Getting To Know Different Types Of PC DriversGetting To Know Different Types Of PC Drivers
For a computer to work smoothly, it requires updates and maintenance time and again. One of the components that require frequent updates is a driver. Many people who own a computer might have heard the word ‘driver’, but not many know its function. PC drivers like AMD drivers are a low-code program that facilitates communication between hardware, software, and an operating system. There are two different types of drivers – device drivers and software drivers- that a computer needs to function properly. This article will let one know the different types of PC drivers.
Device Drivers
Device drivers are software that allows the operating system to communicate with hardware or devices. These drivers depend on the instructions of the operating system to access the device and perform any specific action. Device drivers are created by the same company by whom the particular device was manufactured.
Not every device driver is built to communicate directly with the device itself. In some cases, several drivers are layered up a stack to enable communication. The drives that can communicate directly with the device itself or operating system are referred to as the function drivers. And the drivers that can manipulate the communication into different formats making the machine understand the command, are referred to as filter drivers.
Device drivers are further of four types- kernel-mode, user-mode, virtual, and hardware device drivers:
- Kernel-mode Device Driver:
The Kernel-mode device driver consists of some generic hardware that loads with the operating system as part of the OS. These drivers include BIOS, Processor, motherboard, printer, and other hardware which are part of kernel software.
- User-mode Device Driver:
User-mode drivers are known to execute in the user mode. Also, these device drivers provide an interface between an application and kernel-mode drives or other OS components. For example, in Windows, every printer driver executes in user mode.
- Hardware Device Driver:
These programs are specifically designed to allow the piece of computer hardware to function on a computer.
- Virtual Device Drivers:
Virtual device drivers are known to emulate a piece of hardware and essentially trick the computer into thinking that it is read by it from a piece of actual hardware.
Software drivers
Unlike device drivers, software drivers are not linked to any hardware devices. Instead, software drivers are programs that enable the communication between a software application and an operating system. The primary purpose of AMD drivers (software drivers) is to enable or disable access to protected data only available to programs in kernel mode. This is the reason that software drivers always run in kernel mode.
Conclusion
When having trouble with the working of Pc, consider resetting the system drivers or installing driver applications, such as AMD drivers. The easiest way to reset the system drivers is to uninstall them and allow the computer to reinstall them again. It is an updated version of PC drivers that make it possible for all hardware, software, and also the operating system to function smoothly.
