No longer update drivers using Device Manager

[Diggs]

Hmmm..... I didn't see this coming.

https://www.techspot.com/news/86345-microsoft-removes-driver-updates-windows-10-device-manager.html

 

[britechguy]

Although I knew this method existed, much like the article writer and several of the commenters, I never once had it function as one would hope it would.

My standard procedure, and advice, is to source driver updates from only three venues (except if desperate for a very old driver for a very odd piece of equipment):
1. Windows Update.
2. Your computer OEM's support pages.
3. Your device's (whether peripheral or component of the system) OEM support pages.

The latter 2 have, in my experience, always have installers as part of the package.

 

[Metanis]

Although I knew this method existed, much like the article writer and several of the commenters, I never once had it function as one would hope it would.

My standard procedure, and advice, is to source driver updates from only three venues (except if desperate for a very old driver for a very odd piece of equipment):
1. Windows Update.
2. Your computer OEM's support pages.
3. Your device's (whether peripheral or component of the system) OEM support pages.

The latter 2 have, in my experience, always have installers as part of the package.

I've always done it your way except about a year ago I tried Iobit's free Driver Booster software. I'm now a believer! I install the free version just long enough to do one scan and 95% of my driver problems are solved. If I still have an issue then I fall back on your options 2 and 3. Then I uninstall the Driver Booster software. It saves an incredible amount of time sifting through the ugliness of Dell, HP, and Lenovo support web sites.

 

[britechguy]

Everyone is free to do their own thing, but I'd rather gnaw off my own hands than use any third party driver updater software, period. I've seen the madness that far too often results.

Now that most of the major makers, and definitely Dell and HP, and I think Lenovo, have "service station" type software that monitors their own cloud resources to keep things up to date, I always recommend those, as they come "from the source." They work well, too.

And when it comes to Intel, which keeps churning out driver updates at an unbelievable pace, and either isn't supplying same to the OEMs and/or Microsoft, or the OEMs and/or Microsoft aren't getting those out in their cloud libraries in a timely manner, the Intel Driver & Support Assistant is a godsend.

 

[Diggs]

I actually use Device Manager to roll back driver updates more often than to update. Hmmm.... Wonder if that changes.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Oh... So Device Manager on Win 10 2004 now works like it did back in Windows 2000 again...

OK... this changes... nothing for me. That wander the interwebs and magic me something up button never worked anyway.

 

[Mick]

Manufacturers' site for most things for me, SDIO for when I'm struggling.

 

[sapphirescales]

This sucks. What's the purpose of removing it? It's rare that I use it, but sometimes Windows Update doesn't detect a device that needs a driver and doing this pushes it along. Now I just gotta keep the computer on the bench longer waiting for it to magically update (or not), wasting precious bench space for no reason. At the very least you could check this to be sure that Windows Update doesn't have a driver for that particular device. And sometimes drivers install but they don't get applied properly so you have one device out of many in the driver that needs to update (for example a system management controller that's part of the chipset driver but doesn't get applied when the chipset driver downloads for some reason).

Seriously, I'm so done with this crap. Microsoft removes needed features and adds new features that literally NO ONE asked for. And stuff that we've been begging for for YEARS is just ignored.

 

[Porthos]

They now show up as Optional Updates in Windows update.

 

[sapphirescales]

They now show up as Optional Updates in Windows update.

Well at least that give me some hope. That looks like a list of missing devices you'd find in the device manager. Hopefully it doesn't rely on the driver existing in Windows Update in order for it to show up in this list.

 

[nlinecomputers]

They now show up as Optional Updates in Windows update.
View attachment 12029

Note that Windows 10 has always done this. I agree that removing it from individual items in Device Manager is a bad idea. Yes when all things work as it should, you only should need to use Windows update. We all know that isn't always the case. Sometimes Windows loads the wrong driver. Admittedly that happens far less often then it used to but it hasn't gone away.

 

[GTP]

Everyone is free to do their own thing, but I'd rather gnaw off my own hands than use any third party driver updater software, period. I've seen the madness that far too often results.

This ^^
Having to try to remove the "extra free stuff" or changing their homepage back to what ever it was before afterwards from PuP's like this, or trying to explain to the client why they keep getting redirected to 50 different "repair tool" websites?
Its a no from me.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Depends on the third party program. SDO does just fine. It's run by our own @glennd

 

[fincoder]

I used this today for troubleshooting. Customer's Lenovo laptop with Ryzen 4th gen had no audio so went to device manager and removed the audio device including driver files, scan for new hardware to reinstall the original driver, tested audio is now OK, then right-clicked the device and check for updates which installed the latest Microsoft-supplied driver, no audio again.

So it took only about 20 seconds to determine the Microsoft-supplied driver is the problem. Would have taken much longer if I had to use Windows Update to get the driver update, who knows how many other updates it would have downloaded.

 

[Sky-Knight]

20 seconds? Every time I've pushed that stupid button a half hour goes by of just pinwheels...

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

In my ~30 years in computers...well, around what...25 for a Windows os with GUI....OK, device mangler...since Windows 95...I've never done it this way.

Always went right to the manufacturers website for specific drivers...when doing home built/cloners 'n other "motherboard of the month club" stuff. Or more commonly in "most" of my latter career since I do business computers only now....using the built in driver/utility/bios update tools in the top 3. HP "Support Assistant", or Dell "Command Update", or "Lenovo System Update/or/Vantage".

 

[nlinecomputers]

In my ~30 years in computers...well, around what...25 for a Windows os with GUI....OK, device mangler...since Windows 95...I've never done it this way.

Always went right to the manufacturers website for specific drivers...when doing home built/cloners 'n other "motherboard of the month club" stuff. Or more commonly in "most" of my latter career since I do business computers only now....using the built in driver/utility/bios update tools in the top 3. HP "Support Assistant", or Dell "Command Update", or "Lenovo System Update/or/Vantage".

That is hard to believe as some drivers don't have an installer. You have to point to a CD or directory you unzipped. That was real common in the Xp days. Less of a thing as time has gone on.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

That is hard to believe as some drivers don't have an installer. You have to point to a CD or directory you unzipped. That was real common in the Xp days. Less of a thing as time has gone on.

Yeah I recall that....so I guess I have to take back "never did it that way"...but it was very...very rare. I recall a couple of rare oddball devices that just had .INFs you'd install that way. Very rare. Like some really off brand ultra crap old modem. But even then it was usually in the "Add Hardware" weeezard in Control Panel.

 

[Sky-Knight]

The only thing I know of that pulls that now are KIP Laser Plotters. There's a custom print monitor you need to install for some of them that follows that INF installation process, and it's horribly manual, I always forget how to do it too... just have to look it up each time.

Whatever you do, don't forget to do it! It cuts the performance of those monsters in half to not have it!