Remove all old drivers. How to remove old USB device drivers from Windows

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.

From the installer downloaded from the official website;
Search the Internet or the Update Center;

Resort to the help of specialized third-party software;
Extract from previously made backups.

It happens that you stop using the device. But you should remember that a certain number of files that control it remain in the system. This is part of the driver program. The question arises: is the driver correct?

The easiest way is to use the standard tool for all Windows operating systems - "Device Manager". Simply left-click the device you want to remove from the system, right-click, selecting the menu, and go to “Properties”. Go to the "Driver" tab and select the "Delete" button. After this, remove the device. This is the answer to the question of how to properly remove a driver, but there are also more advanced and convenient methods.

Now turn off the PC if required to remove the device. But, as already mentioned, these are not all existing options for solving the problem, since after this procedure some files still remain in the system, which can lead to problems in the future. Therefore, to clean the system of unnecessary drivers, it is advisable to use specialized programs, especially for people whose line of work this is related to - service engineers and system administrators, as well as technical support specialists.

This will slightly speed up the performance of the system where such software is used. We are talking about an automated mode, so how to completely remove a driver is a matter of the operation of the program algorithm, and it will no longer concern you. It should be noted that one should not expect miracles. Such programs are the same as the benefit that can be obtained by using them is calculated at best + 1-5% to productivity. But still, many people who are interested in tuning the system like such “whistles”, which give the illusion of great benefits.

In fairness, we must add that many of these programs have much more useful functions than those from the system. But we will return to this issue later in the article. For now, we will list the most common paid programs - Driver Cleaner, Driver Sweeper, Drivertool. It should be noted that there are free solutions (although the above ones are also available with sufficient functionality in the shareware version). Acceptable freeware program options include DriverPack Solution, Drivers Installer Assistant, Drivers Pack Unpacker & Installer, Guru3D Driver Sweeper.

Let's look at the functionality of the DriverPack Solution program, the code of which is distributed under an Opensource license, which provides for publication of the source code and its modification, as well as use. The developers of this most useful program did not stop at solving the problem of how to remove the driver. This software allows you not only to remove unnecessary drivers from the system on Windows XP/Vista/Seven, but also to find and install them, as well as perform an update by downloading it from the Internet, thus greatly facilitating the installer’s already difficult work.

Note that there are two versions of this software: Full and Lite. The first is distinguished by the size of the distribution kit, occupying 3 gigabytes. A very useful thing, as it solves problems with identifying and installing drivers in one fell swoop. Just insert the disk, and everything else will be done automatically. Drivers will be taken from an extensive database of packages and installed immediately. Let's note a huge number of laptop vendors for which drivers are especially compatible - Lenovo, Toshiba, Dell, Acer, Sony, HP, eMachines and so on. If you wish, you can make amendments to the database and remove a driver that is unnecessary in your opinion, thus changing the considerable size of the distribution kit.

But why do this if there is a need to constantly have a universal collection of drivers? Just write DriverPack Solution to an external USB hard drive and take it with you. And now we don’t have the problem of how to remove the driver or install the latest update. It should be noted that there is a Lite version. If you are absolutely sure of the future presence of a high-quality Internet channel on all machines where you will install drivers, then take this version. All necessary drivers will be downloaded after the hardware is identified, and will subsequently be updated automatically.

An article about why and how to properly remove drivers in Windows.

If you ask me why I don’t like reinstalling Windows, I will answer that reinstallation is not as scary as setting up the computer later. It takes two to three times more time to properly configure a PC to suit your needs than to reinstall it itself. After all, in addition to the system itself, you need to install a bunch of software, and most importantly, find suitable drivers!

It’s good if you have a “native” disk that came with the motherboard of your PC. In this case, driver installation is much faster. However, if you do not have such a disk or you are the owner of a laptop (which usually does not come with any disks), then you will have to look for drivers on the Internet and try their performance at random :)

Naturally, there are ready-made programs and even entire driver packs, where everything is already assembled for us. But standard and common drivers do not always behave correctly. If you are faced with the need to remove a driver that slows down or disrupts the system, read below on how to do this.

What is a driver

The driver itself (from the English “drive” - “manage”) is essentially a utility program that allows the user or system to control the operation of a particular device for which this driver is written. It contains a list of commands that the PC component can execute and through which the system can interact with it.

To operate a computer with a typical configuration, the following minimum set of drivers is required:

1. If problems with the driver began to arise after updating it, then the best option to restore its functionality would be to roll back to the previous version. Click the "Roll Back" button and wait until the computer itself automatically removes the new driver version and installs the archived old one.
2. If a failure occurs in the driver of one of the peripheral devices that is not critical for the system (for example, a printer or similar equipment), then the problematic driver can simply be disabled and then activated only for the time the device is connected and used. The "Disable" button will allow you to do this.
3. Finally, if none of the previous options solved the problem, you can simply remove the driver by clicking the appropriate button.

After each procedure (except shutdown), the computer will need to be restarted and only then try to install new driver versions.

View hidden devices

It’s not often, but it also happens that in the Device Manager, at first glance, no problems with drivers are detected, but when one or another component is connected, system failures begin (). If you are faced with such a situation, then most likely the problem is the incorrect operation of hidden devices.

Hidden components most often include those components that are connected to the computer periodically and launched on demand. They are not permanently stored in RAM; therefore, they do not affect the operation of the system in any way until the device is connected. However, they can also be tracked.

To see a complete list of PC components, in Device Manager you need to go to the "View" menu and activate the "Show hidden devices" item. The list of equipment types and components themselves will increase somewhat and in it you will be able to see devices with translucent icons. This is what is hidden from us in the normal mode of working with the Dispatcher:

Actually, next we check for the presence of red or yellow icons on all hidden devices and fix problems with them using one of the methods described above. Also, by turning on the visibility of hidden devices, you will be able to see old versions of drivers that you updated. If the new drivers work correctly, then these old versions can also be removed, but in this case you will lose the ability to roll back.

It also happens that in the "View" menu of the Device Manager there is no option to show hidden equipment. If you encounter this situation, then you need to do the following:

1. Open the "System Properties" window as described above (number 2 in the first screenshot), go to the "Advanced" tab and click the "Environment Variables" button there (emphasis on "Y" and not on "E" :)).
2. The variable settings window will open. Here we need to click the “Create” button under the first group of variables (User Environment Variables) and in the window that opens, enter the variable name “devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices” (without quotes) in the first field, and “1” in the value field. It should look like this:

We save our new variable and the option we need will appear in the “View” menu of the Device Manager.

conclusions

This time the article turned out to be short, but I hope it will be useful to everyone who is faced with the need to make any manipulations with drivers.

Finally, I think it wouldn’t hurt to remind you once again that you should always act meaningfully and imagine what you want to achieve! After all, it’s easy to disrupt Windows by deleting just one system driver, but restoring it later can be very problematic. Therefore, you should not be like a monkey with a grenade: if you don’t know something, ask someone, search on the Internet, and only then make important decisions. And everything will work out for you ;)

P.S. Permission is granted to freely copy and quote this article, provided that an open active link to the source is indicated and the authorship of Ruslan Tertyshny is preserved.

We installed them there. Let's figure it out here how to remove driver. So, a driver is an intermediary program between the hardware and the operating system, helping the latter to correctly use all the functions of the device. The driver itself for Windows operating systems consists of two parts: the inf file, and the system files dll, sys and others. INF file is a text type and contains instructions on what files should be used and how.

This entire system works stably until situations arise with driver reinstallation. This usually happens when updating a driver or installing other hardware. For example, video cards. In these situations, you must first remove the old driver completely and install a different or newer version. Programs like CCleaner and the like will not help us, since they do not have the necessary functions. In this article we will tell you how to remove a driver using a utility specially designed for this - Driver Sweeper. The utility is no longer supported by the manufacturer, but still remains the best in its business. We will also consider its successor, which promises to be no less effective program - Driver Fusion

As already mentioned, the manufacturer does not support this utility and you cannot download it from the official website. The installer weighs 5.2 MB. I suggest downloading it quickly from the link below.

• DriverSweeper_3.2.0.exe - .

Download and install the program. Installation is simple. You just need to refuse to install Instagrille in the window below and click Next >

The program has been installed. Now you need to use standard Windows tools to remove software, such as a driver for a video card. (You can read how to choose a graphics adapter.) This is done in the “Uninstall Programs” section of the Control Panel.

After the drivers are removed, we proceed to cleaning.

In this mode, programs from the folder and many drivers are not loaded, therefore, the possibility of completely removing drivers is increased. To boot into safe mode, after pressing the power button on the computer, you must press the key F8. A window will appear with a selection of download options. You must select the topmost safe mode and press Enter.

Launch the driver removal program Driver Sweeper.

The default program is in English. Let's switch to Russian. To do this in the field Options select a section Language. Next on the right, select the required language from the drop-down list. To change the settings, click the button below Apply

Then, on the left select Analysis and purification. On the right, select the checkboxes for the drivers that need to be removed, and click the button at the bottom right Analysis. In my case, I will remove old AMD video card drivers

The program will search for the remaining information and show it to us. We are required to press a button Cleaning

Driver Sweeper will issue a warning. Click OK

You need to wait a little. The program will then prompt you to restart your computer. Click OK and reboot.

This completes the driver removal procedure.

How to remove drivers in windows? This question becomes relevant in several cases. Well, firstly, if you need to install new equipment, for example a video card, then you will need to install a new driver for the new device. Accordingly, the old one needs to be deleted, since it is no longer needed. Also, some drivers need to be removed because it is impossible to install the updated version over the old one.

Note: Many component manufacturers recommend removing old versions of drivers and only then installing new ones.

Another reason could be an incorrectly selected driver; therefore, its operation does not make any sense and you need to get rid of it.

First of all, when removing a driver, you need to take care of whether the new updated driver matches your device and whether it exists at all. This applies to a greater extent to network cards, since if they are missing, you will not have the opportunity to go online and download the necessary one.

Let's get down to business and look at several ways to remove drivers in Windows.

Uninstalling the driver through Device Manager

To begin, right-click on the icon of my computer and go to property. A window will open system, where in the left column we select device Manager.

Find the required device, click on it with the right mouse button and select Delete.

Put a tick in the box remove driver programs for this device and press ok. This completes the driver removal. How to completely remove drivers for video cards, read the article How to remove an AMD, Nvidia or Intel HD video card driver. If you work with a video adapter, then you may be interested in reading articles about their installation: How to install drivers on an Nvidia video card, How to install drivers on a Radeon video card.

Removing old drivers

If you install new drivers over the old ones, the second ones will remain in the system and become hidden; in fact, they are not needed. To remove them, again go to the device manager. Go to the tab view -> show hidden devices.

Now, when expanding blocks, we can see transparent icons of hidden devices, so we will need to remove them. Again, right-click and select Delete.

Note: Some hidden drivers are necessary to quickly recognize a connected device, such as a flash drive. The installed driver is hidden when the device (flash drive) is not connected to the computer; if you connect it, it will be quickly detected, otherwise driver installation will be required. This also needs to be kept in mind.

Check the box and click ok.

Removing drivers using the popular driver sweeper utility

Well, of course, where would we be without third-party programs that are created for our convenience. One of the popular utilities designed to remove drivers from a computer is driver sweeper. You can download it by following the link http://driver-sweeper.ru.uptodown.com/windows.

After downloading the utility, run the installer and go through the standard installation process. You may need to install Net Framework 3.5.

Let's launch the program.

In the list that appears, select the drivers that need to be removed and click the clean button.

Next, a list of files will appear that will be deleted from your computer forever. Now you need to confirm the deletion by pressing the key ok. Afterwards the program will ask you to restart your computer. That's all.

ABOUTGive your opinion about this article, and of course, ask your questions if something suddenly goes wrong for you.

Thank you for your attention!