Drivers provide software access to certain hardware resources of the computer. Disk drive and video card, mouse and hard drive - the operation of these and other devices is provided using drivers. Sometimes the user needs to see what drivers are used in the system.
Instructions
Step 1
To view the drivers used by the device, open: "Start" - "Control Panel" - "System" - "Device Manager". Select the required device from the list - for example, if it is a mouse, it is in the Mice and other pointing devices list.
Step 2
Expand the list, right-click the desired line - for example, "HID-compatible mouse". Select Properties from the context menu. In the window that opens, select the "Drivers" tab and click the "Details" button - you will see complete information about the driver files.
Step 3
If the device does not work, it will be marked with a yellow question mark or exclamation mark in the "Device Manager". This means that there are no drivers installed for the device or they are not working correctly. You can try to reinstall them by clicking the "Update" button and pointing the system to the path to the driver. The driver itself may be on the installation disc or you will have to find it on the network in advance.
Step 4
When looking for a driver, you will need accurate information about the installed hardware. For this purpose, use the Aida64 (Everest) program, it will give you all the data you need. Run the program, select "Computer" - "Summary information" in the left column. The list will show the exact names of all devices present in the system.
Step 5
You can also view the drivers using the command line. Open: "Start" - "All Programs" - "Accessories" - "Command Prompt". In the command line (console) window that opens, enter DRIVERQUERY and press Enter.
Step 6
If you work with the Linux operating system, then there is no concept of installed drivers, they are all located in the kernel of the system. In the vast majority of cases, any connected equipment immediately starts working. If this does not happen, then there is no driver for this hardware in the kernel yet. In this case, the user will have to rebuild the kernel, including the necessary drivers. Rebuilding the kernel can be useful even if everything works well - the kernel can be customized specifically for your configuration, which will have a positive effect on system performance.
