Automatically Find Driver Updates?

I use Windows Update and rarely, it will say there is a driver update. More often than not, I need to manually visit the website for the maker of each component and download updated drivers for each. Because this is a pain/time consuming, I don't bother until I have a problem with something (but the driver updates often improve performance, so I'd prefer to have them ASAP)

So, is there anything that will automatically scan my hardware and find the newest driver from some huge library of drivers?

EDIT: I did a quick search for such a tool, but a lot of the results seemed 'shady' like potential spyware or something.

Solution 1:

Here's another one -- I came across it when Internet Explorer was crashing and used it to update Windows so that I could update Internet Explorer to get other updates (sorry, I tried to keep that simple):

  Windiz Update - Why use WindizUpdate?
  http://www.windizupdate.com/whyuse.php

It works in every web browser EXCEPT for Internet Explorer (you'll get an "unsupported web browser" error page if you try to use Internet Explorer on that web site, heheh), and it will install nearly all of the Windows Updates on your computer.

On the web page I referenced above, it indicates that it gets various drivers too. In the past they were unable to get third-party drivers, so I'm suspecting that they may be getting these directly from vendors instead (hopefully they are). Here's what they claim on that web page in the first paragraph:

• "Not only will it keep you up to date with the latest updates from Microsoft, it will also keep software and drivers from other vendors updated. However, that functionality is currently missing."

I hope this web site can find the driver updates you're after.

Solution 2:

PatchLink, which was created by Novell (who stopped SCO over intellectual property in the open source arena not so long ago) quite a few years back, delivered patches and driver updates for various vendors' products. It has since been purchased by another company called Lumension which as I understand is still doing this, but I haven't confirmed it. Here's what they have on their web page now that seems to state that they are continuing with this effort:

  PatchLink
  http://www.lumension.com/Legacy_Landing_Pages/PatchLink-is-now-Lumension.aspx

Here's the relevant portion of their statement:

• "... Lumension® Vulnerability Management (formerly PatchLink) delivers automated vulnerability assessment and patch management through an integrated solution that enables organizations to automatically detect risks, deploy patches ..."

My experience in dealing with Novell has been that they have never produced any SpyWare or viruses (I have found them to be trustworthy), and I'm [optimistically] assuming that this probably also extends to Lumension.

Solution 3:

DriverMax can do, but it's not free.

DriverMax is a new tool that allows you to download the latest driver updates for your computer. No more searching for rare drivers on discs or on the web or inserting one installation CD after the other. Just create a free account, log in, and start downloading the updates that you need.

You can also export all your current drivers (or just the ones that work ok) to a folder or a compressed file. After reinstalling Windows you will have everything in one place!