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A Driver (also called a devise driver) is a small program that controls a device - like printers, displays, CD-ROM readers, diskette drives, etc - that is attached to a computer.  The driver program's sole purpose is to convert the more general input/output instructions from the computer operating system to messages that the specific device can understand.  In Windows operating systems, a device driver file usually has a file name suffix of DLL or EXE.

Why should a user care about drivers?  Because old or faulty drivers can conflict with or be incompatible with other software programs you are running.  For example, certain video drivers which control certain computer monitors can become unstable and cause the other software operating on the computer to terminate abnormally which can lead to data loss or corruption.

When you buy a new computer, the necessary drivers are usually built into the operating system of the computer. However, later if you buy a new type of device, you may have to install the new device driver.  In addition, new versions of the devise drivers are periodically released by the devise manufacturer to fix bugs or provide enhancements.  If you are having any problems with your computer performance, you should consider downloading and installing the latest drivers from the devise manufacturer to eliminate this as a possible cause of the problem.