Updating drivers is no longer as traumatic, considering that their installers behave like ordinary programs. The underlying problem is tracking those updates across all manufacturer sites, comparing versions, and submitting to the occasional manual installation with compressed drivers and .INF files. The software Snappy Driver Installer Origin offers us an alternative that falls directly into the territory of brute force, and works very well: updating drivers offline with a gigantic database that approaches 30 gigabytes.
Updating drivers, a tedious ritual
The feeling is that users are fed up with updates, updates, hotfixes, and firmware changes. From mobile apps to the Smart TV's operating system, through graphics cards and Windows 10 with its changes that break functions (printing being the latest example), we have definitely crossed the saturation point. While we celebrate any decision to offer and extend support, simplifying the processes is still a pending matter.
In the specific case of computers, the good news is that the latest drivers download and install like any other program. The bad news is that we must repeat the maneuver for each component. Windows 10 has an interesting set of drivers that may (or may not) get us out of trouble; however, everything changes when the computer is a six- or seven-year-old laptop model with webcam, Bluetooth, card reader, integrated modem, and touchpad. If we add the attitude of certain manufacturers that blow up their "legacy" driver sections, we have no choice but to change strategy. That's when Snappy Driver Installer Origin steps in.
How to update drivers offline with Snappy Driver Installer Origin
The first time I talked about this program was in December 2018, and it hasn't changed much since then. In essence, the user opens the interface and waits a few seconds for Snappy Driver Installer Origin to detect the components on which it can update drivers, or install them from scratch if we are on a "clean" Windows. When expanding each entry, the program makes secondary suggestions in the form of unsigned drivers, or "more appropriate" versions even if they are older.
Simply selecting the drivers to update and clicking Install will suffice, but the real "heavy lifting" is downloading the database. From a technical standpoint, Snappy Driver Installer Origin can use indexes and fetch only the drivers it needs for the session; however, it reaches its full potential when updating drivers offline. Its official page offers a .torrent file with the application and all driver packs included. At the time of writing, they add up to 29.9 gigabytes, so the minimum pendrive for a portable copy of Snappy Driver Installer Origin is 32 GB.
In summary
Snappy Driver Installer Origin is a solid tool for updating drivers simply, and adding those that the operating system fails to recognize. Of course, there will always be the occasional exception (personally, I discovered that the sound drivers for a Lenovo G475 under XP are not present), but anything that saves us time and headaches is welcome.
Official site and download: Click here
