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Most hardware comes with a disk that includes either a self-installing driver, or a stand-alone driver file. Usually, these files have an extension of .drv. Some hardware manufacturers may also rely on generic drivers included with your operating system.

Drivers also happen to be on the "suspect" list when your machine misbehaves. According to Microsoft, 40% of system crashes are a result of faulty or corrupted drivers. As a result, Microsoft introduced signed drivers with Windows XP. The difference with signed drivers is that Microsoft has thoroughly tested them. Although you can still install unsigned drivers, your operating system may display a warning.

You may also find that drivers start to misbehave. As example, my laptop started complaining when I exited standby mode even though I've not installed any new hardware. After using Microsoft's error reporting feature, I was informed that my problem was most likely a driver.

Before searching for updated device drivers, you should back up your current drivers. This is necessary in case you either have to reinstall your operating system later or if a driver becomes corrupted. One utility that simplifies the process is DriverGuide Toolkit. The program identifies the manufacturer, driver, date and version number in a convenient table format. From there, you can select which drivers to backup and a folder destination.

The first place to look for drivers is with the Microsoft's Windows Update site. While they don't carry all drivers, they do include many in their database. From this site, you can scan your computer for updates including device drivers. The next best place is the manufacturer of your computer and or hardware. Typically, these sites won't have any automatic scanning capabilities so you'll need to know your model name.

There are also some 3rd party sites that specialize in device drivers and have huge databases. These websites are good for finding obscure drivers for companies that may have gone out of business. Many of these sites also provide more information such as forums, installation tips or request forms. However, some of the drivers are submitted by other members and may not include enough information such as version number or supplier. For example, is the ALPS pointing device on a Dell laptop running Windows 2000 the same as a Sony laptop running Windows XP?

Some sites such as Drivers Headquarters provide automatic subscriptions that include software that queries your machine against their database. You may also use their driver detective to see what new drivers they have that match your machine. You won't be able to download any drivers without a subscription.