To view the current version of a driver for a particular hardware component, or to update or uninstall a driver, you can use Device Manager. To access Device Manager, go to Control Panel>Device Manager or go to Start>Search Box and type “device manager” (without quotes) and press Enter. Note that the general hardware functionality of Device Manager is already covered under the BIOS & Hardware Management chapter.
To view the current version of a driver for a particular hardware component, or to update or uninstall a driver, you can use Device Manager. To access Device Manager, go to Control Panel>Device Manager or go to Start>Search Box and type “device manager” (without quotes) and press Enter. Note that the general hardware functionality of Device Manager is already covered under the BIOS & Hardware Management chapter.
To view the current version of the drivers installed for particular hardware component in detail follow the steps below:
1. Open Device Manager and expand the category under which your particular hardware device is placed. For example to view your monitor drivers, expand the Monitor category and your monitor(s) will be listed underneath.
2. Double-click on the device or right-click on it and select Properties.
3. Under the Driver tab you will see the specific driver version, date and provider. If the device is using a default Windows driver the Driver Provider will usually be listed as Microsoft.
4. Click the ‘Driver Details’ button and you will see the specific driver files associated with that device. You can then click on each individual file shown, and the provider and version of that file will also be displayed just below it.
MANUALLY UPDATING DRIVERS
Normally, when you wish to update a device driver, the best course of action is to download the new driver package and run it. It should automatically execute and walk you through the steps necessary to update the device. However in some cases you may need to manually update a driver – for example if a driver does not come in an executable (.EXE) package, but rather as a set of files, perhaps in archived format. Follow the steps below to manually search for and update a device driver:
1. Open Device Manager and expand the category under which your particular hardware device is placed, then double-click on the device or right-click on it and select Properties.
2. Under the Driver tab click the ‘Update Driver’ button.
3. You will have two options; you can either allow Vista to ‘Search automatically for updated driver software’, or if you know where the driver files are stored click the ‘Browse my computer for driver software’ option. The first option is recommended only if you do not already have the new driver files, or if you are a novice user – if you choose this option see Steps 4 – 5 below. If you have the relevant driver files, or if you feel you are more advanced, choose the second option and go directly to Step 6.
4. You may be presented with three options: ‘Yes, always search online’; ‘Yes, search online this time only’; and ‘Don’t search online’. If you have the new driver files already on your system I recommend clicking the ‘Don’t search online’ option as this should detect and install the local version. If you don’t know whether newer drivers are available and/or you don’t have them downloaded on your system, then I suggest the second option, that is to allow Vista to search online, but not to make this the default behavior.
5. Once Vista has searched it will either ask you to install newly found drivers, or tell you that your current version is the latest. Proceed as appropriate. If you know there are newer drivers on your system and they’re not being detected, go back to Step 3 and select ‘Browse my computer for driver software’ then follow Step 6 onwards.
6. Depending on where the newer driver files are held, insert the appropriate disk and/or browse to that directory/drive – make sure the ‘Include subfolders’ option is ticked. Click Next and Vista should detect and ask you to install the newer driver version.
7. If the above steps fail and you are certain you have newer driver files for the device, then follow Steps 1 – 3, selecting ‘Browse my computer for driver software’, then select ‘Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer’.
8. Click the ‘Have disk’ button and insert or browse to the place where the newer drivers reside. If an appropriate .INF file is found, click on it and click Open. If your hardware is supported by that driver file you can select the specific driver to install.
9. If nothing else works and you wish to install another driver for a device similar to yours, then follow Steps 1- 3 above, then Step 7. Then untick the ‘Show compatible hardware’ box and you will see a much wider range of drivers. Select one which you believe would be most compatible with your device, though clearly if you select a driver not meant for your specific device, you may not be allowed to install it, or it may result in a lack of correct functionality or major problems. This is only a last resort option.
ROLLING BACK TO AN EARLIER VERSION OF DRIVERS
If you have recently installed a driver set which you believe is causing you problems, then you may wish to go back to the previous drivers you were using. To do this follow these steps:
1. Open Device Manager and expand the category under which your particular hardware device is placed, then double-click on the device or right-click on it and select Properties.
2. Under the Driver tab click the ‘Roll Back Driver’ button. If it is not available then you do not have any earlier driver versions installed, or they may not be detected – see the manual instructions further below.
3. Confirm whether you want to do this, and your current drivers will be replaced with the previously installed version.
The above is the quickest way to go back to a previously installed version, however it may not resolve your problems, or you may wish to go back to a specific driver version, in which case you will have to do things manually. To manually go back to an earlier driver version which was installed on your system, or if you wish to revert to the standard Windows driver for a device for some reason (e.g. to troubleshoot a driver- related issue), then follow these steps:
1. Open Device Manager and expand the category under which your particular hardware device is placed, then double-click on the device or right-click on it and select Properties.
2. Under the Driver tab click the ‘Update Driver’ button.
3. Click the ‘Browse my computer for driver software’ option.
4. Select ‘Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer’.
5. Make sure the ‘Show compatible hardware’ box is ticked, and you will see all the previous versions of compatible drivers which are available on your system for this device, along with their version number and date where applicable. Select the earlier version you want and click Next to install it. Note that the latest version of the drivers may have no date or version number.
6. Alternatively, if you wish to go back to the default Windows driver for this device, select the driver with the word Standard or Microsoft in it and click Next.
7. If instead of the options above you want to choose the most basic driver for that class of device, you should look for a driver starting with the name Generic. You may have to untick the ‘Show compatible hardware’ box to see it. This provides very limited functionality and should only be used for troubleshooting or if no other driver works on your system.
If you’re having continual problems and suspect a driver is the cause then I recommend cleaning out your drivers and installing only the latest version or the version which you
know works best on your system.
UNINSTALLING DRIVERS
In general it is recommended that you do not maintain multiple versions of the same driver on your system, as these leave various bits and pieces – known as driver residue – on your system. This increases the potential for driver-related problems, especially if you ever go backwards in driver version, since driver files with varying versions may inadvertently be used together by Vista and this can cause problems.
To correctly uninstall a driver through Windows you should go to Control Panel>Programs and Features and on the main screen you should see most if not all the programs, updates and drivers currently installed on your system. Look for the driver manufacturer or relevant device name in the list, and if found highlight the item (or right-click on it) and select Uninstall, thus removing it.
However if a driver is not listed in the Programs and Features list there is another way you can uninstall it:
1. Open Device Manager and expand the category under which your particular hardware device is placed, then double-click on the device or right-click on it and select Properties.
2. Under the Driver tab click the Uninstall button.
3. Make sure to tick the ‘Delete the driver software for this device’ check box. If this option is not available, it means you are already using the default Windows driver for the device, in which case you should not continue attempting to uninstall the device unless you want the default driver to reinstall for some reason.
4. Click OK and the device will be uninstalled from your system, and its currently-used driver will be removed from your system as well. Restart your PC as prompted to complete the process. Importantly, uninstalling certain devices such as your graphics card or monitor may cause your system display to go black. In this case simply wait a few moments, then press the power or restart button on your PC to tell Vista to shut down and/or restart the PC.
5. Once your system restarts, your device will be redetected by Vista and the next available drivers will be installed for it automatically, or you will be prompted to provide new drivers.
If after using the above methods you feel there is still some driver residue left on your system, you can use the Driver Sweeper utility to attempt to remove any remaining traces of particular drivers. Launch the utility, tick the driver(s) you wish to remove, click the Analyze button first to see what will be removed. Then if you wish to continue, click the Clean button and reboot your PC to make sure all driver files and related registry entries are removed.
DRIVER FILE REPOSITORY
If you are still struggling to find and remove certain drivers, or you just want to see the contents of the drivers Vista is installing, then you should note that Vista holds all the driver packages it has downloaded or uses for standard installation under the \ Windows \ System32\DriverStore\FileRepository directory. These are not the actual driver files actually in use by the system, as those are held under the \ Windows \ System32 directory. Each separate driver package is a subdirectory with the name of the .INF file for the package. For example the Nvidia nForce RAID drivers can be found in a subdirectory starting with nvraid and ending with a string of numbers.
You can use this driver repository for three things:
In each case you must first identify which folder under the \ Windows \ System32 \ DriverStore \ FileRepository directory relates to the driver package you are seeking. To do this follow these steps:
1. Download the latest version of the driver and manually open the package in an archiving utility like WinZip to view its contents, even if it is an .EXE file.
2. Open Windows Search and do an Advanced Search for a specific driver file you know to be unique to that particular driver package (preferably an .INF file), as identified in Step 1.
3. Match the driver filename and date with one under the relevant subdirectory of \ Windows \ System32 \ DriverStore \ FileRepository.
In most cases you will find that these are mainly the default Microsoft drivers built into Vista, and hence you should not delete them. However if you find the driver package you are looking for then you can delete it and if you uninstall and reinstall your hardware device in Device Manager, Vista will use the next recent driver package when it detects the device. Alternatively you can modify the folder contents with portions of other driver packages, and Vista will attempt to install them when it redetects your device. Or you can simply point Vista to this folder when manually updating drivers as detailed further above. Finally, you can also use the Autoruns utility covered under the Startup Programs chapter to identify and/or remove driver files which are loading up at startup under the Drivers tab.
Obviously these methods are really only for advanced users, as in all other respects you should be able to install or uninstall drivers using the normal methods covered earlier in this chapter. Messing with the driver repository could have serious unintended consequences, so it is generally not recommended.
DRIVER VERIFIER
If you believe you’re having driver-related problems, you can use an advanced tool which comes with Vista called the Driver Verifier. To run it, go to Start>Search Box and type “verifier” (without quotes) and press Enter. It is a complex tool, so read the detailed instructions for its usage in this Microsoft Article. I’ll cover its basic usage details below.
1. Once Verifier starts, after a moment you will see a dialog box open – leave the options at their default and click Next.
2. On the next screen, you can either let the Verifier test all the drivers it Deems fit, or (as I recommend), select the ‘Select driver names from a list’ option to pick specific drivers you suspect to be problematic, and click Next.
3. Place a tick against all the driver files you believe need to be checked. To make things simpler, click the Provider column header so that the list is sorted by the providing company, that way if you want to choose your graphics drivers for example you can tick all the boxes for the files provided by Nvidia or ATI. Note that only drivers which are loaded up by Vista are shown; if for some reason you want to add drivers which are not currently loaded, click the ‘Add currently not loaded driver(s) to the list’ button and select the additional files. Once all the relevant boxes are ticked, click Finish.
4. You will have to reboot your system, at which point during or soon after your PC starts up again you may see a Blue Screen error (BSOD) if the driver file(s) you chose are potentially problematic. If Windows starts up normally and you see no BSOD after a while then the file(s) have been verified as being fine.
You will need to disable Verifier once you’ve finished with it, otherwise it will continue to verify the files at each loadup. To do this, open Verifier again and select ‘Delete existing settings’ then click Finish. If you cannot access the Verifier user interface to turn it off, open an Administrator Command Prompt, or use the Windows Recovery Environment Command Prompt and type “verifier /reset” (without quotes) and press Enter. You can also uninstall the driver which is causing problems in Safe Mode – see the Backup & Recovery chapter.
Having an error in Driver Verifier is not indicative that a driver is the primary source of your problems. However it is one more way of see
ing if it is indeed a driver file which may be contributing to a problem or the source of a problem, or something else altogether. Bear in mind that the majority of system issues are the result of overheating, overclocking, bad BIOS settings or faulty hardware, not driver files. Just because an error points to a driver file in the error message, that doesn’t mean the file itself is the cause of the problem – see the Performance Measurement & Diagnostics chapter for more ways of troubleshooting a system issue, including the use of Event Viewer to see specific errors which may be driver-related.
GENERAL DRIVER TIPS
The following are my general recommendations with regard to all device drivers:
= It is usually fine to install unsigned drivers as long as they are directly from your device manufacturer, or from a reputable and well established third-party source which you know and trust. This does not guarantee their stability, but it does help ensure that they do not contain malware.
= Only install beta drivers if they are from your device manufacturer, and only if the release notes or user feedback states that they resolve a specific issue you are currently experiencing. Beta drivers carry the risk of causing additional system problems because they have not necessarily undergone thorough testing, and the hardware manufacturer usually provides no support for users of beta drivers.
= Do not install alpha (pre-beta), ‘leaked’ and/or heavily modified (modded) drivers. There is a great deal of risk involved with doing this, both stability and security wise. Don’t be fooled by promises of large performance gains or magic fixes – be patient and wait for a solid beta or final release version before installing such drivers, unless you feel you have absolutely no alternative.
= If you play any recent games or use recently released applications, always use the latest drivers, even if they are beta. While the latest drivers may or may not contain performance improvements, they usually contain specific bug fixes and changes designed to suit the latest popular applications and games.
Drivers are a critical component of the way your hardware interacts with Windows, so it is best to make sure they are secure and always up to date.
