Should I Install The Drivers That Came With My Motherboard

tackyjan

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Hello All,

I have a desktop PC with an MSI A78M-E45 motherboard. I just did a fresh install of Windows 8.1 Pro and everything is working perfectly (display, hard drives, USB, etc.).

I was wondering, since everything is working fine should I even bother to install the drivers that came with my motherboard?

I was also wondering, if I don't install the drivers is it possible that there might be some hardware that is either not installed or installed with a (windows) driver that either doesn't exactly match the hardware and/or limits the hardware's capabilities?

For example, let's say my motherboard has USB 3.0 ports and Windows uses it's own drivers but they are for USB 2.0. The average user might not even notice since most people don't pay attention to what version of USB they are using.

Thank you,

Jan
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
Does Device Manager report that you're missing any drivers?

Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager.

In the screenshot below, all is ok.

Device Manager.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo G580
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3230M
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, standard user account
    Other Info
    UEFI firmware (BIOS) embedded Windows 8 product key.
Well, if you really want to, you can. It's because all those drivers were in the CD you don't have anymore. I don't see the point in doing so, but yeah, go ahead.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    window 7
Drivers on a CD that is included with a motherboard have the advantage that you know they will work with that motherboard. But they have the disadvantage of not being updated since they were originally loaded on the CD.

My approach has been to install those drivers from CD right after installing the new motherboard (so I know I have the right drivers in place), and then go to the motherboard site to see if they have any updated versions -- and if so, download and install those.
 

My Computer

This adage always applies:

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
Problem is that some of drivers (specially for video and sound) coming from windows installation and MS are just basic drivers without any way of controlling them or even with much lower performance. Drivers from manufacturer's disk, if it's older than a year are most probably outdated comparing to ones from manufacturer's site, they should be preferable to others.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
Does Device Manager report that you're missing any drivers?

No it does not. One strange thing, however. Before I installed the drivers from MSI there were several entries in Device Manager that were using Microsoft drivers (Bluetooth for example). After I installed the MSI drivers they were then listed as Intel, Realtek, etc.

I guess what happens is Windows has the ability to "drive" almost all common hardware and comes with those drivers by default. Then, when you install the drivers from the manufacturer, management of the device is handed over to that driver.

This makes me wonder..., Let's say you don't install the manufacturer's drivers for a hardware device and Windows uses it's own drivers. Will the hardware operate in a limited capacity since Windows drivers are generic and don't know how to hand any extended features that the device might have? Is there even such a thing as a generic driver that only covers the core functionality of a device or do drivers always have to cover all the features?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
Well, if you really want to, you can. It's because all those drivers were in the CD you don't have anymore. I don't see the point in doing so, but yeah, go ahead.

What I ended up doing was only installing some of the drivers. I used two methods to determine which drivers to install:

1. Check the version of the MSI driver and compare it to the version shown in Device Manager. If the MSI driver was newer I installed it.

2. If I was installing a utility/application (not a driver per say) I did some Google searches to find out what the software was for and if there were any complaints about it. If I felt like the program was unnecessary (Live Update for example) I didn't install it.

~Jan
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
I wanted to mention one other thing about downloading drivers from the web.

I went to Asus.com to download drivers for my other computer (an N550JK laptop) and looked at all the available downloads. For some reason ASUS shows drivers from two or more different manufactures for the same device!

For example, the Bluetooth driver list had three downloads from Intel and one from Realtek. Different versions AND different manufacturers! What I did was make intelligent guesses as to which manufacturer's drivers I needed to download and then selecting the driver version was easy, just grab the highest number. I am worried, however, that I could have downloaded the wrong driver for one or more of my hardware devices.

Curious, what would happen if I installed a Reltek driver on Intel Bluetooth hardware? Do the installers check the hardware to make sure it matches what the driver was designed for? If not, what would happen? Would the device be totally broken or would it have partial (core?) functionality only?

Thanks again,

Jan
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
Drivers on a CD that is included with a motherboard have the advantage that you know they will work with that motherboard. But they have the disadvantage of not being updated since they were originally loaded on the CD.

My approach has been to install those drivers from CD right after installing the new motherboard (so I know I have the right drivers in place), and then go to the motherboard site to see if they have any updated versions -- and if so, download and install those.

Good idea! I had a bad experience doing this, however, on my other computer (an ASUS N550JK laptop).

A few weeks ago I replaced my HDD and so I did a clean install of Windows 8.1 Pro. After I installed Windows I did not install any of the ASUS drivers until after all the live Windows updates installed. Then I installed the software from ASUS.

When I tried to run a few programs that were specific to my laptop model (MAXX Audio, for example) it did not work. Also, the quick launch hardware button on the top of my laptop didn't work either. Both of these worked with the laptop running in it's factory condition so I know something broke.

What I ended up doing was another clean install. This time I disabled my internet so Windows wouldn't download any updates or make any changes. I immediately installed the ASUS drivers/software and then enabled the internet connection and let Windows do it's thing.

After Windows finished with all of it's updates I checked the programs that were broken before and they worked again just like they did from the factory.

~Jan
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
Does Device Manager report that you're missing any drivers?

No it does not. One strange thing, however. Before I installed the drivers from MSI there were several entries in Device Manager that were using Microsoft drivers (Bluetooth for example). After I installed the MSI drivers they were then listed as Intel, Realtek, etc.

I guess what happens is Windows has the ability to "drive" almost all common hardware and comes with those drivers by default. Then, when you install the drivers from the manufacturer, management of the device is handed over to that driver.

This makes me wonder..., Let's say you don't install the manufacturer's drivers for a hardware device and Windows uses it's own drivers. Will the hardware operate in a limited capacity since Windows drivers are generic and don't know how to hand any extended features that the device might have? Is there even such a thing as a generic driver that only covers the core functionality of a device or do drivers always have to cover all the features?
Yes, that's exactly why you get a change in device's name after proper drivers are installed. In order for some parts to work during installation, Windows installs generic drivers just to make them functional. If windows installation had proper drivers for everything out there, it would be tens of GB !!! Generic drivers that work on hundreds of different devices (video cards, disk controllers, network adapters etc.) without which OS would not install at all are included but later on, after installation they could be checked over internet against much larger base of drivers. PnP devices have unique HW IDs which can be used to find exact make and model and can be checked in MS database of drivers and that's when they get their proper name because it's only than when they can be properly identified.
Even than, they nay not come with programs for their adjustment and control, so if you want more you'll have to go to manufacturer's site to get it all. Laptops have another problem, devices installed may be different in different countries or regions and manufacturers often change some parts according to sub-model so you have to look closely to the sticker on them to find out which it is exactly. Motherboards also may have different versions of almost same MB and that can make difference in drivers too. That may be critical in finding exact BIOS update, get a wrong one and MB is bricked.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
I went to Asus.com to download drivers for my other computer (an N550JK laptop) and looked at all the available downloads.
For some reason ASUS shows drivers from two or more different manufactures for the same device!
The same model of computer will have various components/parts that can change depending on price/availability at the time you purchased it. The processor is usually the one thing that won't change, although even that isn't always the case.
This is especially true for network/bluetooth/wi-fi adapters.

Two ways to remedy that and get the right driver :

* Open your PC and check directly the part and look for brand/model number
OR
* Launch Device Manager > Right-click on the device > Properties > Details > Select Hardware IDs
This will show you IDs specific for your hardware, and embedded in it. It contains Vendor and Device ID in the form VEN_XXXX and DEV_XXXX.
You can use any search engine to find what it corresponds to.
A good specialized one is PCI Vendor and Device Lists (It doesn't host drivers which is good since you won't be tempted)

When looking for a driver, I do not recommend downloading them from driver sites, they might not be safe and contain malware. Find the vendor's name, then go to the manufacturer site directly.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 (x64)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
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