How to Update Your SD Card Reader Driver
Knowing How to Update Your SD Card Reader Driver is a useful skill for anyone, even users who don't own SD cards ordinarily. Due to their upgrades in storage capacity and ongoing usefulness for small footprint-required hardware, SD cards remain highly competitive versus other peripheral storage options. In cases where the operating system doesn't identify the card on sight, users can work through solutions without needing expert help or premium services.
Updating SD Card Software the Easy Way
Windows users have streamlined options for managing their software updates significantly, including drivers for their SD card readers. Since SD cards remain valuable storage options for mobile phones and cameras, users should resolve any incompatibility issues between their SD cards and their PCs rather than ignore them. Built-in update maintenance functions may be adequate for many scenarios with out-of-date card reader software.
Before attempting an update, always check the current version of the malfunctioning device's driver (in this case, the SD card reader). Open the Device Manager application and scroll down to the SD card reader device. Right-click it and select Properties and then the Driver tab. This tab offers details such as the current driver update date, the version number, and the providers and signers (which should be reputable companies, such as Microsoft).
Users checking this information and seeing an out-of-date driver can select the Update Driver button and have Windows find the latest update for it automatically. If this process fails or introduces instability or data-reading issues, users can always use the Roll Back button to retrogress to the previous driver version. Fully uninstalling a driver before installing the latest version also can be necessary in some cases.
Guiding Updates for the SD Card Reader by Hand
Although using Windows's standardized features makes for easy updates, 'easy' isn't always the most accurate solution to outdated software. Experts suggest that most users identify the manufacturer for their SD card reader and navigate to the website directly. Most companies provide downloads for any driver software packages that their products require, along with detailed installation instructions and information such as version histories. The previously-mentioned Update Driver window includes an option for manually-selecting a file, such as a user-downloaded patch.
Not all errors with SD card readers are from driver update mistakes or neglect. Users also should check SD cards for tarnished or bent gold connectors regularly; even dust can prevent the device from reading the data. Initial tests for determining a possibly-malfunctioning SD card should check for the card's appearance in the Storage section of Windows Settings, complete with a unique drive letter.
SD cards have an average lifespan of ten years. Cards well beyond that data are more likely to fail altogether, regardless of any solutions the user implements.
Driver management is a vital part of being a responsible owner of PCs, phones and most other devices. It's a good thing for Windows users, especially, that so much of the process is automatic – requiring intervention only when something goes wrong.