The first type is every now and then updated by Microsoft, while the second type needs to be updated manually. That’s a huge problem, as outdated drivers can result in incompatibilities or other technical problems.

Just like there is no option to scan for third party software updates in Windows, there is no option to scan for third party driver updates. A cloud based community driven solution would be helpful for many users.

Until Microsoft decides to create such a feature, it is up to third party software to fill the gap.

SlimDrivers, is a free software to check for driver updates in Windows. The program is developed by the same company that created yesterday’s SlimCleaner.

Both programs are offered as beta versions, and it may be that both will turn commercial in the future. A lack of information on the developer website, and registration links in the programs that currently lead to 404 pages seem to confirm that.

SlimDrivers is compatible with Windows Vista and Windows 7. The software displays PC overview information on startup. A click on the big Start Scan button scans the system for hardware and installed system drivers.

slimdrivers

These information are then complied and presented to the user. More precisely, the hardware that is not using the latest driver is displayed, with options to download the updated driver directly from within the software.

An ignore option is available in case false positives are detected by the program. Those will then be ignored in future scans.

The program scans not only for drivers but also for Windows Updates and program updates. SlimDrivers displays a prompt to create a System Restore point before updates are downloaded and installed.

SlimDrivers can furthermore backup and restore installed drivers. Those options are displayed in the header icon bar. All devices that are currently connected to the computer are displayed in the driver backup window. Here it is possible to select some or all drivers for the backup.

driver backup

Backups are created in a way that every driver can be installed without the software. Each backed up driver is stored in its own folder from where it can be copied or installed.

The software can also be used to uninstall drivers from the computer system, and to schedule automatic checks for driver updates.

SlimDrivers is a professional looking software program to update, backup, restore and uninstall drivers in the Windows operating system. The beta version stopped responding on one of our test systems whenever a scan was initiated. It ran fine on another system though.

SlimDrivers is available for download at the developer website.

Driver Sweeper has been covered about two years ago at Ghacks. The software has been designed to cleanup device driver leftovers both on the hard drive and the Windows Registry. The software program comes as a portable version or installer and can cleanup driver and Registry leftovers of the following hardware devices:

• AGEIA – PhysX
• ATI – Display
• Creative – Sound
• Microsoft -Mouse
• NVIDIA – Chipset
• NVIDIA – Display
• Realtek – Sound

While that does not cover all hardware devices it does provide the means to cleanup several of the most popular. All the user needs to do is to select and check one or multiple entries from the list and click on the Analyse button afterwards.

The program will scan the system for files and Registry settings for the selected type of hardware and display those in a list. All entries are checked by default and can be cleaned from that window. It is also possible to uncheck certain entries before starting the device driver cleanup process.

The developers of Driver Sweeper are recommending to uninstall the hardware using the uninstallation routines provided by the Windows operating system and / or hardware manufacturer before running their product to find and cleanup the leftovers. They also suggest to run Driver Sweeper in Safe Mode so that the tool can safely delete the files and Registry settings.

The software has an option to create backups of the device drivers which is highly recommended before starting the cleanup process. Another possibility is the software device driver backup which we covered before at Ghacks.

All you need is to know the name of the old card, the name of the new card and the freeware Driver Cleaner Professional. Don’t get irritated by the professional, it is completely free to use. Download the freeware and install it. The next step is important. The first thing to do would be to use the uninstall option in Windows to remove everything that could be left from the old drivers.

The best way to run Driver Cleaner Professional would be right after you have uninstalled the old drivers and applications but still have the old card connected to your system. Just start Driver Cleaner and choose the name of the drivers that you want to remove. You can for instance choose a general name like ATI or Nvidia which removes all information about those drivers on your system.

Another option would be to choose a specific driver, like ATI WDM and remove that one only. The program removes all references in the registry and all drivers that are stored on the system.

If the new card is already connected to your system you might run into troubles if the card is from the same company. I suggest you still delete all references and install the newest drivers after you have rebooted your machine.

Update: Driver Cleaner Professional is no longer free software. The developers are now charging for the program. See Remove Old Windows Drivers for a free alternative.