Drivers Utilities http://www.driversutilities.com Thu, 20 May 2010 04:47:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Why wont windows Service pack 2 update install? http://www.driversutilities.com/why-wont-windows-service-pack-2-update-install http://www.driversutilities.com/why-wont-windows-service-pack-2-update-install#comments Thu, 20 May 2010 04:47:57 +0000 Drivers Utilities http://www.driversutilities.com/why-wont-windows-service-pack-2-update-install

whenever i try to install windows service pack 2 update during the download page that pops up it stops, and after a while it says that it couldn’t be installed. I have been able to install other windows updates, but not this one. can someone help? without this windows update i wont be able to add audio drivers to my computer because i just reformatted it.
I cant download service pack 3 either, i’ve already tried downloading the ISO version of it and it wont install.

]]> http://www.driversutilities.com/why-wont-windows-service-pack-2-update-install/feed 2 Driver Genius review http://www.driversutilities.com/driver-genius-review http://www.driversutilities.com/driver-genius-review#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 15:20:00 +0000 Drivers Utilities http://www.driversutilities.com/?p=1343 Post image for Driver Genius review

Driver Genius is driver update software that has an interface you might recognize. It’s laid out with Windows-like menus: buttons for features on the left hand side in a green or blue taskbar and the actual content on the right in a screen with a white background. If you didn’t know any better, you would think you had opened a Windows menu rather than a program that’s going to update your drivers. Unfortunately, this application suffers from the same problem that inflicts a lot of similar applications: it has way too many tabs on the left side of the screen. As it is, the program has nine tabs on the left hand side of the screen: Back Up Drivers, Restore Drivers, Uninstall Drivers, Update Drivers, My Downloads, Options, LiveUpdate and Help. All of those seemingly different tabs could be combined, leaving three tabs: Home, Driver Tools and Options. Simple is better.

FEATURES DOWNLOAD BUY NOW

Driver Genius is a hard product to describe because it’s not like the others in this category.  There might be parts of it that serve a similar function, but the look and feel of the program is different from what we came across in the other programs we reviewed.  This is neither a bad thing, nor does it separate this program as one that should be looked at differently than the others.  What it does do is make the task of creating an identity for driver update software a lot more difficult.  As it is, the category is kind of ambigious and isn’t popular enough for people to know what it means when they hear it.  It’s difficult to pinpoint what driver update software is going to look like a year from now or a few years from now.  In the meantime, we would like to see Driver Genius fall in line with the other programs in this category.

Features:

Driver Genius gives you the option to back up, restore, uninstall and update your drivers. You can look at a history of your downloads. An interesting feature within this app is the security option that’s accessible through the options menu. The program itself can’t find viruses, but it’s able to bring up the antivirus program you have installed on your computer to do the job for you.

Ease of Use:

Driver Genius would be a lot easier to use if the issues with the interface were sorted out. The features themselves are pretty self-explanatory, but a bad interface can make a mess of even the most useful feature set. As for the feature set itself, we couldn’t have asked for more ease of use, we just wanted to be able to get to them easier.

Effectiveness:

When we completed a system scan with Driver Genius, it came up with 18 drivers it thought were outdated. Two of those drivers were false positives and 16 of them were actually drivers that needed to be updated. You can also back up the previous versions of your drivers in case you download corrupt versions. If you happen to download bad drivers, you can uninstall them right away before they can inflict any sort of damage.

Help and Support:

Driver Genius has a solid help menu within the program. When you go to the manufacturer’s website, you can use a contact form or an email address to contact them. They also have a user guide and FAQ section. Between all of these options, you won’t have a hard time finding the answers to your questions.

Summary:

Driver Genius is driver update software that tries to make itself out to be more than it is. When we see some improvement in its interface, it could easily move up our list.  In its current state, it’s a useful program that could benefit a lot of people.  The only thing that’s holding it back is its interface.  If the manufacturer of this program were to consolidate everything into one window, the user would have a much easier time figuring out where they need to go to do what they want within the program.

]]> http://www.driversutilities.com/driver-genius-review/feed 1 How do I figure out which driver I have in Windows 7? http://www.driversutilities.com/how-do-i-figure-out-which-driver-i-have-in-windows-7 http://www.driversutilities.com/how-do-i-figure-out-which-driver-i-have-in-windows-7#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 14:47:46 +0000 Drivers Utilities http://www.driversutilities.com/how-do-i-figure-out-which-driver-i-have-in-windows-7

I am having trouble enabling smooth edges in some of my games. Someone told me it must be my video driver. I want to install an update for my driver, but I don’t know what kind I have. I have gone to my System Details and it’s not listed there. Any ideas?

]]> http://www.driversutilities.com/how-do-i-figure-out-which-driver-i-have-in-windows-7/feed 2 nvidia driver “display” update problem? http://www.driversutilities.com/nvidia-driver-display-update-problem http://www.driversutilities.com/nvidia-driver-display-update-problem#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 00:49:34 +0000 Drivers Utilities http://www.driversutilities.com/nvidia-driver-display-update-problem

I recently updated nvidia display driver on my computer through windows update and after install everything from my desktop screen to my webpages got smaller than what it was before? Can i get it back. I know that there is a zoom feature on my firefox browser but thats not what im talking about since that only zooms in each webpage? Please help!! Thanks

]]> http://www.driversutilities.com/nvidia-driver-display-update-problem/feed 2 Uniblue DriverScanner review http://www.driversutilities.com/uniblue-driverscanner-review http://www.driversutilities.com/uniblue-driverscanner-review#comments Tue, 18 May 2010 12:49:57 +0000 Drivers Utilities http://www.driversutilities.com/?p=1272 Post image for Uniblue DriverScanner review

DriverScanner is driver update software that could lean on the reputation of its manufacturer if it had nothing else going for it. Luckily, it has more than a trusted creator going for it, but unfortunately, it’s the weakest app currently in the Uniblue Systems stable. Don’t take that the wrong way though. An application can be one of the weakest a manufacturer produces, but still be good in its respective category. This application is exactly that for driver update software. It has the same sleek look as the other programs from Uniblue, and this leads to a much more enjoyable computer maintenance experience. And we have no doubt that this program will become better as it develops over time, too. It’s hard for a manufacturer to come out with a home run product overnight, though — these things take time to develop.

DriverScanner is missing some notable features that are present in the other programs in this category, such as the ability to backup, restore and uninstall drivers.  If these features were present, the applications that rank higher in this category would have a hard time keeping the higher ranking.

Features:

DriverScanner is the perfect representation of an app that does a lot with a little. The application has the right look, but doesn’t have the feature set to deliver on the promise its slick interface creates however. You can scan for outdated drivers, look at a download history, exclude drivers from the scan, create system restore points and adjust proxy settings. If it wasn’t for the quality of its features, this program would rank much lower on our list. There’s just not that much to this package, but what is there impresses us.

Ease of Use:

DriverScanner could be a little easier to use. The interface looks good, but it’s a little too cluttered and busy. Users want the focus to be on what the application does, not how much decoration the manufacturer can pack into a single window. The other Uniblue offerings don’t seem to suffer from this affliction, which leads us to think that better days are ahead for this app in the form of revisions. In only its second version, its shortcomings are understandable. As the application matures, we hope that the interface calms down and it becomes a little more manageable.

Effectiveness:

In our scan, DriverScanner came up with 11 drivers it thought were outdated, which was the smallest number we came across during our testing of products in this category. Interestingly, it generated information on products we didn’t realize were even installed on our system. When we double checked the results, we found that most of the results were valid and there were very few false positives mixed in with the bunch. When we updated all of our drivers, we immediately noticed an improvement in the performance of our system, which lead us to determine that the drivers from this program were valid and would be beneficial to our system.

Help and Support:

Uniblue offers a product manual for DriverScanner on their website, which is only 12 pages long and easy to read. They also have a decent FAQ section, but it doesn’t provide enough information in some areas. A big drawback of their customer service options is that they only provide a support ticket system to answer customers’ questions. You won’t find this form easily either. It’s buried deep within the contents of their support page. They have an email address as well, but it doesn’t say it’s for technical support. You can test your luck and see what kind of response you get there.

Summary:

DriverScanner is driver update software that has so much room left to grow. In a few years, you will be hearing good things about this program and it will be giving its competitors a run for their money.

Related Blogs

]]> http://www.driversutilities.com/uniblue-driverscanner-review/feed 0 ParetoLogic DriverCure review http://www.driversutilities.com/paretologic-drivercure-review http://www.driversutilities.com/paretologic-drivercure-review#comments Tue, 18 May 2010 12:47:20 +0000 Drivers Utilities http://www.driversutilities.com/?p=1270 Post image for ParetoLogic DriverCure review

ParetoLogic is known for making software that satisfies almost any need a computer user might have. ParetoLogic DriverCure is driver update software that’s sure to rise through the ranks and become their crowning achievement. From the interface to the features, it’s one of the best in the industry. The application doesn’t have a large feature set, but what it does have is perfected to a point where they could leave the application alone and it would still be one of the best. We would like to see more features added to the application because it would make it a more powerful tool, but the current features are powerful enough to carry the application. When you’re producing a PC maintenance program, you have to deal with the prospect of having too few or too many features. It all comes down to the interface and how it’s incorporated into the feature set.

While the interface for ParetoLogic DriverCure is no different from many of the other applications we’ve seen, they somehow find a way to make it work very well. The interface consists of a toolbar on the left hand side with five different buttons and a window on the right, producing the features of the menu you’re currently in. They do a good job with not having too many buttons, which is something a lot of other applications in this category have fallen victim to. Plus, everything moves very quickly, which makes this interface one of the best we’ve seen in all the applications we’ve reviewed.

Features:

The feature set for ParetoLogic DriverCure is very simple. You can scan for outdated drivers, look at a history of items that were previously detected, downloaded or installed, exclude drivers from being included in the scans and schedule scans to occur automatically when you’re not at your computer. You might look at that list of features and wonder why we rated this program so high. In the end, the quality of the features matters a lot more than the quantity of features. We couldn’t think of any other features that ParetoLogic could add to the program to make it better because it’s already superb as is. While other driver update software focuses on the drivers themselves, ParetoLogic DriverCure expands the search and can keep track of software applications as well.

Ease of Use:

The smooth-moving interface helps out a lot with the ease of use for ParetoLogic DriverCure. And with self-explanatory features, this application is as easy as they come. We couldn’t have asked for a more seamless and enjoyable experience than the one we had with this application. Everything involved with the app runs smoothly and is a useful asset to the overall operation of your system.

Effectiveness:

When we performed a test scan of our system using ParetoLogic DriverCure, it came up with 20 problems. All but two had to do with drivers. We performed tests to determine the validity of these results and realized it gave us one of the lowest numbers of false positives out of any driver update software we reviewed. If you’re serious about updating your drivers and are tired of dealing with false results, you should give ParetoLogic DriverCure a try.

Help and Support:

ParetoLogic DriverCure has a help button within the application, but it’s tucked away in the upper right-hand corner. It’s the same help menu you will find in any Windows application. However, the one for this program is better than many others. You can also contact ParetoLogic via email. We were impressed with the quickness of their responses and how informative their replies were. They have a number of other resources that can help you trouble spots, though none of them are specific to the application itself. They are, however, more helpful than anything their competitors have come up with.

Summary:

We found ParetoLogic DriverCure to be one of the best driver updater apps we reviewed. We liked everything about it and we think you will too.

Related Blogs

]]> http://www.driversutilities.com/paretologic-drivercure-review/feed 0 Driver Reviver review http://www.driversutilities.com/driver-reviver-review http://www.driversutilities.com/driver-reviver-review#comments Tue, 18 May 2010 11:05:31 +0000 Drivers Utilities http://www.driversutilities.com/?p=1258 Post image for Driver Reviver review

Driver Reviver is driver update software that’s better than any of the other programs we reviewed for this category. They’re already the company that has produced quality registry cleaner and battery optimization software applications. With their foray into the world of driver update software, they couldn’t have done better than Driver Reviver. We put this program through the ringer only to find out that it came out on the other end with flying colors. It’s one of the smoothest-running PC maintenance programs we’ve ever come across. It might not beat its competitors out in feature set, but it certainly prevails in terms of quality. We had a hard time coming up with any features present in this program that were worse than anything we had come across in other driver update software.

FEATURES DOWNLOAD BUY NOW

ReviverSoft, the manufacturer of this application, is quickly making a name for itself in the area of PC maintenance software. Although they might not have a huge library of products, they more than make up for it with the quality of the programs they currently sell. You’re going to be hearing a lot from this company in the future as they rise through the ranks to become one of the better PC maintenance software manufacturers out there.

Features:

The feature set for Driver Reviver might seem small, but each feature is perfected to the point that there isn’t a need for more in order to validate the #1-ranked position of this application. Since the application has only been around for a little while, we know it’s a little raw at the edges. But even in its raw state, it’s better than any other driver update software on the market today. Certainly the application is going to evolve and become even better than it is currently. Expect to see Driver Reviver on top of the standings for a long time to come.

When we went to ReviverSoft’s website, we found that a lot of the information they provided about the features in their product was nothing more than vague descriptions of how you would benefit from using the product.  If ReviverSoft wants Driver Reviver to stay on top of the driver update software world, they’re going to have to add a lot more features to this program’s already useful feature set.  Until then, you will be able to get a lot done with what’s already there.  It’s hard to find a driver updater with a lot of features because driver update software is a new entry in the industry.  Once the programs in this category have been around for awhile, you will see what a driver update with a loaded feature set should look like.

Ease of Use:

Driver Reviver’s streamlined interface makes for a rather pleasant experience when you’re using the application. Plus, there aren’t a large number of useless features there to pollute the interface and decrease the program’s effectiveness. The only thing we would recommend to improve its ease of use is to have all of the tabs combined into one window. That way, users wouldn’t have to rummage through a number of tabs to find what they want. The current interface is good as it is, but there’s always room for improvement.

Effectiveness:

The scan speed present in Driver Reviver is second to none. In mere seconds, you are greeted with your results. We couldn’t find any false positives because ReviverSoft is dedicated to weeding those out of their programming. If you find a false positive when you’re using their software, you should contact them right away and they will address it immediately. Their goal is to make their results as accurate as possible. You have to admire that dedication to quality.

Help and Support:

The help and support features present with Driver Reviver were a little disappointing. The help button wasn’t obvious to us when we tested the software. We noticed the question mark button in the upper right hand side of the screen, which apparently is the help button. Instead of leading us to a help menu within the program, it brought up our web browser and loaded ReviverSoft’s support page. On this page, you will find an informative FAQs section, but that’s the extent of their online documentation features. You can contact ReviverSoft through a contact form that boasts impressive response times. We got our response in under an hour. (Of course, response time can vary depending on traffic.) They also offer live chat support, but it’s a little hard to find. When you’re on their website, be sure to look for the guy with the speech bubble saying “Chat with us now!”

Summary:

Driver Reviver is one of the best driver update programs we reviewed. We guarantee you won’t be disappointed if you take a chance on this software. Your money and time will be well spent and your PC will run a lot better once you’ve updated all of its drivers.

]]> http://www.driversutilities.com/driver-reviver-review/feed 1 I need a Network driver update for my xps m170? http://www.driversutilities.com/i-need-a-network-driver-update-for-my-xps-m170 http://www.driversutilities.com/i-need-a-network-driver-update-for-my-xps-m170#comments Tue, 18 May 2010 10:47:37 +0000 Drivers Utilities

Can’t find one anywhere. I installed windows 7 from windows xp and Can’t find a driver update from dell, and I need one to get online!! :D Please help! :D

Related Blogs

  • Related Blogs on Driver
]]> http://www.driversutilities.com/i-need-a-network-driver-update-for-my-xps-m170/feed 1 need standard vga driver for windows xp? http://www.driversutilities.com/need-standard-vga-driver-for-windows-xp http://www.driversutilities.com/need-standard-vga-driver-for-windows-xp#comments Mon, 17 May 2010 20:48:16 +0000 Drivers Utilities

windows xp comes with a standard vga video driver, i would like to know where to find it, it is not specific for different computers it is standard for windows xp home edition, i tried my computer manufacturers website, the actual driver for my ATI card will not install until i have a standard vga driver running, it is not a new card it is factory installed, there is no integrated video card on my motherboard, i need to know where to find this driver, tried dell.com, and microsoft windows update, couldnt find it there, suggestions please
when i try to install the ati driver it says, setup could not complete, try installing a standard vga driver first, does anyone have a solution to this problem

Related Blogs

  • Related Blogs on Driver
  • Related Blogs on windows
]]> http://www.driversutilities.com/need-standard-vga-driver-for-windows-xp/feed 1 Need help VGA Update on Windows Vista? Gateway Computer? http://www.driversutilities.com/need-help-vga-update-on-windows-vista-gateway-computer http://www.driversutilities.com/need-help-vga-update-on-windows-vista-gateway-computer#comments Mon, 17 May 2010 06:54:00 +0000 Drivers Utilities

I have a desktop computer with Windows Vista. It’s a Gateway GT5468 if that helps. I usually have my screen saver set to 3d text, however today it says that I need to update my VGA driver or that it’s no longer compatible? But other times today the screen saver worked. Has anyone else had this problem? And what is a good site that I can download the updated drivers?

Related Blogs

  • Related Blogs on windows
]]> http://www.driversutilities.com/need-help-vga-update-on-windows-vista-gateway-computer/feed 2