Vista - How to update drivers

Drivers, this is one area i tend to forget about.
As i am not really sure how to update drivers, do you use device manager to update a driver ?

With all the drivers, how do you know a particular driver needs updating

Any advice you could give me on this

Mainly video card drivers you need to keep up to date, I don't use any download managers I just look the drivers up at the manufactures site.

Bios... Only if you are having issues and/or if the new Bios update fixes something that is bugging the board.

Video... I used to be an avid driver changer but now, unless I am having issues while playing my games, I tend to let it go until I install or uninstall a game since, for whatever reason, the driver seems to get corrupted.

Audio... same as above, although, I am even more careful with this one since I use my onboard audio.

Monitor... if not the driver, they call it profile. Again, usually if issues arise with the driver I am using at the moment.

Best way is to go to Device manager, find the brand and model of device you have and go directly to the Manufacturer's site and download the latest drivers.

The majority of them have an app that can check your PC automatically (activex and Pop-ups should be enable for that site!).

Another way is, once inside the properties of the device in question (say Video Card), just go to the DRIVER Tab and you will see what Version you have at that moment. check if the new version you want to download is newer than the one you have.

As they say:" If it ain't broke, don't fix it". You should only scout for an update if you have problems with the device. This, however, happens very rarely with an operational system (example: there was an update for SDHC cards).
If you Google "driver update", you will find quite a few programs that promise to supervise your driver status. Most of them are for money. I never used one because I don't think it is worth it.

You can also try this program which help you find drivers:Unknown Device Identifier - Freeware Download

Thank you so much for your help , and your advice on updating drivers, printed that out for future reference.

Thanks again, crispy2007, AstaLaVista, Whs, and flavius