How to Update Sound Drivers
Sound card drivers are responsible for handling the communication between your computer and audio devices to ensure the quality and stability of audio output. We provide 5 methods to help you update your computer sound card driver easily.
1. Check the current sound card driver version
Before updating your sound card driver, it is very helpful to know the currently installed driver version. This helps to determine if an update is really needed, as well as can be used to verify that the new driver was successfully installed.
Press Win + X and select Device Manager.
In the Device Manager window, expand Sound, Video and Game Controllers to see your sound card model.
Right-click on the sound card model and select "Properties". In the "Drivers" tab, you can view the version number and release date of the current driver.
2. Update the sound card driver using Device Manager
If you need to update the sound card driver after checking the driver version, you can do it directly in the Device Manager. Expand the "Sound, Video, and Game Controllers" category, right-click on the name of your sound card and select "Update Driver".
Select "Search automatically for drivers" and follow the prompts to complete the process.
3. Using Driver Sentry to Update Sound Card Drivers
For some computer novices, "Driver Sentry" will be a useful driver update tool, which can help users easily identify, download and install the latest sound card drivers.
Visit Driver Sentry official website to download and install the latest version of Driver Sentry software.
Open Driver Sentry and click "Scan" button on the main interface.
Driver Sentry will automatically scan all the hardware in your system and list out the drivers that need to be updated, find the sound card item in the scanning result.
If there is a new version of driver available, click the "Upgrade" button on the right side, Driver Sentry will automatically download and install the latest sound card driver.
Once the installation is complete, reboot the computer when prompted for the new driver to take effect.
4. Download the latest official sound card driver manually
Alternatively, you can choose to download the sound card driver for your model from the sound card manufacturer's website, but it will take some time.
Visit the sound card manufacturer's website, such as Realtek, and look for the support or download area and enter the specific model number of your sound card to search for it.
Download the corresponding driver package according to your operating system version.
Once the download is complete double-click on the installation file to start the installation wizard and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
Restart your computer after the installation is complete for the changes to take effect.
5. Updating Sound Card Drivers via Windows
Windows comes with an update feature that can also help you get some sound card driver updates, but this is usually not the latest version.
Press Win + I to open Settings, click on "Update & Security", and then click on the "Check for updates" button.
If there is a sound card driver update available, Windows will download and install it automatically. Restart your computer when it is done.
With the above 5 ways to update sound card driver, maybe you have successfully updated your computer sound card driver. If you encounter any other problems, please seek professional to solve them. Update your sound card driver regularly to keep your computer performance optimized.
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