MS XP driver updates

I just got around to doing the MS critical updates and noticed there are 3 update drivers as well. They are:
1. Broadcom 802.11b
2. Conexant AC-Link Audio
3.ATI Technologies Radeon IG9 340M or 345M
The first is for the wireless card in my laptop, the second seems to have something to do with my audio card and the third is related to my display adapter.
There is no info about what any of these updates corrects or improves and I was wondering if anybody applied them and noticed any improvement in anything?

 

The best thing you can do with driver updates from Microsoft is avoid them. If your computer's components (video card, sound card, network card, etc.) are working to suit you, then don't bother with updates at all.

If you find you do need an updated driver, it's always best to go to the website of the manufacturer of the component and get updated drivers from them.

For unknown reasons, driver updates from Microsoft create problems far more often than they solve them.

 

Chances are those driver updates will probably be from the manufacturers site anyway, via Microsoft. Usually they are a revision or two behind the latest, which occasionally is a good thing.

Not wishing to disagree with Miz, but I would suggest installing them. If there is a problem (very remote, but possible) then use system restore to roll back. If you're really worried, create a manual restore point before downloading them.

 

If you do choose to install the driver updates, be sure to temporarily disable any anti-virus program you may have running in the background.

While many people do install updates (both driver and otherwise) without any problems while their AV software is running, if there is a problem, it will be major. I've experienced Norton AV identifying portions of criticial updates as viruses and if you have it set to automatically quarantine, it'll be a mess.

That said, I do stand by my earlier statement: If everything's running to suit you, don't bother to update any drivers.

 

To expand on what Miz just explained:
When you do a driver update, or otherwise change registry settings, AV programs detect "malicious script ", and this is the reason you bought the security program, in the first place. So, if you MUST install a driver update, temporarily disabling the AV (NOT the Firewall) is a good idea.

I'm with Miz:

If you need to update one, get it off the manufacturer's site, don't use the MS update page. (Might as well be sure exactly what you have, right?) Also, download it to a convenient place, then shut down all unneeded programs, create a restore point if you don't have a recent one, and install the update from your hard drive, with your AV protection temporarily disabled.

Johanna

 

Thanks everyone for your help. I went to the Compaq update page where they have a brief explanation about what these driver updates are for and none of them have anything to do with my needs. In fact one of the updates is to make something work properly in China, and since I'm not planning any trip there, I'm going to pass on that one too.
I always disable antivirus programs before doing any upgrades. An easy way to do this is run MSconfig and choose a selective startup where none of the startup programs are loaded--NAV loads with the startup programs.
I did apply 18 MS critical updates on 4 computers and did not have a problem. I also loaded 4 other MS programs, one is to use WPA for wireless systems, one is to get more info on reporting trouble to MS when a program stops working, one allows you to set default programs on the right column of the start menu and one allows you to download music with a browser different than IE. Everything went smoothly, but doing these updates takes a lot of time.
Again, thank you all!