Ubuntu Documentation > Ubuntu 8.10 > Working with hardware devices > Restricted drivers

Restricted drivers

Some devices attached to your computer may need restricted drivers to be installed in order to work properly.

Why are some drivers restricted?

Restricted drivers are drivers for your hardware which are not freely available or open-source.

Most of the devices (hardware) attached to your computer should function properly in Ubuntu. These devices are likely to have unrestricted drivers, which means that the drivers can be modified by the Ubuntu developers and problems with them can be fixed.

Some hardware does not have unrestricted drivers, usually because the hardware manufacturer has not released details of their hardware which would make it possible to create such a driver. These devices may have limited functionality or may not work at all.

If a restricted driver is available for a certain device, you can install it in order to allow your device to function properly, or to add new features. For example, installing a restricted driver for certain graphics cards may allow you to use more advanced visual effects.

Some computers may not have any devices which can use restricted drivers, either because all of the devices are fully supported by unrestricted drivers or because no restricted drivers are yet available for the device.

[Caution]

Restricted drivers are often maintained by the hardware manufacturer, and so cannot be modified by Ubuntu developers if there is a problem.

Enabling a restricted driver

To use a restricted driver for a device:

  1. Press System → Administration → Hardware drivers

  2. Find the driver which you would like to enable and check the box in the Enabled column, next to its name

  3. You will be asked to confirm that you want to enable the driver. Press Enable Driver

  4. The restricted driver may have to be downloaded and installed

  5. You may need to restart your computer to finish enabling the driver

Disabling a restricted driver

If a restricted driver is causing problems, or you would just like to turn it off, follow the procedure below:

  1. Press System → Administration → Hardware drivers

  2. Find the driver which you would like to disable and uncheck the box in the Enabled column, next to its name

  3. You will be asked to confirm that you would like to disable the driver. Press Disable Driver

  4. You may need to restart your computer to finish disabling the driver

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