A driver represents a manual for its dedicated device. In other words, the newer and thorough the driver, the better a device performs. Since there is a breathtaking amount of different computer configurations that combine various devices, it's both a nuisance and time-consuming process to manually keep your drivers up to date. Luckily, this matter can be left in the hands of specialized applications such as Driver Support (formerly known as Driver Detective).

The application runs in an incredibly intuitive interface, taking little time to get acquainted with its features. Right from the start, detected devices are displayed along with installed driver and whether or not they need to be renewed.

You can choose to view all available devices, those that properly function or simply ones that have out of date drivers. From disk drives, display adapters, human interface devices to system or even “unplugged” devices, the application snoops through everything it can find in a quick, but in-depth scan of your computer.

It is difficult to believe that the application's intelligent scan system fails to properly identify your machine. However, if this is the case, or you simply want to look up drivers for a different configuration, an integrated list is available with probably all makes and models on the market.

Additionally, you can set the application to recommend universal drivers, if you don't want to risk crashing your system, make use of its “OEM Match Intelligence” feature for detailed results, or prioritize motherboard drivers if your computer is custom built.

One of the most interesting and useful features, is the “Easy Migrator”. This enables you to export a set of drivers, if not all, to a removable device or “migration CD” in order to have them quickly installed on an identical configuration, or after a fresh setup of your operating system.

Furthermore, an integrated “Driver Assistant” tool sticks around to periodically check for driver updates so you don't have to. It can be scheduled to run a scan weekly or monthly on a given day, hour, as well as type of scan. Specific driver categories can be targeted, such as “Video and Graphics”, “Printers and Scanners”, “Audio and Sound”, as well as “Network and Ethernet”.

Taking everything into consideration, we can say that Driver Support is a must have for nearly any computer, regardless of its purpose. An updated driver can work wonders and can greatly enhance compatibility between your computer's devices and applications installed on the hard disk drive. Stay on the safe side and give this powerful utility a try, you might even want to keep it around.