Thoughts/Opinions on EASY DRIVER/Driver Updater?

[ryapow]

Hello, I would like to know if it's worth using EASY DRIVER?. I have downloaded Driver updater and EASY Driver to see what it told me with my 4 day old Extreme Orion PC I got from PCS.

Driver Updater told me 3 drivers were out of date and Easy Driver told me I had 14 drivers out of date.

are these software's good to use and actually download the drivers I need as I quite new to driver updating, I went on Device manager and that even told me none of my drivers are out of date, so I kinda confused and skeptical about the software's.

thanks

 

[Oussebon]

Avoid like the plague.

Seriously, don't use these.

Software like this only sells / gets downloaded by people if it identifies drivers that need to be 'fixed'. Therefore, it's in its interests to tell you that you need to update drivers, even if you don't.

The truth is, updating drivers often isn't necessary or will give any benefits i.e. no increased performance. Companies might release a new driver to fix a specific issue. If you don't have that issue, you arguably don't need the fix.

This forum gets a lot of people from people who use this software and create problems with their PC that weren't there before because this software actually downloads the wrong drivers, or botches the installation causing an issue.

Windows Update actually does a very good job of finding new, relevant drivers. And you can (and should) manually update your graphics card drivers from the Nvidia or AMD websites as appropriate. Don't let Nvidia Geforce Experience run the updates (because it too botches the installs sometimes) - manually download them and install them every now and then e.g. if a new game you want to play comes out or there is an important fix.

1) Do not use auto driver update software under any circumstances

2) Windows Update is actually the most reliable way of getting fed new drivers automatically

3) manage your own GPU updates from the Nvidia / AMD websites every now and then

 

[SpyderTracks]

Did you install this before or after your recycle bin issues?

 

[ryapow]

Avoid like the plague.

Seriously, don't use these.

Software like this only sells / gets downloaded by people if it identifies drivers that need to be 'fixed'. Therefore, it's in its interests to tell you that you need to update drivers, even if you don't.

The truth is, updating drivers often isn't necessary or will give any benefits i.e. no increased performance. Companies might release a new driver to fix a specific issue. If you don't have that issue, you arguably don't need the fix.

This forum gets a lot of people from people who use this software and create problems with their PC that weren't there before because this software actually downloads the wrong drivers, or botches the installation causing an issue.

Windows Update actually does a very good job of finding new, relevant drivers. And you can (and should) manually update your graphics card drivers from the Nvidia or AMD websites as appropriate. Don't let Nvidia Geforce Experience run the updates (because it too botches the installs sometimes) - manually download them and install them every now and then e.g. if a new game you want to play comes out or there is an important fix.

1) Do not use auto driver update software under any circumstances

2) Windows Update is actually the most reliable way of getting fed new drivers automatically

3) manage your own GPU updates from the Nvidia / AMD websites every now and then

Thank you for your in depth reply my dude. I actually installed it yesterday to install some drivers, after this I had corrupted recycle bin issue and all sorts of weird stuff happening!

thanks bro!

 

[ryapow]

Did you install this before or after your recycle bin issues?

funny enough it all happened after Installed the program and installed some drivers, never going to install anything like this again.

 

[Oussebon]

I actually installed it yesterday to install some drivers, after this I had corrupted recycle bin issue and all sorts of weird stuff happening!

Aaand that would be 1 more thread proving the point

Best uninstall the software. And if you get further issues, consider reinstalling Windows from scratch, and letting Windows handle the driver installations.

 

[ryapow]

Aaand that would be 1 more thread proving the point

Best uninstall the software. And if you get further issues, consider reinstalling Windows from scratch, and letting Windows handle the driver installations.

Yep! I don't know how companies to exist like that, I have read some really scary stories about peoples experiences with the software. so many good reviews on trust pilot though and wasn't till I dug a bit deeper this afternoon that I actually noticed people having same issues as me!

also my PC never come with windows disc drive, windows 10 key; but it come preinstalled, im guessing the windows key I can find on my pc somewhere right, if ever I need to re install again

 

[Oussebon]

Windows 10's key is stored digitally on the motherboard.

To reinstall windows, you'd download the media creation tool direct from microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

It runs faster off a USB than a DVD too.

 

[ubuysa]

Thank you for your in depth reply my dude. I actually installed it yesterday to install some drivers, after this I had corrupted recycle bin issue and all sorts of weird stuff happening!

thanks bro!

Kudos for owning up to that.

Experience is a great teacher - but she puts in big bills!

 

[ryapow]

Kudos for owning up to that.

Experience is a great teacher - but she puts in big bills!

Thank you for that, appreciate it. we live and learn

 

[Tony1044]

Kudos for owning up to that.

Experience is a great teacher - but she puts in big bills!

I second that - sometimes making a mistake is the best way to learn something and we've all been there: if not with this kind of thing, I doubt that there is anyone on this forum that hasn't ever had an "oops!" moment with their computers over the years.

Personally, I've lost count!

 

[SpyderTracks]

I second that - sometimes making a mistake is the best way to learn something and we've all been there: if not with this kind of thing, I doubt that there is anyone on this forum that hasn't ever had an "oops!" moment with their computers over the years.

Personally, I've lost count!

I actually paid for a driver updated when I was learning, it promises such good things and even some fairly reputable companies promote them, you just learn what’s worth using and what’s not.

BTW, most decent pro tools are often free.

 

[freezeammod]

Avoid like the plague.

Seriously, don't use these.

Software like this only sells / gets downloaded by people if it identifies drivers that need to be 'fixed'. Therefore, it's in its interests to tell you that you need to update drivers, even if you don't.

The truth is, updating drivers often isn't necessary or will give any benefits i.e. no increased performance. Companies might release a new driver to fix a specific issue. If you don't have that issue, you arguably don't need the fix.

This forum gets a lot of people from people who use this software and create problems with their PC that weren't there before because this software actually downloads the wrong drivers, or botches the installation causing an issue.

Windows Update actually does a very good job of finding new, relevant drivers. And you can (and should) manually update your graphics card drivers from the Nvidia or AMD websites as appropriate. Don't let Nvidia Geforce Experience run the updates (because it too botches the installs sometimes) - manually download them and install them every now and then e.g. if a new game you want to play comes out or there is an important fix.

1) Do not use auto driver update software under any circumstances

2) Windows Update is actually the most reliable way of getting fed new drivers automatically

3) manage your own GPU updates from the Nvidia / AMD websites every now and then

Hello hello, sorry but I have a different opinion on the use of a driver updater:

as we all know or even have experienced that driver updating in many cases could be a uphill task to perform. People with rich computer experience probably see a updater as a fifth wheel even a detrimental as they do have the ability to take care varied driver updates on a computer. Yet for a computer noob, there is not a easy way for them to get around or to learn about except to turn to an auto-updater kind of tool.
Despite that, driver-updating softwares got a bad raputation, mainly because of the bad performance and sometimes the damage to the system. while that could be evitable easily IMHO. For the most part, people go wrong is not having a complete system backup before running a updater app. Thus, make sure you have the latest backups for the whole system before running the app, it is better to use it manually, as a updater is more a tool than a "killer app" that makes it all work.
Another thing people complain about a driver updater is there are a load of crappy and scammy updaters out there on the web, to avoid them, make sure do some further research and read the reviews from different places before installing. Btw, the updater I personally use on my Acer laptop for nearly 2 years is SnailDriver, a rare clean and free one without any adwares and pop-ups.

Cheers:scooter:

 

[Tony1044]

Hello hello, sorry but I have a different opinion on the use of a driver updater:

as we all know or even have experienced that driver updating in many cases could be a uphill task to perform. People with rich computer experience probably see a updater as a fifth wheel even a detrimental as they do have the ability to take care varied driver updates on a computer. Yet for a computer noob, there is not a easy way for them to get around or to learn about except to turn to an auto-updater kind of tool.
Despite that, driver-updating softwares got a bad raputation, mainly because of the bad performance and sometimes the damage to the system. while that could be evitable easily IMHO. For the most part, people go wrong is not having a complete system backup before running a updater app. Thus, make sure you have the latest backups for the whole system before running the app, it is better to use it manually, as a updater is more a tool than a "killer app" that makes it all work.
Another thing people complain about a driver updater is there are a load of crappy and scammy updaters out there on the web, to avoid them, make sure do some further research and read the reviews from different places before installing. Btw, the updater I personally use on my Acer laptop for nearly 2 years is SnailDriver, a rare clean and free one without any adwares and pop-ups.

Cheers:scooter:

Right...since at least Windows 7 (I have a feeling it started in Vista, actually), the Windows installer will try to connect to the internet and download WHQL drivers from Microsoft.

I can't actually remember the last time I installed an OS and it failed to find a driver.

Worst case scenarios are: you have to get a driver from your PC manufacturers' website (and let's be frank, for most domestic machines, this is as easy as typing in a model or serial number) or a component manufacturer website, though this tends to be for things like printers more than components.

YOU may feel that you get value out of using whatever software but advising others to try the same is not a good idea in this context.

My advice for anyone reinstalling Windows is to first download chipset and network card drivers just in case the installer can't find them. It can be tough to find drivers when you can't get online due to...missing drivers. But...very rare these days.

How do you avoid the scammers? I am yet to come across any driver "helper" that is clean in every way and sorry to be blunt but a new poster with four posts recommending a piece of software isn't a reliable source. That kind of trust and respect takes much longer to earn.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hello hello, sorry but I have a different opinion on the use of a driver updater:

as we all know or even have experienced that driver updating in many cases could be a uphill task to perform. People with rich computer experience probably see a updater as a fifth wheel even a detrimental as they do have the ability to take care varied driver updates on a computer. Yet for a computer noob, there is not a easy way for them to get around or to learn about except to turn to an auto-updater kind of tool.
Despite that, driver-updating softwares got a bad raputation, mainly because of the bad performance and sometimes the damage to the system. while that could be evitable easily IMHO. For the most part, people go wrong is not having a complete system backup before running a updater app. Thus, make sure you have the latest backups for the whole system before running the app, it is better to use it manually, as a updater is more a tool than a "killer app" that makes it all work.
Another thing people complain about a driver updater is there are a load of crappy and scammy updaters out there on the web, to avoid them, make sure do some further research and read the reviews from different places before installing. Btw, the updater I personally use on my Acer laptop for nearly 2 years is SnailDriver, a rare clean and free one without any adwares and pop-ups.

Cheers:scooter:

You consider yourself a noob, then believe us when we say that all these updaters are cancer and should NEVER be used. As Tony says, 99% of drivers are auto installed on windows 10 anyway.

 

[freezeammod]

Right...since at least Windows 7 (I have a feeling it started in Vista, actually), the Windows installer will try to connect to the internet and download WHQL drivers from Microsoft.

I can't actually remember the last time I installed an OS and it failed to find a driver.

Worst case scenarios are: you have to get a driver from your PC manufacturers' website (and let's be frank, for most domestic machines, this is as easy as typing in a model or serial number) or a component manufacturer website, though this tends to be for things like printers more than components.

YOU may feel that you get value out of using whatever software but advising others to try the same is not a good idea in this context.

My advice for anyone reinstalling Windows is to first download chipset and network card drivers just in case the installer can't find them. It can be tough to find drivers when you can't get online due to...missing drivers. But...very rare these days.

How do you avoid the scammers? I am yet to come across any driver "helper" that is clean in every way and sorry to be blunt but a new poster with four posts recommending a piece of software isn't a reliable source. That kind of trust and respect takes much longer to earn.

Hello, thanks for taking the time to comment, and the informative tips.

The thoughts and views in my posts are based on my personal experience and knowledge. In my humble opinion, thoughts are thoughts, they have nothing to do with how many posts you have, they should not be judged on the basis of post quantity.

If you still judge my thoughts on that basis, I would say I have account with 5k+ posts in many other forums. Is that make them more convincing?

With no offense.

 

[Oussebon]

Tbh your argument invalidates itself entirely.

People with rich computer experience probably see a updater as a fifth wheel even a detrimental as they do have the ability to take care varied driver updates on a computer. Yet for a computer noob, there is not a easy way for them to get around or to learn about except to turn to an auto-updater kind of tool.

As has been explained, Windows will get drivers for you. This is even more noob-friendly than having to install software.

The only drivers you might want to install manually are GPU drivers, and this is a good thing for new users of PCs (well, gamers anyway) to learn to do.

Despite that, driver-updating softwares got a bad raputation, mainly because of the bad performance and sometimes the damage to the system. while that could be evitable easily IMHO. For the most part, people go wrong is not having a complete system backup before running a updater app.

So we're agreeing that these things screw up people's systems - and the solution is to have a system image on hands (regularly refreshed presumably, to account for new software etc installed) - and we're saying this system is noob friendly :/ C'mon...

And your argument that this is "evitable easily" - what you're described there is how to fix the situation after it's been messed up - not how to avoid it happening in the first place.

The easiest way to avoid a driver updater screwing up your system is to let Windows handle driver updates, as it's actually pretty good and is even more noob friendly.

Can I also remind you that this thread is a case in point, with the OP saying of their computer problems:

funny enough it all happened after Installed the program and installed some drivers, never going to install anything like this again.

Not only is telling people to use driver updater software bad, dangerous advice - what you've had to say is poorly argued garbage. Please stop advocating for people to use driver updater tools, and when you argue a point try not to cut your own legs off.

 

[Tony1044]

Tbh your argument invalidates itself entirely.


As has been explained, Windows will get drivers for you. This is even more noob-friendly than having to install software.

The only drivers you might want to install manually are GPU drivers, and this is a good thing for new users of PCs (well, gamers anyway) to learn to do.

So we're agreeing that these things screw up people's systems - and the solution is to have a system image on hands (regularly refreshed presumably, to account for new software etc installed) - and we're saying this system is noob friendly :/ C'mon...

And your argument that this is "evitable easily" - what you're described there is how to fix the situation after it's been messed up - not how to avoid it happening in the first place.

The easiest way to avoid a driver updater screwing up your system is to let Windows handle driver updates, as it's actually pretty good and is even more noob friendly.

Can I also remind you that this thread is a case in point, with the OP saying of their computer problems:



Not only is telling people to use driver updater software bad, dangerous advice - what you've had to say is poorly argued garbage. Please stop advocating for people to use driver updater tools, and when you argue a point try not to cut your own legs off.

I can't agree with this more and it just repeats already given advice by people with many years of experience of both hardware and operating systems configuration.

Hello, thanks for taking the time to comment, and the informative tips.

The thoughts and views in my posts are based on my personal experience and knowledge. In my humble opinion, thoughts are thoughts, they have nothing to do with how many posts you have, they should not be judged on the basis of post quantity.

If you still judge my thoughts on that basis, I would say I have account with 5k+ posts in many other forums. Is that make them more convincing?

With no offense.

No offense is taken, but - and this is a big but, when you are advocating the use of software - especially of a type that anyone in their right mind advises against - your reputation is important. What you do on your own system, of course, is entirely up to you, but personally in over 20 years of working in IT I would never, ever, ever recommend one of these types of packages. Ever.

 

[freezeammod]

Hello,

As has been explained, Windows will get drivers for you. This is even more noob-friendly than having to install software.

The best case scenario is that Windows can take care of all these jobs, but as many people like me and Tony feels:

Right...since at least Windows 7 (I have a feeling it started in Vista, actually), the Windows installer will try to connect to the internet and download WHQL drivers from Microsoft.

I can't actually remember the last time I installed an OS and it failed to find a driver.

Worst case scenarios are: you have to get a driver from your PC manufacturers' website (and let's be frank, for most domestic machines, this is as easy as typing in a model or serial number) or a component manufacturer website, though this tends to be for things like printers more than components.

Maybe things get better in Windows 10, but not everybady using a Windows 10 OS. Before that, people still need to find a way get around. Right?

And your argument that this is "evitable easily" - what you're described there is how to fix the situation after it's been messed up - not how to avoid it happening in the first place.

I used a inadequate word. I had actually meant to advise people who are still using a updater for some reason to back up their system before running it.

Not only is telling people to use driver updater software bad, dangerous advice - what you've had to say is poorly argued garbage. Please stop advocating for people to use driver updater tools, and when you argue a point try not to cut your own legs off.

I am advocating nothing, I would also expect Windows could offer the solutions to driver update so that nobady would suffer from the downsides of a updater. While the fact is Windows is still working on that.
Also, I respect everyone and will never call their words garbage even when I horribly dislike or disagree his/her words.

 

[Tony1044]

Hello,


The best case scenario is that Windows can take care of all these jobs, but as many people like me and Tony feels:


Maybe things get better in Windows 10, but not everybady using a Windows 10 OS. Before that, people still need to find a way get around. Right?



I used a inadequate word. I had actually meant to advise people who are still using a updater for some reason to back up their system before running it.



I am advocating nothing, I would also expect Windows could offer the solutions to driver update so that nobady would suffer from the downsides of a updater. While the fact is Windows is still working on that.
Also, I respect everyone and will never call their words garbage even when I horribly dislike or disagree his/her words.

Erm and as I pointed out, Windows has tried to find drivers during installation since at least Windows 7 - that is almost 10 years now. Anyone still using an OS older than that (Vista or XP) cannot expect to even get drivers for modern hardware, let alone expect Windows to get them for them.

You say you are advocating nothing...but whether you realise it or not, with statements such as this: " Btw, the updater I personally use on my Acer laptop for nearly 2 years is SnailDriver, a rare clean and free one without any adwares and pop-ups.", that is precisely what you are doing.

Comments like this: "I would also expect Windows could offer the solutions to driver update so that nobady would suffer from the downsides of a updater. While the fact is Windows is still working on that. " are confusing and, I suspect, conflate two issues: I don't think anyone would argue that Windows doesn't handle system patching/updates as elegantly as it could (although there is a new method rolling out now that uses the cumulative updates system: one huge CU is made available, rather than single patches, but Windows only downloads the bits of it needed - this is rolling out NOW to enterprises that use WSUS).

No one likes the whole "Please wait..." while Windows updates at the end of the day, either.

But the second part of this is the drivers issue and we're specifically talking about how Windows tries to find them during installation, not patching.

I apologise if you find my bluntness to be somewhat upsetting or offensive. I assure you it isn't meant to be either, but - and this is a big but - when someone new comes to the forum, supporting software of a type that no one else advocates, conflating issues, etc, then when it is to an audience as technically adept as here, they can expect to be called out for such statements. Robustly.

I work in the Enterprise IT sphere, so I don't actually get the time to sugarcoat things very often. That's not the same as being mean though.