How Can I Update My Mouse Driver?

By Robin Noelle

Updating your mouse driver may improve the performance.
i mouse image by Bosko Martinovic from Fotolia.com

Windows includes a number of drivers for peripheral devices such as mice, keyboards and speakers that are updated through Window Update. However, there are certain circumstances where you may need to manually update your mouse drivers yourself, such as if your mouse isn't working in a game or application. Updating won't take a lot of time and can improve the performance of your mouse.

Locate the driver for the mouse. Visit the website of the mouse manufacturer. Updated drivers are usually located on the Support or Download pages of the website. Normally, you will select the model of the mouse and then the operating system. The appropriate file will be displayed for you to download.

Download the file by clicking it, and agree to the terms of service, if necessary. When the download starts, select a location to save the file to.

Unzip the file. In many cases, the drivers will be contained in a compressed file, or it could be an executable file. If the file is zipped, use a compression utility like PZUnzip or WinRar to extract the files to a new folder. If it is an executable file, just double-click the file, and the compressed files will be extracted automatically.

Open the "Device Manager." From the Windows Start menu, type "Device Manager" into the search bar. From the results, click "Device Manager" to open it.

Click "Mouse," and select the mouse that you want to update. Right-click it, and choose "Update Driver Software." Choose "Browse My Computer for Driver Software." Browse to the location where you extracted the driver files, and select the appropriate file. Click "OK" to apply the update. You may need to restart the computer if prompted by Windows.

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