First of all, it should be said why you need to remove the drivers of unused devices. If you previously used any equipment on your computer (USB, PCI, etc.), even after the termination of its operation, the system still stores drivers in its directories. Of course, they are not loaded into memory, however ... It may happen that for some reason a conflict between new hardware and old driver... It can take a long time to find a solution. The problem is mainly related to PCI video, audio and network devices.
In addition, the drivers are constantly updating their versions, and the old ones do not disappear anywhere, causing a decrease in computer performance and conflicts with other, newer hardware. In all these cases, it is advisable to cut off all unnecessary - to remove the drivers of those devices that are outdated or not used at all.
Remove unused drivers in device manager
So click on the icon Computer right-click on the desktop and call properties. In the window that opens on the left, select Device Manager... In the manager window, we need to enable the display of hidden devices: View -> Show hidden devices:
Below is the result of this action. As you can see, after turning on the display of hidden devices, a lot of equipment appeared in the manager that you used before, or did not use at all.
So, now select the device you don't need, right-click and select "Delete". Agree to the deletion in the dialog box.
After that, the driver will be removed from the system.
Warnings
As you know, there are always "BUTs". The most basic advice - do not uninstall the driver unless you are sure that it is a device. After all, there are protocol drivers, some system services, virtual devices. They are activated directly when they are used by the system. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL with these drivers. If possible, do not use the branches "System devices", "Drivers of non-self-configurable devices" .
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- Igor (Administrator)From time to time it may be necessary to remove the driver from the system. And there are many reasons, ranging from errors in the system and ending with the fact that you are just cleaning up some programs that left behind a bunch of unnecessary garbage in the system. Therefore, in this article I will tell how to uninstall a driver in Windows 7... By the way, I would like to warn you right away not to try to delete "simply unknown" drivers. Such rash actions can lead to quite serious consequences up to the need to reinstall Windows.
Also, before describing the method, I want to tell you that some device drivers are removed along with the programs. For example, manufacturers of sound and video cards often attach special managers to their devices, the same Realtek and NVidia. And to remove the corresponding drivers, it is enough to remove the managers themselves. I already talked about how to remove the program from the computer, so I will not repeat myself.
Now that I scared you and told you about a couple of nuances, you can proceed to the method itself:
1. The method is the most reliable, as it is provided by Windows 7. And here's what you need to do. Open the "Start" menu and type in the search bar the phrase "Device Manager" and click on the appropriate item. After that, a window will open where you need to find the device you need on the left side. Right-click on it and select Properties.
2. A window with settings and information about the driver will open. You need to move to the "Driver" tab and then click on the "Uninstall" button. The system may ask you for confirmation of the action. Then the uninstallation of the driver will start. In some cases, you may need to restart your computer, so I advise you to close all other programs and save the data. Windows is quite shameless in terms of forced reboots and sometimes closes programs without saving.
3. The driver has been removed from the computer
As you can see, there is nothing complicated. However, please note that some drivers are very difficult to find on the net, especially for older devices. Therefore, if you are not sure that you will no longer need the drivers to be removed, I advise you to create a backup copy of the drivers. Quite a useful thing. For example, many scanners and printers can easily live for 10 years, but it is not so easy to find drivers for them.
Now, you know how to remove a driver in Windows 7, and you also know some of the nuances of this process. I hope my article helped you solve your problems.
Often, when you transfer Windows from machine to machine (virtual machine), many hardware drivers remain in the operating system, which in fact are no longer involved in the work, but can serve as a hindrance. Let's figure out how to identify unused hardware, and how to remove these devices and their drivers?
How to identify unused hardware?
By default, in Windows, the option responsible for displaying unused devices in the Task Manager is disabled. There are 2 ways to enable the 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 is especially true for drivers and hard disk controller devices.
Enabling the display of unused Windows hardware through a graphical interface
- Press the keys Windows + Break / Pause... (Either in " Control panels " select item " System")
- In the window that opens " System"select item" Additional system properties ".
- In the window that opens " System properties"on the tab" Additionally" at the very bottom, click the " Environment Variables".
- In the window that opens " Environment Variables" in field " System Variables " to create a new variable, click the " Create…"
- In the additional window that appears " New system variable"specify the name and value of the variable .
- Ok-Ok-Ok.)))
Enabling the display of unused Windows hardware via the command line
- start -> run (Or press Windows + R keys) -> cmd -> OK
- 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 a graphical interface.
How do I remove the drivers for unused hardware?
The option to display hidden devices has been enabled, now let's look at the devices themselves and remove the unnecessary ones. To do this, open the Device Manager Start -> Run -> Devmgmt.msc -> OK. For devices to appear in the "Device Manager", you need to in the menu " View"select item" Show hidden devices". Now, if you open any item in the tree (which supposedly contains unused devices), then they will have shaded icons, or icons with a yellow exclamation mark. Selecting the device with the right mouse button, you can select the item" Delete". After confirmation with the OK button, a reboot may be required.
Original article from Microsoft: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315539/ru
Regards, Mc.Sim!
You know, of course, that when you connect any device to your computer, the operating system installs a driver for it. This process in Windows 10 is completely automated and takes place without user intervention. The installed driver will be present in the operating system even if the device is never used on this computer again. Now remember: how many different devices did you connect to your PC and, accordingly, how many extra drivers does your operating system load? Let's see how you can easily deal with this problem.
Driver Store Explorer - a program for working with drivers
A small and simple program can help simplify the work with drivers. Download it from the developer's site and unpack it into a folder on your hard drive (the utility works in a portable version, installation is not required). We launch the program file and wait for the application to launch and conduct an initial check. After finishing we will see the main window with a list of drivers installed in our operating system.
In the list provided, the drivers are grouped by the type of hardware, so if you have a little experience, you can easily determine which of the previously connected devices corresponds to the installed driver. It will not be difficult to do this, since all additional information is displayed about each driver:
- The inf file name;
- Driver type;
- Current version;
- Date of release;
- The amount of space occupied.
Managing installed drivers is very simple. We click any of the list with the right mouse button and use the context menu to perform the following actions:
- Select a driver or all drivers;
- Highlight old drivers;
- Delete;
- Export driver data to csv file.
Using the buttons on the right side of the application, the following functions are available:
- Refresh - rescan the database of drivers present in the operating system;
- Add Package - install the driver using the inf file;
- Delete Package - remove the driver using an inf file;
- Select Old Drivers - mark old driver versions.
Instead of an afterword
Using the Driver Store Explorer utility, you can visually view the drivers installed on the system, as well as find and remove unused ones. And, finally, the most important thing - before you start uninstalling the drivers, make them just in case.
Specialized software that mediates communication between the operating system and internal or peripheral hardware components is called a driver. Receiving a command from the OS, the drivers convert it into a set of instructions understandable to a specific device, and after receiving a report on execution, they broadcast it back. Changes in hardware configuration or incorrect operation may cause drivers to need to be uninstalled. Let's consider the possibilities provided to the user for performing this operation.
The manufacturer can update the device instructions, and the OS developer can implement new features. As a result, the driver, like any software, becomes outdated over time. The user, receiving automatic updates, does not even notice how the replacement is taking place. The ideal picture of interaction deteriorates due to the fact that the system "neatly" stores, and does not delete unnecessary things. Microsoft put the solution to this problem in the hands of the user.
Windows 7
There are no special tools for removing old drivers here. Nevertheless, the user has such an opportunity. Let's go to the control panel.
The item marked in the screenshot opens the menu for managing the installed software and system components. Device drivers fall into the second category.
You can simplify your search by sorting by publisher. When you know the manufacturer of a device you no longer need, you can find and mark it in the drop-down list. The system will leave only the software it has released in the window.
After you have decided on the components, you can start removing drivers from the Windows 7. By 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 is removed and the corresponding device is no longer available for use.
Windows 10
In the latest version of the OS, Microsoft has taken a step towards users and provided special tools 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 by itself, but it can detect outdated versions and prompt the user to get rid of them.
Deleting Devices
We have dealt with unnecessary and outdated software. However, the situation may arise in such a way that with the availability of current software versions, the device is hopelessly out of order. In some cases, to ensure the correct operation of the new one, the old one must be completely removed from the system. We again go to the control panel.
We select the marked item and go to the PC device control menu.
Everything is grouped here by area of application. Accordingly, you can find and remove a device driver that is no longer needed or is not working 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 device group and select the one to be deactivated. We call the context menu and find the item that allows you to delete it. The system will pop up a warning dialog box.
We put a tick in the indicated place and confirm the choice made. 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 severe cases, you can remove the driver from a computer on Windows 7 or 10 using the command line. For example, when the device is no longer there, but the described methods cannot get rid of the components that control it. This method is officially documented by Microsoft and is approved 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 reused. To begin with, let's create an easy-to-learn list of the components sent for storage.
Using the above command, we will force the PnP service to save the list of drivers to a text file and place it on the user's desktop. The user can now browse 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 audio 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 in the event that the OS refuses to delete, referring to the use of the device. Add the "-f" parameter, which means the command is forcibly executed and achieve the desired result.
Third party software
When Microsoft does not want or forgets to give the user a tool to perform any action, this niche is immediately taken by third-party software vendors. In our case, we are talking about programs for removing drivers or automatically updating them. There are a lot of them released, so let's 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 base. After launching Driver Sweeper, select the manufacturers known to the program and launch the system analysis.
As a result of a short search, we get a list of drivers offered for removal.
When we try to launch the update, the notification about which appears in the top line, we get to the home page of the next "candidate" - Treexy Driver Fusion.
Treexy driver fusion
This interesting behavior that we encountered makes it necessary to check the version and license agreement after installing the program.
The version is fresh, but the "Good" button is embarrassing. Let's see what this software offers us by examining the settings.
Almost all the checked points of the search for "drivers" lead nowhere. At the same time, they openly and obsessively 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 the installation of Windows.
Driver genius
The manufacturer Driver Genius does not spoil us with the Russian language. The interface in the latest software version is completely in English.
Suggestions for cleaning the disk from "incorrect" drivers boil down to scanning the storage. We created the list of its contents on the command line.
As a result of the program's actions, we are invited to free up "as much" nine megabytes of disk space.
Finally
The capabilities that Windows provides for working with drivers should be enough for the user to perform the operations he intended. Using third-party software can hardly 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.
