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 Finding Right Drivers for Windows 7, A simple guide for driver-issues

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Navi.mY
post Jan 7 2012, 01:47 AM

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nuyu90
post Jan 8 2012, 03:12 PM

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QUOTE(prasys @ Sep 6 2009, 10:15 PM)
Hey guys and girls

I wrote this simple guide on finding the right drivers (for missing drivers - and those unknown drivers) if any with Windows 7. For instance , now we are going to look drivers for our Ethernet  (I've removed the drivers just to demonstrate on how to look drivers) . The main reason why I am showing this is that rebranding occurs for instance D-link rebrands their Broadcom drivers as D-link DWL-510 (for instance). The real thing is based on the chipset. So by getting device id and vendor id , we can trace who really made the card and by finding out who did , we can install the correct (mostly generic drivers) to get our device to work.

To do this , firstly go to Device Manager. It can be done in several ways (it can be launched from Start , by typing Device Mananger). Right click Computer , going to properties and selecting Device Manager. These are the common ways to start. Alternatively you may type devmgmt.msc (or by creating a shortcut to it)

As we see below, there is an unknown device in which Windows 7 isn't able to find the correct device for it. So to find out more about the device , I right click it and select properties. Alternatively you may double click this
[attachmentid=1181149]
Select Detail Tab and then select Hardware IDs from the drop down list
[attachmentid=1181149]
Now you'll see few IDs.

Take note of VEN and DEV . In this case its PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8136 . I would ignore the rest as its device sub-id , sub-vendor. These how vendors rebrand a generic card into their own name.

Now I fire up google and google for 'PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8136'  (You may see the results by clicking here)

So I've managed to find out that the Unknown Device is my Ethernet card , and its made by Realtek. There are couple of links in the results and one it from Realtek's site. I've an option of trying peoples suggestion there in Google. Some of them even have links to where to download the drivers. So I've my options opened and I do know who made the card instead of just saying I've HP Gigabit Ethernet . This is another way you could find latest drivers for your card if its not updated by OEM.

This holds true if Windows 7 installs generic drivers. These generic drivers include for WLAN , sound card whereby you'll have some problems such as "distorted audio" or other slow downs. For this case , its possible to use drivers from Windows XP , Windows Vista and even earlier version of Windows 7. Here is the list

For Windows 7 X86_64 (64-bit) , you could use drivers from :-
Windows Vista 64-bit (98% compatibility with Windows 7)
Windows XP 64-bit (ot works for certain PCI cards (legacy) , (legacy) TV Tuners and Radio tuners whereby there is no more drivers) (Do turn off driver signing)

Keep in mind that if you use Windows 7 x86_64 and if you have some old drivers written for windows xp 64-bit , there may be some issues with it. For instance MCE-150 TV tuner , if you have 4GB of RAM , you'll have to set the memory limit in windows as 4095 (aka less then 4GB) - otherwise it wouldn't work at all.

For Windows 7 i386 (32-bit) you could use drivers from :-
Windows Vista 32-bit (99% - its higher because on how kernel , low level stuff are being handled is as almost the same as vista)
Windows XP (May not work for all devices , however its possible to get really old devices to play nice with Windows 7)

Hope you've learned something today about your hardware

This guide works with Windows Vista as well !

Alternatively use this database to find who made your card/device :- http://www.pcidatabase.com/
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nuyu90
post Jan 8 2012, 03:14 PM

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QUOTE(prasys @ Sep 6 2009, 10:15 PM)
Hey guys and girls

I wrote this simple guide on finding the right drivers (for missing drivers - and those unknown drivers) if any with Windows 7. For instance , now we are going to look drivers for our Ethernet  (I've removed the drivers just to demonstrate on how to look drivers) . The main reason why I am showing this is that rebranding occurs for instance D-link rebrands their Broadcom drivers as D-link DWL-510 (for instance). The real thing is based on the chipset. So by getting device id and vendor id , we can trace who really made the card and by finding out who did , we can install the correct (mostly generic drivers) to get our device to work.

To do this , firstly go to Device Manager. It can be done in several ways (it can be launched from Start , by typing Device Mananger). Right click Computer , going to properties and selecting Device Manager. These are the common ways to start. Alternatively you may type devmgmt.msc (or by creating a shortcut to it)

As we see below, there is an unknown device in which Windows 7 isn't able to find the correct device for it. So to find out more about the device , I right click it and select properties. Alternatively you may double click this
[attachmentid=1181149]
Select Detail Tab and then select Hardware IDs from the drop down list
[attachmentid=1181149]
Now you'll see few IDs.

Take note of VEN and DEV . In this case its PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8136 . I would ignore the rest as its device sub-id , sub-vendor. These how vendors rebrand a generic card into their own name.

Now I fire up google and google for 'PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8136'  (You may see the results by clicking here)

So I've managed to find out that the Unknown Device is my Ethernet card , and its made by Realtek. There are couple of links in the results and one it from Realtek's site. I've an option of trying peoples suggestion there in Google. Some of them even have links to where to download the drivers. So I've my options opened and I do know who made the card instead of just saying I've HP Gigabit Ethernet . This is another way you could find latest drivers for your card if its not updated by OEM.

This holds true if Windows 7 installs generic drivers. These generic drivers include for WLAN , sound card whereby you'll have some problems such as "distorted audio" or other slow downs. For this case , its possible to use drivers from Windows XP , Windows Vista and even earlier version of Windows 7. Here is the list

For Windows 7 X86_64 (64-bit) , you could use drivers from :-
Windows Vista 64-bit (98% compatibility with Windows 7)
Windows XP 64-bit (ot works for certain PCI cards (legacy) , (legacy) TV Tuners and Radio tuners whereby there is no more drivers) (Do turn off driver signing)

Keep in mind that if you use Windows 7 x86_64 and if you have some old drivers written for windows xp 64-bit , there may be some issues with it. For instance MCE-150 TV tuner , if you have 4GB of RAM , you'll have to set the memory limit in windows as 4095 (aka less then 4GB) - otherwise it wouldn't work at all.

For Windows 7 i386 (32-bit) you could use drivers from :-
Windows Vista 32-bit (99% - its higher because on how kernel , low level stuff are being handled is as almost the same as vista)
Windows XP (May not work for all devices , however its possible to get really old devices to play nice with Windows 7)

Hope you've learned something today about your hardware

This guide works with Windows Vista as well !

Alternatively use this database to find who made your card/device :- http://www.pcidatabase.com/
*
leakedknowledge
post Feb 25 2012, 12:28 PM

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awesome i will take note of that
flameon6600
post Mar 16 2013, 10:10 AM

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What if my laptop will blue screen sometimes? Does it relate to the drivers? hmm.gif
asa1020
post May 20 2013, 01:45 PM

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I have windows 7 and for some unknown reason I wasn't able to hear any sound from the computer. I just updated the drivers and its like a miracle. Thanks for sharing.
XeMoAsLaM91
post Oct 25 2013, 05:37 AM

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may i ask how to change windows 7 logon and logoff screen?
lephonghau
post Jan 30 2015, 01:52 PM

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I Think should go to support genuine driver
SlamberGamer
post Mar 14 2015, 07:13 PM

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Just ue devid
SlamberGamer
post Mar 14 2015, 07:14 PM

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QUOTE(flameon6600 @ Mar 16 2013, 10:10 AM)
What if my laptop will blue screen sometimes? Does it relate to the drivers?  hmm.gif
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Check the temp.. and driver also can cause the blue screen.. u can use hwmonitor to check the temp.. n try to install bsod checker to find the root cause..
SlamberGamer
post Mar 14 2015, 07:15 PM

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QUOTE(flameon6600 @ Mar 16 2013, 10:10 AM)
What if my laptop will blue screen sometimes? Does it relate to the drivers?  hmm.gif
*
Check the temp.. and driver also can cause the blue screen.. u can use hwmonitor to check the temp.. n try to install bsod checker to find the root cause..
SlamberGamer
post Mar 14 2015, 07:17 PM

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Honestly i think this is not simple guide but rather a basic knowledge how to detect our driver easily by using hardware ids.. i think i will create new guide how to find a driver the easiest and best method.. offline and online

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