PCI stands for Peripheral Component Interconnect which comprises all the additional hardware components plugged in your computer’s motherboard. Some of the PCI hardware include PCI Data Acquisition, Signal Processing Controller, and PCI Simple Communications Controllers among others. The purpose of this additional hardware is to ensure that your PC runs smoothly and as all hardware components require drivers so do all the PCI devices. This guide will assist you to update PCI device drivers in Windows PC.
Drivers are small programs that are used to establish a communication bridge between the hardware and software components of your PC. This is because both hardware and software speak different languages, and you need a translator to relay the commands and messages back and forth. Thus for any hardware to function properly and provide the desired result, we must ensure that the drivers are updated at all times.
Thus we can establish the fact that PCI device components are important for the smooth functioning of your PC and also that updated PCI device drivers would ensure that your PC would deliver optimal performance at all times.
How To Download And Update Pci Device Drivers For Windows 10
There are two expert-recommended methods to download and update PCI device drivers on Windows 10 PC – Device Manager & Smart Drive Care.
Method 1: Device Manager
The Device Manager is an inbuilt driver updater tool provided by Microsoft to all Windows users. This tool is used to list all the hardware installed and the status of their drivers. Here are the steps to use the Device Manager to Update the PCI device driver.
Step 1: Press Windows + R on the keyboard to invoke the RUN box and type “devmgmt.msc” in the text box followed by the Enter button.
Step 2: The Device Manager window will open on the screen.
Step 3: Locate for any driver labeled as PCI with a yellow exclamation mark. These drivers will be located under the System Devices category.
Step 4: Once you have located the PCI devices, make a right-click on each one of them and choose Update Driver from the context menu.
Step 5: The Device Manager will now search for the updated driver for this hardware in the Microsoft Servers. Once found, it will automatically download PCI device drivers and install them for you.
Note: The only limitation in using this method is that the search for updated drivers is limited to Microsoft Servers only. The Device Manager tool will not search third-party or OEM websites for updated drivers. Microsoft servers take time to review third-party drivers before uploading them to their servers which means you will not find updated drivers on their servers any time soon.
Method 2: Smart Driver Care
The alternate method to update PCI device drivers on your Windows 10 PC is to use a third-party driver updater software like Smart Driver Care. This amazing application can scan, identify, download, and update all driver issues in your system without hassle. Smart Driver Care is an automated app that can be scheduled to look for driver anomalies on your system. Here are the steps to use Smart Driver Care:
Step 1: Download and Install the Smart Driver Care from the button provided below.
Step 2: After the download process completes, double click on it and carry out the instructions on the screen to install this app on your PC.
Step 3: Launch the app after installation and then click on the Scan Now option located under the Driver section.
Step 4: The scanning process will take time as this is the first time, you have run complete hardware and driver scan on your PC. Once the scan completes, a list of driver issues will appear on the screen within the app interface.
Step 5: Locate the driver issues related to PCI devices and click on the update driver link next to it to update the drivers.
Step 6: The update process will now begin. Make sure not to interrupt this process to ensure a smooth download of PCI device drivers.
The Final Word On How To Download And Update PCI Device Drivers For Windows 10
The PCI device drivers are an important set of hardware that requires updated drivers to function properly. Without drivers, the hardware present in your system is as good as not available. The manual method using Device Manager might not be able to get updated drivers every time and thus it is recommended to use Smart Driver Care to ensure your drivers remain updated at all times.
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