UIU Blog

Driver installation and driver operation issues can manifest themselves in many ways during OS deployments. Some of these problems occur on non-critical devices and simply show up as driver bangs in the Device Manager. Others are evident by a noticeable reduction in device functionality. Still others on critical drivers manifest themselves in a blue/black screen (BSOD), or the loading of questionable inbox drivers with partial functionality leading to failures later in the OS Deployment process.

When a device isn't working or you are missing a driver, the natural tendency is to determine what went wrong with each driver. But before you go digging through hardware IDs and double-checking for the most recent drivers, make sure you remember to check the firmware. Often times it may be the interaction between the BIOS or other hardware with a specific driver that is causing the issue, not necessarily the driver itself.

We've prepared a basic checklist below for troubleshooting driver installation issues.

What should I look for when troubleshooting these driver installation issues?

1. Begin first with an inspection of the hardware IDs associated with the critical devices (or all devices on the machine for that matter). You need to know what you're dealing with, obviously.


2. Then, check that your machine BIOS is up to date and that the BIOS update last applied actually impacts the hardware in question.


3. Next, verify that the drivers you're using match the hardware IDs discovered during your inspection. If not, you'll need to obtain new drivers from either the PC manufacturer or the OEM hardware component manufacturer.


4. Finally, check to see if the hardware in question has a firmware component that may require an update. Some newer technologies, such as solid state hard drives (SSD) incorporate firmware that is updateable. Check the hardware component manufacturer for applicable updates to this firmware and again, make sure that the updates actually impact the hardware in question.

In summary, what can sometimes appear to be driver installation issues may actually turn out to be interaction issues associated with firmware components, either BIOS or hardware-specific firmware. So run through this list if you end up with any drivers installation issues, and don't forget the firmware.