And that means you’ll have to extract or unpack the files before you can install your new drivers.

But don’t worry… unzipping drivers is easy.

Here’s how you do it…

Step 1 — Choose a file to unzip

Navigate your way to the folder you downloaded your new driver to.

By the way, if you hover your cursor over the zipped file, Windows will show you a list of the files.

Step 2 — Unzip the files

I’m going to use 7-Zip to unzip my driver (check out my resources page to grab a copy), but the steps should be similar no matter what unzip utility you’re using.

Right click on the file and click on Extract files….

Step 3 — Choose a location to unzip the files

Click the … button if you want to unzip the files to a different folder.

I’m going to extract my driver to the current folder. That will add a new folder with the files in it.

Click OK.

Step 4— Open the folder & launch the installer

Double click on the folder (do the same if there’s another folder inside that folder).

Look for a file named Setup.exe, Install.exe or something similar.

If you can’t see any file extensions, check out View known file type extensions.

Double click on Setup.exe to launch the driver’s installer.

Now follow the installer’s instructions. This usually involves clicking “OK” a few times.

Step 5 — Restart your computer

You may be prompted to restart your computer.

You can either restart your computer now or install more drivers. It’s up to you.

And that’s it. Done.

Any questions?

Please use the comments form below or contact me if you have any questions about unzipping drivers.

In fact, it only takes a few mouse clicks to update all your drivers.

Here’s how you do it…

Step 1 — Create a system restore point

I recommend you create a system restore point before installing new drivers.

And the good news is, DriverCure includes the option to automatically create system resource points before installing updates.

So, start DriverCure and click Settings at the top right of the main screen.

Check the Set a system restore point before installing items option.

Click OK.

Step 2 — Scan your computer for driver updates

Click Start Scan.

The scan should take less than a minute.

Step 3 — Choose the drivers to update

The scan results screen will list all the available driver updates.

No updates are selected by default, so check the ones you want to update.

Although you can install as many drivers as you want, I’m just going to install one: a new keyboard driver.

Step 4 — Download your driver

Click Fix Now.

DriverCure will now download your new driver.

Some driver files are huge because they include the software to configure the hardware device.

Depending on the speed of your Internet connection it may take a minute or more to download your new driver.

Step 5 — Confirm you want to install your new driver

Once your driver has downloaded you’ll get a “Are you sure that you would like to install” message similar to the following:

Click Yes.

DriverCure will now extract the driver files and launch its installer…

…except some drivers will be in the ZIP or RAR file format, which means DriverCure won’t be able to automatically launch the installer.

So you’ll have to unzip them before you install them. Check out How to install zipped drivers if you’re not sure how to do it.

Step 6 — Follow the installation instructions

Now follow the instructions to install your driver.

Every installer is different, but it’s usually as simple as clicking “OK” a few times.

Step 7 — Restart your computer

After the installation process completes you’ll probably be prompted to restart your computer.

You can restart it now, or you can update more drivers. However, the new driver won’t work until you do restart it.

And that’s it. Done.

Any questions?

Please use the comments form below or contact me if you have any questions about using DriverCure.

Give DriverCure a go

If you haven’t tried DriverCure, click the big red button below to download it directly from ParetoLogic’s secure server.

Download DriverCure Demo

Here’s how you do it…

Step 1 — Choose your operating system

Start Driver Genius and click Update Drivers on the main menu.

Now select your operating system from the list.

Click Next.

Step 2 — Scan for driver updates

Driver Genius will now scan your computer for outdated drivers.

The scan only takes a minute or so.

Step 3 — Choose a driver to update

All out-of-date drivers are selected by default, so uncheck the ones you don’t want to update.

I’m going to update my keyboard driver.

Step 4 — Download your new driver

If there’s more than one driver in the download manager, click the one you want to download to select it.

Click Download.

Driver Genius will now connect to the driver download centre and download your new driver.

You’ll get a Windows taskbar pop up message when the driver download is complete.

Step 5 — Install your new driver

Click Install.

You will now get a message asking if you want to back up your drivers.

I recommend you do back up your drivers, so click Yes and follow the instructions (check out How to back up your drivers with Driver Genius to see how it’s done).

After backing up your drivers, click Install again, this time click No when you get the “back up your current drivers” message.

Driver Genius will launch your new driver’s installer.

Follow the driver installer’s instructions to install it. This ususally involves clicking “OK” a few times.

Step 6 — Restart your computer

You can now restart your computer when prompted, or you can update more drivers. It’s up to you.

And that’s it. Done.

Any questions?

Please use the comments form below or contact me if you have any questions about using Driver Genius.

Give Driver Genius a go

If you haven’t tried Driver Genius, click the red button to download it directly from Avanquest Software’s secure server.

Download Driver Genius Demo

Here’s how you do it…

Step 1 — Create a system restore point

This step is optional … but highly recommended.

If a new driver doesn’t work as expected, you can revert to your previous settings with a few mouse clicks.

Check out Create a system restore point before installing drivers if you’re unsure how to do it.

Step 2 — Scan for new drivers

Start Driver Detective and click Scan Now.

It only took 11 seconds to scan my computer, so you shouldn’t have to wait long.

Step 3 — Choose a driver to update

To make the scan results easier to read you can view just the out of date drivers. Click the dropdown menu and select out of date.

Choose a driver to update and click the floppy disc icon to download the updated version.

I’m going to update my keyboard driver.

Step 4 — Download your new driver

Some driver files can be huge, so it may take a few minutes to download your new driver.

Click Open once your driver has downloaded.

Step 5 — Install your new driver

Driver Detective will now launch the driver’s installer, or…

If the driver is zipped (compressed or archived) it will launch your unzip utility.

After the driver’s unzipped, double click on the installer to install it.

(Check out my resources page if you don’t have an unzip utility.)

Also…

If you download a driver but don’t install it immediately, you can install it at a later time by clicking History on the main menu.

Just click on the driver name and click Open to install it.

Step 6 — Restart your computer

Restart your computer when prompted. Or continue to install more drivers. It’s up to you.

And that’s it. Done.

Any questions?

Please use the comments form below or contact me if you have any questions about using Driver Detective.

Give Driver Detective a go

If you haven’t tried Driver Detective, click the big red button below to download it directly from PC Drivers Headquarters’ secure server.

Download Driver Detective Demo

Here’s how you do it…

Step 1 — Create a system restore point

This step is optional, but I recommended you always create a system restore point before installing new drivers.

That way, if the driver doesn’t work as expected, you can easily restore your previous settings.

Check out Create a system restore point before installing drivers if you’re not sure how to do it.

Step 2 — Scan for driver updates

Start Driver Robot and click the huge black Start Scan (Recommended) button to scan for driver updates.

The scan shouldn’t take more than a minute or so.

Step 3 — Choose drivers to update

All outdated drivers a selected by default, so if you’re going to only update one, you’ll have to uncheck the others.

I’m going to update my Canon printer driver.

Step 4 — Download your new driver

Click Get Drivers.

Driver Robot will now download your new driver.

Step 5 — Install your new driver

Click Install to begin.

If the file is zipped, Driver Robot will launch your default zip utility and unpack the files.

(Check out my resources page if you don’t have an unzip utility.)

Driver Robot will now launch the driver’s installer.

Now follow the driver installer’s instructions to install your new driver.

Every installer is different, but it’s usually as simple as clicking “OK” a few times.

Step 6 — Restart your computer

After the installation process completes you’ll probably be prompted to restart your computer.

You either can restart it now, or you can update more drivers. It’s up to you.

And that’s it. Done.

Any questions?

Please use the comments form below or contact me if you have any questions about using Driver Robot.

Give Driver Robot a go

If you haven’t tried Driver Robot, click the big red button below to download it directly from Blitware’s secure server.

Download Driver Robot Demo

It doesn’t get any easier than that, does it?

Here’s how you do it…

Step 1 — Scan your computer for outdated drivers

Start Driver Checker and click on Start Scan.

Driver Checker will now check your computer for out-of-date drivers.

It shouldn’t take more than a minute of so.

Step 2 — Choose a driver to update

All outdated drives and software are selected by default, so uncheck all the ones you don’t want to update. (You can change this by going to Options.)

You can update all your drivers and software if you like, but I’m going to update my modem driver.

Click Next.

Step 3 — Download and install your new driver

Driver Checker will now download your new driver.

Once it’s finished downloading, it will automatically install your driver.

Click Finish when it’s done.

Step 4 — Restart your computer

Restart Windows if prompted, or you can update more drivers. It’s up to you.

And that’s it. Done.

Any questions?

Please use the comments form below or contact me if you have any questions about using Driver Checker.

Give Driver Checker a go

If you haven’t tried Driver Checker, click the big red button below to download it directly from CheeseSoft’s secure server.

Download Driver Checker Demo

And it only takes few simple steps to do.

Here’s how you do it…

Step 1 — Launch the driver auto-installer

Open My Computer (or wherever the folder is you saved the driver auto-installer to).

Double click the icon to launch it.

Step 2 — Select the driver to restore

All the drivers will be selected by default.

Uncheck all but the driver you want to restore.

I’m going to restore my modem driver.

Click Start Restore.

Step 3 — Restore your driver

You’ll now get a pop-up message asking if you want to restore the driver.

Click Yes to confirm.

The window will be greyed-out while your driver is restored.

After a few seconds the window will become active again.

Click Finish.

Step 4 — Restart your computer

You’ll now be prompted to restart your computer for the restore process to take effect.

It’s up to you whether you restart it now or later.

Click Yes or No — either way, the auto-installer will close.

And that’s it. Done.

Any questions?

Please use the comments form below or contact me if you have any questions about using Driver Genius.

Give Driver Genius a go

If you haven’t tried Driver Genius, click the red button to download it directly from Avanquest Software’s secure server.

Download Driver Genius Demo