[LostInOnesNZeros]

I was unsure which forum this question would best fit. Since I run XP on my system, and I've seen some HijackThis logs that point to many other people using this service, I thought I'd give this a shot here:

The site sucks you in with a free scan -- something that appeals to any of us looking to fix problems that may be too technical for our own brains to figure out, right?

Then, after a scan tells you that you need "such & such" drivers, one normally might attempt to acquire the drivers from the device manufacturers software update site. However, the driver that drivershq says you need either isn't found at the manufacturers site, or whatever update is available is different from what the scan said you need. Get it?

Now, for only just $29.95 USD, you can simply acquire your needed driver update right here at good old drivershq.com -- oh, and by the way -- if you have any problems, we'll respond to any queries within 24 hours. Wow -- sounds good, doesn't it?

Except the drivers you download are incompatible with the device (in my case, a Soundblaster Live!). Or, even if you 'update' a driver (in my case an AMD-766 PCI Busmaster IDE controller -- V1.43), rerunning the drivershq.com scan shows that you still need the update.

HUH??

Well, lemme just e-mail those dudes and get that 24 hour response like they advertised. 72 hours later... no response and I'm still wondering if I really needed any of the driver updates they claimed I needed after running their scan and paying my hard-earned money.

Anyway -- my point brings me to this question: Does anyone else have any issues or experiences with DRIVERSHQ.COM?? Are they legit or a web rip-off? Are there any other sites that have valid scans that can actually say what drivers one needs and where to get them -- not to mention instructions regarding installation. Or is there some solid reference place that can tell someone "how to."

In all the years I've owned PCs, I've found that dealing with out of date drivers and attempting to get them from some of the vendor sites (particularly Creative) is one of the worst possible problems, whose side-effects can be disastrous at worst and weird at best.

Any comments, opinions or thoughts? Or could I actually have just gone off the deep end??

Thanks in advance for any input.

Al

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The day DriversHQ became a pay site, I stopped going. You should NEVER have to pay for drivers for a device you already own. I use DriverGuide since they're free. You have to create a free account, but you can opt out of all the ad services they give you the opportunity to sign up for. I'd say a good 90% of the time I can find the drivers I need on that site. It's hassle free once you have an account.

I will mention, though, that you should ALWAYS try to get the correct drivers from the manufacturer if you can. Only use these other sites as a backup plan for devices that are no longer supported by the manufacturer.

I hate to say what you're already thinking, but you got HOSED, man.

Update this thread if you manage to get a response from DriversHQ, but in the meantime go to DriverGuide for the drivers you need.

Edited by The_Sloth, 15 July 2005 - 01:12 PM.

[The_Sloth]

The day DriversHQ became a pay site, I stopped going. You should NEVER have to pay for drivers for a device you already own. I use DriverGuide since they're free. You have to create a free account, but you can opt out of all the ad services they give you the opportunity to sign up for. I'd say a good 90% of the time I can find the drivers I need on that site. It's hassle free once you have an account.

I will mention, though, that you should ALWAYS try to get the correct drivers from the manufacturer if you can. Only use these other sites as a backup plan for devices that are no longer supported by the manufacturer.

I hate to say what you're already thinking, but you got HOSED, man.

Update this thread if you manage to get a response from DriversHQ, but in the meantime go to DriverGuide for the drivers you need.

Edited by The_Sloth, 15 July 2005 - 01:12 PM.

[admin]

Everest is a nice tool that identifies your hardware, and shows where the drivers can be downloaded -- for free.

I prefer to get my drivers directly from the manufacturer's site whenever possible.

[LostInOnesNZeros]

Thanks Sloth & Admin for your quick responses. I had a feeling that I'd been rear-ended by a guy with no insurance about 2 minutes after I gave drivershq my credit card #. Anyway -- I agree that drivers should be gotten from manufacturers sites, but it's not as if they make it clear or even easy which driver works where.

With Creative, it's simply frustrating because they have so many stinking names that cross-pollinate their products. They ought to just bundle their updates and put a hook into the install that can figure out which one your devices need. Wishing for too much, I suppose.

Then, there are other vendors (for example Roxio -- anyone seeing a pattern here?) whose drivers won't allow some software to run. I had to uninstall all my Roxio stuff before LavaSoft's Ad-Aware would install. See what I mean by weird?

Anway, I'll give Everest a look-see and go from there. I won't be holding my breath waiting for a reply from drivershq, but if I do ever get one, I'll post it in this thread.

Again -- thanks for your able assistance and quick response. I'm a newbie to the site and already love it!!

Regards,
Al

[The_Sloth]

We're glad to be of assistance. Sorry you got screwed out of your money, but hopefully you can resolve that with their Tech Support.