In simple terms, all drivers must be installed for normal operation. If you decide to reinstall the operating system, then you will need to reinstall all the necessary drivers for each hardware part of the computer. Otherwise, you will be working without sound, network card, or low screen resolution. That is why it is advisable to make backups of already installed drivers. This will help eliminate the need to search for them again. This applies if you have a special driver installed that is not easy to find.
Manually copying drivers
One of the easiest ways is to back up your driver without using third-party software. This can be done as follows:1. Go to the system drive (the partition where the operating system is installed), usually the C drive.
2. Then go to the Windows folder and then to the System32 folder.
3. Locate and copy the Drivers, DriverStore, and DrvStore folders to your flash drive or external hard drive.
Note: DrvStore cannot be present on every computer, so if you don't find it, then it's okay.
In Windows 7, all drivers are stored in the above three folders described in paragraph 6, and can be copied without any impact on the functioning of the computer.
In addition, you should also make a backup copy of the "inf" folder located in the Windows folder. This folder contains information files for installing drivers. Without them, they cannot be installed.
"Seven", although it looks quite interesting in terms of design and security, it is still not immune from critical errors, and it often has to be reinstalled from scratch. At the same time, not every user knows how to save drivers before reinstalling Windows 7, for example, when switching from an "expiration", not to mention the situation when a critical failure occurred in Windows 7 itself.
Let's see what you can do in such a situation. In particular, we will consider issues related to the situation when there is no original driver disc at hand and no Internet connection. The other side will be separately touched upon: when it comes to specialized programs that work either with an Internet connection or without it. In the question of how to save drivers on a laptop, for example, no matter how much you want, they cannot be discounted. But first things first.
How to save drivers when reinstalling Windows 7: common questions
Let's start, perhaps, with the very concept of the technology by which the backup is saved. Indeed, this is exactly a backup copy of the installed drivers, which may have a version higher than the one contained in the original database of the "seven" itself.
But even here a certain paradox arises. Of course, if you have the appropriate utility or your own system tools, you can create a copy of it, but there will be a bunch of unnecessary junk that takes up a lot of space, and the very question of how to save the drivers when reinstalling Windows 7, in general, will even be moved to second plan. The system itself, even if restored, installs its own components, as they say, regardless of faces.
Why is this needed?
This begs another burning question. Many will ask, they say, why do all these operations? As an explanation, only what was said above can be cited: the database of divers of the "seven" itself, even with all its installed update packages, is unable to update or install drivers for specific devices. Yes, she will simply install the most suitable driver, in her opinion, and give a message stating that it is the best available.
But then, when entering the same "Device Manager", the user will suddenly see a yellow background with an exclamation mark on some device, which will only indicate that it is not working properly or not working at all. This is where the user will begin to wonder how to save the drivers when reinstalling Windows 7, and until the moment when the reinstallation process began (everything worked well before).
How to recover from a copy
Now a little about what can be done with the created copy (we will talk about it a little later and in more detail). In principle, with certain settings, it can be easily saved in the system partition (in the same original location (the Drivers folder of the System 32 directory of the Windows root directory) or in another logical volume, but at least write it to a regular USB flash drive or optical disk - that's how anyone likes ...
The copy itself looks like some kind of archive or image, by unpacking which you can integrate the previously installed drivers into the system. How to save drivers when reinstalling Windows 7 on a USB flash drive, any other media or on a hard drive, now we'll see. Restoring is done by simply specifying the location where the copy was saved, not the system's own database directory.
Many, however, argue that it is impossible to do this with the system's own means, and you will have to use a bunch of special programs. Let us disagree with this.
How to Save Drivers When Installing Windows 7 Without Internet: Basic Methods
Of course, if you have an Internet connection, the question of saving copies of drivers disappears by itself, because there is nothing easier than just downloading updated programs from the manufacturer's or developer's website. But what to do when the connection is broken for some reason or simply does not work? This is where the knowledge of how to save drivers when reinstalling Windows 7 without the Internet comes to the rescue. Let's see how to do this using the simplest methods.
Methodology for saving copies of drivers using native Windows 7 tools
So, we have come close to solving the urgent problem related to how to save the driver when reinstalling Windows 7 without programs. To do this, use the Power Shell universal module (service).
To begin with, you can use the search system, where you just need to register the name of the service, and then click on the result. Be sure to launch it as an administrator, even if you are an administrator on your computer or laptop. Now is not about that.
Next, in the line you need to write the command Export-WindowsDriver —Online —Destination “drive letter”: \ DriverBackup (for disks and system partitions, the letter is indicated without quotes). Thus, you can set the saving of copies of drivers in a virtual partition of the hard drive, which has nothing to do with the system partition. Roughly speaking, if Windows is installed on the C drive, but there is a section D, we just indicate it. If there is no final directory, it will be created automatically during copying.
Yes, please note right away that the copies of the drivers will not be saved in their original form, but in the form of files of the oemNN.inf type (.inf is the extension of the standard driver installation file). Most interestingly, not only system files and programs will be copied, but also the accompanying dynamic libraries of the DLL format. So if you see them appearing during the copying process, don't be surprised.
What programs might you need?
There are many programs for creating copies today. However, among all this variety, it is worth noting such utilities as Slim Drivers, Double Driver, Driver Checker and the like. Copies of all installed drivers are created automatically, and in the settings you can specify the destination folder (even removable media).
What is the best medium to use?
As for this issue, then the choice remains with the user. True, in the light of recent trends, it is not recommended to use them because they are subject to too rapid physical wear and tear. But external USB-drives, even ordinary flash drives, even hard drives, even memory cards, are much better suited for this.
Here the question will mainly rest on how to restore the driver from a copy. And not everyone knows that when setting a USB device as a priority for loading (if it is used as a recovery tool, for example), it must be inserted into a slot or port before turning on a computer terminal or laptop (otherwise it simply will not be detected, and the system will say, that there is no disk to boot (or just load a regular "Windows") .Of course, you can use this copying, but it is better to copy the drivers to the system boot disk or other device, and when the system starts offering the installation of divers, indicate their location on the removable media (if the drivers were originally saved there or just copied from the main location).
Is it possible not to make a copy?
It goes without saying that the process of creating copies of drivers is quite time consuming. On the other hand, you can create a copy once, a second, etc. But not every time to do this kind of thing?
But here, if you have programs like Driver Booster and an active Internet connection, it is better not to make copies at all. When the installed utility runs even in the background, it automatically detects if there is a new version of the driver, or maybe some driver is simply missing. The installation will be carried out in a fully automatic mode, and it is from the site of the equipment manufacturer.
Instead of an afterword
As you can see, everything is not so complicated as it might seem at first glance. As for the choice of a solution, it is better to use third-party utilities, since the system's own means, although they look attractive, sometimes refuse to work, especially if the computer is infected with viruses. However, everyone chooses for himself which solution to apply.
Drivers are an important component of the interaction of the computer hardware with the operating system and the software installed in it. Therefore, when experimenting with them, or updating them, it is recommended to create a backup copy of the already installed drivers, so that if something happens, you can restore the normal operation of the computer. Today we will tell you about a small utility called Double Driver, with which you can quickly create backups of drivers.
Double Driver is a free program that is, in the literal sense of the word, a manager of device drivers connected to the computer's motherboard with the ability to backup them. The utility, like the file manager, displays all drivers installed in the operating system in the form of a list, and also allows you to save this list and print.
The most requested feature of the Double Driver utility is to back up Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP drivers. Most users choose this program for work because of its free and very fast driver backup speed. By the way, in just a couple of minutes it can create a full backup in an operating system that has been installed for more than one year, and, therefore, there are quite a few drivers in it. In addition, when creating copies, the utility sorts all files into folders, the names of which correspond to the names of the devices. In addition to sorting by folders, the utility also contains a filter in its functionality that filters all drivers by their developers, for example, from Microsoft, etc.
Creating a driver backup
You can create a backup copy of the drivers installed in the system quickly and in just a couple of clicks using the Double Driver program, which can be downloaded from the link below. The utility does not require installation and can be installed on any removable media.
Run the utility on your PC and in its main window, in the top menu, click on the “Backup” button, then click on “ScanCurrentSystem”, as shown in the figure below.
Next, check the checkboxes next to those drivers for which you are going to make a backup copy, and then click on “Backup Now”. You can check all of them if you have doubts that you have marked the right ones.
In the dialog box that appears, specify the location on your hard drive where it should save the backup copy of the drivers, and also activate the "Compressed (zipped) folder" radio button if you want the copy to be compressed into an archive. In addition, if you need to create a self-extracting archive, then instead of the above radio button, activate “Single file self extract (executable)”. Click on “Ok” to start the copy creation process.
Wait for the Double Driver utility to finish its work and inform you about this with the appropriate message.
The created archive with the backup copy of the drivers will be stored in the location you specified earlier and will have the name of your motherboard model, as well as the date the backup was created. To restore drivers from this archive, you need to unpack it, then run the installation wizard and follow its instructions and prompts.
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Good day!
I think many users have come across the installation of this or that driver, even the new OS Windows 7, 8, 8.1 are not always able to independently recognize the device and select a driver for it. Therefore, sometimes you have to download drivers from various sites, install from CD / DVD disks that come with new equipment. All in all, it takes a decent amount of time.
In order not to waste this time on searching and installing every time, you can make a backup copy of the drivers, and if something happens, you can quickly restore it. For example, many people often have to reinstall Windows due to various bugs and glitches - why search for drivers again every time? Or let's say you bought a computer or laptop in a store, but there is no CD with drivers in the kit (which, by the way, often happens). In order not to look for them in case of problems with Windows, you can make a backup copy in advance. Actually, we'll talk about this in this article ...
Important!
1) It is best to make a backup copy of the drivers immediately after setting up and installing all the hardware - i.e. when everything works well.
2) To create a backup, you need a special program (more on that below) and preferably a flash drive or disk. By the way, you can save a copy to another hard disk partition, for example, if Windows is installed on drive "C", then it is better to place a copy on drive "D".
3) You need to restore the driver from a copy on the same version of Windows OS from which you made it. For example, you made a copy in Windows 7 - then restore it from the copy in Windows 7. If you changed the OS from Windows 7 to Windows 8, and then restore the drivers - some of them may not work correctly!
Programs for backing up drivers in Windows
In general, there are a lot of programs of this kind. In this article I would like to highlight the best of their kind (of course, in my humble opinion). By the way, all these programs, in addition to creating a backup copy, allow you to find and update drivers for all devices on your computer (about this in this article :).
One of the best driver software. Allows you to search, update, make backups, and restore from them almost any driver for any device. The driver base of this program is huge! Actually on it I will show you how to make a copy of the drivers and restore from it.
http://www.boozet.org/dd.htm
A small free utility for creating backup copies of drivers. Many users use this one, personally I did not use it so often (a couple of times all the time). Although I admit that it can be better than Slim Drivers.
Not a bad program that allows you to quickly and easily make and restore from a copy of the driver. The only thing is that the driver base of this program is smaller than that of Slim Driver (this is useful when updating drivers, when creating backups it does not affect).
Creating a backup copy of drivers - instructions for working in Slim Drivers
Important! To work Slim Drivers requires an Internet connection (if the Internet does not work for you before installing the drivers, then, for example, when reinstalling Windows when restoring the drivers, problems may appear - it will be impossible to install the Slim Drivers program to restore the drivers. This is such a vicious circle).
1. To create a backup in Slim Driver, you first need to set up the hard disk space where the copy will be saved. To do this, go to the Options section, select the Backup subsection, specify the location of the copy on your hard disk (it is advisable to select a different partition where you have Windows installed) and click the Save button.
3. Literally in a matter of minutes (on my laptop in 2-3 minutes) a copy of the drivers is created. The success report can be seen in the screenshot below.
C restoring drivers from a backup
After reinstalling Windows or unsuccessful driver update - they can be easily restored from our copy.
1. To do this, go to the Options section, then to the Restore subsection, select the location on the hard disk where the copies are stored (see a little higher in the article, you need to select the folder where we created the copy), and click the Save button.
Drivers are an important part of the operating system. They act as intermediaries between the system and the hardware devices. Their main task is to interpret incoming signals from both the system and the device itself. Without proper drivers, the device will either not work correctly or not work at all.
As a rule, each device comes with a CD or DVD with the necessary drivers. Alternatively, the drivers can be downloaded from the device manufacturer's website. The latter, by the way, may be more relevant, since you can find the latest drivers on the site. This is especially true for video cards.
But sometimes it happens that the driver discs are lost, and the manufacturer's website no longer supports this device. Or the situation simply develops in such a way that it is almost impossible to find this driver. In such cases, the best solution is to create backup copies of the drivers. For this, there is special software, which, in fact, allows you to create backups of already installed drivers in the system.
If you have an old operating system, and you have lost some of the disks, or you cannot find drivers for some of the devices (for example, for a printer that has served you faithfully for 5-6 years). It is a common idea to make a backup copy of all installed drivers on the system. Even if you have all the drivers at hand, it is still highly recommended to make a backup and save it somewhere safe. This is not only a way to protect yourself from unforeseen circumstances, but also an opportunity to save time during their recovery.
Advice: it is best to use several different programs. Since everything happens in life, and it is possible that one of the programs will not be able to correctly restore the drivers. In this case, you will always have backup options at hand. This will save yourself time and hassle.
Note: never forget to back up your data.
This review discusses programs that can not only create backup copies of drivers, but also restore them. Programs that do not know how to restore drivers are mentioned in the "Other Programs" section. First of all, this is due to the fact that for ordinary users, and even more so for beginners, the task of manually restoring drivers can be overwhelming. Therefore, in the review, one of the most important consideration criteria is the correct restoration of drivers in the system.
Some of the programs reviewed can also update drivers, but this is not an important criterion. Initially, it is considered from the point of view of backup and recovery. The update is just an added plus. In addition, we specifically draw your attention to the fact that the best place to find driver updates is on the manufacturers' websites.
Unfortunately, not all of the reviewed programs are able to display a list of drivers installed on the system. If you are interested in exactly the list of installed drivers, then you can use an excellent little utility called DriverView from Nirsoft.
Review of Free Driver Backup and Restore Software
Double Driver is a convenient and powerful tool for backing up and restoring drivers
It has a simple interface and is very easy to use. The most notable feature is that the program allows you to create backup copies of drivers from a non-running system. This will be especially useful in cases when, for some reason, your system does not boot, and it is not a fact that you can revive it. This functionality gives the program a significant advantage over its counterparts. So keep it with you marked "for a rainy day."
By default, only third-party drivers are selected in the backup list. This is very convenient, since there is no particular point in copying Windows drivers, except in rare cases. To work with the list, a number of buttons for quick selection are provided: invert selection, select all or deselect. You can also select individual drivers. Selected drivers can be copied to a separate structured folder (default option), to a compressed folder, go to a self-extracting file (a kind of archive). The latter option, by the way, led to the departure of the program.
Recovery is just as easy. Select the location where your copies of the drivers are stored. Then select from the list exactly those drivers that you want to restore. And start the process. It is worth noting that the drivers are restored fairly quickly. At the same time, after the restoration, all devices felt great.
Double Driver allows you to save the list of drivers in a text file. You can also print the list directly from the program. This is very handy when you need to keep track of what drivers have been installed on the system. The list is quite informative. For each driver, its name, version number, date, hardware ID and much more are written.
Overall, Double Driver is a simple, reliable program that includes a number of unique features. Therefore, it can be safely put at the head of any list.
Driver backup and recovery software SlimDrivers is a nice tool with a nice design
has a modern and attractive user interface, which is attractive from the first minutes. The backup and restore select lists are very similar to the standard Device Manager. And when you consider that SlimDrivers is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, then this fact becomes completely unsurprising. However, SlimDrivers works just as well with both system and third party drivers. But, unfortunately, you will not be able to select all system or all third-party drivers. So in such cases you will have to either backup all drivers, or manually select from the entire list.
Another feature that can be attributed to disadvantages is that SlimDrivers stores drivers in folders with names based on the base name or device ID. If you restore the drivers yourself, SlimDrivers will not cause much of a problem. But, if, for some reason, you have to restore the drivers not through the SlimDrivers program, then this can become a really big problem, since you will have to work hard to find the required driver.
Unfortunately SlimDrivers was unable to backup the drivers for devices that were not connected to the system.
Also, during the recovery of the drivers, several errors occurred. However, after the completion of the restoration, a detailed inspection showed that all the drivers were restored. But, nevertheless, errors are errors. Therefore, it is difficult to say that the program is reliable.
There is one more point that needs to be mentioned. Don't forget to select the same backup and restore folder. If you do not do this, then the list of drivers in the recovery section will be empty. And you won't be able to select individual drivers. You will have to restore the entire backup.
By default SlimDrivers starts at every system startup. Therefore, you will have to spend a little time to disable this setting, for example, using the startup manager. In addition, when you first start the program, SlimDrivers will open the home page in your browser. But, only at the first.
SlimDrivers has a habit of staying in the system tray even if you close it. To actually exit the program, you need to close the program in the tray. To be honest, this is clearly an unnecessary feature and clutters up your desktop more than it does any good. After all, backup and restore operations are sporadic, not daily.
However, for a program of this class, SlimDrivers does its job quite well.
Note:
1. SlimDrivers is installed online only. The program does not have a standalone installer. So if you do not have Internet access, then it will be an unpleasant surprise for you.
2. When installing, carefully look at the checkboxes and what exactly will be installed. Since the installer tries to install the AVG Security panel in every possible way and under different guises (depending on the version of the program).
3. The program is inherently portable. You just need to copy the executable file from the SlimDrivers folder to Program Files. Oddly enough, there are no other files in the folder. And it seems that the program only needs an executable file for its work. Then the question "Why then create an installer?" Well, plus everything the program leaves traces on your system. In principle, the reasons are clear, and it is difficult to condemn a free program. On the other hand, once you install it, you get a portable program forever.
DriverMax Driver Backup is a good example of when old versions are better than new ones
... Before version 6, it included many useful options. But, starting with version 6, most of them have sunk into oblivion. This is a rather unpleasant moment.
In terms of a set of settings and features, every free new version of DriverMax takes a few steps back, which is very disappointing. Now you cannot see and save the list of existing drivers. Previously, these features were a big plus for the program. Also, earlier versions allowed saving both system drivers and third-party ones. For now, you can only save third-party drivers. In the past, you could also create backups for hidden devices. Now there is not even a mention of them.
The interface looks modern and attractive. Also, now the interface does not freeze between operations. Earlier versions experienced delays. It seems that the developers have decided to make a beautiful prototype out of the free version. And they are successfully moving towards this goal from version to version.
You will only see third-party drivers in the backup window. In principle, everything is clear enough in the window. You can select all or just a few drivers. If you do not choose the path to save the backup, the drivers will be saved in a zip archive in the My Drivers folder inside My Documents. By the way, this is exactly the place where by default DriverMax looks for backups to restore. Subsequently, you will not need to do anything with these archives, the program restores the drivers directly from them.
The recovery process is still slow. Noticeably slower than analogs. Compared to DriverMax versions, it is certainly faster than previous versions, but nevertheless it is still very slow. But, despite the speed, the program restores the driver conscientiously.
Note:
1. Again, carefully study the installer windows. They will try to impose AVG Security on you again. Look at all the check boxes. When installing additional components, carefully look at their names. And if you see AVG Security, then feel free to cancel the installation.
2. Now the program starts by default together with the system. Therefore, you will again have to take the time to disable this setting. Again, you can use the startup manager. Just like SlimDrivers, it hides in the system tray when closed. So for a complete shutdown, you need to close the program in the system tray.
Driver backup software DriverBackup! not a bad alternative
allows you to both create backup copies of drivers and restore them. But, unfortunately, during testing, the program was unable to restore the drivers, for an unknown reason. More disappointing indeed. Since the program shows great promise, since it can do a number of really good things. DriverBackup! can create backup copies of drivers from a non-running system, which clearly distinguishes it from its counterparts.
DriverBackup! does a really good job of creating backups, as it includes a number of useful settings. When launched, the program displays all installed drivers on the system. With one click, you can select both system and third-party drivers. In this case, the choice can be further detailed. You can select all fully portable drivers (according to DriverBackup!) Or all digitally signed drivers. And all in one click. Drivers are saved in folders with corresponding device names. The program also generates a special .bki file, unique to the program, which contains information about the backup files. This file is used during recovery customization to humanly represent a list of drivers.
DriverBackup! can create backup copies of phantom devices, that is, devices that were once installed in the system, but are absent at the moment. This is especially useful if you often connect various peripheral devices (printers, scanners, etc.)
The help file is well organized. It describes all possible operations in sufficient detail and clearly. The program can be used from the command line.
Although the program is portable, it is nevertheless difficult to call it fully portable because starting from the 2nd version it requires .NET 2.0. Therefore, if there is no 2.0 framework on the computer, then the program will not work. This can be considered a disadvantage. Earlier versions could be used, but they do not know how to restore drivers.
Nevertheless, the program is made conscientiously, and if it were not for the problems with restoring drivers, as well as the mandatory presence of .NET 2.0, then it could be called the best program.
DriverBackup! is in active development, so all that remains is to wait for the release, which can be put at the top of the list.
Other Windows driver backup and restore programs
These programs are also designed to create backup copies of drivers.
- Driver Magician Lite. It copes very well with the task of creating a backup copy of installed drivers, but, unfortunately, it does not know how to restore drivers at all. Nicely organized interface. All third-party drivers are highlighted among the general list. Really convenient, because the system can have a lot of drivers. To create a copy, you can select either individual drivers or the entire list. The backup is created in nicely structured folders with friendly device names.
- DriverPack Solution Lite. Not recommended. The program is more likely designed to update drivers than to create a backup. Like the rest of the programs on this list, it cannot restore drivers. And it seems that it does not work quite correctly. According to the description, the program can save a backup copy to an exe file. But! There is no difference between backups with the selected exe format and the regular format.
The installer of the program contains a bunch of unnecessary adware. She suggests installing the Delta Toolbar, changing the search engine to Delta, and changing the browser home page. And a number of other changes. Therefore, during installation, you must very carefully look through each window of the installer for the checked boxes.
The interface of the program is rather strange. Plus, you will find a number of features that are not needed at all for driver update / backup programs. Of course, the device manager can be considered the necessary functionality, but it doesn't make much sense. But what is clearly superfluous is access to the control panel of installed programs. It is also unclear why there are a bunch of unnecessary utilities in the program, such as memory testing, defragmentation, and antivirus scan. The program also has an item for updating the BIOS. And apparently this point is not only superfluous, but also dangerous.
- DriverGrabber (link is incorrect). The program is too simple, and does not have any settings at all. Only backs up third-party drivers. You can only make copies of Windows drivers by editing the necessary INI files. It is hard to imagine that an ordinary user will be able to do this. The program does not develop, and does not have its own normal site. That said, it is difficult to say whether the program will work on 64-bit systems and on Windows Vista and Windows 7.
- Driver Collector. The official site is no longer and the program is no longer being developed. There are no settings in the program. It also does not know how to create backup copies of drivers in batch mode. Instead, you need to manually select and create copies. This undermines somewhat the goal of "making the world easier".
Test procedure
Testing was carried out on Windows XP. Despite this, the reviewed software is also perfect for backing up drivers on Windows Vista and Windows 7.
First of all, with the help of each program, backups of the drivers from the reference operating system were made. Drivers from various manufacturers' CDs were installed on it. Motherboard, webcams, network cards and others.
After that, tests were made to restore the drivers on another hard disk, which was connected instead of the disk with the reference system. An identical copy of Windows XP was installed on the test hard drive. But, in which no third-party drivers were installed (in fact. A clean system). For a test copy of the system, an image of the system was made so that after each test, the system could be returned to its original state. Within each test, only the program under test was installed (if required). And, in fact, an attempt was made to restore all the drivers. Then a comparison of the drivers was made according to the list, as well as simple checks of the equipment operability. For example, try to view a picture from a webcam.
Quick Guide (Free Download Windows Driver Backup and Restore Software)
Double Driver
| Simple interface. Easy to use. Allows you to create backup copies of the drivers of a system that is not running. Copies phantom device drivers. You can save the list of installed drivers to a text file. Restores drivers quite quickly. | ||
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