License: Shareware
Price: $49.95 (Save $20 using coupon above)
Supported Operating Systems: Windows operating system 32-bit and 64-bit, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Download Size: 1 MB
This Driver Finder Pro Review is based on our tests on a 2 year old Dell Inspiron laptop running Windows Vista 32-bit operating system. In this review of the Driver Finder software (also known as Driver Finder Pro), we will first see the need for a program that simplifies the task of scanning all hardware devices on your computer, searching for their latest drivers and then installing them on your computer.
What makes device drivers so important?
Your computer is made up of various hardware components brought together and assembled to provide you with a host of functions, such as gaming, internet browsing, and a variety of other tasks.
Device drivers are critical components of a PC that ensure that each element of the hardware is detected and utilized to its greatest efficiency by Windows.
Thus, it is very important to have the latest and most up to date versions of device drivers for every device that is installed on your computer.
Updated drivers? Why not just a one-time installation?
Device manufacturers come up with regular updates for their drivers, with every succeeding release incorporating enhancements for device efficiency and data security. To keep your system running at its best, it is advisable to have the latest driver versions installed on your system. The review below shows how the task of maintaining device drivers can actually be quite simple.
Driver Finder: An essential device driver maintenance tool
Driver Finder is a resourceful application that greatly eases the task of maintaining your device drivers with the most updated and authentic versions. The software scans your PC thoroughly and makes a ‘note’ of all the devices installed on the system.
Furthermore, it scans the device drivers installed for each of these devices and recommends upgrades if there are newer and better versions available. The software also detects instances of missing or corrupt drivers and helps retrieve and install the latest drivers for the device.
By reading this review, you will find out how easy it is to install the software and run your own Windows device driver maintenance.
System requirements
While conducting the review, we ensured that the test system exceeded the minimum system requirements defined below:
Compatible OS versions: Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista, or Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit versions)
Hardware requirements
- 300 MHz Pentium compatible or higher CPU
- 256 MB RAM
- 8 MB free hard disk space
- Display resolution of 800 x 600 true color or higher
Getting Driver Finder
Driver Finder can be downloaded from its website – www.driverfinderpro.com.
The executable file you download can install a fully functional trial version of Driver Finder. During the review, we found the download to be quick and simple. The installation also runs through an easy-to-use wizard that anyone can follow.
Scanning process of Driver Finder
Our review process tested the processes and functionality of the software, which was based on three distinct steps:
- Scanning of PC
- Comparison and recommendation of drivers
- Automatic installations of new / replacement drivers
Scanning of the PC
Driver Finder claims to have a highly advanced driver-scanning engine, which we found during the test to be very accurate. On the Scan page, you can select various scanning options and begin the scan for drivers on your Windows computer.
The software instantly detected the PC brand and a list of hardware that was bundled in it. The whole process of scanning took just a few minutes, and we had a list of drivers that were either missing or needed to be replaced.
It was good to note that Driver Finder did manage to trace some devices that had very ‘uncommon’ manufacturers.
Comparing Drivers
During the review, the software checked the list of drivers for their status. The comparison is done quickly with a rich database of device drivers, which is updated on a regular basis for newer devices or newer versions of the driver.
Report and Installation of drivers
At the end of the scan, you can see a report that indicates the drivers in the machine that need updating. The report also shows devices that are without drivers. With a single click, you can download and automatically install all the missing drivers.
To check the summary of the scan, you may open the Overview page again. You will be able to view a summarized report of the scan.
Features of Driver Finder
During the Driver Finder Review, we tested various features of the software:
- Easy to use interface: The Driver Finder interface is simple and can be used even by novices. The design allows easy access to the program’s features through a single click on its intuitive interface.
- Scanning accuracy: During the review test, we found that the software could even detect hidden and uncommon hardware components plugged into the computer. This indicates a very high level of accuracy in terms of scanning the host machine.
- Database coverage: The Driver Finder database claims to cover over 100,000 different hardware devices.
- Automated Updates: The central database of drivers used by Driver Finder is updated frequently through vigilant crawler programs that keep scanning hardware manufacturer sites, as well as various authentic sources of device drivers. The database is automatically mapped to the Driver Finder program installed on your desktop to provide you with the most updated device drivers.
- Driver backup: Driver Finder enables you to back up all drivers installed on your system and save them on an external medium like a CD or DVD, external hard drive, or a USB stick. This feature is quite useful if you have multiple computers with the same configuration. Especially if the other computers are not connected to the Internet. You can use the external medium with the backed up drivers to update the drivers on these other systems.
- Driver Restore: There are several reasons that might requite you to restore one or more drivers on your computer. Some of these include –
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- Existing driver or drivers are corrupted due to system failure, virus infection or faulty software.
- You formatted and reinstalled the system.
- You removed the driver and want to reinstall it.
If you have backed up the drivers installed on your computer using Driver Finder, you can restore them from the computer or external medium (required if you format your computer), in just a single click.
- Easy to configure: You can configure Driver Finder:
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- To check for new versions when started.
- Launch automatically when the computer starts.
- By specifying a location to download drivers.
- By specifying a location to backup drivers; if you want to back up drivers to an external medium, you can specify the path to it here.
- To set proxy server settings that might be required to connect to the internet.
- System Compatibility: Driver Finder is compatible with all the popular versions of Microsoft Windows such as Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows 7.
Our Verdict
Device drivers form a very critical component of any Windows-based system, and it is imperative to fetch and install the latest versions of the device drivers on your PC. Users have the choice of going to every manufacturer site and manually downloading and installing the latest versions of the drivers required by the installed devices in their system hardware.
The possibility of errors using this method is high, with the consequences leading to a totally stalled computer system and even loss of precious data.
To avoid this, it is recommended to use programs like Driver Finder to conduct regular maintenance of device drivers and keep your system up-to-date and running with maximum hardware efficiency.
Additional Recommendations...
Driver Update: Many errors are related to driver problems such as obsolete, outdated or incompatible drivers. A driver update tool is recommended to scan your system for corrupted and outdated drivers and to ensure that all your drivers stay up-to-date.
