Whether you’re a gamer, designer, or just a regular PC user, outdated drivers can seriously mess with your system’s performance. From laggy graphics and poor audio to connectivity issues and crashes, outdated drivers are often the hidden culprits behind frustrating tech hiccups. The solution? Meet Driver Booster 12 Free — an easy-to-use driver updater that ensures your hardware always runs at its best.
In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through how to download, install, and use Driver Booster 12 Free to automatically detect, update, and fix outdated drivers without the headaches of manual searching. Whether you’re tech-savvy or not, this tool simplifies everything.
What Is Driver Booster 12 Free?
Driver Booster 12 Free is a powerful tool developed by IObit designed to keep your Windows drivers up-to-date. With over 9.5 million drivers in its database, the software scans your PC and identifies outdated, missing, or faulty drivers. It then allows you to update them in one click — making it an essential tool for improving system stability, gaming performance, and device compatibility.
Key Features at a Glance:
- One-click driver updates
- Huge driver database
- Backup and restore option
- Offline driver updater
- Game-ready driver support
- Enhanced device compatibility
Why You Need to Update Your Drivers?
Before diving into the step-by-step process, let’s quickly touch on why updating drivers is crucial:
- Performance Boost: Updated drivers help your CPU, GPU, and RAM run faster and more efficiently.
- Bug Fixes: Many driver updates patch bugs or known glitches in earlier versions.
- Security Enhancements: Outdated drivers can be security risks. New versions often patch vulnerabilities.
- Hardware Compatibility: New devices may not function properly with older drivers.
- Gaming Optimisation: Updated drivers unlock new features and support for the latest games and game engines.
Step-by-Step Guide to Using Driver Booster 12 Free
Step 1: Downloading and Installing Driver Booster 12
To start updating your drivers effortlessly, you need to first download and install the latest version of Driver Booster.
- Visit the official Driver Booster page.
- Click the “Free Download” button to get the installer file.
- Once the file finishes downloading, run it.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to install the program. It only takes a minute or two.
- Once installed, launch Driver Booster 12 Free.
The interface is clean and user-friendly — even if you’re not tech-savvy, you’ll feel right at home.
Step 2: Start Driver Booster and Scan for Obsolete Drivers
With the program open, it’s time to scan your PC for outdated or missing drivers.
- Click the “Scan” button on the main screen.
- Driver Booster will automatically begin scanning your entire system.
In a matter of seconds, you’ll see a list of all the outdated drivers on your machine. These could include graphics, audio, network, chipset, printer, and even gaming-specific drivers.
Step 3: Check Scan Results and Driver Status
Once the scan is complete, Driver Booster neatly organises the results based on the importance or severity of each update. You’ll see: Outdated drivers, Missing drivers, Faulty drivers.
Each driver entry also shows the version currently installed, the latest available version, and the release date. This transparency lets you make informed decisions about which updates to prioritise.
Step 4: One-Click Driver Update
Now comes the fun part — fixing everything in one click.
- You can choose “Update Now” to install all available updates at once.
- Or update them individually by clicking “Update” next to each driver.
Driver Booster will then automatically:
- Download the latest drivers
- Install them correctly
- Even restart your system if needed (with your permission)
It’s a hands-free process. You don’t have to visit manufacturer websites or manually search for model numbers — Driver Booster handles it all.
Step 5: Backup and Restore Drivers
Sometimes, a new driver might cause system issues or not work well with your setup. That’s why Driver Booster 12 Free includes a backup and restore feature — to keep your data and drivers safe.
Here’s how it works:
- Before updating, Driver Booster automatically backs up existing drivers.
- If something goes wrong, you can roll back to the previous version.
To access this feature:
- Go to the “Tools” tab on the left menu.
- Click “Driver Backup” to save current drivers.
- Or choose “Driver Restore” to revert to older, working versions.
It’s a powerful safety net for anyone nervous about making system changes.
Step 6: Enhance Gaming Performance with Game Boost
If you’re into gaming, Driver Booster 12 offers a built-in Game Boost mode to free up RAM and CPU resources by disabling non-essential background processes.
To use it:
- Click on the “Game Boost” tab from the main interface.
- Enable it to temporarily optimize your system for better gaming performance.
Driver Booster will analyse your current configuration and suggest optimisations that can boost FPS, reduce lag, and improve overall responsiveness.
Step 7: Use Offline Driver Updater
If your PC has no internet due to missing network drivers, Driver Booster 12 Free offers an Offline Driver Updater to fix it:
- Export Device Info from the offline PC by clicking the “Export” button.
- Transfer the file to a PC with internet, then click “Download” to fetch the required drivers.
- Move the downloaded drivers back to the original PC and install them.
This tool is perfect for restoring network access after system reinstalls.
Extra Tools for Common PC Issues
Driver Booster 12 Free also comes with handy utilities under the Tools tab. These are designed to fix everyday driver-related problems with just one click:
- Fix No Sound: Quickly resolves audio driver issues
- Fix Network Failure: Restores internet connectivity
- Fix Bad Resolution: Fixes display resolution problems
- Clean Unplugged Devices: Removes useless driver entries for devices no longer connected
These are incredibly useful when you’re dealing with hardware glitches and don’t know where to start.
Conclusion
Keeping your drivers updated doesn’t have to be a technical nightmare. With Driver Booster 12 Free, the process is seamless, fast, and secure. You can scan, update, back up, restore, and optimize your PC in just a few clicks — no tech expertise needed.
Whether you’re dealing with slow performance, audio issues, network drops, or laggy gameplay, outdated drivers could be the root cause. Instead of wasting time digging through forums or downloading the wrong files, let Driver Booster do the heavy lifting.
