A device driver driver (also known as 'software driver') is a software that lets your operating system communicate with your hardware. Devices like keyboards, mice, speakers, and printers all use a software driver to interact with the operating system and other software applications.

When you install an operating system such Windows, many device drivers are built into the operating system. However, if you buy a new type of hardware device that the operating system did not anticipate, you'll have to install a new device driver. A device driver essentially converts the more general input/output instructions of the operating system to messages that the device can understand. Hardware device manufacturers release new drivers all the time. This is their way of (1) fixing a known issue with their product, (2) to improve the general performance of their devices, (3) to enhance stability issues on your computer, and (4) as a way to provide new product features to you to retain their edge in the market.

So if you think about, if you don't update to new drivers, you could be missing out on many new and updated features that you could be benefiting from right now.
UpdateStar Drivers makes the tedious, hours-long task of identifying your current drivers and checking if there are new ones as easy as can be. It's a driver update utility that lets you find new drivers and install them on your system in just minutes using a few mouse clicks!
You can register for your own copy of UpdateStar Drivers by clicking the "Register" button on the lower right-hand side of the Main Window of the program. The licenses are usually 1-year licenses with attractive update prices. To get your own license, please click here to register.
Hardware manufacturers do not provide device drivers the same way. Some companies provide drivers as direct executables (click-and-go!), some as zipped or compressed files, others ‘repackage’ drivers by other companies and provide them in a different format (e.g., HP repackages Intel drivers for use in their products), and so on. UpdateStar Drivers is designed to take care of a lot of different driver installers so that you can install them in one click. Sometimes, however, a few more steps are involved.

Note: The following steps assume that you have already downloaded the driver recommendations of UpdateStar Drivers to your computer.

Solution #1: Use UpdateStar Drivers to automatically install the driver for you. After you download a driver to your computer, the download button on the Scan Results tab changes to "Open" or "Install". "Install" means that the device driver is ready for installation. Click this button to install the driver installation. Be sure to follow the installation wizard provided by the hardware manufacturer. "Open" means that the computer hardware manufacturer provided the driver as a compressed file (e.g., .zip, .rar, .7c, or another format). Clicking "Open" means that you are instructing UpdateStar Drivers to unzip the file for you. If de-compressing the file is successful, Windows Explorer will open the file and all you have to do is double-click the .exe file you see in the directory to install the driver.

Note: If you cannot unzip a driver file, this means your computer is not capable of handling the decompressed file as provided by the driver manufacturer. You can download the free tool 7zip to de-compress most file types.

Note: If clicking Open reveals several driver folders, this means that the driver manufacturer 'bundled' their driver updates in one file (as shown in the image below).

Solution #2. Check that you didn’t just unzip a driver. When you click "Open" in UpdateStar Drivers, it will open the driver file the manufacturer provided and all you need to do is double-click a *.EXE file to install the driver. Sometimes the manufacturer has added an extra step in the process. In this case, please take note of the directory or folder where the files are being extracted! Paste the directory on Windows Explorer and click Enter on your keyboard. Double click the .exe file in that folder to install the driver.

Solution #3. Install downloaded drivers via the Hardware Update Wizard in your Device Manager

Solution #4. Uninstall old drivers before installing the news ones you got from UpdateStar Drivers. This procedure requires a bit of know-how regarding the use of Windows Device Manager. Please do this only if you are sure which drivers you want to uninstall. Sometimes, new drivers will not work unless you completely uninstall the old ones first. Go to your Device Manager and select the device whose driver you want to uninstall (e.g., Sound, video and game controllers). Right-click the specific device and then click Uninstall. Open UpdateStar Drivers again and click "Open" or "Install" to install the new driver.
Sometimes, driver manufacturers do not provide an executable file (.EXE) to install their drivers. Instead, they provide an INF file. An INF file is short for INFormation file. This is a document that Windows "reads" to know how to install a driver. Following are the instructions to install a driver via its INF file. Note: The steps below assume that you have already downloaded the new driver recommended by UpdateStar Drivers and unzipped its contents. (This is important. If the file is not unzipped and its contents extracted, Windows will not be able to detect the INF file.)

1. From the Windows menu, click Start.
2. Click System, choose Hardware, and then click Device Manager.
3. Click the device whose driver you want to update.
4. Right-click the device and then click Update Driver. This will open the Hardware Update Wizard.
5. Click No, not this time and then click Next.
6. Click Install from a list or specific location (advanced) and then click Next.
7. Click Search for the best driver in these locations.
8. Click Include this location in the search.
9. Click Browse and go to the UpdateStar Drivers download location where the driver to be installed is located. Usually this is: C:\Documents and Settings\[your-name]\Application Data\UpdateStar Drivers\Download\[driver-folder-number]\
   Tip: If the wizard finds the INF file, the OK button should be clickable (not grayed out).
10. Click Next.
11. Finish the Hardware Update Wizard.
12. Reboot your computer.

We made it easy to activate UpdateStar Drivers using your license information (License ID and Password). All you have to do is open the application, click the "Register" button on the lower, right-hand area of the main window, type in your License ID and Password and click "Activate". Your License ID and Password are case sensitive so please make sure you are typing them correctly. Also, please note that Passwords are alpha-numeric so please ensure that any “0” are typed in as zeroes, any “o” is typed as a letter, etc. Please make sure there are no spaces before and after the License ID and Password.

However, your computer may have settings that prevent UpdateStar Drivers from accessing its online driver database. If this is the case, please check your Internet connection . Check that you have administrator rights on your computer and ensure your Windows firewall is not blocking UpdateStar Drivers.
An email with your license information is immediately dispatched after payment of your order has been processed. Depending on your chosen payment method you receive your license information within minutes or within a few days. I will be send to the email address you used with your order. Please contact our support, if you have not received your licensing information as expected.
UpdateStar Drivers is available as a free download that enables you to perform a full system scan to detect old, corrupt or missing drivers on your computer. The free version has limited functionality and to unlock all the features of the application you will need to purchase a full version license. To get your license please visit our Store or find an authorized reseller for your region on our website.
You have to accept the End User License Agreement when installing the program on your computer. You can also find it by following this link.
Sometimes, Windows insists on using certain drivers because it is a signed driver, which Microsoft prefers. This, however, prevents you from benefiting from certain features that the hardware manufacturer (e.g., SiS, VIA, HP, Realtek, etc.) intends for you to have. You can still update to new device drivers but do this via the Windows Hardware Update Wizard. This way, you are telling your Windows computer, to use the new drivers you want. Downloaded and install the new driver recommended by UpdateStar Drivers. Go to your Hardware Device Manager and click the device whose driver you want to update. Right-click the device and click "Update Driver". This will open the Hardware Update Wizard. Click No, not this time and then click Next. Click Install from a list or specific location (advanced) and then click Next. Click Don't search. I will choose the driver to install and then click Next. Select the NEW driver you downloaded with UpdateStar Drivers under the list of available drivers. Finish the Hardware Update Wizard. Reboot your computer.
When you install a driver, you are making system changes on your computer. If you are part of a user group for your computer system, then it is possible that you do not have administrator rights on your machine, which you need to install a driver. In this case, you need to log off and log on as an administrator to the operating system. You can do this from the Windows Start button. If you cannot login as administrator, consult with your network administrator (or the one who configured your machine).
This is a very rare situation. However, it may happen if the computer hardware manufacturer who made the driver file made it to support multiple devices. This is the case for multi-functional devices like printer all-in-one gadgets. In this case, you can "Ignore" the driver update recommendation. Ignoring the driver recommendation at this point means it will not be included in succeeding driver scans. However, since you already downloaded and installed the new driver previously, your system does indeed have an updated driver now. Another reason is when a device driver is not signed by Microsoft and the default Microsoft driver is installed for the device. In this case, Windows will not install the driver (or it will install the driver but not use it). To ensure your computer uses the updated driver, use the Windows Hardware Upgrade wizard.
You can launch UpdateStar Drivers in two ways. Double-click the UpdateStar Drivers icon on the desktop or launch it via the Windows Start Menu. You can exit UpdateStar Drivers in two ways. Click the close button located at the top-right of the main window or right-click the UpdateStar Drivers icon in the taskbar and click "Exit".