How to update, Roll-Back and uninstall drivers in Windows

A computer driver is a software that provides hardware devices with an interface. The software interface is used by any computer application to access hardware functions. Drivers are small but very essential for hardware devices. When working with Windows, you are bound to come across a driver malfunction. Thus, we recommend you to bookmark this tutorial for future reference.

How to Update a driver in Windows

Step 1

Press ‘Windows Key + R’ then run ‘devmgmt.msc’

Step 2

Expand the device you want to update and right click on the driver. You then choose ‘properties’ from the options as shown below:

Step 3

You need to check if your driver is working under the ‘Device status’ as shown below:

Step 4

Under the ‘Driver’ tab, choose the ‘Update Driver’ option as illustrated below:

Step 5

The panel that opens has either the option to update online or by using a pre-downloaded driver. You need to pick the first option. You will need working internet access to use this option.

Step 6

In case your driver is an old version, a new version will show up for an update. You should install the new version and restart your computer. After a restart, your drivers should be up to date as shown in the image above.

Step 7

If there exists a new version of the driver on your local machine, you need to choose the second option at Step 5. You can hit ‘Browse…’ to locate the driver on your computer then click on ‘Next’ to begin the install.

Note: You should download device drivers from the device’s Official Manufacturer’s website. Other sources may contain malware which may damage your computer

How to Roll Back a Driver Update

The rollback option is only available if you have updated your driver to a newer version.

Step 1

You will need to follow Steps 1 to 4 in the update tutorial above. You then need to select ‘Roll Back Driver’.

Step 2

Hit ‘OK’ on the prompt that appears to begin the rollback process. You need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

How to Uninstall a Device Driver

Uninstallation of drivers can either be temporary or permanent. Temporary uninstall is a to jump-start an unresponsive driver.

Step 1

You need to:

1. Follow Steps 1 to Step 5 on the update driver tutorial (first tutorial)
2. Select ‘Uninstall’ as shown below

Step 2

For temporary installation,

1. DO NOT Check the box beside ‘Delete the driver software for this device’.
2. Hit ‘OK’ to save the changes. You now need to restart your computer and the device driver will be reinstalled!

Step 3

If you want to completely uninstall a driver

1. You need to check the box beside ‘Delete the driver software for this device’.
2. Click ‘OK’ to save the changes.

In this case, even after rebooting, the device will still be uninstalled.

Conclusion

You now know how to troubleshoot, update, roll back and uninstall device drivers. If this tutorial was helpful to you, let us know in the comments below!