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Questions tagged [drivers]

Drivers are the middleware that allow computer programs to use resources of a specific hardware device.

A driver, also called a device driver or software driver is software that allows higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device. When a computer program requests interaction with a certain hardware device, the driver will handle instruction and output translation between the device and the computer program invoking the driver.

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"reload" mac audio drivers without rebooting

I have an external audio interface (M-audio fast track c400). In order to get my macbook to recognize it (display in audio/midi setup), I have to reboot, which is a hassle. I have had other m-audio interfaces that were automatically detected when…
RyanM
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Windows 10, 'System' process taking massive amounts of RAM

Since I upgraded to Windows 10, my system has been consuming RAM excessively I've been reading a bit and determined it's likely a driver leaking memory. So I got myself the Windows Driver Kit and tracked memory usage with poolmon: However, I don't…
Nayncore
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How to get rid of the Bang & Olufsen panel on HP laptop?

On my HP Windows 10 laptop the following Bang & Olufsen panel appears at the top of certain audio apps, e.g. Skype: How can I get rid of that?
Unbreakable
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Windows 10 Installation - A media driver your computer needs is missing

The most weird thing is happening to me: I have a hp notebook which has no internal DVD drive, so I installed via an external USB LG Blueray burner. First I installed Windows 10 customer preview into one partition. Then I installed Windows 8 into…
Elmue
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How to get a list of active drivers that are statically built into the linux kernel?

While I can use lsmod in order to show currently active kernel modules, how can I see which drivers are statically built into the kernel AND currently active?
JohnnyFromBF
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Installing Windows 7 x64 on a computer with only USB 3 ports

I am installing Windows 7 x64 on a HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF that only has USB 3 and USB Type-C ports. Initially, upon booting the USB install media, the USB keyboard and mouse wouldn't work - this was because the Windows 7 install media doesn't have…
qroberts
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Keyboard not working in Windows 10 Apps + Start Menu

I recently updated to Windows 10 anniversary update and recentlly noticed the PS/2 Keyboard has stopped working in Windows 10 apps such as the settings menu and the start menu. Desktop apps and control panel work fine including shortcuts buttons…
TheIdiot
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How to mount read-write an ext4 partition on Windows?

I want to use ext4 on my external HDD, but it must be cross-platform. (At least Linux, Win7 & WinXP). Unfortunately, I haven't found any proper driver allowing Windows to WRITE to ext4. I've found Ext2Fsd, but it only reads ext4. 9. ext4 extent…
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Why do printers require drivers?

I've always wondered why I need a 500+ MB printer driver installed on my computer every time I set up a new printer. Why can't computers simply send the file that needs to be printed to a printer and have the printer do all the necessary…
Senseful
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What's the reason behind "Stereo Mix" becoming a missing option?

Several newer computers I've worked on (Dell, mainly) are using IDT or Realtek drivers which lack the Stereo Mix option in audio recording devices. I've tried all kinds of methods including installing the drivers from third-party sources, but lately…
JYelton
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Is there an Apple USB Ethernet driver for Windows?

I recently needed an Ethernet adapter for my laptop, which has USB and WiFi (of course) but no Ethernet. Somebody offered me an Apple USB-to-Ethernet adapter. I figured Windows would offer the driver automatically, after which I could use the…
CBHacking
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How can ntfs.sys be loaded if the driver is located in an NTFS partition?

I was reading about NTFS and the use of the driver ntfs.sys and I was wondering how could the NTFS driver be loaded if it's on an NTFS partition. I couldn't find any answer for this online and I was curious to know how it works.
Anic17
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What can cause a USB 3.0 port to revert back to USB 2.0?

Say I have a USB 3.0 device, connected with a USB 3.0 cable, to a USB 3.0 port with the correct drivers on a Windows 7 computer. Bandwidth and performances are as expected for USB 3.0. Now I replace this cable with a "USB 3.0 cable" of questionable…
Alex Millette
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What exactly is a laptop "display audio" driver?

I've downloaded an Intel HD Graphics driver for my Dell laptop and the installer's welcome screen says it will install the following components: Intel Graphics Driver Intel Display Audio Driver What exactly is "display audio"? Dell's and Lenovo's…
Dan Dascalescu
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Enable/disable Windows 7 device via command line

I have a device that I often enable and disable using the Device Manager. I'd like to write a script to do this programmatically (that is, using the command line). I saw a program called devcon that works for Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows…
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