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Author Topic: Is DriverBooster good or bad?  (Read 6405 times)

Geekofbroadband

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Is DriverBooster good or bad?
« on: September 01, 2015, 02:35:21 PM »

http://www.iobit.com/en/driver-booster.php

I always get my drivers from the manufactures website but when I installed driverbooster it said I had 18 extremely out of date drivers, drivers I have never heard of like:

"3rd Gen Core processor DRAM Controller - 0154"
"Intel(R) 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 - 1E10"
"Intel(R) 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2 - 1E12"
"Intel(R) 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 3 - 1E14"
"Intel(R) HM77 Express Chipset LPC Controller -1E57"

They are mostly all Intel related and there was even one for my LAN driver which I found it to actually make browsing a bit more snappier, so would you say this is safe? I would never download this on a new installed OS without installing the other manufacture drivers first but would it be recommended to install your manufactures drivers first then run this after to pick up on any that you missed and let it update them? Because I think it has improved the performance of my PC by a little...
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ejs

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Re: Is DriverBooster good or bad?
« Reply #1 on: September 01, 2015, 03:40:34 PM »

The devices you've listed would have "drivers" that are part of the Intel INF Update Utility or Chipset Device Software as it is now called.

Quote
The Intel® Chipset Device Software installs the Windows* INF files. An INF is a text file that provides the operating system with information about a piece of hardware on the system. In the case of the current Intel Chipset Device Software, that information is primarily the product name for the piece of hardware. This allows the operating system to show the correct name for that piece of hardware in Device Manager.

If you look at the driver details for those devices in Device Manager, it will probably show as not needing any driver files, or using standard driver files supplied as part of Windows.

Is it safe? Installing the latest drivers for your hardware usually won't cause any problems, and might even fix or improve something. On the other hand, the new drivers might have more bugs in them than the old ones, so you don't really need to update drivers just because they are old or "out of date".
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renluop

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Re: Is DriverBooster good or bad?
« Reply #2 on: September 01, 2015, 05:20:39 PM »

I have never had Driver Booster, but did have Advanced System Care, that one of the better Malware forums told me to get rid of. It is hard to uninstall without a special program, and apparently can place, not necessarily bad, items. I suggest looking at threads on, say, Windows 7 Forum about IOBit.
This thread may be of interest.

Ignore, if you want, as I am not a Kitz  brain. :)
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loonylion

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Re: Is DriverBooster good or bad?
« Reply #3 on: September 01, 2015, 05:53:25 PM »

those devices do not need any newer drivers, indeed it is unlikely there are any.

the only drivers that really need regular updating are graphics card drivers, and I'd do that by downloading the new driver from the manufacturer. I would never suggest using a 'driver updater' program because a large proportion of them are/contain/install malware and they tend to download drivers from an archive operated by the software provider, meaning they're often even older than the ones you already have.
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Bowdon

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Re: Is DriverBooster good or bad?
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2015, 10:51:15 AM »

There seems to be a rash of programs, even some reputable ones (Avast) trying to push programs that are 'cleaning up' your system. I've heard some horror stories of the effects of these programs, so not worth the risk in my opinion.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it :)
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renluop

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Re: Is DriverBooster good or bad?
« Reply #5 on: September 02, 2015, 04:04:36 PM »

My theory is that internet users  have got themselves strung up on speed, due to the machinations of the marketeers. Therefore selling something like Antivirus  with a cleaner add-on makes the base product more attractive. Please tell me, if I am wrong, but I suspect the work for the add on is less costly than that for the antivirus.

Now what's that TV program? ang goes the ?????? ;)
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AArdvark

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Re: Is DriverBooster good or bad?
« Reply #6 on: September 02, 2015, 04:44:40 PM »

Many of the companies who provide these 'Services' are after fees for 'dodgy programs' to update your PC.

They simply 'trawl the Internet' for Drivers and don't check them at all, just start raking in the money from people who know no better.

I have searched for 'old drivers' and always end up at these sorts of companies
Last time, when I checked the files being offered, out of curiosity, it did not match the hardware at all !

Trust the original Vendor or Manufacturer & never pay for what you have already paid for. (Usually, updates are free for existing drivers)
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