Exercise Caution When Upgrading to Newer Drivers

This is particularly important when manufacturers of audio peripherals, such as a sound card, release updated software drivers. It’s impossible for any manufacturer to test its drivers with every possible Mac or PC configuration, so if the existing software has been working for you, make sure you keep a copy in case installing the newer driver develops a conflict with some other hardware or software installed in your computer. In some cases, new drivers address problems or conflicts that are not present on your system and thus are not really necessary. Our advice is to create a backup of an existing driver (or better still, make sure you keep the original CD it came on). That way if you experience incompatibilities, you can go back to the original. Fortunately, most developers keep several generations of drivers archived on their web sites, just in case you can’t locate the original installation disc.