Having the latest driver versions may not sound like such a big deal, but it is very important if you want optimal system performance and security. Updating drivers manually sounds like quite the chore and that’s why we usually try to avoid it.
Driver Booster is a free program that offers us the solution, namely it will automatically download and update your currently installed drivers. It’s not just a time-saver, Driver Booster can also be very useful for less technical users that didn’t know how to manually update their drivers to begin with.
Installation & Requirements
Driver Booster has a typical setup, with very little options to configure it. At first run Driver Booster will perform an automatic initial scan of your system’s drivers and display them as a list, organized from the most outdated to the ones that are up to date.
Driver Booster runs on 32 and 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8. Recommended system requirements include 1 GHz CPU or faster, 512 MB of RAM and 50 MB of free space on the hard drive.
Interface
The main screen of Driver Booster’s UI is minimalistic in terms of options and displayed info. Based on the current state of your drivers it will show you their performance which can be perfect (when you have all drivers up to date, bad, worse and worst.
The fast scan can be launched using the really big button that’s impossible to miss. The results list all drivers along with their type (under the More Info column), performance and action (“installed” if it’s up to date and “update” otherwise). You can update one driver at the time or simple use the “Update All” option and let the program automatically download and install the latest version for all outdated drivers.
Speaking of, there’s also a Driver Booster Pro, hence the Upgrade button available on the program’s UI. With Driver Booster Pro you won’t get extra functionality, but you will receive priority when downloading the drivers, apparently 300% faster than the free version.
The Settings panel offers a few straightforward options, such as auto-start with Windows, automated scan at program launch and a basic scan scheduler (daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly). Also, users have the option of automatically creating a restore point before the program installs a new driver, customize the ignore list and set up the connection via proxy.
A highly important option is “Install drivers in background automatically” (enabled by default). This will suppress any wizard dialog and pop-up message, fully automating the driver update process.
Pros
– Fast, adware-free setup.
– Scans the system for drivers in a matter of seconds.
– Displays all currently installed drivers and Upgrade option if such is the case.
– Can automatically perform all necessary driver updates, optionally in the background to eliminate the need of user supervision.
– Automatically creates a restore point before installing a new driver.
Cons
– None worth mentioning.
Conclusion
Driver Booster can be useful to power users and beginners alike, since it flawlessly carries out the very time-consuming task of regularly updating installed drivers, but it also simplifies the process so anyone can do it.
