If your printer isn’t working with Windows 7 or if you’ve encountered problems with a new game you’re trying to play, you likely need to install a new driver. Before going through the trouble of manually finding and installing a driver in Windows 7, check Windows Update to see if there are updated drivers there that you should install. You can set Windows Update to check for new drivers automatically as well.

You can do this by going to Start/All Programs/Windows Update.

To be sure your computer is updating drivers automatically when it can, be sure your settings are set to “install updates automatically.”



If you find you need to manually install a new driver that isn’t included in the automatic updates, you’ll need to locate the necessary driver from the appropriate website. For example, if you’re looking to fix your Dell printer, you’ll need to download the new driver from the Dell website. You’ll usually find the driver you need in the Support and Downloads section of the company’s website. Find the appropriate driver using the model of the device and be sure to download the driver for Windows 7. In a pinch the driver for Windows Vista should work as well if there is not one available for Windows 7.

Download the driver that corresponds to your device. You’ll see the device’s progress in the download box that will pop up on the screen.

When the driver is downloaded completely, you’ll upload it manually by clicking the Start button, selecting the Control Panel and then clicking System. In the System menu you’ll select Device Manager. You may need to enter a password as the administrator of your computer at this point.

In the Device Manager menu, find the driver you need to update and double-click that driver’s name. In the small window that opens for the driver, select the tab that says Driver. There is a button to Update Driver.



When you click the Update Driver button, you have the choice to let the computer search for the driver you just downloaded, or you can find it yourself by browsing. The downloaded driver should be in your Downloads folder. You can reach the Downloads folder in My Favorites through the Libraries icon on the taskbar or by searching for “downloads” at the Start menu.

To continue updating the driver, simply follow the instructions on your screen as the computer locates and then installs the necessary driver. Your computer may require a restart before the device is fully updated.