How to check all drivers on Windows 10. How to check and update device drivers using Windows. Activating the Windows Driver Verifier function
DriverPack Solution Online is a simple and quick way find and download one or another “vital” driver for a webcam, video or audio card, Wi-Fi adapter, printer, etc.
The free program DriverPack Solution is designed to automate the processes of installing, updating, and searching for drivers in the Windows OS environment, and is distributed by the developer in several versions, including online and offline versions. The advantage of the latter is that to download almost any necessary driver for sound, network card, wi-fi, etc., no Internet connection is required - all drivers are already in the DriverPack Solution program database, which can be written to a disk or flash drive, and can be extremely useful from time to time, for example, when reinstalling the operating system. With all this, the main disadvantage of the offline version of DriverPack Solution can be considered the volume full base– almost 11 GB, which is unlikely to be acceptable for users with a slow or limited Internet connection.
In order not to download the entire driver database, but to find and install only those that require updating or are missing from the system, the developers offer alternative solution in the form online versions, which is absolutely free, easy to use, and its distribution is less than 3 MB in size, but its only drawback (if it can be considered such) is that it is strictly necessary to have an Internet connection.
And so, how to find and install the necessary drivers using DriverPack Solution Online:
- Download the program (from the official website or from us);
- We launch the program, and we see something like the following (we strongly recommend choosing manual installation);
- In the “Install Drivers” menu we see a list of drivers that require updating (example in the screenshot), but we do not click the “Install All” button!
for the reason that I kindly suggest that we install some additional programs(checkmarked in the screenshot), to open the list of programs, click on the “Software” menu (in the screenshot).
Thus, if you choose at the initial stage automatic installation, then along with the drivers, programs marked with check marks (although not bad ones) would end up on the computer.
Then we just have to wait for the download and installation process to complete, click “Finish” and the process is complete.
In conclusion, let’s clarify this point - many users probably noticed on the left side of the DriverPack Solution Online menu the button “Do you want to disable Windows tracking?”
By clicking this button, after a short period of time, we see the message “Windows surveillance has been successfully disabled”, while the button works not only in Windows 10, where the problem of user data confidentiality is especially relevant, but also in other versions of the operating system from Microsoft - Windows 8 and Windows 7, in this regard, a reasonable question arises: “what exactly is disabled, and does this function work at all?”
This functionality works, but completely blocking the channel for transmitting user data (telemetry data) to Microsoft is extremely problematic. This is because, along with well-known data transmission channels that DriverPack Solution Online blocks (for example, some Windows updates, blocking requests to a number of currently known IP data collection servers, disabling various kinds of services responsible for sending “diagnostic data”, prohibiting sending error reports to Microsoft, etc.), there are a number of channels that are still unknown, and to In addition, from time to time Microsoft introduces new ways of collecting data (for example, with the release of the next update), etc. Therefore, it is a priori impossible to completely disable surveillance in Windows, especially with regard to the Windows 10 OS.
After updating the operating system to Windows 10, many users encounter errors in the operation of the video card. Sometimes the driver crashes, sometimes other problems occur.
In most cases this is due to the fact that old driver, which has been used since previous version Windows does not support Windows 10. To solve this problem, you need to update your graphics card drivers on Windows 10.
Step No. 1. Determine the name of the video card.
If you want to use Windows 10, then you need to know the exact name of your video card. Without this, you will not be able to download the necessary drivers and therefore will not be able to update.
If you know the name of your video card, then you can skip this step, if you don’t know, then you just need to look. You can open Device Manager in various ways. The easiest option is to click on the “Start” button and enter the phrase “device manager” into the search. After this, the system will find the program you need and offer to open it.
Another way to open Device Manager is with the command "mmc devmgmt.msc". Press the Windows key combination + R to open the Run menu, type "mmc devmgmt.msc" and press enter.
Once Device Manager is open, you need to open the Display Adapters section. This section will indicate the name of your video card.
It should be noted that if no drivers are installed on your computer at all, then Device Manager may not help you. Because if there are missing drivers, it may not show the name of the video card. In this case, you need to download the free GPU-Z program and run it on your computer.
In the GPU-Z program, the name of the video card will be displayed in any case, regardless of whether there are drivers or not.
Step No. 2. Open the website of the video card manufacturer.
Next, you need to open the website of the video card manufacturer. Under the video card manufacturer in in this case you should understand the manufacturer graphics chip(AMD or NVIDIA). You should not look for drivers on the manufacturer’s website, which directly produces the entire video card assembly (the websites of ASUS, MSI and other manufacturers are not suitable).
- If you have a video card from NVIDIA, then you need to go here:
- If the video card is from AMD, then here:
Step No. 3. We are looking for the drivers we need.
Once you have visited the video card manufacturer's website, you need to find the appropriate drivers. To search for drivers, both AMD and NVIDIA use almost the same search form. In this form, you need to select the type of video card, video card series, exact model name, as well as the operating system (in our case, Windows 10) and language.
The driver search form on the AMD website looks like this:
And on the NVIDIA website the driver search form is like this:
Fill out the form and click on the “Search” button.
Step No. 4. Download the drivers that suit you.
After filling out the search form, the manufacturer’s website will offer you to download video card drivers for Windows 10. On the AMD website, the download button looks like this:
And on the NVIDIA website like this:
Just click on the download button and wait until the video card driver is completely downloaded to your computer.
Step No. 5. Update video card drivers on Windows 10.
Once the necessary drivers have been downloaded, you can begin updating drivers on Windows 10. To do this, simply launch the downloaded drivers and follow the instructions that will appear on the screen.
The driver installer from AMD looks like this:
The installer from NVIDIA is like this:
While updating your graphics card drivers, your computer display may flicker or turn off for a couple of seconds. Don't worry, this is normal. After the driver update is completed, restart your computer.
Classmates
Driver update programs do exactly what you might think - they help update some or all of your drivers. computer devices installed on Windows.
These programs make it easy to keep all drivers installed on your computer up to date. Using them, you don't have to do much work with Device Manager and find it yourself necessary drivers various manufacturers of equipment installed on the computer.
Important: You are not obligated to use free driver update programs, much less pay for them! These programs are provided for your convenience only. You can install the drivers yourself manually; in fact, this is not such a difficult process.
Driver Booster is the best free program driver updates. It is compatible with all versions of Windows and makes updating drivers easy.
Driver Booster can be configured to automatically search for outdated drivers on a schedule. When updates are found, you can easily download them directly from the program, without needing to go to the Internet browser.
Before installing the driver, the program will show the new driver version and compare it with the installed one; this is very useful information.
One of important functions is the ability to create a restore point before installing drivers, this is necessary in case something goes wrong during or after installation.
Also in the settings there is an option to install drivers in background, which hides information about the installation process and other messages. This is very convenient, because... you won't have to click accept to install each driver.
Peculiarities:
- Driver Booster works on Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista and XP.
- There is a Russian language.
- IN free version automatic updates and creation are not available backup copies drivers for safe recovery.
Free Driver Scout
Free Driver Scout is an amazing driver update tool because it actually updates drivers completely automatically.
This means that the program automatically scans for all necessary updates, automatically downloads and installs them without requiring any action from you, which is not the case with other programs on this list.
Certain device drivers may be excluded from scanning and will not require future updates.
Another interesting feature of Free Driver Scout is the ability to backup and restore drivers. The program allows you to backup some or all drivers installed on your computer, and then, if necessary, easily restore them.
Also included in Free Driver Scout is a very useful tool called OS Migration Tool. It is necessary if you are going to install another Windows operating system on your computer. The tool will find device drivers for the new OS and save them in a specific location, for example, on a flash drive. Then, when you install another Windows operating system, using the OS Migration Tool you can restore the previously saved drivers for that operating system. This way you no longer need to worry about finding new drivers!
Note: Although Free Driver Scout is a great program, it did not find several outdated drivers that Driver Booster was able to find.
Free Driver Scout is compatible with Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP. It was also tested on Windows 10, where the program also works without problems.
DriverPack Solution
DriverPack Solution has one significant difference from most other programs on this list - it is simple user interface. There are only a few buttons and there aren't many additional tabs/sections.
The program supports bulk download and automatic installation of drivers, so you do not need to click on the installation buttons for each of them.
When you first launch DriverPack Solution, you can choose either fully automatic download and installation of drivers, or manually, selecting only the necessary drivers from those offered for update.
The program also allows you to find out basic system information about your computer.
DriverPack Solution supports Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP.
Snappy Driver Installer - another one free tool updating drivers on your computer, a bit like DriverPack Solution.
With this program you can download several drivers at once for different types devices. Once they are downloaded, Snappy Driver Installer will provide access to install updates with or without an Internet connection.
The program is very easy to use, you don't even need to install it. This means that you can use, for example, external hard drive for carrying and installing drivers on any computer.
It is also worth noting that Snapper Driver Installer has no ads, the program does not limit download speed and can install as many drivers as you need without any restrictions.
The program works with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP.
SlimDrivers is a free program that allows you to update outdated drivers, create backup copies of already installed drivers and remove them if necessary.
You can create a check schedule, following which SlimDrivers will automatically monitor updates for drivers installed in the system, as a result of which you will always be aware of which ones need updating.
When SlimDrivers finds an update for a driver, the program displays the release date of the currently installed driver on the system next to new version. This helps increase confidence that the update is correct and not a software glitch.
When testing SlimDrivers, it was revealed that the program found a couple of drivers, updates for which were not found by other programs from the list in this article.
Note: During the installation of SlimDrivers, the program will ask you to install a toolbar from a third-party developer, but this step is easy to skip.
SlimDrivers works on Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP. Windows 10 is not officially supported, but in practice it runs without problems on this version of the system.
Driver Talent (formerly known as DriveTheLife) is a very easy-to-use driver updater that allows you to download drivers automatically, so you don't have to search the Internet for official download links for each driver.
This program can not only update outdated or missing drivers, but also fix damaged ones and make backup all drivers installed on the system.
The size of the driver, as well as its release date and version number, are displayed before downloading so you can be sure you're getting exactly what you need.
An alternative version of the program is available which includes network drivers and works offline, which is ideal if you need to install drivers but don't have the required network driver installed.
There is a Russian version of the program.
Driver Talent can be installed on Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP.
Device Doctor is an easy-to-use driver update program. Can be downloaded as regular version program, and a portable version that does not need to be installed and can be easily transferred to external media.
Device Doctor allows you to schedule a driver check for new versions, and if any are found, it offers links to official sites for downloading them manually.
Since driver updates will need to be downloaded outside of Device Doctor, you will also need an archive unpacking program such as WinRAR.
Device Doctor officially works with Windows 7, Vista and XP, but the program has also been tested on Windows 10.
DriverMax is a free program for Windows that allows you to update outdated drivers installed on your computer. Unfortunately, the free version has some limitations.
In addition to updating outdated drivers, DriverMax can backup some or all of the drivers installed on the system, restore drivers from backups, roll back drivers, and identify unknown hardware.
During testing, it turned out that the DriverMax program detected significantly more outdated drivers than any other program on this list.
Note: The free version of DriverMax allows you to download only 2 drivers per day and 10 drivers per month. Also, only one driver can be downloaded at a time.
The program has a Russian-language interface.
DriverMax finds drivers for Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP.
DriversCloud (formerly known as Ma-Config) is a free web service that allows you to find detailed information about equipment and software your computer, as well as a list of outdated drivers.
The service works after installing a program that allows the browser to collect information about your computer.
In the service you can find such categories as: analysis of “blue screens of death”, “My drivers”, “Autostart”, “Network configuration”, etc.
If a driver update is necessary, the service will show full information about the new driver compared to the currently installed one: version, manufacturer, date and hardware ID.
DriversCloud service works on operating systems Windows systems 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP and Windows 2000.
DriverIdentifier is a very simple but useful free driver updater.
You can scan for driver relevance even if you do not have an Internet connection, which is especially important if the network card driver is not installed. Once the scan is complete, DriverIdentifier will save the list of drivers in an HTML file.
All you need to do is open the file on a computer that has an Internet connection and click on the “Update” link next to the drivers that need updating.
A portable version of DriverIdentifier is also available.
Note: To download driver updates you need to create a free account in DriverIdentifier.
DriverIdentifier is compatible with Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista and XP.
Driver Easy is another program that allows you to search outdated drivers V operating systems Windows. The program is free for both personal and commercial use.
The system scan scheduler in Driver Easy helps you find outdated drivers and prompts you to download updates for them. Scanning can be scheduled daily, weekly, or monthly while the computer is in standby mode or every time you log on to Windows.
Driver Easy allows you to download driver updates from within the program without having to go to your browser.
The program also has additional functionality, such as: viewing hardware information and scanning drivers without an Internet connection.
Note: in the free version of Driver Easy, the speed at which updates are downloaded is quite significantly reduced compared to other programs on this list.
Driver Easy can work with Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista and XP.
Hello friends! I think everyone knows that regularly updating drivers on a computer is a mandatory procedure necessary for stable operation of the PC. Currently new computer programs and games are released every week, so failure to download new versions of device drivers in a timely manner may result in failure to install the application or launch the game. It should be noted that often the matter is limited to installing the latest version of the driver for the video card, but in some cases you will have to update several computer components at once. You can update drivers on Windows 10 using the tools built into the system, as well as using the DriverHub program. Let's consider all the ways!
We update drivers for Windows 10 using the tools built into the system, as well asusing the DriverHub program
How to update a specific driver?
If it concerns the drivers of the video adapter (video card), then first of all open start menu by clicking the corresponding icon in the lower left corner of the computer screen;
In the search bar, type “Device Manager”;
In the window that opens, click on the item called “Video adapters”;
In the small window, select “Update drivers...”;
Proceed with the component update procedure by selecting the option " Automatic search updated drivers."
After completing these steps, the computer will automatically search for an important component on the servers Microsoft, download them and install them yourself. Once the operation is complete, you just need to click “OK” and restart the computer.
Note: this method does not always work, since the base Microsoft data may not include updates for weak or not common among PC users.
You should start correcting the situation with the following:
Go to the official page of the video card developer;
Find the name of your product and then the drivers for it on the official page;
Download it in *.exe format and install it as a simple application.
This completes the manual driver installation procedure.
Attention: some manufacturers do not provide new driver versions for download in *.exe format, but only in *inf and other resolutions. This means that the newly downloaded version cannot be installed as a regular application. In this case, you will need to go back to the point " How do you want to search for drivers"(discussed above) and choose instead automatic update drivers option called “Search for driver software on this computer.” 
Then all that remains is to indicate the folder in which the driver was saved in a format other than *exe., and click “Next”.
Automatic driver installation using DriverHub
As you can see, any of the described methods takes a lot of time and requires a large number of manipulations. In addition, it contains many nuances.
The completely free application DriverHub will help you avoid this, which will automatically not only find absolutely all the drivers for each component, but also install them independently.
Download and install the program, unchecking unnecessary components:
Launch it and go to the “Drivers” tab;
Click Find Now. The application will then begin to search for all components that are available for download;
In a few minutes, you will be presented with a list of the versions for each component that can be updated.
By default, the installation will be checked for all categories, but if you wish, you can move the slider to the side (top of the screen on the right side) to activate “Expert Mode” and load selectively.
Utility Driver Verifier included in all Windows versions, starting with Windows XP, and allows you to check drivers, identify problematic drivers that are causing blue screen death (BSOD- Blue Screen of Death) and record detailed information about the problematic driver in a memory dump for further analysis. The utility subjects the checked drivers to various “ stress tests", simulating various extreme conditions: lack of memory, I/O control, IRQL, deadlocks, DMA checks, IRP, etc. I.e. situations that rarely occur on productive systems are simulated, and driver behavior in them is monitored. The purpose of the utility is to identify situations in which the driver can lead to a system crash with BSOD.
Executable utility file Driver Verifier called Verifier.exe and is located in the %windir%\system32 directory. There are two options for using the utility: from the command line or using the graphical interface.
To enable driver verification mode in Windows 8, launch the Driver Verifier utility by typing
Verifier
From the task list, select Create custom settings (for code developers) and press Next.
Make sure the options are selected Standard settings, Force pending I/O requests And IRP Logging. Click Next.
Next select .
Sort the contents of the table by clicking on the "Provider" column header and select the ones you want to test from the list of drivers. In our example, we will run a check for all drivers that are not developed by MicrosoftCorporation. We selected the drivers: e1g6032e.sys (Intel) and lsi_sas.sys (LSI).
Note. Driver availability digital signature Microsoft indicates that the driver has been tested in a certain way for stability and its code has not been modified since then. That is why it is not recommended or used.
All you have to do is click Finish and an information window will appear stating that you need to reboot the system for the changes to take effect.
Advice. Driver verification mode can also be enabled from command line. For example, to run Driver Verifier with standard settings for the myPCDriver.sys driver, the command will look like this:
Verifier /standard /driver myPCDriver.sys
After the reboot, the system boots into driver verification mode. Driver Verifier runs in the background, performing various types testing selected drivers to identify errors. Use your computer as usual and wait BSOD appearance. If you know what actions previously caused the system to crash, repeat them. If a BSOD occurs, you need to copy the memory dump file (by default, it is saved in the C:\Windows\Minidump\*.dmp directory) or similar.
Important! After activating driver debugging mode using Driver Verifier, this mode will work until it is forcibly disabled.
If the problem does not recur within 1-2 days, then with a certain degree of certainty we can conclude that the drivers being tested are not the cause of the system crash and the scan mode for them can be disabled.
Advice. Using the Validator Windows drivers significantly slows down Windows operation, so it is not recommended to constantly work in this mode.
You can disable Driver Verifier from the command line:
Verifier /reset
Or from the graphical interface by selecting Delete existing settings.
If you cannot log into the system in normal mode, you can disable debugging mode from safe mode.
In the event that safe mode the system won't boot, try uninstalling following keys in the registry in, booting from the boot disk:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\VerifyDrivers
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\VerifyDriverLevel
You can check the current status of the Driver Verifier utility like this.
