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Driver updates normally come as one, often big, single file. If the driver file has the extension “.exe”, that means the driver file is a self-installing driver file or a self-extracting driver file. Simply double-click the driver file to execute the driver installation process. Follow the instructions of the installation program to complete the hardware driver installation. A reboot might be required on the end of the driver installation.

In the case of a self-extracting driver file, executing the “.exe” file will result in the extraction of the compressed driver files. You often need to specify a destination for the driver file extraction. Once the files are extracted, you will see the driver files that are required to install the driver update.

However, if the driver update file has a “.zip” or “.rar” extension, you need to manually uncompress the driver files. Windows supports the “.zip” extension, but if required get a program like 7-Zip to uncompress the driver files.

Within the folder with the driver files, you would typically find a driver installation program. In most cases it will be called “setup.exe” or “install.exe”, but other program files with the “.exe” extension are also possible. Again, simply double-click these installer programs to install the hardware driver update. An installation wizard will guide you through the driver install process.

In the example below the “.exe” file is called “DPInst64.exe”.

Note: Make sure that you are logged in with Administrative rights when you want to install a driver in Windows Vista or Windows 7. Another option is to right-click the “.exe” file and in the popup menu, select Run as Administrator.

If there is no file with the “.exe” extension in the folder with driver files, you will need to manually install the driver update.

Installing Drivers in Vista and Windows 7

Open the Control Panel from the Windows Start menu. In the Control Panel, select Hardware and Sound. Next, select Device Manager. If the UAC message comes up, click the Continue button.

In the Device Manager, select the device for which you want to update the drivers. Right-click the device, and in the popup menu select Update Driver Software.

In the next screen, select Browse my computer for driver software. Click the Browse button, and select the location where you extracted the driver files.

After you selected the driver file location, click the Next button to update the drivers.

Installing Drivers in Windows XP

In Windows XP the steps to install a hardware driver update manually are almost the same, but the screens and selections differ a bit.

In the Start menu, select the Control Panel. Next, select Printers and Other Hardware. Next, select System in the left-hand panel (If you use the classic view, you can click System immediately).

In the System Properties window, select the Hardware tab. Next, click the Device Manager button.

In the Device Manager, select the device for which you want to update the drivers. Right-click the device, and in the popup menu select Update Driver.

In the Hardware Update Wizard, select the option “No, not this time”, and click Next.

In the next screen, select “Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)”, and then click Next again.

Then select “Don’t search, I will choose the driver to install”, and click Next again. Now you need to select the hardware category to which your device belongs, and click Next. If you do not know the category, simply select the default Show All Devices.

In the next screen, select the Have Disk button.

The Hardware Update Wizard will now show an Install From Disk window, where you need to click the Browse button.

Using the file browser, you will now navigate to the location where you extracted the driver update files. The file browser will look for a file with the “.inf” extension.

Once you have selected the file with the “.inf” extension, you click the Open button and the click the OK button. Windows will then show you the list of devices supported by the driver update, from which you need to select your device. Then click Next to proceed with the driver installation. When the driver installation is finished, click the Finish button.

Establish in 1996, Alienware is a manufacturer of computer hardware and a wholly owned subsidiary of Dell. Its main focus is the assembly of high-end graphics cards, desktop and laptop computer components that enable high performance gaming. Aside from gaming, Alienware products also support a number of graphic-intense applications such as video editing, audio editing and simulation. Products for sale in its portfolio include desktop and laptop personal computers along with computer peripherals such as mice, keywords, displays and USB headsets.

With its headquarters located in Kendall, Florida, Alienware was founded to fill a gap in the market for high performance gaming products, a market that was virtually untouched at the time by prominent PC manufacturers such as Dell. With little competition on the high-end market, it became an OEM that sold PCs with the highest performing hardware and specifications in the industry. The company is perhaps best known for its Alienware graphics cards and popular line of gaming computers, which differentiated from the competition in terms of performance and the trademark sci-fi-like design.

Dell acquired Alienware in 2006, maintaining its autonomy in regard to design and marketing all while keeping its original line of XPS PC gaming systems. Now consolidated within Dell’s gaming division, it has since become the computer manufacturer’s premiere gaming division. As a subsidiary of Dell, the company currently specializes in various aspects of PC gaming, marketing everything from accessories to popular video game downloads.

Alienware has been a major player in the PC gaming market for more than a decade. Over the years, it has competed with companies such as AVADirect, Falcon Northwest, Velocity Micro and even Dell’s XPS gaming system. Today, the company is focused on maximizing its profits and powering the PC gaming market through high performance products and annual initiatives such as PC Gaming Season.

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Founded in 2002, Compaq Computer Corporation was a manufacturer of personal computers and computer components. The company was once the world’s largest supplier of personal computer systems. Compaq functioned as an independent corporation until be acquired by Hewlett Packard in 2002.

Compaq was started by three senior managers who worked for Texas Instruments, a well known semiconductor manufacturer. Its first product was the Compaq Portable, a portable personal computer that offered compatibility with the IBM PC. This unit is largely credited as one of the earliest influences of today’s laptop computer. In 1984, Compaq launched the Compaq Deskpro, which marked the first line of Compaq Deskpro computers. This was followed up Deskpro 386 and the Systempro, a piece of server hardware integrated with support for an additional CPU and RAID storage.

Moving into the 1990s, Compaq started its domination over the server market as it entered the retail computer industry with Presario. With a number of low-priced products and partnerships that allowed it to utilize processors developed by AMD and Cyrix, the company was able to drive competitors such as IBM and Packard Bell away from the market. Compaq computers became a mainstay in the home and corporate setting, helping the manufacturer leverage relationships with emerging industry leaders such as Microsoft. In 1998, the company entered into an agreement with NaviSite to promote and sell web hosting packages. NaviSite made Compaq its preferred provider because of its high-quality storage facilities and Intel-based servers.

In 2001, Compaq entered a merger with Hewlett Packard and the acquisition was officially completed the following year. It has since become a brand name owned by HP. Although numerous Compaq computers and other products have been renamed, a large number of them still bear the original company name. HP even discontinued its line of business computers in favor of the Compaq Evo line. The product line has officially been branded as HP Compaq. Support and downloads for its older products are widely available on a condensed version of the Compaq website.

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Originally established in 1991, C-Media Electronics is a Taiwan-based semiconductor company that manufactures a wide range of computer hardware. As a global leader, its primary focus is to provide innovative products to PC audio, USB storage, wireless audio device, sound card, motherboard, PC and VoIP peripheral manufacturers across the globe.

Over the years, this company has garnered recognition across the board and brought home numerous honors, thus bolstering their reputation. Some of its most notable accolades include the Best of Computex 2005 Award, the 2008 Certificate of Corporate Governor System honor and the International CES Innovations 2009 Design and Engineering Award. The latter was an honor received for its highly regarded Xonar HDAV 1.3, the first audio solution in the world to enable passing via lossless digital audio on PC platforms. This device marks the only solution for Home Theater Personal Computers in the new Blu-ray era.

C-Media has been highly successful in the computer hardware industry, a company that can hang its hat on a long line of firsts. Some of its most notable innovations include the first single-chip USB audio control with a built-in power amplifier, the first driver-based implementation of Dolby Virtual Speaker and Dolby Headphone, as well as the first software implementation of Dolby Digital Live. The company also boasts the title as the company to deliver the first completely qualified solution for HD audio. These cutting edge innovations can be attributed to the fact it has one of the most experienced development and software teams in the entire industry.

Considering the track record, the sky appears to be the limit for C-Media and the company is showing no signs of slowing down soon. With a number of patents under its belt and several others pending, the company hints that even more industry firsts are to come in the very near future.

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Established in 1984, Cirrus Logic is a fabless semiconductor company that specializes in analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for a wide range of industrial and consumer markets. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Cirrus has more than 900 patents for a line of approximately 600 products to serve well over 3,000 end-users across the world. Its technologies are relied on by industry-leading names such as Harman International, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung and Sony.

In the early, 1990s, Cirrus was a leading manufacturer of affordable PC graphics chips. Its Microsoft Windows 2D GUI accelerators were highly acclaimed as some of the fastest and most affordable on the market, outperforming VGA-chips from competitors like Western Digital, Trident Microsystems and Oak Technologies. The Cirrus graphics chip, the GD5422, supported hardware acceleration for 8-bit and 16-bit color, making it one of the lowest-priced VGA controllers to offer support for both. In the mid to late 1990s, it was one of a handful of companies to deliver a VGA controller for 3dfx’s Voodoo Rush 3D-accelerator card. To the current day, Cirrus chipsets help to power a number of notebook and desktop PCs.

The Cirrus product line is quite extensive and robust. Aside from a broad range of integrated circuits targeted at industrial and consumer markets, it also features high–precision ICs for automotive entertainment applications and electrical solutions in digital power meters and seismic systems. Cirrus audio processors and converters can be found in a number of professional consumer products including home-theater receivers, portable media players, television sets and set-top hardware. There was a time when the company designed and marketed hard disk controller chips, modem controllers, CD drive controller chips, PC graphics chips and PC soundcard controllers. A highly successful portfolio of Cirrus ICs and processors has made this company one of the most recognizable names in the industry.

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Founded in 1985, Chips and Technologies is the very first in a long line of semiconductor companies to follow. Outside of IBM, it was the first company to produce a compatible VGA chipset, essentially creating the market for IBM compatible graphics. Chips and Technologies chipsets set a trend that was followed up by companies such as Oak Technologies, Cirrus Logic, Trident Microsystems and many others. From this course of action the industry inevitably became saturated.

Upon first being established, the main objective of Chips and Technologies was to come up with more cost-effective ways to design and produce microcomputer system components for a fast growing market. Its portfolio consisted of an extensive line of Chips and Technologies chipsets and circuits, graphics controller circuits, interface circuits, PC-to-mainframe communications controllers and a variety of circuits for mass storage control. In the early 1990s, Chips and Technologies set its focus on single-chip systems to capitalize on the anticipated growth of sub-notebook and handheld computers.

The company is well known for the Chips and Technologies Wingine video card, a high-speed framebuffer which resided in a proprietary local bus slot on compatible motherboards. JCIS and Epson were two of several companies who offered motherboards integrated with the Wingine local bus slot. The Chips and Technologies Wingine was a big a hit among users of the NEXTSTEP for Intel processors due to its reputation as one of the most efficient video cards for the system.

In the mid 1990s, Chips and Technologies fail on hard times, making significant cuts to both its staff and product line. Though it looked as if the company would be able to make a comeback, it was eventually acquired by Intel in 1997. Because of its strong presence in the graphics chip business, Chips and Technologies products are still largely supported by a number of third-party vendors.

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Founded in 2001, Canopus Corporation specializes in designing and marketing digital video and graphics solutions for corporations, government, education, small businesses and enthusiasts. The company is well known for an award-winning line of hardware and software products designed to set new standards in the way of functionality, reliability and performance. In a very short time, Canpos has achieved worldwide notoriety, now with locations in the United States, the U.K., Tokyo, China and Germany.

Canopus is highly regarded as a global leader in nonlinear video editing systems. This can be attributed to the company’s innovate designs. The stability and enhanced functionality its products offer has made Canopus a big hit among video professionals in various fields. Relying on a solid proprietary architecture, it is able to produce the fastest, most efficient nonlinear editing solutions available for the desktop PC. Its scalable infrastructure has the ability to harness the true power of a CPU, allowing for increased speed and performance. In effort to expand its portfolio of MPEG-based products, the company recently introduced the Canopus MediaEdge. This affordable, high-quality video networking solution uses Canopus’s reliable MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 compression technology to deliver top-grade level video across LAN-based networks.

It was announced in 2005 that Thomson would be purchasing a 33.3% stake in Canopus with plans of holding a public tender offer in order to gain the remaining shares. As of January 2006, Thomson’s goals were fulfilled as its ownership of Canopus was 94.31%. Already owning Grass Valley Broadcast and Networking, this acquisition strengthened Thomson’s position in the media and entertainment field, allowing the company to accelerate the delivery of technologies that include desktop video editing, digital media conversion and VoIP products among others. Despite the acquisition, the name remains the same and Canopus video products are still widely available and supported.

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Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Canon Inc. is a global manufacturer of imaging and optical products. Its product line consists of a wide range of computer printers, digital cameras, photo copiers and steppers. Since 1983, the company has been a leading manufacturer of digital cameras. Through their innovation and proprietary product launches, Canon has helped to establish many new trends on the market. Thanks to regional headquarters throughout Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East, Canon printers and computer peripherals can be found in many homes and offices around the world.

Canon puts a strong emphasis on creating high quality products for corporate users. Its Business Solutions division offers print and document services for small to medium sized businesses, large enterprises and government agencies. This lineup includes multi-functional Canon printers, color and black-and-white printers, larger format printers, production printers and scanners. The company also develops the software and device drivers to support the hardware. Some of its lesser known products are broadcast lenses, semiconductors, digital microfilm scanners, Handy Terminal solutions and a wide variety of medical products.

Originally founded in 1937, Canon began as a small company with only a handful of employees and a passion for success. It started out with a prototype of what would be Japan’s first 35 mm equipped with a focal plane shutter, a unit known as Kwanon. In what seemed like no time, the company grew to become a world renowned camera manufacturer and a major player in the computer printer industry. It is now a multi-international powerhouse with more the 60 years in the business and well over 20,000 employees located throughout the world. Although technology has change the industry for the best, Canon still carries the same expertise and passion as it did in the earlier years, the same top-notch qualities that has made it a familiar name across the globe.

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Brother International Corporation is a leading manufacturer and distributor of home and office products. Marketing products created by its parent company, Brother Industries, this manufacturer is best known for its extensive portfolio of Brother printers and computer peripherals. With more than 1,100 employees in the Americas, Brother enjoyed revenues of an estimated $1.5 billion in the fiscal year of 2006 and continues to remain highly profitable to the current day.

Though originally established in 1954, Brother’s history dates back to 1908 when the Yasui Sewing Machine Company was founded in Nagoya, Japan. Until being officially established, the company was Yasui Sewing Machine’s first overseas sales affiliate, finally changing the name to Brothers, Industries, LTD. in 1962. Shortly thereafter, Brother jumped into the printer market during a longstanding partnership with Centronics, a now defunct manufacturer who was a pioneer in the industry. The rest you could say is history.

Brother products can be found in a number of homes and offices throughout the world. Its product consists of an award-winning series of Multi-Function Center and printers as well as typewriters and sewing machines. The company boasts the number one line of fax machines in the United States and is the global leader in electronic labeling, thanks to its full lineup of P-touch Electronic Labeling Systems. Brother printers and other products are beloved among the user community for delivering high-quality, exceptional performance at a price that is generally more cost-effective than the competition. In addition, the company understands the importance of product support and they have embraced this commitment to service effectively. This has lead to their stellar reputation and increased growth.

A commitment to providing the best breed of products has helped Brother attain significant market shares in various regions. The company currently has service centers in the U.S., the U.K. and India in addition to its main headquarters in Nagoya, Japan. A countless amount of manufacturers have emerged over the years but few are as recognizable as Brother.

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Headquartered in Irvin, California, Broadcom Corporation is a world renown technological innovator and global leader in semiconductor solutions for both wired and wireless communications. Broadcom currently holds more than 3,100 U.S. and 1,400 foreign patents. It also has well over 7,600 additional patent applications pending. As one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies, it enjoyed revenues of $4.66 billion in 2008 alone.

The company’s portfolio features products that facilitate the delivery of data, voice, video and multimedia content to and throughout the office, home and mobile environment. Specializing in the industry’s most extensive lineup of system-on-a-chip and software solutions, Broadcom is able to consistently appease its customer base of computing, networking equipment, broadband access, digital entertainment and mobile device manufacturers. Some of its most notable clients include fortune 100 to fortune 500 companies such as Apple, Cisco Systems, Dell, IBM, HP and Nintendo to name a few.

The Broadcom product line includes transceiver and processor integrated circuits for wireless LANs and Ethernet, DSL, cable modems, home-based networking devices and mobile phones. The company is also well known for its series of high-speed co-processors. By offloading the intensive workload to a dedicated chip, these solutions are able to greatly increase the speed of tasks that utilize encryption. Broadcom co-processors offer numerous benefits in the field of e-commerce by helping to secure PGP and GPG communications. Other products include audio/video processors for digital video recorders and digital set-top boxes as well as RF receivers and tuners for satellite TV systems. Broadcom’s Bluetooth products range from chipsets and headsets to software solutions for PC and smart phone integration.

Since 1991, Broadcom has been delivering high-quality products to meet the growing demands brought forth by emerging technology. Recently forming partnerships with industry leaders such as Microsoft and AMD, one could assume that Broadcom is poised for long term and sustained growth as they prepare to introduce the world to additional cutting edge solutions.

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Established in 1986, Biostar Microtech International Corp. is a Taiwan-based manufacturer that specializes in a wide variety of computer products. Its extensive product line ranges from motherboards and video cards to industrial PCs and bare bone computers. Listed on the main floor of the Taiwan Stock Market as a profitable independent company, BioStar develops solutions for entry-level to high-end markets. In fact, many of its products are found to retail for more than $100. This manufacturer is well known as the only company to give end-users the freedom to modify the voltages and frequencies on video card GPUs and memory to enhance performance to their preference. As a leading global provider, although based in Taiwan, BioStar has five regional headquarters in the United States, China and the Netherlands.

In the beginning, Biostar was focused on manufacturing motherboards designed for XT form factor. To meet the evolving demands of market development, the company began producing more integrated solutions, enriching its competence in the design and manufacturing of add-on cards, system and multimedia products. In 1990, Biostar became the first motherboard producer to establish its manufacturing premises in China, a move that was performed to expand its capacity and meet the needs of a growing customer base. Business was bolstering and in 1998, the company’s revenues surpassed 130 million dollars, ranking it among Taiwan’s top 1,000 enterprises.

Biostar took its success into the millennium with a new slate of products. Feature-rich graphics cards and Biostar motherboards ranging from the T-Power to the T-Series have helped the company maintain its position an as industry leader. Now offering support for a range of AMD products, the manufacturer plans to further strengthen its place in the market by introducing more cutting solutions in the near future. Putting an emphasis on quality and customer satisfaction, the sky appears to be the limit for Biostar.

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