如果您使用过计算机，那么您可能听说过驱动程序。但是，你知道什么是司机吗？此外，是什么使它对计算机的操作如此重要？即使您知道驱动程序是什么以及做什么，您是否知道更新驱动程序的最佳实践？最好保留Windows提供的驱动程序还是安装您自己的驱动程序？这些都是我们在本文中为您提供简单易懂的答案的问题：
什么是驱动程序？
什么是司机？我们的定义是这样的：设备驱动程序是一个软件，它允许您的操作系统启动、使用和控制硬件设备。换句话说，驱动程序是使您的操作系统能够要求计算机内部（或连接到计算机）的硬件设备执行您想要的操作的翻译器。
驱动程序是负责在您的操作系统（Windows、Linux、macOS 等）和硬件（主板、显卡、声卡、网络适配器、硬盘驱动器、键盘和鼠标等）之间进行正确通信的程序。
什么是驱动程序？司机是做什么的？
司机是做什么的？
让我们从一个示例开始：假设您尝试在YouTube 上(YouTube)播放视频。您在网络浏览器中按视频播放。(Play)浏览器是一个应用程序，它将您的请求发送到操作系统。然后操作系统知道您要播放视频。这意味着它必须借助网卡缓冲视频，要求显卡显示视频，并要求声卡播放视频的音频部分。操作系统将所有这些请求发送到与所需设备相关联的驱动程序：网卡驱动程序知道要传输什么数据，视频卡知道要显示什么，声卡知道要在扬声器中播放什么
或者假设您有一个文档要在打印机上打印(print on your printer)。您可以在Word或您喜欢的任何其他文本编辑器中编辑文档。之后(Afterward)，您将按下打印(Print)按钮并等待文档从打印机中出来。文本编辑器是要求操作系统打印文档的应用程序。操作系统获取文档并要求打印机驱动程序打印文档。驱动程序获取文档并将其翻译成打印机可以理解的语言。最后，打印机打印文档并将其交付给用户。
大多数计算机设备，包括打印机，都需要驱动程序才能工作
所有这些都是可能的，因为操作系统知道如何使用驱动程序让这些设备完成它们的工作。
为什么需要设备驱动程序？
这个问题的答案再简单不过了：您需要设备驱动程序才能使用您的设备。正如您从我们之前的“什么是驱动程序”定义中已经知道的那样，我们的计算机需要驱动程序才能与连接到它的设备进行通信。如果没有正确的驱动程序，设备只不过是一块不起作用的硬件。这可能是设备驱动程序被称为驱动程序的原因。🙂
您在哪里可以找到设备的驱动程序？
通常，大多数驱动程序都会自动安装在您的操作系统上。Windows有一个广泛的驱动程序库。当您将新设备连接到Windows计算机时，操作系统会自动检测到它并开始在其库中搜索合适的驱动程序。如果找到了，您所要做的就是等待它被安装。有时，Windows还会要求您在安装驱动程序后重新启动计算机，以便启用和使用它。
如果Windows没有适合您的新设备的驱动程序，它也可以使用Windows Update在线搜索驱动程序。如果 Microsoft 的服务器有适用于您设备的驱动程序，那么您必须等待它被下载和安装。
如何更新设备的驱动程序
这些是在Windows中查找和安装设备驱动程序的简单选项。但是，有时可能在Windows的库或 Microsoft 的Windows Update服务器中找不到驱动程序。如果您有这种“运气”，或者您想使用Windows安装的驱动程序以外的特定驱动程序，您会怎么做？答案是您还可以在设备的制造商支持网站上找到驱动程序。
这是一个涉及我们拥有的视频卡的示例：AMD Radeon RX 5700。获得驱动程序的最佳位置是AMD 的官方支持页面(official support page of AMD)。包括AMD(AMD)在内的许多制造商都提供了一种检测工具，可以自动识别和下载适合您设备的驱动程序。
如何为显卡找到合适的驱动程序
但是，所有制造商都提供了一种为您的设备手动选择正确驱动程序的方法。识别您的设备并选择您拥有的操作系统后，您可以下载驱动程序。驱动程序通常以可执行文件的形式出现，您必须像任何其他应用程序一样运行和安装它。
驱动程序(Driver)安装实用程序自动检测显卡
如果您在查找和安装设备缺少的驱动程序方面需要帮助，我们也发布了涵盖此主题的教程。它提供了“我需要什么驱动程序？”的答案。有关如何在Windows中轻松安装驱动程序的问题和说明：使用 Windows 设备管理器可以做的 7 件事(7 things you can do with the Device Manager from Windows)。
另一方面，如果其中一个驱动程序无法正常工作并导致崩溃或错误，您可能需要将其从系统中删除。为此，这是从 Windows 卸载驱动程序的方法(how to uninstall drivers from Windows)。
我应该更新驱动程序吗？
尽管许多人认为“如果它没有坏，就不要修理它”这句老话也适用于司机，但我们往往不同意。通常，驱动程序由硬件制造公司更新，因为它们：
- 发现了一些错误，他们的开发人员修复了它们，
- 添加了新功能，
- 设法提高设备的性能，或
- 确定了一些已解决的安全问题。(security issues)
以上所有问题都可以通过新版本的驱动程序进行改进和修复。但是，有时新驱动程序会出现问题，而不是让事情变得更好。例如，某些Nvidia 驱动程序可能会导致“开始”菜单出现故障(drivers can cause the Start Menu to malfunction)。即便如此，在大多数情况下，最近的司机还是比老司机好。
好消息是，如果您使用 Windows 10，系统会自动为您下载和安装关键驱动程序更新。这就引出了下一个问题：
我需要什么驱动程序？我应该使用 Windows 的驱动程序，还是应该安装自己的驱动程序？
通常，Windows为您的设备自动下载和安装的驱动程序几乎(almost)可以保证运行良好。它们是经过测试符合 Microsoft 要求且通常稳定的驱动程序，这意味着您的计算机不太可能因此而崩溃。
但是，与设备制造商支持网站上提供的驱动程序相比，有时Microsoft提供的驱动程序也已过时。(Microsoft)正如我们现在所知，较新的驱动程序通常为我们的机器提供更多功能和更好的性能。
我们更愿意为网卡、打印机或我们的网络摄像头等基本设备保留 Windows 的默认驱动程序。但是，当涉及到更复杂的设备（例如我们的视频卡）使用的驱动程序时，我们总是选择其制造商提供的驱动程序。这些驱动程序可以增加您在游戏中获得的每秒帧数，因此它们对我们来说非常重要，因为我们经常在计算机上玩游戏。
您还有其他关于司机的问题吗？
现在您知道驱动程序是什么以及驱动程序做什么了。您还知道从何处获取设备驱动程序。您还想问其他关于他们的问题吗？您喜欢使用Windows提供的默认驱动程序，还是选择手动安装自己的驱动程序？请在评价部分留下您的意见。
What are drivers? What does a driver do? -
If you have used a computer, then you have probably heard about drivers. However, do you know what a driver is? Moreover, whаt does it do that makes it so crucіal to a computer’s operation? Even іf you have an idea of what a driver is and does, do you know the best practice when it comes to υpdating drivers? Is it best to keep the drivers offered by Windоws or install your own drivers? These are all questionѕ for which we give you ѕimple and easy to understand answers in this article:
What are drivers?
What is a driver? Our definition is this: a device driver is a piece of software that allows your operating system to start, use and control a hardware device. In other words, drivers are the translators that enable your operating system to ask the hardware devices inside your computer (or connected to it) to do what you want.
Drivers are the programs responsible for the proper communication between your operating system (Windows, Linux, macOS, etc.) and your hardware (motherboard, graphics card, sound card, network adapter, hard drives, keyboard and mouse, and so on).
What are drivers? What does a driver do?
What does a driver do?
Let’s start with an example: imagine that you try to play a video on YouTube. You press Play on the video in your web browser. The browser, which is an application, sends your request to the operating system. The operating system knows then that you want to play a video. This means, among other things, that it must buffer the video with the help of the network card, ask the graphics card to display the video, and ask the sound card to play the audio part of the video. The operating system sends all these requests to the drivers associated with the required device: the network card driver knows what data to transfer, the video card knows what to display, and the sound card knows what to play in your speakers
Or imagine that you have a document that you want to print on your printer. You would edit the document inside Word or any other text editor you prefer. Afterward, you’d push the Print button and wait for the document to come out from the printer. The text editor is an application that asks the operating system to print the document. The operating system takes the document and asks the printer driver to print the document. The driver takes the document and translates it into a language that the printer understands. Finally, the printer prints the document and delivers it to the user.
Most computer devices, including printers, need drivers to work
All these are possible because the operating system knows how to ask those devices to do their jobs, using drivers.
Why do you need device drivers?
The answer to this question could not be any more straightforward: you need device drivers to be able to use your devices. As you already know from our earlier “what is a driver” definition, our computer needs drivers to be able to communicate with the devices that are connected to it. Without the right driver, a device is nothing more than a piece of hardware that doesn’t work. This is likely the reason why device drivers are called drivers. 🙂
Where do you find the drivers for your devices?
Usually, most drivers are installed automatically on your operating system. Windows has an extensive library of drivers. When you connect a new device to your Windows computer, the operating system automatically detects it and starts searching for an appropriate driver in its library. If one is found, all you have to do is wait for it to be installed. Sometimes, Windows also asks you to reboot your computer after the driver has been installed so that it can be enabled and used.
If Windows does not have a fitting driver for your new device, it can also use Windows Update to search for a driver online. If Microsoft’s servers have a driver for your device, then you must wait for it to be downloaded and installed.
How to update drivers for devices
These are the easy options for finding and installing drivers for your devices in Windows. However, sometimes no driver may be found in Windows’ library or in Microsoft’s Windows Update servers. What can you do if you have that “luck,” or if you want to use a particular driver other than the one installed by Windows? The answer is that you can also find drivers on your device’s manufacturer support website.
Here’s an example involving a video card we own: an AMD Radeon RX 5700. The best place to get a driver for it is the official support page of AMD. Many manufacturers, including AMD, offer a detection tool that automatically identifies and downloads the right drivers for your device.
How to find the right driver for a graphics card
However, all manufacturers provide a way to choose the correct driver for your device manually. After you identify your device and select the operating system that you have, you can download the driver. Drivers usually come in the form of an executable file, which you must run and install like any other application.
Driver install utility automatically detecting a graphics card
If you need help in finding and installing missing drivers for your devices, we have published a tutorial that covers this subject too. It provides the answer to the “what drivers do I need?” question and instructions for how to install drivers in Windows easily: 7 things you can do with the Device Manager from Windows.
If, on the other hand, one of the drivers doesn’t work correctly and causes crashes or errors, you might want to remove it from your system. For that, here’s how to uninstall drivers from Windows.
Should I update drivers?
Although many people think that the old saying “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” applies to drivers, too, we tend to disagree. Usually, drivers are updated by the hardware manufacturing companies because they:
- found some bugs, and their developers repaired them,
- added new features,
- managed to increase the performance of your device, or
- identified some security issues which have been resolved.
All the above can be improved and fixed with new versions of drivers. However, there are also times when new drivers are problematic, instead of making things better. For example, some Nvidia drivers can cause the Start Menu to malfunction. Even so, recent drivers are, in most cases, better than older ones.
The good news is that, if you use Windows 10, critical driver updates are automatically downloaded and installed for you. This raises the next question:
What drivers do I need? Should I use Windows’ drivers, or should I install my own?
Usually, the drivers that Windows downloads and installs automatically for your devices are almost guaranteed to work well. They are drivers that have been tested to comply with Microsoft’s requirements and are usually stable, meaning that your computer is unlikely to crash because of them.
However, sometimes, the drivers delivered by Microsoft are also outdated, compared to the drivers available on the support websites of your devices’ manufacturers. As we know by now, newer drivers usually offer more features and better performance for our machines.
We prefer to keep Windows’ default drivers for essential devices such as the network card, the printer, or our webcam. However, when it comes to the drivers used by more complex devices, such as our video cards, we always choose the ones offered by their manufacturers. Those drivers can increase the number of frames per second you get in games, so they are pretty essential for us, as we play a lot on our computers.
Do you have any other questions about drivers?
Now you know what drivers are and what drivers do. You also know where to get drivers for your devices. Are there any other questions about them that you’d like to ask? Do you prefer using the default drivers offered by Windows, or do you choose to install your own manually? Let us know in the comments section.
