Week Four

Device Drivers

A device driver, also known as a hardware driver, is a group of files that enable one or more hardware devices to communicate with the operating system. Device drivers are used for devices such as a printer or an external hard drive. Device drivers communicate with software. A software program explains what it wants a piece of hardware to do and the device driver takes the information and fulfills the request with the hardware. Device drivers are usually installed automatically. Sometimes it is necessary to troubleshoot device drivers, which can be done through the Device Manager on Windows. The Device Manager allows you to view installed hardware, and is sorted by category. Sometimes the Device Manager will show which devices are not working properly by displaying a yellow triangle with an exclamation point over a device's icon. From the device manager you are also able to perform maintenance by updating, disabling, rolling back, or uninstalling a driver.

Sources:

Fisher, T. (2016, March 16). What is a Device Driver? Retrieved April 07, 2016, from http://pcsupport.about.com/od/termsag/g/term_driver.htm

Hoffman, C. (2013, July 07). How to Use the Windows Device Manager for Troubleshooting. Retrieved April 07, 2016, from http://www.howtogeek.com/167094/how-to-use-the-windows-device-manager-for-troubleshooting/

What is device driver? (n.d.). Retrieved April 07, 2016, from http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/d/driver.htm