How to Update Video Card Driver on Windows 7

Open Start

. Click the Windows icon in the lower left corner of the screen. The Start menu immediately appears.

Click the search bar. This bar displays below the Start menu.

Search for Device Manager. Enter device manager to do this.

Click Device Manager . You’ll see it near the top of the Start menu. Click it to open the Device Manager window.

Expand the “Display adapters” heading. If you don’t see your video card’s name under the “Display adapters” option in the middle of the Device Manager window, double-click the title to see the video card.

Right click on the video card name. An instant menu appears here.

• If you see multiple video card names, right-click the one you want to update.

Click Update Driver Software… (Update driver software…). This is the option in the currently displayed menu. A window will appear on the screen.

Click Search automatically for updated driver software . This option is available in the currently displayed window. The computer immediately searches for available drivers on the network.

Follow the instructions on the screen. If your video card has an update, you’ll need to follow the on-screen instructions to select, confirm, and install the driver.

• If you get a message that your video card is up to date or is using the latest version, it means your video card is up to date. If you want to check, try using the video card’s software or the video card’s website.

Know when to use this method. If your computer has a dedicated video card installed (for example, it is added), the video card will have its own installation software. This software usually provides an option to automatically update the driver of the video card.

• If you’ve tried using Device Manager without success, using your video card’s software is the next effective step.

Identify the manufacturer of the computer’s video card. You can find the name of the video card in Device Manager. If you have not used Device Manager or have not found the information of your video card, do the following:

• Open Start and click the search bar.
• Type device manager , then click Device Manager in the menu.
• Expand the “Display adapters” heading by double-clicking it.
• Make a note of the manufacturer name and the name of the video card you want to update.

Search for the video card program on the computer. Click the search bar below the Start menu, and then type the name of the video card manufacturer or product line. This will open a list of suitable software.

• For example, if the computer already has an NVIDIA GeForce video card installed, you would enter nvidia or geforce here.
• If entering the manufacturer’s name doesn’t work, you can try entering the video card’s name.

Open the video card program. Click the program name in the Start menu to do this. You will see the program’s window displayed on the screen.

• If you can’t find the video card program installed on your computer, you can still use the manufacturer’s website to find and download the driver.

Click the Updates or Drivers tab. You’ll usually find the right option in the toolbar at the top of the program’s window, but you’ll need to look around the window to find the right tab.

• With some programs, you must click a menu icon ( such as ) in the program window to open a toolbar with a selection of Updates or Drivers

Find available driver updates. When you open the “Updates” or “Drivers” page, look for available updates near the top of the page.