UNIBLUE DRIVERSCANNER 2009 User manual

DriverScanner
2009
Manual
Scan, backup and update your PC’s drivers
1ST EDITION
DriverScanner
2009

2www.uniblue.com Back to Contents
DriverScanner is the simple and reliable tool for updating your system’s drivers, boosting
system performance, releasing improved functionality and increasing operability with
networks and hardware.
DriverScanner will scan your system to identify drivers to be updated, and deliver
the tools you need to download and then install those drivers. At the same time, this
application will also keep a full record of all DriverScanner activity and allow you to
backup and restore your drivers.
Combining a sophisticated system scanning engine with a characteristically elegant, clear
and simple-to-use Uniblue styled interface, DriverScanner will dramatically improve your
computing experience.
What is DriverScanner?

3www.uniblue.com Back to Contents
This manual explains everything you need to know to be able understand drivers,
and then boost your system’s performance with DriverScanner. Organized into seven
chapters, and a glossary, Help has been designed to follow the logical structure of
DriverScanner.
To open DriverScanner from the Windows Start menu, click on the Start menu button,
and move up to the All Programs (or Programs) menu item (figure 1).
In the resulting cascading menu, select the DriverScanner folder and, in the next menu,
choose DriverScanner itself (figure 1). 
Conventions used in Help
(Figure 1)

4www.uniblue.com Back to Contents
If you are unfamiliar with drivers and want to learn more you can read
Chapter 2: Understanding drivers.
If DriverScanner is not yet installed on your computer, you can go directly to
Chapter 3: Installing, launching, registering and updating DriverScanner for
more help.
For a general overview about using DriverScanner read
Chapter 4: The DriverScanner user interface.
If you want to learn more about scanning and updating your drivers read
Chapter 5: Driver scans and updates.
For a brief guide to key Windows driver and DriverScanner concepts and definitions, you
can read the Glossary of terms.
Where do I go from here?
Also pay special attention to text, highlighted in blue or red, which is set apart from the
rest of the text:
Indicates warnings and items of extreme importance
Indicates important information

7
7
8
8
9
10
10
11
12
12
13
13
14
23
25
27
28
31
An introduction to DriverScanner
What does DriverScanner do?
Feature overview
Will DriverScanner make a difference?
Do I need to be an expert to use DriverScanner?
Understanding drivers
What are drivers?
When and why do driver problems occur?
Do I need to update and backup drivers?
How do I update and backup drivers?
Installing, launching, registering and
updating DriverScanner
DriverScanner system requirements
Installing DriverScanner
Launching DriverScanner
Online resources and support
Purchasing DriverScanner
Registering DriverScanner
ActiveProtection
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
2
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
3
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
Contents

32
32
34
39
40
42
44
44
49
50
52
52
54
57
57
59
60
The DriverScanner user interface
The Overview screen
The Driver Scan screen
The Backup screen
The Restore screen
The Settings screen
Driver scans and updates
Scanning outdated drivers
Complete and partial driver scans
Updating drivers
Driver backups and restores
Driver backups
Driver restores
Configuring DriverScanner
System settings
System information
Glossary of terms
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
4
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
5
5.1
5.2
5.3
6
6.1
6.2
7
7.1
7. 2

7www.uniblue.com Back to Chapter 1 - An introduction to DriverScanner Back to Contents
Device drivers generally either come with our operating system, or we install them from
a CD. But, like any software, drivers are upgraded and updated, by the manufacturers, to
remove bugs, add extra functionality to the hardware or to improve the performance of
the device. Unless you update your drivers regularly you may face problems ranging from
the relatively minor such as having hardware that seems buggy and poorly performing,
to the more major such as hardware failures, conflicts and complete system crashes.
With so many drivers on your PC you can’t check them all yourself, which is why
DriverScanner, the innovative new product from Uniblue, is the perfect solution to your
driver update problems.This useful application will search your PC for all installed drivers
and then cross reference these against Uniblue’s authoritative library of drivers.Where
DriverScanner identifies outdated drivers it will then give you the tools to update your
PC with the latest versions of those drivers, so improving the performance and stability of
your computer and its peripherals.
What does DriverScanner do?1.1
Congratulations on purchasing DriverScanner from Uniblue.This section gives an
introduction into DriverScanner, explaining what it does and how it can help you.
An introduction to DriverScanner
1

8www.uniblue.com Back to Chapter 1 - An introduction to DriverScanner Back to Contents
DriverScanner will search your PC for all installed drivers and then cross reference these
against Uniblue’s substantial driver library.Where DriverScanner finds drivers that are
out of date it will then help you to install the most recent ones, so making sure that you
enjoy the highest levels of performance and stability from your PC and its peripherals.
Key benefits of DriverScanner include:
In depth analysis
By thoroughly scanning your PC for outdated drivers DriverScanner identifies exactly
how your system can be updated for improved performance.
Driver update management
Including sophisticated driver update management tools DriverScanner allows you to
control the loading and installation of all your drivers, from one screen.
Backup and restore
DriverScanner’s backup and restore features help to ensure your PC is protected from the
consequences of lost drivers. 
Will DriverScanner make a difference?1.3
DriverScanner is an automatic, powerful and comprehensive driver update management
application for improving PC performance, stability and general health, which includes:
System overview report with detailed scan results to keep you updated about
outdated drivers found, backup and restore points created, and updates made.
Automatic scans at start-up to give you regular access to the latest drivers so
helping to enhance your computing experience and eliminate related system stalls
and slow-downs.
Automatic driver backup and restore giving you complete peace of mind knowing
that any changes or updates can be quickly undone at the click of the button.
An attractive and intuitive interface that makes the otherwise long and tedious task
of driver updates management, quick, simple and easy.
Feature overview1.2

9www.uniblue.com Back to Chapter 1 - An introduction to DriverScanner Back to Contents
At Uniblue, we are renowned for building easy-to-use yet powerful utility products and
DriverScanner is no exception. Regardless of your level computer literacy, you will find
DriverScanner simple and intuitive.
Do I need to be an expert to use DriverScanner?1.4
Boost your PC and keep it optimized
Dramatically improve your computing experience, and minimize network or hardware
problems by using DriverScanner regularly to find and update outdated drivers.
Log generation
Displays a transcript of your driver download history and your most recent scan results
for precise control of your system.
Exceptionally simple to use
Set in a highly attractive, logical and user-friendly graphical user interface DriverScanner
delivers advanced functionality in a simple-to-use package.
Safe and trusted
Uniblue’s DriverScanner is trusted by PC users around the World to enhance PC
performance and help protect against system failure.
Windows Vista compatible
DriverScanner is fully compatible with Windows XP and Vista (32-bit).The application
automatically identifies your operating system so you don’t need to configure any
settings manually.

10 www.uniblue.com Back to Chapter 2 - Understanding drivers Back to Contents
Drivers also called device drivers or software drivers enable high-level computer
programs to operate hardware. Just about all the equipment that runs on or in you
computer (from the motherboard, the hard-disk and the video card, through to the
mouse, screen and printer) will be operated using their own particular software. Drivers
are specific to the particular hardware device and the operating system used which
means that you will need to ensure that the installed driver is right for that combination
of equipment and operating system.
The driver will take a generic high level command from the operating system and
then translate this into a low-level form that the hardware understands.This makes
programming simpler since the creator of a word processing application doesn’t need
to program a different set of instructions for every single printer that it may be expected
to print to. Drivers also give hardware developers more freedom to change, alter and
expand the functionality of their equipment without having to worry about the high
level applications being able to communicate with the hardware.
What are drivers?2.1
This comprehensive tutorial gives more information on the most important aspects of
system drivers.
Understanding drivers
2

11 www.uniblue.com Back to Chapter 2 - Understanding drivers Back to Contents
Updating drivers regularly offers two great advantages for your PC:
You update the functionality available to your system; and
You fix bugs, errors and conflicts that might be associated with certain drivers.
Graphics cards can cause particular problems for your PC, causing video freezes and
“blue screens.” The problem here may be that, due to their complexity and resource
intensiveness, a 1st generation driver might be buggy and interact badly with other
drivers on your system. You will need to ensure you have the latest “fixed” drivers to stop
these problems.
Alternatively if new features are added to the video card you will need to update drivers
to keep pace with the improvements. Another situation is when Microsoft updates
DirectX, in which case you will also need to update your drivers to take advantage of
these improvements.
When and why do driver problems occur?2.2
Microsoft point out that drivers “…operate in a highly privileged environment
and can cause disaster if they get things wrong…”.
•
•

12 www.uniblue.com Back to Chapter 2 - Understanding drivers Back to Contents
Do I need to update and backup drivers?
How do I update and back up drivers?
2.3
2.4
Yes! Unless your computer is new, the likelihood is that the drivers, originally installed
with your operating system, have since been updated to improve hardware functionality,
resolve problems, or to remove conflicts. If you don’t update the drivers, on your system,
you might be experiencing unnecessary system problems and limited functionality.
It is also important to backup drivers to make sure that if you have a catastrophic system
failure and need to reinstall Windows from scratch, or if you lose your computer and
need to upload your data to a new machine, you can reinstall all your drivers quickly and
easily.
Save yourself the almost impossible task of installing your drivers individually by
searching the Internet, or rooting through your cupboards for all of those old CDs that
came with the hardware. DriverScanner lets you backup all your drivers to a CD or USB
flash drive ready to be reinstalled easily and in one go.
It is possible to update drivers manually, however you will need to go to the website of
each individual provider from whom you have hardware, search for the drivers section
of their website, check the dates of the drivers there against the ones you have installed,
and then install the drivers.
Clearly this isn’t an easy or quick process. What’s more, how do you go about backing up
your drivers? You will need to identify where they are saved and from there save them to
a disk or USB flash drive. The simplest way of going about the updating and backing up
of drivers is to use a driver update application such as DriverScanner, which will handle
both tasks quickly, easily and efficiently.
Running driver update software regularly ensures that you have the latest
drivers installed, thereby eliminating related system seizures and crashes.

13 www.uniblue.com Back to Chapter 3 - Installing, launching, registering and updating DriverScanner Back to Contents
DriverScanner system requirements3.1
Learn how to install, launch and update DriverScanner. This chapter also includes system
requirements, as well as procedures for purchasing and registering your product.
Installing, launching, registering and
updating DriverScanner
3
DriverScanner minimum requirements:
Intel Pentium 3 500MHz or equivalent processor
256 MB RAM
200MB free hard disk space
Additional space for driver backups and new drivers
Graphics mode 1024x768 true color (highest 32-bit)
Internet Explorer 5.5
Microsoft Windows XP / Vista (32-bit)
Internet connection
DriverScanner recommended requirements:
Intel Pentium 4 1GHz or equivalent processor
512 MB RAM
500MB free hard disk space
Additional space for driver backups and new drivers
Graphics mode 1024x768 true color (highest 32-bit)
Internet Explorer 6
Microsoft Windows XP / Vista (32-bit)
Internet connection
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
DriverScanner automatically identifies your operating system so you won’t
need to configure any settings manually.

14 www.uniblue.com Back to Chapter 3 - Installing, launching, registering and updating DriverScanner Back to Contents
Installing DriverScanner3.2
(Figure 2)
Installing DriverScanner from a download
Having chosen to download the application a pop-up window will ask you if you wish to
run or save this file (figure 2). 

15 www.uniblue.com Back to Chapter 3 - Installing, launching, registering and updating DriverScanner Back to Contents
You should choose to run the file by clicking on the Run button (figure 3). You will then
be shown another screen which displays the progress of the download. 
(Figure 3)

16 www.uniblue.com Back to Chapter 3 - Installing, launching, registering and updating DriverScanner Back to Contents
Once the download is complete this window will appear, asking you if “you want to run
this software?”. You should click on Run and DriverScanner will then install itself (figure 4).
(Figure 4)
If the setup process does not begin, automatically, when you insert the CD,
then open the Windows Start menu, click on Run and browse for the CD/DVD
drive. Alternatively, after clicking on Run, type:
[drive]:\AUTOSTART.EXE
Here [drive] denotes the drive letter of your CD/DVD drive into which you have
inserted the software disk. You can also use Windows Explorer to view the
contents of your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. You can then double-click on the
.EXE file to start the installation process.
Installing DriverScanner from a CD
Insert the DriverScanner CD into your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive and wait for the setup
process to start automatically. 

17 www.uniblue.com Back to Chapter 3 - Installing, launching, registering and updating DriverScanner Back to Contents
(Figure 5)
Installing DriverScanner
Whether installing from a download, or a CD, having completed the preceding steps you
will then be shown the DriverScanner install wizard (figure 5). Make sure that all Windows
programs are closed before clicking on the Next button. 

18 www.uniblue.com Back to Chapter 3 - Installing, launching, registering and updating DriverScanner Back to Contents
(Figure 6)
You will need to confirm that you accept the DriverScanner end user license agreement
before you progress further with the installation. Once you have read, and agreed to,
the terms of the license select I accept the terms of the license agreement and then
click Next (figure 6).

19 www.uniblue.com Back to Chapter 3 - Installing, launching, registering and updating DriverScanner Back to Contents
(Figure 7)
You will then be given the opportunity to select the folder into which the wizard will
install Uniblue DriverScanner (figure 7). Unless you have a specific reason to do otherwise
the default directory location will be fine. 

20 www.uniblue.com Back to Chapter 3 - Installing, launching, registering and updating DriverScanner Back to Contents
(Figure 8)
Another window will appear letting you choose to have the setup process create a
Desktop icon or a Quick Launch icon. Once you have chosen your options click on Next
and DriverScanner will then start installing (figure 8).