RubyMicro Software DriverMagic Pro attempts to update your PC's drivers from one central source after analyzing your current hardware. Unfortunately, we found the product's inability to combine tasks (such as downloading and installing the drivers) frustrating. Worse, DriverMagic Pro's inconsistent ability to correctly identify installed drivers and suggest the right update is an annoyance. DriverMagic Pro is as an interesting product, but users should wait until a later version irons out some irritating problems. The DriverMagic Pro zipped executable file is a compact 6.8MB and is easy to install. Afterward, the program scans your system to create a list of installed device drivers.
Unfortunately, DriverMagic Pro's interface is frustrating and awkward. There are three layers of commands and tools: a tools menu, a row of icons across the top, and a broad list (called the Explorer Bar) to the left of the main screen, where the software displays all of your system's drivers. DriverMagic duplicates some of its tools in two of these places, while others show up in only one location.
DriverMagic's central screen collects all your current system drivers for quick study.
Furthermore, not everything appears to work. For example, there's an icon that brings up a form for submitting questions to RubyMicro Software (Ask The Xpert), but the same option on the Explorer Bar is grayed out. The help-file documentation is presented across the bottom portion of the main screen, taking up valuable real estate. Although you can resize the documentation, it still crowds out the rest of the display.
We also dislike the abrupt transitions between DriverMagic modules. Click a driver on the main screen, and you can view the devices it supports, but there's no option from there to download a newer version. To do that, you'll have to close that driver window, then select a separate tool for downloads. After the download concludes, the program doesn't offer an option to install the update; you have to do this by selecting yet another tool, and you have to tell DriverMagic Pro where the update is and where to install it. We find this whole process counterintuitive.
