Press on the plus next to the device if you want to see more details.
4. Right click on the device to show a menu. Choose update driver software.
5. The update driver software wizard will start.
6. You will see a question “how do you want to search for the driver software?” If you have downloaded the driver to your computer then choose “browse my computer for driver software”.
7. At the bottom of the next window, click the link that says “let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer”.
8. Click on the Have Disk button located on the bottom-right. If you have a driver disk in your DVD drive then the computer will find it.this If you have to look for a individual file on your computer then we need to continue.
9. Now click on the browse button in the bottom right corner of the window.
10. Navigate to where you downloaded the driver file to. It should be labelled for windows eight. Open this file and continue.
11. The update driver software wizard will begin.

Notes About How to Update Drivers in Windows 8

• This if the driver did not work or has caused some kind of problem you can go back to device manager and back to the correct device to rollback the driver. This means to uninstall it.
• If you have a 64-bit version of Windows 8 you will not even be able to install a driver if it does not have a digital signature.
• If you have downloaded a driver from the manufacturer’s website and you still see a message saying that Windows can’t verify the publisher then press yes to continue. Sometimes this can happen even with intel drivers.
• If you get a message saying that Windows cannot verify that the driver is compatible, then you should think twice about installing the driver. Is it really the correct driver for your particular device and did you get it from the manufacturers website?