Free driver updating tool
Driver Easy is a software shaped around updating the drivers on your Windows computer. To keep your computer safe, it will back up the files in its folder and create a restore point to which the user can return the machine in case anything goes wrong in the installation. Also, it provides a comprehensive report on the system information on your computer.
What is Driver Easy?
Driver Easy is made to manage the drivers on your computers in an easy way. It will scan your computer to find the ones that need to be updated and provide you will the tools that are needed to repair them.
According to Easeware Technologies, the company that developed it, it keeps a massive store of over three million device drivers. From these, it can even scan your computer offline to see what drivers are out of date from its expansive directory.
Overall, it has a small presence on the drive; however, it can take up some of your startup time if Driver easy is left to startup every time the computer starts up. It is not known to be the best on the market, but it does have a presence for sure.
User interface and features
One of the first things to note is the old style. Despite the unimpressive visuals, it’s rather easy to find everything you need within Driver Easy. The app consists of a single panel which displays all the options available for you to use. In keeping with its simplistic vision, everything you need is related to driver removal and update.
There are a few useful items apart from the main purpose, like the hardware information. This tab displays all of your computer’s stats, including an overview of all the system details, a readout on the CPU, and the motherboard’s data.
The user interface has a few annoying habits. For example, every time you restart your computer, you need to give it administrator privileges to access the computer’s data. Another problem is that when you minimize the application, it sometimes goes back to the homepage.
How do I user Driver Easy?
Now turning to the main focus, DE is simple to use when scanning for drivers. It also scans in just a few minutes and is CPU-friendly in the process. Also, it checks any devices connected to the computer. Once it has discovered them, it will list them for you conveniently, showing you the ones out of date.
Once you have that, you can check which drivers are shown along with the version number. Now with the Driver Easy Pro downloaded, you can automatically update all the drivers. Without this, you will need to install them manually.
Is Driver Easy safe?
The Pro version can create backups of the drivers that it uninstalls. It also creates a system restore point in case there is a problem that results from the change.
Unfortunately, the drivers are not necessarily the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) issued ones. What this means is the files are not always from the official source. This lack can be dangerous as third-party drivers can wreak havoc on a computer system.
This can create further problems, as they only have customer support via email for the pro users. For the unpaid users, they have created an FAQ. It falls short when compared to other companies’ repair safety like Iobit’s Driver Booster.
Pro vs. free
It is hard to avoid talking about the chasm of difference between the two versions. The premium version may not be worth considering. It has limited functionality beyond helping your drives.
The free version does not have any of the safety mechanisms that the Pro has. Alongside that, it is quite hard to install a driver on your PC, which defeats the purpose of the application. Searching up a manual would be wise if you decide to stick to the unpaid subscription.
The free version isn’t going to give you the most utility. The limited-edition often gives the illusion of being able to take actions, like being able to restore the drivers. Note that the free version cannot do this, so be warned.
Alternatives
The first competition is Driver Booster from Iobit. This software has a more modern, sleek design. It can be slightly more tricky to understand at the beginning but is nearly as easy. The free edition has almost the same utility as the paid version of Driver Easy.
One issue is that it takes up a lot of CPU space when it is searching as compared to Easy’s small demands on your computer. However, Booster finds more files to update and also provides a restore point with the unpaid edition.
Our final comparison has to do with the OEM. Both of these programs have extensive databases; however, neither will guarantee the original manufactures products, unfortunately. None of these work with anything but Windows. Also, Iobit provides many other applications that can go along with Driver Booster for speeding up your computer.
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Driver Talent is especially good at offline downloads compared to the other options. You can repair corrupted drivers without any connection. Otherwise, pre-downloading the files is another choice that can allow the software to be unobtrusive as possible. It requires the lowest management. Other competitors like Slimdriver don’t have much to offer that differs from Driver Easy.
Fast but insecure
Driver Easy is a solid program if you are willing to spend the money to purchase the premium software. However, it is not the cheapest or best on the market when compared to others. While it does find itself among the best with its strong safety functions in the pro download, the free version falls short of providing this aspect.
The newest editions can support Windows 10, and it comes along with a new privacy policy.