Section 5: Driver Installation/Update/Removal (via Device Manager)

The Big Picture: Four Buttons, Four Different Effects

Right-click any device in Device Manager and you will see a short menu. The same four ideas appear again and again:

All of them are requests made to the PnP manager (Section 1). Device Manager asks. Windows does the work.

Safety first. Changing drivers can make a PC unstable. Before you try anything on a real device:

• Know which device you are changing, and why.
• Create a restore point (a saved snapshot you can return to) for important changes.
• Never remove your only keyboard, mouse, disk controller or graphics driver on a PC you need right now.
• Changing a driver needs administrator rights.

5.1 Update Driver Flow

What it is: Right-click a device and choose Update driver. A window with two choices appears:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  How do you want to search for drivers?              │
│                                                      │
│  > Search automatically for drivers                  │
│  > Browse my computer for drivers                    │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Under "Browse my computer" there is a second option, Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer. This lists every driver in the store that is compatible with the device. It is useful when the automatic pick is wrong, or when you want to go back to a generic driver. A box labelled Show compatible hardware controls whether Windows shows only drivers made for this device type.

Step by step (typical):

1. Right-click the device  →  Update driver
2. Choose a method (automatic, or browse)
3. Windows finds a candidate and ranks it (Section 4.3)
4. A newer/better one?  Yes → it copies the files, starts the driver
                         No  → "best drivers are already installed"
5. A restart may be asked for

After it finishes, check the Driver tab (Section 9.2): the version and date should have changed.

The same job from the maker's installer. Many makers (graphics, Wi-Fi, audio) provide a setup program. It adds their package to the Driver Store and tells the PnP manager to use it. Using the maker's installer is usually safer for complex hardware because it can also add extra control programs.

A command-line view of the driver store (read-only):

pnputil /enum-drivers

(You can also add a driver package with pnputil /add-driver, but this changes the system, so this chapter only reads. Use it only when you know what you are doing.)

Unsigned drivers. On 64-bit Windows, a driver must be signed. If you try to install an unsigned one, Windows blocks it, and a device that stops for this reason shows Code 52 (Section 7).

5.2 Roll Back Driver

What it is: Roll back driver returns a device to the previous driver it used. It is the "undo" button for a driver update.

Where to find it: Open the device's Properties → Driver tab. The button is Roll Back Driver.

┌─ Driver tab ─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Driver Provider:  <maker>                            │
│ Driver Date:      <date>                             │
│ Driver Version:   <version>                          │
│ Digital Signer:   <signer>                           │
│                                                      │
│ [Driver Details] [Update Driver] [Roll Back Driver]  │
│ [Disable Device] [Uninstall Device]                  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

When is the button grey (unavailable)?

When to use it: A common case: you updated a graphics or network driver, and then the screen flickers or the Wi-Fi drops. Rolling back returns you to the version that worked. Windows asks you to give a reason, then does it, and may ask for a restart.

Rollback is only one step deep. You can go back one version. If you need an older one still, you must find and install it from the maker's website.

Pause updates. If Windows Update keeps putting the bad driver back, you may have to prevent that driver from being re-installed. This needs a Windows tool or a policy setting, which is beyond this chapter. For a home PC, installing the maker's driver and checking again after the next update is the usual approach.

5.3 Uninstall Device (and Delete Driver Option)

What it is: Uninstall device removes the device's node from the PnP tree, so Windows forgets its configuration. It can also remove the driver files.

When you choose it from the right-click menu, Windows shows a box like this:

┌─ Uninstall Device ───────────────────────────────────┐
│ Warning: You are about to uninstall this device from │
│ your system.                                         │
│                                                      │
│ [ ] Attempt to remove the driver for this device.    │
│                                                      │
│                      [ Uninstall ]  [ Cancel ]       │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The checkbox has a clear label on your version of Windows, something like "Delete the driver software for this device" or "Attempt to remove the driver for this device." The wording may look different on your version. The two cases are very different:

Why would you uninstall?

Scan for hardware changes. This action (under the Action menu, or the toolbar button) asks the PnP manager to enumerate again (Section 2). Use it after an uninstall to bring a still-connected device back, or after you plug in something that did not appear.

Safety rules:

• Do not uninstall the device for your graphics card, disk controller, keyboard or mouse unless you are ready to reinstall the driver. The PC may have no picture or no way to type.
• Do not tick "delete driver" for generic, built-in drivers that belong to many devices.
• Do not uninstall the node named something like "Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System" or a PCI root node. Many other devices sit below them.
• Never do this on a work PC without asking the owner or the IT team.

5.4 Disable Device (a Gentler Option)

What it is: Right-click a device and choose Disable device. Windows stops the driver and releases the device's resources. The node stays in the tree, shown with a down-arrow icon (Section 7). Enable device turns it back on.

Disabling can help you test a theory ("does the crackling stop when this sound device is off?"). Do this only with a harmless device, and turn it back on right away.

5.5 Summary of the Options

                 Is the device working but you want a new driver?
                              │
                 ┌────────────┴────────────┐
                 ▼                         ▼
          Update driver              Did it make things worse?
          (auto or browse)                 │
                                           ▼
                                   Roll Back Driver
                                           │
                       Still not good? ────┤
                                           ▼
                        Uninstall device (+ delete driver),
                        scan for changes, install a good one

Summary