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Don’t buy from a scammer – Take my advice, it’s cannier!

Manufacturers introduce new driver updates from time to time to solve compatibility problems that have appeared with particular applications, or to make changes to suit new changes in technology, and for other reasons like that.

 So installing updates can fix problems that you may or may not be aware of … can enhance performance … and may even prevent problems you might otherwise have down the line.

 Now, a lot of software products include automated checks for driver updates but, in the case of hardware drivers, you generally need to find and download them manually.

 Driver Scanners will scan your PC and compare your driver versions to those on its current database (which, hopefully, is up-to-date!). It will flag those that can be updated. You can then choose the ones you’d like to download and install.

 Some scanners will automatically do scheduled monitoring. With others, you need to remember to run them from time to time yourself.

 So what scanner should you choose? It is important to make a sound decision, because choosing the wrong one can do a lot more harm than good. For example, I know readers of PC World have reported many problems with scanners. One claimed the software crashed his laptop …. Then the Restore option didn’t work … Recommended updates that were installed were not actually up to date, and even older that the version they had removed! … Others reported that the software stopped their webcams from working etc., etc.

 Before installing any new drivers, you certainly want to do a backup so you can revert to your old driver if there are any problems. Some scanners come with a useful backup facility included.

 Of course, you must be sure you are buying from a reputable company. That said, people have even had problems with scanners from some well-respected firms!

 So how can you choose? Unfortunately, many Review Sites you find on the internet are simply scam affiliate sites – you can’t always trust them. Certainly, if it is not clear who is behind the site, do not trust them.

Mind you, even these sites can be helpful. They give you an idea of what is available and provide clues as to what you might look for in your preferred scanner eg. Does it have a backup facility, or does it do scheduled checks?

 A lot of Driver Scanners cost around $30 to $40, and then there may be an annual fee. Usually, you will be offered a free scan. By all means, take advantage of this to find out if you need many updates. You can then decide if you want to buy the product to download the updates quickly and easily, or if you would be happy to do it manually yourself.

 But here’s the information you won’t find on a lot of the sites trying to flog you scanners. Before you fork out any green stuff, let me recommend one Driver Scanner that is absolutely free – DriverMax

Here is what the publishers themselves have to say about it:

 Publisher’s Description:

DriverMax – DriverMax is a powerful utility which helps you download, backup and restore the drivers installed on your Windows Vista or Windows XP computer and check if newer versions are available. Download all drivers from one place in just a few steps. After backing up your drivers you will have all of them in a single place and will be able to reinstall all of your drivers or just the ones you choose in a single step which takes about one minute.

This utility can save you a lot of time when reinstalling Windows, especially on older computers for which the original CDs containing the drivers have been lost. You no longer have to track down old driver installation CDs, insert one installation CD after another or spend hours searching for drivers on the Internet.

DriverMax is also able to display a detailed report about all drivers (versions, release dates) installed on your system. Identify unknown devices in your computer and get Windows Vista rating information before you purchase new hardware!

You can get it here:

 http://drivermax.inovative-solutions.qarchive.org/

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 at 10:10 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.