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From: Kevin on 4 May 2008 18:33

<void.no.spam.com(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
news:f9d8f40e-eb45-48dc-a8b4-54569295b1e1(a)k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
> We've got the computer now, and I've downloaded all the Windows
> updates. Now I'm wondering if I need to worry about the Drivers and
> Downloads page at Dell.com. I put in my Service Tag and thought it
> would be like Windows Update, where it tells you all the patches you
> need for your system. But it shows 62 items, and some of the updates
> are already on my system, and other updates are for bluetooth and card
> readers and modems which we don't have. So it's kind of impossible to
> tell what I really need to download.

Well, it's not impossible, since you just mentioned that you don't have
bluetooth or card readers or modems to worry about. So that eliminates all
those updates and drivers. And, all those updates and drivers you already
have can also be eliminated. That should have pared down the list
considerably.

If your computer is working, don't update any of the drivers. And, if you
decide you must update a driver, go to the hardware manufacturers website
and get the specific driver you need.

** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **
From: RnR on 6 May 2008 23:31
On Sun, 4 May 2008 13:43:07 -0700 (PDT), "void.no.spam.com(a)gmail.com"
<void.no.spam.com(a)gmail.com> wrote:

>We've got the computer now, and I've downloaded all the Windows
>updates. Now I'm wondering if I need to worry about the Drivers and
>Downloads page at Dell.com. I put in my Service Tag and thought it
>would be like Windows Update, where it tells you all the patches you
>need for your system. But it shows 62 items, and some of the updates
>are already on my system, and other updates are for bluetooth and card
>readers and modems which we don't have. So it's kind of impossible to
>tell what I really need to download.


First off, have you checked your device manager to see if all your
devices are installed? If all looks well, I'd leave everything alone
and not d/l anything.
From: journey on 6 May 2008 23:50
On Tue, 06 May 2008 22:31:46 -0500, RnR <rnrtexas(a)gmail.com> wrote:

>On Sun, 4 May 2008 13:43:07 -0700 (PDT), "void.no.spam.com(a)gmail.com"
><void.no.spam.com(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>We've got the computer now, and I've downloaded all the Windows
>>updates. Now I'm wondering if I need to worry about the Drivers and
>>Downloads page at Dell.com. I put in my Service Tag and thought it
>>would be like Windows Update, where it tells you all the patches you
>>need for your system. But it shows 62 items, and some of the updates
>>are already on my system, and other updates are for bluetooth and card
>>readers and modems which we don't have. So it's kind of impossible to
>>tell what I really need to download.
>
>
>First off, have you checked your device manager to see if all your
>devices are installed? If all looks well, I'd leave everything alone
>and not d/l anything.

I take RnR's approach -- if things are OK in device manager then
things probably aren't broke.

That doesn't stop me though, if I have the time, from browsing through
the drivers on Dell's web site, but usually there isn't a need to do
any updates.

One thing that I do for a new computer is go into the bios and turn
off everything I don't need -- things like the modem for example,
firewire, ethernet jack, etc. I don't know if it helps the computer
run more efficiently but that's my intent. If I don't use the modem,
why not disable it. Can't hurt.
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