driver : Computer Hardware Buyers’ Glossary

driver: A driver is a computer program usually written in a low-level language such as assembler or C that masks the individual quirks of a piece of hardware to the operating system. For example, a mouse driver makes all mice look more or less the same to the computer applications that work with them, even though, at a low level, they are quite different e.g. some radio controlled, some high res, some with dozens of buttons… Drivers are very difficult programs to write and often have bugs. Thus it is important to ensure that you have the latest versions of your drivers, especially if you are experiencing any weird behaviours. A tiny driver malfunction can bring down the entire computer. Vista is pretty good about keeping your drivers up to date, though they ignore drivers from smaller companies. Check with the computer equipment manufacturers. It is important to get precise match on the model number of your equipment. So make a list similar to the one I made of all the equipment model numbers.
Driver Detective is a $30.00 USD program to warn you of any out-of-date drivers, and find the most recent versions for you. It appears to be fairly good at detecting out of date drivers, but not so good at finding the update drivers for you.

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