update gateway notebook drivers?

[owners4life5]

how can i go about doing this?

i go to gateway.s site, and all of the recommended drivers only work if you have some installation of windows. so how can i know for sure which ones i need to get?

the main one i.m worried about is sound, because when i plug in headphones, it is very unpleasant.

i.ll give computer specs, etc. if necessary

thanks in advance,

[choochoousmc]

First which version of Ubuntu do you have?
Are you running it alone as a default OS or in conjunction with windows, by selecting which one you want.
I started with 10.04 last spring on a ACER (Gateway generic brand) everything worked fine, except the wireless scanner.
I then upgraded to 10.10, and my sound was terrible.
So start here.
In your upper menu panel you see Applications Places and System.
Click System, then administration, then additional drivers. You may find the updated driver there. If so and looks correct then install it.
Also under System select Preferences and then Sound. You can make some sound settings there. I noticed if I want Built in speakers you have to select it. If you want headphones / external speakers through the headphone jack you need to select headphones.
I also noticed the headphones and external speakers sound much better than the built in.
You will probably also need to reboot.
After you do. Go back to System > preferences > sound right click it and select add to panel.
Now you are one click away from raising and lowering the system sound and selecting the speakers / headphones etc.
While I am here. In upper right corner is a user name, with "X" in a bubble and a circle with a vertical bar. This is your on off and lock screen control. Once in a while it will "disappear". place cursor in the upper menu bar. right click and add to panel. New window opens, scroll down, you will find symbol in red. add this to menu bar somewhere in the middle, this is an "emergency" shut down. You will also see a indicator applet session option in the Open window add that and your original in upper right will be reinstalled.
Also while you're doing it, there is an applet to force a misbehaving application to quit. Kind a like Windows task manager. Add it also.
For everything but my wireless scanner, I much prefer Ubuntu (Linux) over windows.
It has some quirks and bugs but all software does.

[owners4life5]

marking as solved...not exactly important anymore.