Advanced Driver Updater 4.6.1086.7222

Advanced Driver Updater 4.6.1086.7222 is a Windows program from Systweak Software that scans your PC for outdated or missing device drivers and helps update them from a single window. It is meant for people who do not want to look up each component on manufacturers' websites. You can download Advanced Driver Updater for Windows from Systweak's official site.

Specifications

How it works

A driver is the small piece of software that lets Windows talk to a device: the graphics card, the network adapter, the printer, the sound chip. Manufacturers release new drivers to fix bugs, improve performance or add support for newer Windows versions. Advanced Driver Updater identifies the hardware in your PC, compares the installed driver versions with its database and lists the ones it considers out of date. From there you can update them one by one or in a batch. Keeping a backup of current drivers before updating means you can return to them if a new one causes trouble. Utilities of this type are handy on older PCs where nobody has updated drivers for years. They are also a matter of judgement: a newer driver is not always a better one, and for laptops the version tested by the laptop maker is often the most stable. Graphics drivers are best taken directly from the chip maker.

Using it safely

1. Create a Windows restore point before updating anything.
2. Let the program back up current drivers if it offers to.
3. Update a few drivers at a time and restart between batches.
4. If a device misbehaves afterwards, roll back that driver in Device Manager or restore the backup.
5. Read each installer screen and skip offers you do not want.

Who it suits

It is most useful for people who look after an older family PC or a small office machine and do not know which components are inside. Enthusiasts who already follow driver releases for their hardware will gain little from it.

Licence and price

The program is free to download and scan with. Check on the official product page which functions require a paid licence and what the renewal terms are before buying. Scan results that sound alarming, such as long lists of "outdated" drivers, are not a reason to panic; many old drivers work perfectly well.

Pros and cons

• Pro: one place to check drivers for all devices.
• Pro: batch updates save manual searching.
• Pro: small download.
• Con: full functionality depends on the vendor's licence terms.
• Con: newer drivers are not always better for your hardware.

Alternatives

Similar tools in our listings are Driver Easy, DriverMax and DriverPack Solution. For Bluetooth adapters only, there is Bluetooth Driver Installer, and NVIDIA Control Panel goes with NVIDIA's own graphics driver.