In Windows, what are device drivers?

A device driver is code that an operating system uses to control disk devices, display adapters, input devices such as a mouse or trackball, modems, fax machines, printers, and other hardware.

For information about the different types of device drivers, see article 253671 in Microsoft's knowledge base.

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Also see:

• In Windows, what is the device manager, and how can I use it?
• In Windows, after I format my hard drive, how do I get the device driver for my modem?
• Where can I find driver updates for my Windows computer?