Can you download computer hardware

Answer 1

No. Of course not. The part of a computer system that's "hardware" is the computer, itself, its keyboard, its mouse, its video screen (monitor), its printer, the circuit boards inside all of those things... those things are "hardware." And so they cannot, obivously, be "downloaded."

Software, on the other hand, is the programs which run on the computer; and it, along with other things like music, videos, e-books, etc., may all be downloaded.

The questioner may have become confused by the fact that there's a thing called "firmware" which can be downloaded...

...or, more accurately, the software programming part of firmware may be downloaded. Firmware, though, also has a hardware part, which, of course, cannot be downloaded.

Firmware is a term used to refer to something that's an interesting mix of both hardware and software. Firmware refers, first, to a special kind of integrated circuit chip that's physically mounted onto a circuit board inside a computer hardware device. So, then, that part of the firmware is actually hardware. However, what makes a firmware chip special is that it can be programmed; in other words, programming may be loaded and permanently stored on the chip. And, obviously, programming; and so that part of the firmware is actually software. Together, they are "firmware."

And the software programming with lives on a firmware chip may be downloaded. In other words, if there's an update to the programming that lives on a firmware chip, then said programming may be downloaded and then installed onto said firmware chip.

A computer's basic input output system (also known as BIOS) is nothing more than a firmware chip which comes, from the factory, with special software programming on it which tells the computer really basic things when it is first started-up...

...things like where and how to find its keyboard and mouse, and how to use them; or where and how to find its video monitor, and how to use it; or where to find its disk drives and how to use them... etc.

Sometimes, computers manufacturers update the programming that's on their computers' BIOS chips.. so that they know, for example, about new kinds of hardware that have come out since the BIOS chip was first programmed, and for other reasons. And so, then, the computer hardware manufacturer will post, on its support website, a BIOS update...

...which is nothing more than software programming that is intended to be installed onto the BIOS firmware chip. The user simply downloads it, then runs the special program included with it, and said program wipes all the old programming off the BIOS chip, and then installs the new programming on it.

So, then, no, hardware may not be downloaded. And even the hardware part of firmware -- the hardware chip -- may not be downloaded. However, the software programming that "lives" on a firmware chip may be downloaded.