Driver check that tells the codes apart

The error code, translated

Device Manager records a numbered error for every unhappy device. The app reads it and says what it means, because only some of them are fixed by installing a driver.

• Code 28: Windows has no driver for this device at all
• Codes 1, 3, 10, 31 and 37 to 41: a driver is there but will not start
• Codes 22, 32, 43, 44 and 45: switched off, unplugged or blocked, where no driver would help
• An unrecognized code is reported as unrecognized, with the number kept visible for your engineer

Where drivers come from

Two places, both of them yours. The app points you at Windows' own Optional updates page, which is where Windows keeps drivers it already has for your PC. If nothing is there, the Drivers screen resolves the maker against a curated list of official support pages and opens that page in your browser.

• Drivers can be installed through Windows Update from inside the app, with a restore point created first and Windows' own permission prompt
• Manufacturer pages are opened in your browser; the app never downloads or installs a driver from them
• The list of official sources is curated, never a search result or a guessed address
• It never uses a driver-updater pack, and the app says so in its own steps

Driver inventory

The Drivers screen groups every device by class with its installed version and date, and marks whether the maker resolved to a verified official source. An old driver that works is never called a bad driver.

Common questions

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