How to completely remove a sound driver from the system. How to remove unused drivers in Windows

Good day, dear friends, acquaintances and other personalities.

The installation process is simple and straightforward. During the installation, do not forget to uncheck anything that is offered to you as an add-on (especially if you already have it).

It is possible that you will need to supply separately .NET Framework. I already wrote more about what it is, how and why in the material “What is the Microsoft .NET Framework and why install it.”

As for use, when you launch the program, you first need to set the language to Russian. To do this, follow the link " Language" and from the drop-down list select the item " Russian", and then press the button " Apply":

After this process, the program language becomes Russian, and therefore we simply go to the "tab" Analysis and Purification", check off those items with drivers that we want to remove and the garbage from which we do not need in the system.

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Next, decisively press the button " Cleaning" (if you suddenly doubt that something superfluous will be swept away, then it is better to press " Analysis" and see the list of files and registry keys that the program wants to remove).

Oh, and yes, of course, there is the possibility of restoring deleted data, for which there is a corresponding tab " Recovery".

With this, the whole process actually ends, and therefore we can move on to the afterword.

Afterword

As a permanent tool, it is not really necessary (fortunately, driver versions do not change so often), but it is quite possible to keep it in mind and keep it on hand as a whisk to avoid possible problems. For example, I sometimes encountered the fact that the driver is not “swept out” entirely during normal uninstallation, which makes it difficult to install another (no matter new or old) version, and therefore either causes blue screens of death or does not allow them to be eliminated normally (if they are caused by current driver).

Something like this, short and useful. Use it for your health, maybe it will come in handy on the farm;)

As always, if you suddenly have any questions, thoughts or additions, then comments are at your service.

Specialized software that acts as an intermediate link in communication between the operating system and internal or peripheral hardware components is called a driver. Receiving a command from the OS, drivers convert it into a set of instructions understandable to a specific device, and upon receiving a report on the execution, they broadcast it back. Changes in hardware configuration or incorrect operation may be the reason why you need to remove drivers. Let's consider the options provided to the user to perform this operation.

The manufacturer can update the device instructions, and the OS developer can introduce new functions. As a result, the driver, like any software, becomes outdated over time. The user, receiving automatic updates, does not even notice how the replacement occurs. The ideal picture of interaction is spoiled due to the fact that the system “neatly” stores rather than removes unnecessary items. Microsoft has put the solution to this problem in the hands of the user.

Windows 7

There are no special tools for removing old drivers. However, the user has this option. Let's go to the control panel.

The item marked in the screenshot opens a menu for managing installed software and system components. Device drivers fall into the second category.

You can make your search easier by sorting by publisher. When you know the manufacturer of a device you no longer need, you can find it and mark it in the drop-down list. The system will only leave the software released by it in the window.

Once you have decided on the components, you can begin removing drivers from Windows 7. Using the indicated button, you will receive a warning about the consequences of your actions.

Confirming our decision, we pass the “last line of defense.” The selected component will be removed and the corresponding device will no longer be available for use.

Windows 10

In the latest version of the OS, Microsoft has taken a step towards users and provided special tools that allow you to remove unnecessary drivers in Windows 10. They are located in the disk cleanup menu.

Having opened it, select the marked item that allows you to work with system files.

After the components are checked for relevance, we will receive the following window. As you can see, the system is unable to remove unnecessary drivers itself, but it can detect outdated versions and prompt the user to get rid of them.

Removing devices

We have dealt with unnecessary and outdated software. However, the situation may turn out to be such that, even if the latest software versions are available, the device becomes hopelessly damaged. In some cases, to ensure correct operation of the new one, the old one must be completely removed from the system. Let's go back to the control panel.

Select the marked item and go to the PC device management menu.

Here everything is grouped by application area. Accordingly, you can find and remove the driver for a device that is no longer needed or does not work correctly. Let’s choose a “victim” and see what needs to be done in this case. Let's try, for example, to remove the sound card driver.

Expand the group of devices and select the one to be deactivated. Call the context menu and find the item that allows you to delete it. The system will display a warning dialog box.

We put a tick in the indicated place and confirm our choice. As a result, the device will be completely removed from the list of used equipment, and the system will clear the software that controls it.

Command line

In particularly severe cases, you can remove the driver from a computer running Windows 7 or 10 using the command line. For example, when the device is no longer there, and the described methods fail to get rid of the components that control it. This method is officially documented by Microsoft and is allowed for use by users with administrative rights. Using it, you can completely remove the driver from the system.

Windows, taking care of users, saves “memory” of all devices connected to the computer. Drivers are placed in a special storage and wait in the wings, which will come when they are used again. First, let's create a list of components sent for storage that is easy to study.

Using the above command, we will force the PnP service to save the list of drivers into a text file and place it on the user’s desktop. The user can now view it in Notepad to find the component to remove.

Let's continue to struggle with the PC audio system and look at how to remove the sound driver found in the list. Now that we know his name published in the system, we will again use the command line in administrator mode.

The screenshot shows what to do if the OS refuses to uninstall, citing device usage. We add the “-f” parameter, which means forced execution of the command and achieve the desired result.

Third party software

When Microsoft does not want or forgets to give the user a tool to perform any actions, this niche is immediately occupied by third-party software manufacturers. In our case, we are talking about programs for removing drivers or updating them automatically. There are many of them released, so we’ll focus on three that are quite popular among users.

Driver Sweeper

It is distributed free of charge and supports one and a half dozen languages, including Russian.

As you can see in the screenshot, the latest version was released in 2011. It’s not even worth talking about the relevance of the device database. Having launched Driver Sweeper, we select manufacturers known to the program and start analyzing the system.

As a result of a short search, we get a list of drivers suggested for removal.

When we try to run an update, a notification about which appears in the top line, we are taken to the home page of the next “candidate” - Treexy Driver Fusion.

Treexy Driver Fusion

This interesting behavior that we encountered forces us to check the version and license agreement after installing the program.

The version is new, but the “Okay” button is confusing. Let's see what this software offers us by examining the settings.

Almost all the checked search points for “drivers” lead nowhere. At the same time, they openly and intrusively point out to us the limitations of the free version.

The painful impression of the capabilities of this program leads to the idea that the experience that the developers are talking about will be directly related to installing Windows.

Driver Genius

The manufacturer Driver Genius does not spoil us with the Russian language. The interface in the latest version of the software is entirely in English.

Suggestions for cleaning the disk from “incorrect” drivers boil down to scanning the storage. We created a list of its contents on the command line.

As a result of the program’s actions, we are asked to free up “as much as” nine megabytes of disk space.

Finally

The capabilities that Windows provides for working with drivers should be sufficient for the user to perform the operations he has planned. Using third-party software is unlikely to give you more than judicious use of the command line. Therefore, if you do not want to “improve the experience,” you should not interfere with the operation of the OS in radical ways with unpredictable results.

Often, when moving Windows from machine to machine (virtual machine), many hardware drivers remain in the operating system, which are no longer actually involved in the work, but can serve as interference. Let's figure out how to identify unused equipment, and how to remove these devices and their drivers?

How to identify unused equipment?

By default, in Windows, the option responsible for displaying unused devices in the Task Manager is disabled. There are 2 ways to enable display of hidden equipment. Which one to choose is up to you.

Note. All the above actions must be done with Administrator rights. It is also worth noting that in this case the main thing is not to remove unnecessary things) Otherwise, the system may simply not boot. This especially applies to drivers and hard drive controller devices.

Enable display of unused Windows hardware via GUI

1. Press the keys Windows + Break/Pause. (Either in " Control panels" select the item " System")
2. In the window that opens " System"select item" Additional system properties".
3. In the window that opens " Properties of the system"on tab" Additionally" at the very bottom click the button " Environment Variables".
4. In the window that opens " Environment Variables" in field " System Variables" To create a new variable, you must press the button " Create…"
5. In the additional window that appears " New system variable" specify the name and value of the variable .
6. Ok-ok-ok.)))

Enabling the display of unused Windows hardware via the command line

1. start -> run (Or press Windows keys + R) -> cmd -> OK
2. Enter Set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 , Press Enter

Note. In this case, after a reboot this option will be disabled. As opposed to setting a variable through the GUI.

How to remove drivers for unused hardware?

The option to show hidden devices has been enabled, let's now look at the devices themselves and remove unnecessary ones. To do this, open Device Manager Start -> Run -> Devmgmt.msc -> OK. For devices to appear in the "Device Manager", you need to go to the " View"select item" Show hidden devices". Now, if you open any item in the tree (which presumably contains unused devices), they will have shaded icons or icons with a yellow exclamation mark. By selecting the device with the right mouse button, you can select the item " Delete". After confirming with the OK button, a reboot may be required.

Original article from Microsoft: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315539/ru

Best regards, McSim!

When reinstalling drivers, sometimes a very unpleasant situation occurs when old drivers are not completely removed, as a result of which new, newly installed drivers begin to conflict with them. This problem is observed quite rarely, but, nevertheless, when this happens, the “tails” remaining in the system can seriously ruin the life of the user, for example, causing BSODs or preventing the launch of certain programs. How to remove drivers so that nothing unnecessary remains from them in the operating system? For this purpose you will need a special utility.

Benefits of Driver Sweeper

A small program called Driver Sweeper from the developer Phyxion can easily, quickly and completely remove the driver of any device. In addition, using this utility, you can clean the operating system of junk files left behind by previous drivers, as well as get rid of unnecessary driver keys in the Windows system registry. To make working with the Driver Sweeper program convenient and safe, it has functions for automatic backup and recovery of drivers (if driver removal is unsuccessful, you can always roll back to the previous version).

How to use Driver Sweeper

The Driver Sweeper program is free software, so it can be downloaded absolutely free from any suitable site, for example, from here: techspot.com/downloads/4266-driver-sweeper.html.

After installing the Driver Sweeper program, launch it using a shortcut on the desktop and in the main window go to the section Language, since the utility runs in English by default. Select the Russian language from the drop-down list and click Apply.

After that, go to the section Analysis and purification- here is a list of all installed drivers. To remove any specific driver, you need to check the box and click the button Cleaning.

If you want to be absolutely sure that the program will not delete the necessary files along with the driver, you can first select the option Analysis(by first checking the required driver). The next window will display a list of files that will be deleted when uninstalling the device driver. Here you will need to uncheck those files and registry items that you do not want to delete.

In case of unsuccessful driver removal, the Driver Sweeper program contains a section Recovery. By going to the tab Recovery, you can undo the changes you have made.

Driver Sweeper is a convenient and extremely easy to use tool. It allows you to easily get rid of the remnants of previous drivers in the system or remove the driver, so that later this does not cause any conflicts in the operation of the devices. It is worth noting that the need for such functions does not arise often, but in case it does appear, it is better to keep a reliable and proven program such as Driver Sweeper on hand.

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In a Windows environment, there is usually no need for such a procedure as removing drivers. In most cases, the system gets along with the drivers of replaceable peripherals. Yes, and when changing the internal hardware of the computer, the latest versions Windows 8.1 And 10 , as a rule, they start up calmly, without leaving BSOD what happens to Windows 7 (and older versions) when replacing a processor or motherboard. New versions of the system usually reset the connection to the hardware themselves and automatically install everything they need.

However, cases of driver conflicts do occur, and sometimes there may be a question of removing them with our user intervention. Another reason for this procedure is experimental goals. So, how to remove drivers from a Windows environment?

1. Removing driver applications

Drivers are service files of formats ".sys" , ".dll" , ".vxd" , ".drv", stored in special Windows directories. Most of them are installed using files ".inf" and does not have its own interface for user control. But there are third-party drivers that come with their own proprietary applications. These exist for video, audio cards, printers and other peripherals. And they are installed into the system like third-party programs. It is not always possible to get rid of such drivers through regular uninstallation; their hidden components may remain in the system. And at best, it takes up disk space as a dead weight, at worst - conflict with new drivers . In this case, special cleaning programs will help.

One of the best advanced uninstaller programs is . Firstly, it will help to correctly uninstall the driver applications themselves, i.e. remove them by clearing any residues in the registry and on the disk.

Secondly, the program displays not only the main directory with third-party software, it also has two separate directories with hidden and system components. Remaining components of third-party drivers may be hiding there, and knows how to forcefully delete them.

A program is specifically designed for correctly removing video drivers. It is narrow-profile, intended only for cleaning Windows from video card drivers Nvidia , AMD And Intel along with all their branded applications installed. It is recommended for use before replacing the video card, so that the next time you start Windows you can install a new video driver without any problems. In its window on the right you need to select the desired brand of video card - Nvidia , AMD And Intel. And on the left indicate the desired action - remove video driver, and then either do nothing, or reboot the system, or turn it off.

2. Removing regular drivers

Problems with hardware and peripherals can sometimes be caused by information about old devices of this type left in the system. Such devices may no longer exist, but Windows stores their drivers. Plus, they also take up disk space. How to remove drivers for old, no longer existing hardware and peripherals?

For externally connected equipment, you can try to use the device manager. It needs to be configured to show hidden devices.

And remove those that are no longer used. They will be marked with faded icons.

As for the internal filling of the computer, everything is not so simple. To correct the conflict situation, you can unlink component drivers using a standard utility designed for deploying Windows on corporate and OEM -devices.

It returns the system to the state of the first launch, and the entire hardware of the computer is defined in a new way.

But it is preferable, of course, to use this utility before replacing important components.

The drivers themselves (their service files) neither in the first nor in the second case do they disappear anywhere. Is it the installation files? ".inf" Some of them can be deleted in order to clear disk space WITH . This is done using the standard disk cleanup tool or special third-party programs.

3. Removing drivers from the Windows system directory

Completely removing regular drivers from the Windows environment - with the destruction of their service files and installation files - can only be done in a barbaric way by interfering with the Windows system directory. It is advisable to carry out such events if there is absolutely nothing else left. And then, with the obligatory creation of a backup of the drivers, as well as a backup of the entire system, if its contents are of value. Or when we talk about experimental purposes using virtual Windows, systems on other disks, etc. It is not recommended to perform the following steps without proper training on basic computers.

We go to the device manager. Double-click to open the properties of the device for which we are going to remove the driver. Go to the tab, click.

Here in a new window we will see the path to the driver service file. For some devices there may be several such files. We remember all of them, their location in the system directory, or better yet, write it all down or take a screenshot.

Next, close the window and return to the device properties. Now open the next tab. In the drop-down list, indicate and record its value somewhere. This is the installation file ".inf" drivers.

Now we turn off the device in the manager.

We go to the Windows system directory, where its service file is stored ".sys" , ".dll" or other. And we delete it.

If there are several service files, then it is necessary to delete all of them in this way. We return to the manager and see that the device is displayed with an exclamation mark. And this means that the driver for it is not installed on the system. Let's try to update it.

In our case, the experiment was carried out with a network card, so there is no point in searching on the Internet. Immediately select local search for drivers.

Click on the selection from the list of available drivers.

Restoring the driver became possible because we deleted its service files in the system directory, but we have not yet touched the installation file ".inf". To make it impossible to install the driver in the future, we follow the path:

C:\Windows\INF

And delete the previously recorded file in this folder ".inf" .

But the system will not want to delete it, it will ask for access with rights TrustInstaller . And, having received such rights, he will come up with a new reason for refusal. Moreover, the system will not want to delete not only the file ".inf", but also service files of some drivers. In the above case, deleting the file ".sys" occurred due to the selection of a device that the system does not consider vital – network card. It will not allow you to remove drivers for vital components. In such cases, you need to boot from any Live -disk with a file manager on board. And delete all service files recorded inside the system and, if necessary, the installation file ".inf" .

After deleting the installation file ".inf" a system without the Internet or the help of third-party software will not be able to install the device driver.