Hp Drivers

A driver is software that allows your computer to communicate with hardware or devices. Without drivers, the hardware you connect to your computer—for example, a video card or a printer—won't work properly.

In most cases, drivers come with Windows or you can find them by going to Windows Update in Control Panel and checking for updates. If Windows doesn't have the driver you need, go to the Windows 7 Compatibility Center website, which lists thousands of devices, and has direct links to driver downloads. Also, you can often find drivers on the disc that came with the hardware or device you want to use, or on the manufacturer's website.

These days, computers come in all shapes and sizes, and most people are very dependent on the functions that their computers make possible on a daily basis. If the idea of scheduling a meeting or planning a vacation without help from your computer to conduct research or remind you 15 minutes before the appointment time makes you cringe, there's a good chance that you're more than a little dependent on your computer. The option of having hardware or software malfunction isn't usually a welcome one for most people. That's why it's so imperative to have a working understanding of why device drivers are important.

A device driver is a component that Windows uses to interact with a hardware device, such as a modem or network adapter. Rather than access the device directly, Windows loads device drivers and calls functions in the drivers to carry out actions on the device. Each device driver exports a set of functions; Windows calls these functions. The driver functions contain the device-specific code needed to carry out actions on the device.