Windows Inside & Out · Updates, Drivers & Restore Points · Lesson 2 of 5

Device Manager and Drivers

Spot a hardware problem and fix its driver in a few clicks.

The little yellow triangle

Every part of your computer needs a driver. A driver is a small program that lets Windows talk to one piece of hardware, like the Wi-Fi card, the speakers or the webcam. If a driver is missing or broken, that part stops working, even though nothing is wrong with the part itself.

Device Manager is the Windows tool that lists every piece of hardware and how it is doing. To open it, right-click the Start button and choose Device Manager.

You'll see groups like Display adapters, Network adapters and Sound. Click the small arrow next to a group to open it.

Most devices look normal. One with a problem shows a small yellow triangle with an exclamation mark on its icon. That is Windows saying, "this part isn't working right."

Double-click the device to open its Properties. The General tab has a box called Device status. It explains the problem in a sentence and often gives a code, such as "This device cannot start. (Code 10)". You can search for that code later if you need to.

The Driver tab shows the driver's date and version. It also has buttons to fix things, which we cover next.

A common reason for a new yellow triangle is a driver that just updated. Newer is usually better, but now and then a new driver has a bug.

On the practice computer, find the Wi-Fi adapter with the yellow warning. Open its properties, read the error, then use the Driver tab to roll back the driver and watch the warning clear.

Update, roll back or uninstall

The Driver tab in a device's properties has three buttons that fix most problems. Here is when to use each one.

• Update driver looks for a newer driver. Choose "Search automatically for drivers". Use it when a device has never worked well.
• Roll Back Driver goes back to the driver you had before the last change. Use it when a device worked yesterday and broke right after a driver update. If the button is grey, there is no older driver saved.
• Uninstall device removes the device and its driver. After you restart, Windows usually finds the device again and reinstalls a fresh driver. It is like unplugging it and plugging it back in.

Where should drivers come from? Stick to two safe places.

1. Windows Update, including Optional updates under Advanced options.
2. The maker's own support website, like the company that made your laptop or printer. Type their address yourself and search for your exact model.

Avoid "driver updater" programs and pop-up ads that say your drivers are out of date. Many are junk, and some carry harmful software. You don't need them.

On a Mac, you don't manage drivers. Apple includes them in macOS updates.

A good habit: when something breaks, ask what changed last. That change is very often the cause.