13 replies to this topic

[KevinA]

Just noticed this free driver updater, anyone know anything about it? Is it any good?

[DennisD]

Hi Kevin.

I don't have any third party driver updating software, and although I'm always skeptical of anything with "Doctor" in the name, this software at least has a functioning, if compact, user forum.

I would also be interested to know if anyone has experience of this utility, or any similar alternatives if you don't mind me adding that bit to your topic.

[KevinA]

Sure Dennis np!

I ended up trying it out with my Vista machine and it seemed to work well, found an update for my sound card that seems to have enabled the mic port that wasn't working before.

[Tom AZ]

Here's another one, Dennis, DriverMax. Had it installed for the longest time, but never used it -- so I got rid of it. I'm always a little nervous about arbitrarily updating drivers .

[KevinA]

Tom AZ, on Sep 28 2009, 12:27 PM, said:

Here's another one, Dennis, DriverMax. Had it installed for the longest time, but never used it -- so I got rid of it. I'm always a little nervous about arbitrarily updating drivers .

I tried drivermax too, but unless you buy it it only downloads one driver per day. lame

[DennisD]

I'm always dubious about updating drivers as well Tom, I've always subscribed to the school of thought that if all's working fine, leave well alone.

But I'm curious as to how many of my drivers actually have updates available.

I installed this under Returnil, and it's very straightforward and simple to use. Found a lot of updates, some of which tallied exactly with the third party driver updates flagged by File Hippo's update checker.

Which is a newer version than mine I've just noticed getting that link. For info, now V1.034.

[Andavari]

The only driver "maintenance" tool I ever use is the freeware Driver Sweeper, primarily for display driver updates simply because it can remove leftovers followed by a reboot before installing a new driver version.

[TeeJay3800]

It seems like a nice little tool, but I'm already a little skeptical. Amazingly, it found 31 driver updates! I don't fully trust it though because I often check the Dell Support page for my computer and have all the latest updates installed (according to the manufacturer). That's why I don't quite understand how so many updates have been found for nearly every device on my computer...video card, sound card, processor, etc.

EDIT: DO NOT USE THIS SOFTWARE! I just "updated" my video and sound card drivers using the drivers recommended and provided by Device Doctor, and I get several errors each time I boot, and I have no sound. I am in the process of reverting back to the Dell-supplied drivers, but I will never touch this worthless tool again!

[Corona]

Yeah, I've given up on the "ooo, a new toy!" concept of surfing quite a while ago. That's what the rogues count on and are looking for. Not worth it.

[DennisD]

At least we all now know it's a bit unreliable. (That could be an understatement)

[Tom AZ]

This is not for me, but for anyone who might be interested, here's the Giveaway-of-the-day. . . Driver Magician

[Device Doctor]

TeeJay, thanks for trying our app and sorry it gave you trouble! If you contact us we can often tell what went wrong, it's usually a combination of factors that can cause a driver to install incorrectly.

KevinA, glad it worked for you! We do have a lot of people who use it and it is the real deal

Collin
DeviceDoctor.com

[Icedrake]

Quote

If it ain't broke, then don't fix it.

I use that method when I deal with drivers. I don't usually update drivers unless I need to, because I've heard of some of the horror stories people have had after updating drivers.

[TeeJay3800]

Device Doctor, on Sep 29 2009, 01:17 PM, said:

TeeJay, thanks for trying our app and sorry it gave you trouble! If you contact us we can often tell what went wrong, it's usually a combination of factors that can cause a driver to install incorrectly.

I have a Dell Vostro 1000. I did a scan in Device Doctor, downloaded and installed the recommend video and sound card drivers, and then rebooted. After installing those drivers, I get an error after Windows finishes booting saying something like "the video driver you have installed is not compatible with Catalyst Control Center." So I went to ATI's site and downloaded the latest version of CCC (I have an ATI Radeon Xpress 1150), but that didn't fix the problem. As for the sound driver, I had no sound and all, and in the Volume Control window, it says something about Bluetooth audio rather than "SigmaTel Audio" like it used to say. I went to the Dell Support site, downloaded the video and sound card drivers, and everything now works perfectly again. I didn't mean to knock your software, since it actually seems pretty useful, but with both drivers I tried not working well or not at all, my experience was not a good one.