How to Find Missing Files Drivers in Windows Vista

1. Use the Windows Vista Device Manager to try to find the missing files and drivers for your computer hardware. To access the Device Manager, click on the 'Start' button, then click on the 'Control Panel' button. Select the 'Administrative Tools' option, then select 'Device Manager.' Right-click on the hardware that you are trying to locate drivers for and select the 'Update Driver' option. This will bring up a dialog box you can use to either search for a driver online or on the computer automatically, or allow you to manually select a driver from a specific folder on your computer.
2. Use the Windows Update program to search for missing files and driver for your Vista computer. Click the 'Start' button, then choose the Windows Update program from the list of programs on the computer. Choose the option to search for updates, and select 'Optional Updates.' If Windows Vista found any hardware updates for your computer, they will be located in this section. You can then select them and choose to download and install them. Once this process has been initiated, the computer will automatically download and install them on your computer. You may be asked to restart your computer once this process finishes, so be sure to close any extra programs before beginning the process.
3. Download the drivers for your Windows Vista computer from the Internet. If you know the exact model number of the piece of hardware you need a driver for, go online to download the driver. Go to the website of the manufacturer of your product (which will usually be printed on the product or included with the product packaging) and look for a section on the website that contains drivers or downloads. Browse through this section and choose to download the Windows Vista edition driver for the piece of hardware. Keep in mind that which driver you download will also depend on whether you have the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Vista. You can find out which version is installed by clicking the 'Start' button, then right clicking on the 'Computer' button and selecting 'Properties.' The Windows Vista version information will be displayed on the screen.