Updating drivers for free?

[Alidar Jarok]

I've been getting nasty blue screens of death for awhile now (usually memory management, irql not less than or equal, etc). The latest specifically said that there was a bad driver (device driver attempting to corrupt the system has been caught). I downloaded a program that scans my drivers and it says I have quite a few out of date. However, it wants me to pay for their full version in order to fix the problem. Is there any way I can do this for free instead?

 

[Shatinator]

Try Driver Reviver it is by ReviverSoft

Good Luck.

 

[sojourner]

Windows will update drivers itself. or you can force it to for each device in device manager. Don't install crappy software to do something the operating system already does.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Well, clearly it's not doing it right or else I wouldn't be having BSODs 5-6 times a day.

Shatinator, thanks for the tip.
ETA: I should add that, by free program, I'm looking for one that updates for free, not for $30. All of them seem to be run the same way (scan for free, pay to update).

I'm fine with forcing them to update, I just don't know how to do it.

 

[sojourner]

Open device manager, expand the tree so you can see the device in question, double click on it, click on the driver tab, then click update driver.

These instructions may vary a bit depending on your Windows version, but you'll get the gist of it.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Cool, thanks

 

[Colin Xavier]

first run bluescreenview from www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html.

this should tell you which driver is causing the crashes. then get the driver update from the manufacter's site

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I've used this one, too: Unknown Device Identifier

It reads the device's registers to determine what it is, and therefore lets you search for drivers online. No cost, but you have to do a bit of the legwork yourself (that is, finding a working driver to download.)

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Windows will update drivers itself. or you can force it to for each device in device manager. Don't install crappy software to do something the operating system already does.

I found the Win7 network driver for my HP printer worked better than the HP driver. It had all the same options and tabs as the HP driver too.

Open device manager, expand the tree so you can see the device in question, double click on it, click on the driver tab, then click update driver.

These instructions may vary a bit depending on your Windows version, but you'll get the gist of it.

It might be better to uninstall the device first under device manager, then re-install it. Most times, if the driver doesn't need to be updated, it won't update anything.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

first run bluescreenview from www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html.

this should tell you which driver is causing the crashes. then get the driver update from the manufacter's site

Thanks, but:

ntoskrnl.exe is consistently popping up. That's not good

 

[Robert Maxwell]

If you are bluescreening in the kernel module, then it is probably not a driver. Instead, it is likely one of:

* Hard disk corruption (in some core OS component)
* Bad RAM

Less likely:
* Motherboard chipset failure/defect
* CPU defect

Based on what you described, my money is on bad RAM.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Yeah, which was my original suspicion anyway. I just held brief hope that it was a driver issue since that's a manageable problem.

I have a laptop. Is this something fixable, fixable myself, and worth fixing myself?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Should be. If you're lucky, the RAM is accessible through a panel on the bottom of the laptop. If not, you'll have to take it apart (at least removing the keyboard) but it's still doable if you are patient and careful. What kind of laptop is it? (Brand and model.)

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Dell laptops usually have one stick of RAM accessible from the bottom and the other from the top (under the keyboard). Still pretty easy to replace.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Gateway NV53A

It could be a coincidence, but some of the crashes seem triggered by sudden movement of the laptop (it just crashed right now when I moved the screen down a bit). Does that seem consistent?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Well, if physical movement causes crashes, that is a telltale sign of something not being seated firmly--which means there may not be anything defective at all, you just need to reseat the offending part. I'd definitely start with the RAM.

Look here to see where the RAM modules are located: http://www.insidemylaptop.com/images/Gateway-NV-disassembly/fix-gateway-power-jack-03.jpg

You're lucky, both modules are accessible from the underside, so you should only have to remove 1 or 2 screws to get at 'em.

First, try removing and reinserting both modules, then try to reproduce the crash. If it doesn't crash anymore, you're good! If it still crashes, try swapping out one of the modules. You probably need to keep one module in the bottom slot. Fire it up, see if things work. If you still crash, pull out that module and put the other one in. If it stops crashing when you have one of the modules inserted, you know the other one is bad!

If you do all this and you're still having issues with kinetically-induced crashes, you may have an unseated CPU or video card, which means you'll have to remove the keyboard and poke around inside the case. (You have a Radeon Mobility card, and I believe those are actually distinct cards, not integrated to the motherboard. I had an HP once with a Radeon Mobility that got unseated. Caused random crashes and was a huge pain in the ass.)

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

^ Is there a chance of a loose hard-drive or power connection?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

A loose power connection shouldn't crash the kernel, but rather cause spontaneous reboots. Likewise, a loose hard drive would cause a different error (a hardware error rather than a kernel crash.) Especially on Windows Vista/7, where storage drivers are moved to userland and thus should never cause a hard crash.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

So I took out the memory and put it back in and it didn't start at all. My thought is I didn't get it all the way in. Is there any trick to making sure it's properly replaced?

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

It should snap in far enough for the retaining clip(s) to snap into the side slots.

I always give them a little jiggle to make sure.