The Multi-Boot Configuration Handbook

Checking for Third-Party Drivers

Hardware manufacturers and OS publishers aren't the only sources of drivers, although they're the most important sources. In some cases, third parties provide drivers for hardware, particularly for the combination of rare hardware with unusual OSs. Sometimes these drivers are provided as shareware, but other times they're available free.

In the case of open-source OSs such as Linux, most drivers start out as third-party implementations. Such drivers usually find their way into the official OS distribution, however. If you have particularly new hardware or want to use features of your hardware that aren't officially supported, you might want to track down these not-yet-official drivers or updates before they ...