Looking For Driver Update Software "Portable?"

[CLC]

I'm wondering If you guys have any advise on whats out there. As of now I'm doing the old go to the manufacturers website, download certain driver and repeat. I'd like to speed up the process.

GO VIKINGS!

 

[TheTech]

Try this - Slimdrivers, not used it so not sure if it is portable.

 

[CLC]

I'm playing with it right now, so far its working pretty well. Windows did find newer versions on the audio and video, but slimdrivers found drivers that windows couldn't. And yes it does have a portable version so thanks.

 

[TheTech]

No worry's, think I will give it a go myself then

 

[PC Ops]

Driverpack Solution for me.
I promise it's worth checking out :thumbup:

Edit:

Good tip from another thread:

1. Once the pack is download, open the "Programs" folder and remove the entire contents, no more Russian Firefox, toolbars etc..

2. Always select Expert Mode on the Left Hand side and UNSELECT the two base checkboxes, one adds OEM.bmp info to the Computer Properties page and the other installs a continually running driver update program (removable also via appwiz.cpl), the program will throw back a "program install failure" error. That's actually exactly what we want


Apart from the caveats above it's fantastic, especially as it is an OFFLINE facility.

 

[pcpickup]

Another vote for Driver Pack, been using it for a while at our store. It works great.

 

[TheTech]

The last time I tried Driverpack I found it was very buggy, couldn't find the right drivers on a couple of occasions and stalled my system twice while trying to install the found drivers, but that was over a year ago so I am going to give it another go in a bit ..........

 

[PC Ops]

The last time I tried Driverpack I found it was very buggy, couldn't find the right drivers on a couple of occasions and stalled my system twice while trying to install the found drivers, but that was over a year ago so I am going to give it another go in a bit ..........

The 11.something version was kinda buggy indeed. The current (12.3) is a far cry from that. It's not perfect, but it does the job well. You'll want the full version so you can carry it on a 4GB thumbdrive (it's just over 3GB).

Dó follow up on the earlier mentioned tips by Tech Checkers though.

 

[paul1149]

Try this - Slimdrivers, not used it so not sure if it is portable.

Wow, that slimdrivers is impressive - as is the rest of their lineup. Cleanest driver prog I've seen, in addition to double drivers. Thanks very much!

 

[compnet]

Slim drivers looks like it gets drivers from the internet, which if you're trying to install net drivers, isn't going to help.. Also says free only lets you do individual, not install all.

I've used driverpack solutions on probably 3-400 machines now... Haven't had it stall out, never caused a blue screen - I don't even back up before installing anymore, and only a handful of drivers that it couldn't find..

 

[paul1149]

Do any of these recognize unknown devices?

 

[Xander]

Bear in mind, the thread's topic is "driver update" software, not "driver finding" software. Generally, if your NIC has a driver that can be updated, you're already able to get online.

Edit: Unless the OP miscommunicated...

 

[techguy13]

The best solution I have found for finding drivers is "Driver Identifier". As for updating drivers I never do it unless something is broken. I have also used Driverpack and found it to be problematic, I will give slim drivers a go.

 

[altrenda]

As for updating drivers I never do it unless something is broken.

Same here. I don't understand this driver update obsession some of my unsophisticated clients have. Some one must be out there telling them it will speed up their old XP machine.

 

[paul1149]

Thanks, Techguy. I will give both of these progs a go next time I find an unknown device.

 

[PCS]

Another +1 for driverpack solutions but i would play with it first before using it on a customers machine.

You have to download it via torrent as it's 3-4gb and then go through the folders and remove all the crap, otherwise it installs Russian software, changes your start page and OEM info and logo.

 

[Larry Sabo]

I probably don't have the very latest version, but mine never does that. Do you select Advanced, click the Drivers tab and just click the drivers of interest?

 

[computerfx]

Driver updating is the new registry cleaning. 10,000 fake or useless programs out there, all offering a 500% performance increase after updating all your perfectly working drivers. For initially finding drivers I use 3DPNet to get a working network driver then driveragent.com Costs about $2 per use but worth it for the tricky ones or in a time crunch.

 

[Xander]

..the thread's topic is "driver update" software, not "driver finding" software.

Since we're digging up 3-month dead posts, it seems to bear repeating.

 

[PaulTech]

Driverpacks solutions has worked great in the local environment for me. However, I've been looking for a driver update solution when working remotely and the driverpacks version that downloads drivers has spyware.

I like the idea of slimdrivers for remote work. I scanned it with SAS and MBAM and they reported no detection although AVG toolbar, I believe, needs to be unchecked during the install.