Beware the Driver Update Scam - Comments Page 1

With the upcoming MS Creator's Update to W10 several knowledgeable writers have recommended that one check to be sure drivers are up to date. My approach is if one has recent hardware there is probably no need. In my particular case an old flatbed scanner may be at risk. When I replaced an XP system with a W7 computer, the vendor did not provide new drivers. I did manage to get it running with help from others more knowledgeable than me. I was really surprised when I upgraded to W10 and drivers were automatically installed.

I've used Iobit Driver Updater a few times and although I believe Iobit to be a decent company, there have been times in the past when I used it and then after the reboot some devices stopped working, hence I do not use it anymore or any other device driver update service (if it isn't broke...leave it alone!!)

I ran into a strange one. At the insistence of Microsoft I updated my Win 7 to Win 10. Things seemed to work OK. Then I found my eSATA drive was no longer recognized. The driver for my motherboard needed to be updated. But my MB manufacturer provides no drivers for anything after Win 8. Back to 7!

Thank you for being here.....You are my (go to) person for PC answers.....Your post are fairly easy to understand....I appreciate that......

I am running Windows 10. A couple of areas about drivers you did not cover:

1. Occasionally a driver stops working but it goes unnoticed. However, if you look in Device Manager it is flagged as having a problem. For example, occasionally my "Intel Management Engine Interface" stops working. I find that my free "Driver Talent" program tells me when this happens. All I do then is go to Device Manager and "Uninstall" the driver and reboot. This always fixes the problem.

2. When Driver Talent DOES tell me I need an update, I again go to Device Manager. But this time I open "Properties" for the driver, click on the "Driver" tab, then click on "Update Driver", and then click on "Search automatically for updated driver software". Occasionally it does find the updated driver. Since Windows 10 itself is doing this driver replacement, I trust it to pick the correct/needed driver update.

So I don't use Driver Talent to download driver updates, just to tell me when there's a problem or a possible update.

If memory serves, you've endorsed IObit's Advanced System Care utility in the past. I also trust and use this free utility in addition to their free Driver Booster utility. No doubt there are driver many driver update scams out there, but Driver Booster isn't one of them.

I believe that HP is violating the law that has been in place for over 35 years, It is the Moss Magnuson act passed by congress in 1975 which allows you to use after market parts which ink Cartridges are. It applies from Autos to anything that may require replacement part or repairs by other than the Dealer or Manufacturer.

Personally, I use Secunia PSI, (Personal Software Inspector.)
It keeps track of the drivers on my system and lets me know if something actually does need updating and keeps most things up to date by itself.
Occasionally, it needs me to manually install an update but connects me directly to the manufacturers website itself so I don't have to search around.
I have not had any problems with it in the years of using it.

I forgot to mention... it's free for personal use.
They do have a business package which they'll sell you, but I don't even recall pop-ups trying to up sell me.
How cool is that?

This was a very timely article for me. i just bought a new laptop and when I installed Thunderbird, I got the drivers need updating popup and of course 8 needed updates. Since the computer is brand new, I was very suspicious and did nothing. I immediately got a second popups for a repair service I was suspicious of. You have reassured me that I made the right decision about these popups - which of course required payment.

@Jou Baur: I use Secunia PSI too, on two of my three PCs. You need to be aware though, that it only scans for outdated SOFTWARE, NOT outdated DRIVERS (these are two completely different classes of programs).
I've been using IOBit Driver Booster for several years and am quite happy with it's performance and have encountered no issues. Occasionally, it finds outdated drivers and says that I need to upgrade to their PAID version to get them. I just leave them alone and wait for it to update them for FREE.

Upgrades... I hate 'em. When I get popups about updates I always remember the wise words :"Never change a winning team"
e.g. your printer works like you like it to work. Why "update/change" its driver ? Same for your video card and all other periferals. Many (most!) updates fon't explain what and why you should update. Same for software. If you're happy with what your program does for you : Keep it like it is.
Of course there's ONE exception and that is anti virus progs because there's always some "newcommer"...
Every time I get an invitation for an update, I try to find out WHAT's the difference between "my" version and the update. If it is not clear or the update doesn't give extra's that really NEED : bye bye update.

Thanks to help from you & Leo (who btw told me about you ;) ) I don't feel so dumb about what to or not to do on both my phone & laptop!!!

I been using snappy driver to update pc
i did notice on amd radion 8250 it better to use the old windows 7 driver on windows 10 if you want a higher resolution.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/snappy_driver_installer.html

I avoid driver updates since my Media Player PC operates fine. One of the rare times I updated the audio driver directly from the audio board manufacturer, the HDMI audio stopped working. After reverting back to the original driver all was fine again. I believe what someone else said earlier is good advice... If it isn't broken leave it alone.

I've been using SlimWare's SlimDrivers (free) for the past several years. It does the best job of any of the free driver update programs I've tried. Recently, I started to use HerdProtect's anti-virus/malware scanner, and that program identifies several of the SlimWare components as PUPs. However, it's easy enough to run SlimDrivers, download and install the driver updates, then run HerdProtect and remove the PUPs. No reboots required.

For years I've relied upon PC-Matic. And, all is well with all of my computers.

With Bob's column, I'm still working on the 146% smarter part.

I have been embracing the 146% factor for sometime. I don't seem particularly brilliant. Does that mean that I started reading this wonderful newsletter when my IQ was in the single digits? Reading and hoping, and hoping and reading.

I may be IT challenged, but it's good knowing that I've got several years of Bob's newsletters filed away. Thank you, Bob!

The Windows 10 update on my computer was automatically overriding the iTunes driver with its Windows equivalent, which put it at odds with my iPhone driver. As my only source of connectivity comes through my phone's wifi, this meant my computer no longer recognised the phone and I could no longer syncronise it with iTunes.
My computer technician fixed the problem. But the following day, Windows updated itself yet again and again, overrode the iTunes driver. We're waiting to see if the fix to block Windows' driver can be sustained beyond the next update, but even the tech. guy can offer no reassurance.
This loss of control is frustrating and costly to the ordinary consumer like myself.