Will Updating My Graphics Driver Erase My Game Files?

[SpicyBats]

I am currently running on an AMD Radeon HD 7420G. I used the Steam menu to search for updates and there is one to update to the AMD Catalyst. All of the research I did on this driver had positive results. I am just a llittle bit apprehensive. I've played games on PC's for a very long time, it's my preferred method. However, until getting this laptop, I have never had to update my drivers. My past computers (one that came with a GTX and another that had an NVIDIA driver) were either stolen or crashed beyond repair. I have been treating this new one like a newborn so that I don't ruin it. Now that I have Skyrim on it, I want to ensure I have the best quality for gameplay without sacrificing my system and this, according to a couple tech friends, is the best option.

So, will installing a new graphics driver erase my files? Should I be worried? Before you tell me to: yes I've created backups just in case. However, I just wanted to know.

[DevilFish303]

No, your save game files generally are located within your Documents folder or, rarely, AppData folder in your User folder. Drivers are installed inside the Windows folder.

Also you have nothing to worry about if something were to happen to your laptop if you use steam cloud.

But of course not every game supports steam cloud, but just to assure you, i have updated drivers on both laptops and desktops and never had any game file loss.

Always back up before doing anything to your OS and PC though.

[SpicyBats]

Originally posted by Nemesis82F:

No, your save game files generally are located within your Documents folder or, rarely, AppData folder in your User folder. Drivers are installed inside the Windows folder.

Also you have nothing to worry about if something were to happen to your laptop if you use steam cloud.

But of course not every game supports steam cloud, but just to assure you, i have updated drivers on both laptops and desktops and never had any game file loss.

Always back up before doing anything to your OS and PC though.

Thanks, Nemesis. That does put me at ease. I am going ahead with the update.

[Air]

Installing drivers will never delete unrelated files... unless they happen to be malware.