Friday, February 12, 2010

Do I Need to Restart My Dell Computer After Installing a Driver?


Many computer hardware device drivers require that you restart your computer to complete the installation process. This restart loads the driver into operating system memory and makes the hardware available for use. However, not all device drivers require a computer restart.

Specific hardware device drivers that DO require a restart are:

  • Dell Laptop or Desktop System Software
  • Motherboard chipset drivers
  • Video adapter (graphics card) drivers
  • Network interface card (NIC) and wireless card drivers

Device drivers that DO NOT require a restart are:

  • Audio drivers
  • Printer drivers
  • Scanner and digital camera drivers
  • Storage device drivers (hard drive, CD-ROM, USB flash memory keys, etc.)

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