Where can I find the drivers folder. Drivers for Windows

I think many of the laptop users have experienced the problem - how to find driver for laptop... Time passes and once, new laptop, reciting "to mow". Now I'm not talking about flooded (coffee or beer - which is even worse.) laptop-netbook keyboards. I mean the operating system. In this case, the problems with the operating system depend on many factors ...

• How well does the user know the computer...
• How often does he use...
• Does one use...
• Etc.

There is a phrase - "80% Windows errors are located half a meter from the monitor screen ... " Absolutely agree with these words!

As a person who has been professionally repairing and setting up computers and laptops in his city for more than 10 years, having in his phone address book with more than 4 thousand registered clients, I can say with absolute certainty - if you have problems with your computer, in the first place - look for the problem in the lack of your own knowledge ...

And my site was created just to replenish your knowledge, so - welcome to the new lesson!

Windows "buggy is not childish"!

It is impossible to work on the Internet!

Games freeze and crash!

You can, of course, try to restore the system. But, there is one caveat ... If your problem is due to viruses, such as the Sality virus, or Conficker, then in this case it is worth reinstalling the system. If only because these viruses find in your operating system, all files with the extension .exe and infect them... And the file with the extension .exe is the startup file for any program. In this case, it is easier to reinstall the Operating System, saving the data you need to a free disk partition before that.

Even your antivirus, for which you once paid1500-2000 rubles, this is a file with the extension.exe . Do you really think that you will be given the perfect remedy for all viral problems for2000 rubles?! Yes evenfor 10000r. you will not find the ideal remedy, because here it already plays a role -Human factor. Just as it is impossible to eradicate crime, soit is impossible to exclude all computer viruses!

Therefore, we do not strain ourselves, but decide what to do. If your computer wizard did not take care that, after installing you (on a laptop or computer) the Windows Operating System, make an image (scan, copy) of your system disk using the same program Acronis True Image, which will contain all installed and necessary programs, as well as the driver, then - after reinstalling Windows, you may encounter the following:

• You will not run games that were previously launched.
• There will be no internet access.
• SD cards from your camera will no longer be detected, etc...

An unscrupulous wizard may tell you that the problem can be solved by replacing the video card, or hard drive, or something else. Just to earn more from you. Or because the master himself does not have enough knowledge ... Just because you are not smart enough in computers ...

Just in order to somehow exclude such situations (I don’t like “hucksters” and non-professionals ...) I write articles and lessons on repairing and setting up a computer.

This does not mean that if the master told you that you need to change HDD he is deceiving you! Never offend a person with distrust and reproaches, if you understand little about the problem and called the master to solve your problem! It's just that if you have a lack of knowledge, doubts arise (and doubts arise - EXACTLY from LACK OF KNOWLEDGE!), then you can always ask a question on my website and during 24 hours - get an answer. I visit the site about once a day.

Okay, enough foreplay. I hope the information above was helpful to you. Let's get down to practice!

How to find a driver for a laptop:

So, let's look at the example of a problem with a video driver, if after reinstalling the Operating System you suddenly stopped running games :) - go to "Device Manager":

1. left mouse button, click "Start" (lower left part of the Monitor Screen),

3. in the appeared context menu- left click "properties". (If you have Windows XP, then - left-click - "Hardware" - "Device Manager". If you have Windows 7, in the left menu block, click "Device Manager").

4. In the window that opens, we find the equipment marked exclamation mark(usually, signed - as unknown device, but there may be another inscription). The main thing to remember is that if there is a Resurrection Sign- This means that the driver is not installed. In Windows 7, if during the installation of the Operating System, the installer was unable to install the driver on the video card, the "standard video driver" will be installed by default (This happens if your a copy of Windows- Older hardware in your laptop or computer. In this case, the video adapter in the "device manager" will not be Wax. Sign, but your games will still not start until you install the "standard video adapter" instead - correct driver to your video card!).

5. Press the left mouse button twice on the problematic equipment. A window will appear in which we click "Details" and left-click in the "properties"Hardware ID. Next - select it by clicking on it once with the left button :) andpress "Ctrl" on the keyboard and without releasing it, press "C".

6. AT free space desktop on the monitor screen, right-click, select "create", then left-click "text document".

7. Open the created document, click once with the mouse anywhere in the document window and press on the keyboard ctrl+v.

8. Open an internet browser and paste in the address bar - http://www.devid.info/en/

9. In the driver search site that opens, in the search bar (where it says - "Enter driver code") paste the copied code from text document and press "Search":

If you have Windows XP, then select XP in the list of suggested drivers, if you have Windows 7, select the driver for Windows 7. Be sure to take into account the bit depth of the Operating System! What system and bit do you have (sometimes 32 or 64 bits), you can look in the properties of the computer (example for 7-ki - in the first picture above ...). Having selected the driver, click on the icon to the right of it in the form of a floppy disk. A window will appear asking you to download the driver, click once with the left mouse button on the file with the extension .zip or .rar

Click again on the file with the extension .zip and get the file download window. Choose "Save":

12. In the new window, select where we want to save given file(The default is "My Documents" or "Desktop") and wait until the file is downloaded to your computer...

13. Open the downloaded file archive with the driver, find the file with the extension .exe and run the installation by double-clicking on it with the left mouse button.

After the driver installation is complete, we restart the computer or laptop and rejoice that the "Device Manager" disappeared Resurrection Sign!

Thank you for attention!

How to find drivers?

Drivers perform essential function in the computer: they are necessary for the successful operation of various programs. Some devices may well work immediately when connected to a computer, and some may crash in the system or start to constantly display a window with information about updating the driver. If this happens, you will need to perform this update. And often when buying a new computer or a brand new video card, we are faced with the problem of finding and updating drivers. This article will show you how to find drivers using special program or standard means dispatcher Windows devices.

Finding Drivers with Everest

Let's first figure out which drivers we need to download and install: the Everest utility will help us with this.

This program is intended, among other things, to understand for which devices you need to install drivers.

1. Launch Everst, select "Devices" and then "Windows Devices".
2. On the right side of the menu is a list of all available drivers. A yellow question mark indicates devices that require driver installation.
3. Expanding the tab, you will see a list of devices for which your operating system did not find drivers on its own.
4. In order to determine the device, its manufacturer and model, you just need to click on its name with the left mouse button.

By the line Hardware ID (VEN and DEN), you can understand what kind of device it is, as well as find out its manufacturer and model. All computer devices have four-digit numbers.

The first one (it is designated as VEN or VID) is the code of the manufacturer itself. The second one (DEV or PID) is the device model. Having written out these values, you can independently search for information on the Internet. The peculiarity of the Everest program is that it automatically determines the manufacturer and model by code. The data can be seen in the line "PCI device".

Using the resource, you can easily find the driver you need. To do this, you just need to enter the code in the search menu. In this way, you can calculate all devices that require driver updates or installation. Installation is best done in the following sequence: driver for the video card, then for sound card, for wifi adapter,
for a webcam, and then there is a TV tuner, scanner, printer, etc. You can learn more about finding the most necessary driver - a video driver - in our article.

Search for drivers using standard Windows tools

Let's look at another easy way to find drivers using the Windows Device Manager. To open Device Manager, select the My Computer shortcut on the desktop and right-click on it, then select Properties. After these manipulations, the "System" window will open, select "Device Manager" in the left menu. When you select this item in a new window, you will see all installed on this computer devices. Particular attention should be paid to the line “Sound, video and gaming devices”, as well as “ Network adapters". These items are considered the most problematic among users.

So, by right-clicking on the device we want and selecting "Properties"
we will open a window in which you need to select the "Details" tab. Further, the sequence of actions is as follows: "Path to the device instance" - "Value" - and you will see the necessary code. Copy given code- it is a driver cipher, by which you can find out the manufacturer and model of the device. And how to find a driver using this code, we wrote in this article above. After downloading the necessary archive with the driver, install it by running the .exe file without changing the installation path. Next, you need to restart your computer, and you can admire the result of your actions.

Some notes on reinstalling drivers

In order to reinstall the driver for more stable system operation, you must first uninstall old version. To do this, you need to go to the "Device Manager" menu, select desired device, click "Properties" - "Driver" and remove it. After that, install the new driver from the pre-downloaded distribution kit (installation package).

Further, we note that searching for a driver by code may not always end successfully, because old versions of drivers are often stored on the same site. What to do? Do not be upset, because each manufacturer provides for its product support, which also includes creating and updating drivers for devices.

Driver updates contain various additional features that were not included in the previous versions. This, in turn, will be necessary for you to work comfortably at your computer, especially if you use new versions of various programs - for example, work with graphic applications or play new computer games.

By accessing the websites of device manufacturers (www.radeon.ru, www.amd.ru, www.nvidia.ru), you can independently find the necessary driver and download it. Driver installation instructions can also be found on the manufacturer's website. There are a lot of devices and models now, and each manufacturer has its own website. All that is required of you is to know the brand of the device and go to the official website of the manufacturer. And how to find out the type and model of the device, we have already found out.

We hope that you liked our article, and you may be interested in another similar material -. Good luck with your further development of the computer!

When drivers are installed on a PC, its files are copied to system disk. Moreover, the name and number of files may differ. In addition, their location also depends on the type of driver. Often, the OS distributes them into different folders that are located in the "Program Files" or "Windows" directories.

Sometimes you need to find the location of these files, find out their names. This may be necessary when uninstalling them, as well as installing identical drivers on another device.

Where are installed device drivers located in Windows

You can view the list of files for a specific device using the device manager:

• First you need to go to the device manager.
• Should be found the right equipment and right click on it. In the window that appears, go to the "Properties" section.

• In the next window, select the "Driver" item and click on the "Details" name.

• A list of driver files will appear in a new window.

How to Find Driver Readme Files in Windows

If you are looking for driver files to install on another computer, you will also need an installation readme file. It is located in the C:\Windows\inf folder.

This folder is hidden. To view its contents, you need to activate the display hidden files and folders. The installation readme file is in .inf format. Its name can be found using the following:

• Launch Device Manager.
• In the list of equipment, find the device of interest and right-click on it. Next, go to "Properties".
• In the window that appears, select "Details" and click on the "INF name" item. The filename will be shown in the "Value" line.

To simplify these steps, you can use Driver program Genius. With its help, you can automatic mode transfer drivers to another PC. This manager can update components via the Internet. The program itself will find, select the components and determine which service packs to install.

If you are going to reinstall the OS, it is recommended to keep a list of your drivers so that you do not waste time looking for them in the future. In other words, you should always create backup. The utility will help convert this data into an installation file. The program works in different languages, but there is no Russian, so you have to get used to it. The utility also requires a license for its advanced features.

Many people associate the word "storage" exclusively with information, but experts and more advanced users know that drivers are also stored in Windows and are actively used as needed.

Who are drivers and when might they be required?

A driver is a so-called connecting bridge between the hardware and the system of a computer device. It always assists in telling the OS what is connected to the computer and how it works. Driver acts in the form of a program with files that interact with devices. After Windows is installed on new computer, the operating system does not immediately know about external devices nothing and for "acquaintance" drivers are required.

Usually, new versions of the OS immediately have “firewood” for working with the following programs:

• bluetooth
• sound
• home network
• video
• additional devices

Video as well as audio default settings, does not allow you to enjoy all the benefits of connected devices without installing "firewood".

Where are any Drivers stored in a Windows 7 system?

In the seventh version windows key installed drivers located in a folder called "Drivers". It is located on drive: C / windows / system32. Even if the folder is found, you will not need to copy it for further reinstallation. The best method is to use the Device Manager.

For example, you need to know where is sound driver. To do this, expand the line for sound videos and gaming devices and highlight the sound driver by clicking on properties. When the window opens, you should go to the information tab, select the option called "device description". There will be information about the location of the desired driver and other data.

You can also use the official website of your computer manufacturer. There are the latest versions of the released "firewood" and numerous programs that provide the opportunity to make quick update or a backup copy. Experts do not recommend using this method for inexperienced users (in order to avoid possible errors systems).

Having studied the information and clearly following the instructions, you can correctly find the drivers and perform the necessary manipulations with them.

Apparently, there is no need to say that most users are aware that for the correct operation of absolutely everything installed on a computer, equipment in the form of "iron" components and some virtual devices, special software called drivers is required. However, quite often there are questions about, for example, where the printer driver is located in Windows 7 (as well as in other operating systems of this family) or some other device connected to the system, when the control software needs to be integrated into the system in manual mode. Let's try to find out, taking into account some of the nuances associated with installing and updating such software components.

Where is the drivers folder in Windows 7 and other systems installed?

On various forums on the Internet, questions related to the definition exact location drivers for a particular device can be found quite often.

Some users claim that the main directory is the System32 directory in the root folder of the system, others believe that the storage location for the control software is the drivers directory nested in System32 or the DriverStore folder. Who is right? Both are right, because, depending on the type of the driver itself (SYS, VXD, DRV, etc.), the location of the location of the files may change.

How to determine the exact location of the driver?

Now let's try to find out where the drivers are in Windows 7 by determining their exact location on the disk in the system partition. To do this, it is completely optional to “dig” the specified folders manually. In addition, when searching by device name, you are unlikely to find a driver corresponding to it.

The easiest way is to use the standard "Device Manager", select the desired device, go to the properties item through the RMB menu and click the information button on the driver tab. After that, a special window will be displayed, which will show all the absolute (full) paths to the directory in which they are located.

Where are the drivers in Windows 7 for updating?

However, knowing the exact location of the control software may not be enough to update it. Many users, when trying to install updates, rely solely on the tools of the operating system. AT general case, right. However, in this situation, it should be remembered that when setting the search for the necessary Windows drivers first of all, it refers to scanning already installed components.

If a search for updated drivers is specified on the network (Internet), only Microsoft databases are accessed, and drivers are installed that are either digitally signed by the corporation, or software those manufacturers for which support is declared. In this situation, it is better to use automated applications. But where are the drivers in Windows 7 that can be updated? Unfortunately, they are not in the system. But the corresponding programs access exclusively the Internet sites of equipment manufacturers and developers of such software, after which they install updated components without user intervention.

Where are the drivers loaded when manually downloading?

Finally, let's see where the drivers are located in Windows 7 for cases where the user has found and downloaded them himself. Usually in browsers that are installed in all latest versions Windows folder to save downloads, the Downloads directory is assigned by default, and the presence of such folders is provided for all accounts registered in the system. If your browser is always prompted to save downloadable content, you can specify the folder yourself. As a rule, EXE or INF files are available for download.

In the first case, the driver and related software are installed by launching the applet as an administrator, in the second case, through the RMB menu with the installation item selected. If the system reports that this type of action is not supported, the update can be made through the "Device Manager" by indicating with the browse button where the INF file was saved.