A device driver is a special kind of software program that controls a specific hardware device attached to a computer. Or we can say Device drivers are essential for a computer to facilitate communication between the system and all installed programs or applications. And they need to be installed and must be up-to-date for smooth computer operations. The latest Windows 10 comes with a range of drivers for printers, scanners monitors, keyboards already installed. This means When you plug any Device it will Automatically Find The best driver and install it to Start working on the Device.
But sometimes you might experience a newly installed device, not function as expected. Or after the recent Windows 10 1909 update, some of the devices (such as the keyboard, mouse) not working, Windows 10 black screen, can’t adjust screen resolution or no audio sound, and more. And the common reason for these problems is the device driver is outdated, corrupted, or not compatible and needs to be updated with the latest version.
Here this post explains how to update the device driver, rollback, or reinstall the driver to fix Device Driver Problems On Windows 10.
Enable Automatic Driver Updates On Windows 10
When you insert a new Device into Windows 10 system this will automatically find the best driver for the same and install it itself. But If it fails to install the driver automatically them you must check windows have set to Automatically Download Driver software for new Devices.
To Check or enable Automatically Driver installation for windows
- Open system properties by Right click on This PC and select properties.
- Here on system Properties click on Advanced System Settings.
- When the system properties popup opens move to Hardware Tab.
- Now click on Device Installation Settings.
When you click on it this will open a new popup window with the option Do you want to automatically download the manufacturer’s app and custom icons available for your devices.
- Make sure you select the Yes Radio button click save changes.
Automatic updating is the easiest option, whereby Windows will habitually check for driver updates and install them. If you choose No windows will don’t check or download the driver for your New attached devices.
Check For Windows Updates
Download and install the latest windows updates Can Also fix Most of the Driver’s problems. Microsoft regularly releases Windows Updates for most common fixes and patches. Apart from Important Updates which are Microsoft Windows updates and components, you also receive optional updates which include the most recent drivers for a few components of hardware installed in your PC and software updates for the applications installed.
We can say Windows Update is the starting point for resolving the most common driver issues that you might experience after the upgrade to Windows 10. And you must check and install Available Windows updates before applying any solutions.
- Press Windows + I keyboard shortcut to open the settings app,
- Click update & security than Windows update,
- Now you need to click the check for updates button to allow download and install the latest available Windows updates from the Microsoft server.
- Once done you need to restart your PC to apply them.
Manually Install Drivers From Device Manager
If you want to manually update drivers for your installed devices, you can either do this through the Windows Device Manager or via the Manufacturer’s website of the company that makes the device.
The most popular way to update the device driver is through Device Manager. For Example: If you upgrade to Windows 10 and Video Controller stops working, drivers can be one of the major reasons for that. If you are unable to find video drivers through Windows Updates, installing the drivers using Device Manager will be a good option.
- Press Windows + R, type devmgmt.msc, and click ok
- This will bring up Device Manager and display a list of all the devices connected to your PC, such as displays, keyboards, and mice.
- Here if you find any Device showing With yellow Triangle as shown below image.
- That means this driver is corrupted, may be outdated, or not compatible with the current version of windows.
In such situations, you need Update, Roll Back Driver (this option is only available if you updated the current driver), or Reinstall the device driver to fix that issue.
Update device driver
- Here to do first Right-Clicking on the problematic device from the list will bring up that device’s properties click it.
- Under the “Driver” tab you’ll find details about the driver and the option to update the driver.
- When you click on update Driver This will launch the wizard to update the driver software. You will see two options to choose from:
Search automatically for updated driver software
It is possible that Windows might have the driver in the pool of generic drivers it comes loaded with. Usually, it is automatically detected, with no need for you to click on anything. However, in certain cases, you have to search for the driver. If this search comes with no result or is taking too long, then the second option is best for you.
Browse my computer for driver software
If you already have the driver exe file saved on your PC or on a disc, all you need to do is select the path where the file is stored and Windows will automatically install the driver for you. You may also choose to download the driver from the support website of the computer manufacturer and use this method to update it.
You can select the first option to let windows search for the best available driver and install it. Or you can visit the device manufacturer Website like AMD, Intel, Nvidia To Download the latest build Driver for that device. Select browse my computer for the driver software option and choose the downloaded Driver path. Once you have selected these options, click on next and wait while Windows installs the driver for you.
After complete, the installation process simply restarts the windows to take effect the changes.
Note: You can Do The same process for Any Other Installed Drivers as well.
Roll Back Driver Option
If the problem started after a recent driver update or you notice the latest driver version has a bug in such cause you can use the rollback driver option that reverts the current driver to a previously installed version state.
Note: the rollback driver option is only available if you have recently updated the current driver.
Reinstall device driver
If none above options resolve the problem you can try to reinstall the driver following the steps below.
Again open device driver properties on device manager,
Under the driver tab, click uninstall the device and follow on-screen instructions,
Once done you need to restart your PC to completely remove the driver.
Now visit the device manufacturer’s website and look for the latest available driver for your device, select and download it. After the download is complete simply run the setup.exe to install the driver. and restart your PC to make it effective.
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