Software & Apps Apps 477 477 people found this article helpful Driver Booster v8.2.0 A full review of Driver Booster, a free driver updater tool by Tim Fisher General Manager, VP, Lifewire.com Tim Fisher has 30+ years' professional technology support experience. He writes troubleshooting content and is the General Manager of Lifewire. our editorial process Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Tim Fisher Updated on December 28, 2020 Apps Best Apps Payment Services Tweet Share Email Driver Booster is a free driver updater program for Windows that checks for outdated drivers for your hardware on a routine basis, and even downloads and updates all the drivers with one click! Every driver package is downloaded directly through the program and batch downloading makes it easy to get multiple device driver updates with one click. Download Driver Booster This review is of Driver Booster version 8.2.0. Please let us know if there's a newer version we need to review. Driver Booster Capabilities Driver Booster boasts an impressive list of attributes: Works with Windows 10, Windows 8, Window 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XPMillions of device drivers are supportedDefinitions for those devices update automatically and frequently, meaning there's no need to manually update the program every time a new driver is added to the databaseA driver's version number, size, and release date are clearly displayed next to each driver that needs to be updated (in the Driver Details window), helping to identify the size and age of a new driver before it gets updatedThe list of outdated drivers can be exported to a TXT file, which includes the device name, class, vendor, current and available version, hardware ID, and compatible IDInstallation windows and other pop-ups are hidden to make installation as easy and quick as possibleThe list of drivers found in Driver Booster are labeled according to the severity of the update, two examples being Extremely Old and OldThe computer can be set up to automatically reboot or shut down when the installation is finished Drivers that are already up to date are also shown, but in a separate section from the outdated onesThe number of days since you last scanned with Driver Booster is shown on the main screenIt also checks for outdated game components, like Microsoft DirectX RuntimeAn option in the settings lets you have the program auto-delete driver packages after they've been used for an installation, which is an easy way to make sure it's not collecting useless junk filesTools is a section that includes some tools for fixing sound errors, correcting network failures, cleaning up data related to unplugged devices, and fixing resolution issues by cleaning up driver data. There's also a "system information" area that shows details about the computer and operating system Driver Booster, Explored If you're looking for an easy-to-use driver updater, Driver Booster is likely your best bet. In our testing, we didn't encounter errors with downloads, and installs have never caused problems like BSOD errors or bricked hardware. The updates aren't launched in a web browser, so you don't have to download these drivers manually like you might have to with other driver updater tools. That's far too much of a hassle that might even deter some from updating their drivers, and it can sometimes lead to clicking the incorrect download link. The program is unable to scan correctly unless an active internet connection is established (some driver updaters don't need a network connection to scan). It will look like it's working, but without network access, it will simply scan without using any factual update information, which results in displaying an incorrect set of updates (or none at all). Because there's also a professional version of Driver Booster, some features are limited in the free version. For example, more driver updates are found in the professional program and features like automatically downloading and backing up drivers, and automatic program updates, aren't options in the free edition. Watch carefully what you're clicking during the initial install. You might be asked to add another program to your computer that's unrelated to driver updating. Download Driver Booster Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit