Difference between Missing and Corrupted Device Drivers

Hardware device problems are mostly device driver related, and it can be encountered by all PC users whatever computer brand or specific model they have. Among all the causes of device driver related issues, the most common is due to missing and corrupted device drivers. This blog will talk about the difference between missing drivers toward the corrupted device drivers, including specific issues that they can trigger and some examples of actual devices that suffered from missing or corrupted drivers.

Missing Versus Corrupted Device Drivers

From the descriptions themselves, missing device drivers are device driver files that are not yet installed in a computer and are required to make certain devices such as graphics card and Ethernet controller work properly. However, there are also cases when a device driver file installed in a computer will be deleted by malicious programs such as computer viruses, and will result to issues triggered by missing drivers. While corrupted drivers are device drivers installed in a computer but for certain reasons have been corrupted or damaged.

Hardware Device Problems triggered by Missing Drivers

Missing drivers will result to inability to use certain features of your computer. For example, if the required drivers for your dedicated graphics card such as AMD Radeon Graphics card are missing, you will not be able to run software applications requiring enhance 3D graphics rendering and other features. There are also cases that all the features of a certain device will not be available if the required drivers are missing. For example, if the driver files for the Broadcom Wireless Network Adapter of your computer are missing, you will not be able to use its WIFI feature.

Properties of Problematic Devices with Missing Device Drivers

Devices with missing drivers are being listed as problematic devices in the Device Manager, and most of these devices have error code 28 stating that "The drivers for this device are not installed (Code 28). Most devices with missing drivers are not being listed with their proper device names or descriptions; instead some devices with missing drivers are being labelled as Unknown Device, while graphics cards, sound cards, network adapters and other devices are being labelled with general terms such as Video Controller, High Definition Audio Controller or Media Audio Controller, Network Controller, etc.

View of Device Manager showing Devices with Missing Device Drivers

Hardware Device Problems triggered by Corrupted Drivers

The latter cause of hardware device problem which is 'corrupted drivers' is more troublesome compared to missing device drivers because it can trigger serious issues on the performance of your PC. This is because unlike devices that are inaccessible because their drivers are missing, devices with corrupted drivers are still accessible even though it will not work properly compared before. Corrupted drivers will limit the features and performance or it can also disable all the functions of a certain device. For example, if the drivers of your Realtek Ethernet Controller are corrupted, it can either result to slower internet, on and off internet connection, or inability to access the internet.

Devices with corrupted drivers commonly have error code 3, code 10, and code 31. There are also cases where hardware device with corrupted drivers will have error code 39, stating that "The driver might be corrupted or missing". In addition, sudden hardware device issues can also be caused by corrupted drivers, and there are also cases when your Windows OS will stop a device so suddenly because of damaged or corrupted drivers, such as the case where your problematic device

has error code 43. Click here to learn more about Unknown Device Code 43, including the options that you can consider in fixing device with corrupted drivers.

Properties of Problematic Devices with Corrupted Device Drivers

In worst cases, corrupted drivers can trigger serious hardware device problems all of a sudden, such as PC hang-ups and freezing, system errors, sudden and random PC reboots, and Blue Screen of Death (BSoD). In addition, there are also cases where hardware device problems due to corrupted drivers will just slowly affect the performance of your computer or some of its features, in a sense that PC users will not think that their current problems are device driver related.

View of Device Manager showing Devices with Corrupted Device Drivers

Overall, hardware device issues caused by missing and corrupted drivers are very troublesome, mostly if the problematic devices involved are not listed with its proper device name in the Device Manager or if the issues are not detected before serious problems occur. If you are having a hard time fixing your problematic unknown devices, you can visit http://www.unknowndevicedrivers.com/ to learn about an easier option to fix such issues.