Do i just download everything?

Technicians have admonished users for more years than I can remember, "If it's working, don't mess with it!"

Many people have hosed up their PC's something terrible by downloading new drivers from MS, for instance.

So, I'd have to say, that if a piece of hardware is working OK, then a new driver probably is NOT required, needed or recommended.

I have an Intel modem in this PC. It runs just fine on XP, but when I boot up to Vista Ult. there was a problem. MS actually had an updated (Vista) driver that solved the problem. Who would'a thunk it?
But, I would have NEVER taken that driver update from MS if I'd not been having a serious problem with the Modem and Vista.
I could not find the Vista driver for that Intel modem at the Intel web site.

So, don't go crazy with downloading drivers updates.
Temper that with a true NEED for the driver and some common sense.

Doc

hmmmm. intersting advice

now i just have to find out if i need it!

Allo User

Whether you need the new drivers depends on several things:

1} What do you do on your PC?
2} Is anything running slow - keeps stop/starting - crashing - generally misbehaving?

If Q1 is basic things like word-processing, emailing, browsing the web etc., then it's unlikely you need any driver updates, unless the answer to Q2 is yes, too.

If Q2 is yes to anything, then you need to update your drivers.

As Aryeh mentioned above, the manufacturers release new drivers when the existing ones are known to either contain bugs or clash with certain software on the PC or sometimes, when the new drivers are more effective at what they do - slimmed down, run more efficiently and so on.

At the same time though, as The Doc pointed out - If the PC's working fine and behaving itself, don't try and fix what ain't broke

Usually, updating drivers is a piece of cake, they install with no problems but, there's always an occasional time when updating them can cause more problems than they're worth. It's a bit of a fine balancing act really.