Driver removal tool windows 7: 5+ best driver removal tools to confirm everything is deleted

5+ best driver removal tools to confirm everything is deleted

by Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina

CEO & Founder

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time). For most of the kids of… read more

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  • Driver uninstaller software tools are practical for removing old, incompatible or unknown device drivers from your Windows PC. 
  • It’s essential to remove outdated drivers and replace them with newer ones compatible with your system. 
  • Check the list below for powerful driver removal software suggestions that can help your PC perform better.

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It’s important to remove unwanted drivers from your Windows 10 system because this will save you a massive amount of time and hassle.

A high-quality driver uninstaller is a third-party software program that scans your system for all installed drivers quickly, and it will let you select one or more drivers at once for removal.

After the drivers have been removed, the driver removal tool will scan the system once again making sure to free up valuable space and also making sure that you will not run into problems when you try to install the latest version of that driver later on. Besides, you can fix driver issues by uninstalling old drivers and installing newer versions.

Here the 5 best driver uninstaller tools that you can currently find on the market so check out their sets of features and decide which one is the best option to add to your system.

What is a good Nvidia driver uninstaller to use?

One of the ways to remove Nvidia drivers is to use Display Driver Uninstaller on your PC. By doing so, the software will remove all files related to Nvidia from your PC.

We also have a great guide on how to safely uninstall Nvidia drivers that you might want to check out. The guide will guide you through the uninstall process and tell you everything you need to know.

However, if you want a faster and more reliable solution, then you might want to use the one of the driver uninstaller software from this guide.

What are the best driver uninstaller tools?

IObit Uninstaller

IObit Uninstall provides an easy and secure way to thoroughly remove unwanted programs and apps resulting in a clean and well-functioning PC.

The software has a real-time Install Monitor which detects and then informs you about any changes made to your system during a program installation.

It also has a Software Health option that optimizes your installed software, making sure they run smoothly, are up-to-date, and are corruption-free.

Other key features of IObit include:

  • Prompt & thorough uninstallation
  • One-click removal of software leftovers like empty files 
  • Increased Database for Better PC Protection and a deeper cleaning
  •  Windows Software Management
  • Easy-to-use PC Toolkit
  • System Security Protection
  • Integrated software updater which checks for updates and installs them as needed
  • Toolbars and Plug-ins removal
  • Forced uninstall for stubborn software that displays errors anytime you attempt uninstallation

IOBit is an overall comprehensive solution for the complete removal of software, drivers, and other stubborn applications that may be difficult to get rid of.

IObit Uninstaller

Make sure your PC is clean and well functioning with easy, thorough, and secure file and program removal features. 

Free trial Visit website

Driver Booster

Driver Booster is one of the best driver updater tools. In addition to removing old and outdated drivers from our PC, you can use this software solution to find the newest drivers online that are compatible with your devices and operating system.

Here are the key features of Driver Booster:

  • Find and remove outdated device drivers from your PC
  • Optimize your computer for gaming using Game Boost
  • Inspect driver information suc as publisher, date and associated device
  • Create driver backups and system restore points as a precaution
  • Update drivers at an accelerated rate
  • Set your PC to auto-shutdown or restart after the drivers are updated
  • Schedule Driver Booster to automatically scan drivers

Drive Booster has a large driver database which guarantees all your drivers stay up-to-date and performing to their highest capacities.  
The software has both a free and a PRO version. You can subscribe for the PRO version and get your money back if you’re not satisfied with the product. 

Driver Booster

Driver Booster offers some useful tools to fix common Windows issues effectively.

Free Download

Revo Uninstaller Pro (recommended)

Topping off our list is a software utility that can be used to remove anything that is on your PC that involves an installation process, including drivers.

The program is called Revo Uninstaller Pro, and it can be used to remove anything, from generic programs, to Windows Apps, browser extensions, drivers, and more, all without leaving a trace that they were ever there.

In the case of drivers, you know how important it is when reinstalling a driver that the previous install needs to be completely gone.

With Revo Uninstaller Pro, you don’t have to worry about residual data and files, since it will all be deleted along with the driver itself, turning your PC into a completely clean slate.

Here are some of the perks of using Revo Uninstaller Pro:

  • Removes programs, Windows apps, browser extensions, drivers, and more.
  • Offers two kinds of uninstalling processes for you to choose from
  • Deletes programs and drivers without leaving a trace
  • Comes in both a normal and a portable version
  • Can force-uninstall stubborn programs

Revo Uninstaller Pro

Remove drivers from your PC in a fast and efficient manner with the help of this great uninstaller

Free trial Visit website

Driver Fusion

Expert Tip: Some PC issues are hard to tackle, especially when it comes to corrupted repositories or missing Windows files. If you are having troubles fixing an error, your system may be partially broken. We recommend installing Restoro, a tool that will scan your machine and identify what the fault is.
Click here to download and start repairing.

Driver Fusion is a driver uninstaller that provides a complete solution for your system to help you update, monitor, and manage your drivers and devices as well.

Using the health check option, you will be able to analyze your system’s health, and the program can automatically fix all detected issues.

Here are the key features of Driver Fusion:

  • Keeps your computer updated by installing the latest drivers via its automatic driver updater, making sure that you will no longer have outdated and missing files
  • It also allows you to create a backup for all of your installed drivers at once
  • This remove driver software can also prepare your system when you install a new driver or change the hardware on your computer
  • The device control feature allows you to backup, download and uninstalls drivers, disable or restart devices and scan for hardware changes
  • The device identifier feature lets you troubleshoot and search for information on devices that are not recognized by Windows

Driver Fusion offers you data on every device and driver that you have installed on your computer, and it allows you to detect and prevent problems and keep your PC running at top performance.

Driver Fusion

The best solution to update, backup, clean and monitor the drivers & devices of your PC

Free download Visit website

Driver Magician

Driver Magician is a driver removal software that will help you uninstall unnecessary drivers from your system effortlessly and this way you will be able to save some valuable time.

This program offers a professional solution for device drivers backup, update, removal and restoration as well. It’s compatible with Windows operating system.

The program works by identifying all the hardware that you have installed on your computer, and it extracts the associated drivers from the hard disk, backing them up to a location that you chose.

Here are the key features of Driver Magician:

  • Driver Magician comes with a built-in database of the latest drivers with the ability to go online and receive the driver updates.
  • You will be able to back up device drivers of your system in four modes.
  • The tool lets you restore device drivers from backup with a simple click.
  • You will be able to update device drivers of your PC to improve system performance and stability.
  • There’s also the option of Live Update device identifier database and driver update database.
  • You will be able to back up more items such as Desktop and My Documents.
  • With this tool, you can restore more items from the backup, and you will also get detailed information of the hardware drivers.

⇒ Get Driver Magician

Guru3D Driver Sweeper

Guru3D Driver Sweeper is a great remove driver software that will sweep all driver leftovers from your computer. Removing your drivers on a correct way is essential because driver leftovers are able to cause stability-related issues and startup problems.

You can use Guru3D Driver Sweeper if you want to update and remove drivers from the computer.v

Here are the key features of Guru3D Driver Sweeper:

  • Guru3D Driver Sweeper can be used in two ways, and both of them will clean all the files.
  • You can use the official uninstaller of the drivers, and you can also run this program to select what to clean.
  • You will be able to select more drivers at the same time for cleaning.
  • The current supported drivers are NVIDIA (Display and Chipset), ATI (Display), Creative (Sound) Realtek (Sound), Ageia (PhysX) and Microsoft (Mouse).
  • This software can be used in Normal mode, but for absolute stability, it’s recommended to use the Safe mode.

It’s also recommended to make a backup or a system restore before using this tool.

⇒ Get Guru3D Driver Sweeper

Device Cleanup Tool

Device Cleanup Tool removes drivers for non-present devices from the Windows, device manager. It’s critical to remove these drivers because each device that was once attached to your system leaves an entry in the Device Manager.

When you are using the Windows Device Manager, you will be able to delete drivers only one by one. But, with Device Cleanup Tool you can delete multiple drivers or all the non-present devices.

Here are the key features of Device Cleanup Tool:

  • View a list of all devices and uninstall drivers
  • The “last used time” comes from the write time of the device’s registry key
  • Using Device Cleanup Tool will save you space, time and effort as well
  • There’s also a command line version of Device Cleanup Tool called Device Cleanup Cmd

⇒ Get Device Cleanup Tool

These are the top five picks for the best driver removal tools and no matter which one you decide to get, you’ll be able to keep your system clean and running smoother.

If you have any other suggestions or questions, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments section below.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How do I completely uninstall drivers?

    To completely uninstall drivers from Device Manager, right-click a device and select Uninstall Device. If you plan to reinstall or update drivers, follow our easy instructions to do it right.

  • Should I delete device driver packages?

    No, you shouldn’t delete device driver packages. These are .sys files stored in C:WindowsSystem32drivers. They contain required components to make your devices work on Windows, such as graphics, sound, and network. In addition to driver files, these packages include install device setup and other necessary files.

  • How do I uninstall a printer driver?

    You can uninstall printer drivers from Device Manager. If the printer device isn’t visible, open the View menu and select Show hidden devices. Then, right-click the printer and select Uninstall Device.

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How to uninstall drivers from Windows, in 5 steps

Drivers are critical because you cannot fully use your computers and devices without them. However, some drivers can be too old and incompatible with your version of Windows or new and insufficiently tested. To get rid of errors, crashes, and Blue Screens of Death, you may need to delete the drivers that are causing problems. Here’s how to uninstall drivers from Windows completely:

NOTE: The steps from this guide show you how to uninstall drivers from Windows 10 with May 2020 Update, and also from Windows 7.

Step 1. Try to delete a driver by using the device’s uninstaller

Before anything else, you should check whether the driver that you want to remove has an uninstaller. A typical example is graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD, which have complex driver kits that also include other software. Regardless of the device, if you installed its drivers using an installer, it should also provide an uninstaller.

To find if you have this option, open the Settings app from Window 10, go to Apps, and check whether your device’s software is shown in the list of Apps & features. For example, if you want to uninstall Nvidia drivers, all you have to do is find them in the list and click or tap on Uninstall.

Removing the NVIDIA Graphics Driver from Windows 10

In Windows 7, the steps are similar: open the Control Panel, go to Programs, then to Programs and Features, and find the device drivers that you want to uninstall. Then, click or tap Uninstall and remove those bad drivers.

Removing the NVIDIA Graphics Driver from the Control Panel

If your device doesn’t come with a driver uninstaller, follow the next steps to get rid of it:

Step 2. Open the Device Manager

Open the Device Manager: a quick way to do that, both in Windows 10 and Windows 7, is to search for the words «device manager» and click or tap the appropriate search results.

Opening Device Manager in Windows 10

Step 3. Find the device or hardware component with the faulty drivers

The Device Manager shows a list of all the hardware components that are inside your computer or connected to it. It also includes emulated hardware by the apps that you have installed. They are organized by type.

Browse the list of hardware and find the device for which you want to uninstall the driver because it’s causing you troubles.

Browsing to the device or hardware component with bad drivers

Step 4. Open the properties of the hardware device with the bad drivers

Right-click or press-and-hold (on a touchscreen) the name of the component with the problematic driver. In the menu that opens, choose Properties.

Opening the Properties of the device

You can also select the device and then press Alt + Enter on your keyboard.

Step 5. Uninstall and delete the drivers completely

Now, Windows opens a window with the properties of the hardware device that you’ve selected. To completely remove its driver, go to the Driver tab and click or tap on the Uninstall Device button*.*

Choosing to Uninstall Device

In the Uninstall Device dialog window, make sure that you check the box that says: «Delete the driver software for this device. « Then, click or tap Uninstall. If you don’t check the box we mentioned, Windows does not completely delete the driver for that device. Instead, it keeps the driver files on your PC and uses them the next time it detects your device.

Uninstall and Delete the driver software for this device

The faulty driver is now deleted, and the device is gone from the Device Manager. You should be able to resume using your computer without the problems that you had.

I removed the faulty drivers, but Windows reinstalls them. How to turn off automatic device driver installation

If the faulty driver was delivered through Windows Update, the chances are that Windows will install it again automatically. To stop it from doing that, here’s what you should do:

In Windows 10, you could try to hide the bad driver update and block it from ever installing, using the steps from this tutorial: Use the Show or Hide Updates tool to block unwanted Windows 10 updates, including drivers.

However, that only works in some situations, and it’s not an option for those of you who are still using Windows 7. If you need a more radical way of stopping Windows 10 or Windows 7 from automatically installing drivers on your PC, follow the next steps:

Use the Search from Windows 10’s taskbar, or the search field from the Start Menu in Windows 7, to look for «advanced system settings.» In the list of results, click or tap on «View advanced system settings.«

Searching for advanced system settings

This opens the System Properties window. In it, select the Hardware tab and click or tap on the «Device Installation Settings» button.

Device Installation Settings on the Hardware tab from System Properties

The previous action opens a window called «Device installation settings.» On it, Windows asks you if «[…] you want to automatically download manufacturers’ apps and custom icons available for your devices. « Select «No (your device might not work as expected)» and push the Save Changes button.

Choosing not to let Windows download drivers automatically

IMPORTANT: Enabling this setting means that none of your devices, connected right now or which you will connect at a later time, will get driver updates from Microsoft via Windows Update.

My PC crashes with a Blue Screen of Death. How can I uninstall drivers in such a situation?

Bad drivers may cause Windows to crash with a Blue Screen of Death, which means you can no longer log in and use your computer. If that’s the case for you, before taking the steps we’ve shown you in this tutorial, first boot into safe mode. Here’s how:

  • How to start Windows 11 in Safe Mode (8 ways)
  • 8 ways to boot into Windows 10 Safe Mode
  • 5 ways to boot into Safe Mode in Windows 7

Once you’ve managed to get into Safe Mode, follow the steps in this guide from beginning till the end.

Which driver for which component caused you problems?

We had problems with faulty drivers for video cards and wireless network cards, which caused crashes and instability. Both AMD and NVIDIA drivers were especially bad at times. What about you? What driver of which component caused you troubles? Comment below and let’s talk.

Uninstall/Remove Old Drivers From Windows [The Ultimate Guide]

Windows 10 Windows 11

ByUsman Khurshid

Hours

Device drivers are an important component of Windows. They tell the Operating System how to operate a particular…

Device drivers are an important component of Windows. They tell the Operating System how to operate a particular hardware device. The drivers are a bridge of communication between the software Operating System and the hardware. Without drivers installed, Windows will not be able to communicate with the hardware.

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Windows 10 comes with a collection of trusted driver packages of the most common hardware from Microsoft and third-party vendors. This is called the Driver Store.

Windows 10 saves all the drivers inside of this folder called DriverStore. Its exact location is:

%SystemRoot%\System32\DriverStore

Since the files inside this folder are critical for system functioning, it is advisable not to touch the folder.

When to delete old drivers?

Over time, Windows will keep on installing device drivers for all new hardware plugged into the PC like printers, USB devices, monitors, etc.

If new drivers are available for a particular device, Windows will automatically try to download and install the latest version through Windows Update.

There is one caveat to this. While Windows keeps on adding and installing new drivers, it will not delete the old ones. The old drivers keep on taking up hard drive space and eventually will fill up the system drive.

This is when you should worry about deleting old drivers from the system to free up disk space from the system volume. There are a few ways to clean up the old drivers safely. We will discuss each method step by step.

Cleanup old driver versions using Storage Sense or Disk Cleanup

Windows 10 comes with Storage Sense option which can automatically remove unnecessary files from the system drive. You can also schedule the cleanup process to keep your system tidy.

  1. Go to Settings (Windows key + i)
  2. Go to System –> Storage
  3. Click on Free up space now

Free up space now

This will automatically scan for unnecessary files including the device driver packages which are no longer being used. Click the Remove files button when the scan is complete.

Scanning for Device driver packages

For previous versions of Windows, you can use the Disk Cleanup utility.

  1. Go to Run –> cleanmgr
  2. Disk Cleanup window will open for C drive. Click on “Clean Up System Files” and select system drives again when asked.
  3. Then it will calculate the free space, you can have in C drive.
  4. A Disk Cleanup window will open again with a list of all files you can delete to free up the C drive for some extra space. Check the checkbox of “Device Driver Packages”, and press OK.

All old drivers which were present on your system will get deleted by Disk Cleanup.

Uninstall old drivers using Device Manager

The above-mentioned method does not remove all old device drivers. If we want to uninstall all the drivers for devices not currently connected to our system, we will have to manually scan through the device manager. Here’s how we do it:

  1. Go to Device Manager (Windows key + X + M)
  2. From the View menu, select Show hidden devices. This will show hidden devices in the list. Hidden devices are denoted by faded icons.

Show hidden devices

Hidden devices are the ones which are not currently connected to our system at the moment. Right-click any faded entry and select Uninstall to uninstall the device and remove its driver.Uninstall old drivers

If you go to the Properties of any hidden device, you will see the following error message:

Currently, this hardware device is not connected to the computer. (Code 45)

To fix this problem, reconnect this hardware device to the computer.

Remove old and unused drivers using PowerShell script

Manually scanning through the old and unused drivers is a long and tiring process. The guys at ITBros have done a great job and created a PowerShell script to uninstall old and unused drivers automatically. Follow the instructions below to download and run the script.

  1. Download the PowerShell script from here:

      Uninstall Old Drivers Automatically (3.4 KiB, 8,073 hits)

  2. Open PowerShell with administrative privileges.
  3. Run the following command to allow unsigned scripts:
    Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process -ExecutionPolicy Bypass
  4. Next, run the ps1 script downloaded from the above link.
    C:\Users\itechtics\Downloads\driver_cleanup.ps1

Run PowerShell script to uninstall old drivers

Step no. 3 is necessary. Otherwise, you will get the following error message:

.\driver_cleanup.ps1 : File C:\users\itechtics\Desktop\driver_cleanup.ps1 cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled on this system.

Using third-party tools

If you are not comfortable with the above-mentioned methods, you can select one of the following tools and uninstall drivers with ease. Third-party software is a preferable and safer option to use if you don’t know much about Windows drivers.

Device Cleanup Tool

Device Cleanup Tool is a very simple utility to remove non-present devices from Windows installation. It is very similar to the Windows Device Manager but lists down the non-present devices separately and will let you select all and uninstall the drivers simultaneously.

Device Cleanup Tool

Download Device Cleanup Tool

Driver Store Explorer

Driver Store Explorer is a free tool which lets you see what’s inside the DriverStore in a ‘human readable’ way. You can list all the driver packages stored in the current driver store, add/delete a driver, etc.

The biggest advantage of Driver Store Explorer is that you can sort the drivers by size. This way, you can delete the most space consuming drivers and easily recover previous system drive space.

Driver Store Explorer

Download Driver Store Explorer

Note: Driver Store Explorer requires .NET Framework 4 or later to run.

Driver Magician

Driver Magician is a paid tool but it’s worth it. It is an all in one package to manage system device drivers with updating, backup, restore, and uninstalling support.

  1. Download Driver Magician
  2. Run the program and select Uninstall Drivers
  3. The list of drivers will appear in the right-hand pane. The ones highlighted in red can be removed safely.

As a network admin, I prefer the PowerShell method which is free and easy to replicate. I can run the PS script on any no. of systems remotely resulting in desirable consequences for all the hosts.

What is your favorite way to clean up or remove old device drivers in Windows?

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Usman Khurshid

Usman Khurshid is a seasoned IT Pro with over 15 years of experience in the IT industry. He has experience in everything from IT support, helpdesk, sysadmin, network admin, and cloud computing. He is also certified in Microsoft Technologies (MCTS and MCSA) and also Cisco Certified Professional in Routing and Switching.

5 Best Free Driver Uninstaller Software For Windows

Here is a list of best free driver uninstaller software for Windows. A system with unresponsive and corrupt drivers can cause system slowdown and crashes. To remove these problematic drivers, you can use a driver uninstaller software. Through these software, you can uninstall both system and third-party drivers of a system. However, some of these software can only remove sound and display drivers of popular companies like Nvidia, AMD, Realtek, etc. Apart from uninstalling drivers, you can also use these software to find out information about drivers like driver version, driver company, driver release date, etc. In addition to that, you can also find out outdated drivers and update drivers through some of these software.

These driver uninstallers also offer many additional tools that let you boost gaming performance, fix the sound, fix network problems., etc. Overall, all these software are quite featured and simple to operate. Still, for novice users, I have included the steps to uninstall drivers in the description of each software. Go through the list to know more about these software.

My Favorite Driver Uninstaller Software For Windows:

Driver Booster is my favorite software because it can uninstall both the system and third-party drivers. Plus, it can also be used to update drivers, fix sound problems, fix network problems, etc.

You can also check out lists of best free Portable Uninstaller, Batch Uninstaller, and Autorun Remover software for Windows.

Driver Booster

Driver Booster is a free driver uninstaller software for Windows. Through this software, you can uninstall both system and third-party drivers. However, it is primarily developed as a driver updater utility to find and update all the outdated drivers.

To uninstall drivers, it offers a dedicated uninstall feature that you can find in the context menu of each driver. The process to uninstall drivers is also quite simple in it. Now, follow the below steps to uninstall drivers through this software.

How to uninstall drivers using Driver Booster:

  • Start this software and click on the Scan button.
  • After the completion of the scan, you can view a list of all the updated and outdated drivers.
  • Now, select one driver from the list at time and press the right mouse button to open up the context menu.
  • Lastly, choose the Uninstall option from the context menu to immediately start the driver uninstallation process.

Additional Features:

  • Game Boost: Using it, you can improve the gaming performance of a system as it automatically stops all the unnecessary apps and services.
  • Rescue Centre: Through this feature, you can restore your system to the last stable state if any problem happens.
  • Fix No Sound: It is an audio troubleshooting feature that helps you fix audio errors.
  • Fix Network Failure: Use it to fix internet connectivity problems like intermittent network access, no internet, etc.
  • Fix Bad Resolution: This feature enables you to fix the low-resolution problem caused by faulty display drivers.

Limitations:

  • This free version of Driver Booster has many locked features such as batch driver updater, fix device error, backup, and more. To unlock all its features, you need to purchase the paid version of this software.

Final thoughts:

It is a capable driver uninstaller software through which you can uninstall all types of system and third party drivers.

Home Page

Download Page

Nasty File Remover

Nasty File Remover is another free driver uninstaller software for Windows. Through this software, you can easily remove Windows, Nvidia, ATI, Creative Cloud, Matrox, and S3 drivers. In it, you can also add the names of other software or programs to remove their files and drivers. Now, follow the below steps to uninstall drivers using this driver uninstaller.

How to uninstall drivers using Nasty File Remover:

  • Launch this software and select the type of drivers (Nvidia, ATI, Creative, etc. ) from its interface that you want to remove. You can also use the Custom section to specify the paths of other software to detect their drivers.
  • Now, press the Next button to start the driver scanning process.
  • After the scan, you can view all the scanned folders with multiple drivers on them. Select one folder at a time and press the Next button.
  • Now, you can view all the drivers of a selected folder with their driver version, description, and name.
  • Next, select one or more drivers that you want to uninstall and select the Delete action from the Action menu.
  • Now, press the Next button one last time to start the driver uninstallation process.

Additional Features:

  • Online Update: Use it to select and update a driver.
  • Driver Info: It shows basic information about a selected driver namely driver version, driver description, and provider.

Final Thoughts:

It is a good driver uninstaller software through which you can remove various types of drivers without putting much effort.

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Download Page

Driver Manager

Driver Manager is yet another free driver uninstaller software for Windows. Through this software, you can find out all the system drivers and also uninstall them. This software also shows various statistics about drivers on its interface such as number of drivers start at the system bootup, number of drivers start by the operating system, number of currently working drivers, number of paused drivers, and more. The process to remove drivers through this software is also quite simple. Check out the below steps to uninstall drivers through this software.

How to uninstall drivers using Driver Manager:

  • Launch this driver uninstaller and press the Refresh button to view all the drivers of a system.
  • After that, select one driver at a time and press the Remove button to completely uninstall that driver. Similarly, you can select other drivers an uninstall them.

Additional Feature:

  • Properties: In it, you can view various properties of a selected driver such as driver name, driver company, driver version, driver path, and more. In addition to that, a handy Startup type feature is also present in it through which you can change the startup behavior of a driver like boot startup, system startup, manual startup, disable startup, etc.

Final Thoughts:

It is another simple to use driver uninstaller software through which you can uninstall all types of system drivers.

Home Page

Download Page

Driver Fusion

Driver Fusion is one more free driver uninstaller software for Windows. Apart from uninstalling drivers, you can also use it to update drivers and check the health of a system. To uninstall drivers, it offers a Driver cleaner section that automatically shows drivers according to their categories like Display Drivers, Network Adapter Drivers, Keyboard Drivers, Printer Drivers, and more. After that, you can select and remove any driver that you want. Now, check out the below steps to remove drivers through this driver uninstaller software.

How to uninstall drivers using Driver Fusion:

  • Start this software and go to the Driver Cleaner section.
  • After that, you can view various categories of drivers.
  • Now, select a driver category to view all its drivers.
  • Lastly, select drivers that you want to uninstall and press the Clean button.

Additional Feature:

  • Health Check: It scans the system and shows you all the outdated drivers which are deteriorating the system health.

Limitations:

  • This free version of Driver Fusion lacks many features such as driver backup, scheduler, device control, and more.

Final Thoughts:

It is an easy to use driver cleaner software through which you can uninstall unwanted drivers from your system.

Home Page

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Display Driver Uninstaller

Display Driver Uninstaller is a free and portable driver uninstaller software for Windows. You can also use it on the go without the installation. As its name suggests, it is mainly developed to detect and remove display drivers of all three major display driver developers namely Nvidia, AMD, and Intel. However, it also offers features to remove sound drivers of Realtek and SoundBlaster companies. Apart from GPU and Sound drivers, it does not remove drivers of any other type.

How to uninstall drivers using Display Driver Uninstaller:

  • Open the interface of this software and select either Audio or GPU option from the Select device menu.
  • After that, choose subtypes of Audio or GPU options like Nvidia, AMD, Realtek, etc.
  • Now, you can view all the drivers of a selected subtype.
  • Lastly, use the Clean and restart, Clean and do not Restart, or Clean and Shutdown option to remove all the drivers of a selected category.

Limitations:

  • This software does not let you remove all types of drivers.
  • In this software, you cannot manually select and remove individual drivers.

Final Thoughts:

It is another good driver uninstaller software that you can try if you only want to uninstall display and sound drivers.

Home Page

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8 Ways to Detect And Remove Old, Unused or Hidden Device Drivers • Raymond.CC

Home » Software » 8 Ways to Detect And Remove Old, Unused or Hidden Device Drivers

Almost every piece of hardware attached to your Windows computer will show up in Device Manager as an installed device. This includes Graphics cards, CPUs, USB devices, disk drives, network adapters, and just about anything else. When the device is first connected to the computer, Windows will detect it and either install the device driver automatically or you install it yourself from CD or the internet.

After that, it’s not a problem while the device remains connected but can potentially become a problem if you disconnect it. The driver that was installed when the new hardware was connected does not get uninstalled when the hardware is removed. Over time this can leave driver entries on the system for devices that have long since been removed. Some applications also don’t remove software drivers when you uninstall the software.

Even if the hardware or software is no longer available, Windows still looks for it on boot. This can lengthen boot time and potentially cause future driver conflicts so it makes sense to remove what is no longer required. As Windows hides these devices by default, we show you 8 ways to find and remove old and unused device drivers from your system. Make sure to run programs or Command Prompts as an administrator where possible.

1. Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU)

In recent years DDU has become a highly recommended tool for removing old or corrupt display drivers from the likes of AMD, Nvidia, and Intel. Along the way, DDU has also gained the ability to remove audio drivers from Realtek and Creative Soundblaster. A big difference between DDU and the other options here is it will remove files, folders, and registry entries belonging to the video/audio drivers. Therefore, DDU should be used with care with backups to hand where possible.

It is also highly recommended to run DDU from Safe Mode. If that’s not possible, run the program and clean, reboot, then repeat the process again (clean and reboot). During the first launch, the Options screen will appear where you can choose to remove graphics driver related software such as GeForce Experience, PhysX, 3DTV Play, or the AMD/Nvidia/Intel Control Panel.

There’s also options to remove monitor drivers, prevent Windows 10 from automatically installing new drivers, remove the Vulkan runtime, and create a restore point. On the main window select the device type (Audio or GPU) from the dropdown and then the hardware device itself. Press “Clean and restart” and let the process complete.

Download Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU)


2. GhostBuster

GhostBuster has been developed with the express intention of allowing for the detection and removal of drivers for old, unused, or hidden devices. Otherwise known as ghost devices. Both setup installer and portable versions are available which is useful as this is not a tool you use every day, so installation isn’t really necessary.

All unused devices are listed in a light orange color while any devices currently being used are shown in green. To add devices to the removal list and turn them dark orange, right click an entry and click the selected Add option. Note you cannot remove individual entries and can only remove by Device type (Generic USB Hub, Generic PnP Monitor, or USB Input Device, etc) or Class (all System devices or all Disk drives, etc).

When ready, optionally tick the to create a restore point box and then press the Remove Ghosts button. If, for example, you remove all unplugged USB drives, each will be redetected the next time it is inserted.

Download GhostBuster


3. Nirsoft DevManView

DevManView is an alternative tool to the Windows Device Manager, but it displays a whole lot more useful information. Like all Nirsoft tools, DevManView is small, portable, and packs a lot into its small size. Before viewing and removing any devices it’s a good idea to first change a couple of settings so things are easier to see.

Go into the Options menu and enable Mark Connected Devices and Show Non Plug and Play Drivers, then click on the Connected column header to sort the list by which devices are connected and which aren’t. Then click, Shift+click or Ctrl+click to select the required devices and go to File > Uninstall Selected Devices. Alternatively, use the right click context menu Uninstall Selected Devices option on the device.

Devices can also be disabled instead of removed for troubleshooting purposes (press F6). Command line options are available, “/uninstall” and “/use_wildcard” being the most useful for the purpose of removing unused and hidden devices.

Download DevManView


4. Device Remover

In terms of a third party device management application, Device Remover is probably the most advanced and feature rich free program available. For some reason, the program is no longer developed and the official website has disappeared. The last available version is from 2014 so is new enough to work fine for most people. Both portable and installer versions can be downloaded.

During the first run, you will be asked if you want to let the program run an optimize routine, allowing it should speed up the device detection and enumeration process. Once loaded, devices can be viewed in a tree or list style, selectable from the tabs. To switch to showing only hidden devices click Display Mode on the toolbar and select Show only hidden/detached devices.

From there, it’s a simple process of looking through the devices and checking the boxes of any to remove, then click Remove all checked when ready. A warning and confirmation window will appear to give you one last opportunity to back out. Click Remove all devices when you’re ready or Cancel to go back. Although the device removal procedure is quite simple, Device Remover is a powerful tool so other functions need to be handled with care.

Download Device Remover (Copy of original website served by the Internet Archive)

How to Remove Old and Useless Drivers in Windows

For every device you have in your Windows PC, you will need a driver for that device to work properly. The problem with this is that as time passes, your Windows machine will be bogged down with lots of unnecessary and old drivers, which eventually may result in problems on your PC.

Surely you can easily uninstall any device driver using Windows’s built-in tools. The problem is that Windows device manager only shows currently connected devices, and there is no option to see hidden or old drivers. Here we show you how to force hidden drivers to appear and how to remove old drivers in Windows.

Note: this article is based on Windows 11 but should work with any other previous versions, like Windows 10, 8 and 7.

Content
  • For Graphics and Sound Drivers, Use DDU
  • Force Old Drivers to Appear
  • Uninstall Old Drivers in Windows
  • Disk Cleanup
  • Frequently Asked Questions

For Graphics and Sound Drivers, Use DDU

Graphics cards are complex things, and if you’ve either bought a new graphics card or updated your old one, then you may find that it doesn’t work properly due to driver conflicts. (It may not work altogether or may be prone to crashes and restarts.)

If that happens, you should use the free Guru 3D tool DDU (or Display Driver Uninstaller) to completely uninstall your old graphics card drivers before installing the new ones. It’s one of the few external utilities we recommend, as the software is malware-free and has specific built-in options for commonly used graphics, such as Intel, NVIDIA and AMD. It also covers the two major audio drivers: Realtek and Sound Blaster.

To uninstall drivers:

  1. After downloading the DDU archive file, copy-paste it to a convenient PC location to extract the application easily.
  1. Clicking the DDU application may require another round of extraction. Click “OK” to proceed. You should see an application file named “Display Driver Uninstaller” that will remove the old drivers.
  1. As soon as the Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) program is launched, it will show a warning message “DDU has detected that you’re not in Safe mode,” will be displayed. This means the option to “Clean and restart” the PC to replace the old audio and GPU drivers is greyed out.
  1. To operate the DDU utility, you’ll need to open Windows in Safe Mode. While there are quite a few ways to do that, this is the most easiest method. From the Windows Start menu search, find a System setting called “Change Advanced Startup Options” and click the “Restart” button from the inside menu.
  1. Your Windows PC will restart with a blue screen. Using the arrow keys, navigate to the Startup Settings screen via “Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> Startup Settings.” Here you will find another Restart button which must be clicked to log in to Windows Safe mode.
  1. On a subsequent restart, you will find a few options with Safe mode for Startup settings. Each is selected using a numerical input. Choose No. 4 for Safe mode access.
  1. The Safe mode is no different from normal PC mode except the desktop has a black screen, and some of the functions are disabled for security reasons.
  1. Navigate to the folder where you saved the DDU uninstaller.
  2. Open DDU and select your device type (GPU or Audio) from the drop-down menu. Once you’ve made your selection, click “Clean and restart” for your drivers to be completely uninstalled.

Once you quit Safe Mode and return to the normal mode, you can install new GPU or audio drivers without any conflicts or interference from the old ones.

Warning: while the DDU program is safe to use, make sure you keep a backup of all your old Drivers that can be accessed from Device Management (see below).

Force Old Drivers to Appear

Before uninstalling old drivers, we need to force the old drivers to show up in the list.

  1. To do that in Windows 11, press Win + X and select “Windows Terminal (Admin)” from the list of options. You can run Command prompt from here. In Windows 10, you can directly select “Command prompt (Admin)” from the Win + X shortcut and open Command prompt from the Search menu.
  1. Type the following command and press the Enter button to execute it:
SET DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1

What the above command does is force all the old and invisible drivers to show up in the Device Manager list. Once you have done this, you can proceed with the uninstallation.

Uninstall Old Drivers in Windows

  1. To uninstall the old drivers, press Win + X and select “Device Manager” from the list of options.
  1. Go to “View” and select the option “Show hidden devices” to reveal all the hidden and old drivers.

    The good thing about this feature is that all the old drivers are faded out, so you can easily identify the old or non-present drivers from current drivers.

  1. Select the old driver you want to uninstall, right-click and select the Uninstall option. Here we are choosing a faded old driver for a USB drive that is no longer used but has retained memory in the PC. Look under each heading to uncover similar faded old drivers that can be uninstalled.

Disk Cleanup

You can also pursue a simple disk cleanup of your Windows PC to delete old device drivers.

  1. Search for the Disk Cleanup app in the Windows search menu. Run it as an administrator for best results.
  1. Disk Cleanup will calculate the space you can free up on your computer by scanning various internal system files, including redundant device driver packages. Wait for the scan to be completed.
  1. In the Disk Cleanup pop-up window, look for various files to delete. Here you will see an option for Device driver packages and the amount of space you can save here. Click on the “OK” button once you have selected driver packages to delete.
  1. Wait a few minutes for Disk Cleanup to clean device driver packages. This will help you get rid of the old, unnecessary drivers.

Using this tip, you can easily find and uninstall any old and hidden drivers. Always be careful not to remove any current device driver, as this may cause problems with your connected hardware device. Also, always check twice before uninstalling any device driver.

Frequently Asked Questions

1.

Is it safe to uninstall System32 drivers?

System32 contains important DLL (Dynamic Link Library) files integrated within the Windows operating system. Its drivers are located in the “C:\Windows\System32\Drivers” folder.

Many of these drivers are used in booting, display, data backup, and other essential activities. Therefore, you won’t be able to uninstall them if your PC operations depend on these drivers. However, in the System32 folder, you may sometimes find outdated drivers for older video cards, webcams and monitors which you no longer use. These can be safely removed.

2. Can I delete the Realtek driver? Is it safe?

It is completely safe to remove and replace the Realtek driver. While such an important sound driver can’t be removed from Program Files, you can easily remove it from “Device Manager” and replace it with other audio drivers that you prefer. Some of the other options include WO Mic. The same holds true for graphics drivers such as NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD. If you’re replacing them, it is possible to delete the older one completely.

3. How to restore a deleted driver?

Generally a Windows update takes care of the “missing driver” problem. It will also reinstall any drivers automatically with each update. If you need a deleted driver in the future, you should check Device Manager to find out whether there are any recently replaced drivers under any of the subheadings.

Select that specific driver’s “Properties” through a right-click to see if there is a “Roll back driver” option enabled under “Drivers.” Clicking it will undo the current driver and go back to the previous one. You can also create System Restore points if you know you’ll be needing these deleted drivers in the future.

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How to remove drivers from a Windows 7 computer: instructions

Over time, the Windows 7 operating system accumulates a huge number of unnecessary drivers, most of which belong to devices that have not been used for a long time. These include various virtual drives, plug-in flash drives. Also, after replacing old equipment with new (purchasing a video card), you must remove the driver for a device that will no longer be used.

We will talk about this below using the example of Windows 7, having considered all the methods for solving the problem that are simple for a beginner.

The easiest way

The easiest way to remove an unnecessary driver is to use a tool that is included with any Windows operating system. It’s Uninstall Programs.

  • We call the «Control Panel».
  • We find the item «Uninstall programs» or «Programs and components», depending on the way its elements are visualized.

After a few seconds, a list of applications installed in Windows 7 will appear, including some drivers, for example, for sound and video cards.

  • Select unnecessary software and click «Delete/Change» or call this command through the context menu of the element.
  • Follow the instructions of the uninstaller and restart the computer when it is finished.

The disadvantage of the method is that the list contains only a few drivers and they relate, by and large, to peripheral devices: video card, sound card, printer, modem.

Device Manager

Use the Device Manager if you need to uninstall hardware drivers that do not appear in the Programs and Features list. Here, all devices are sorted into subsections (monitors, USB controllers, disk drives), so there should be no problems finding an unnecessary driver in Windows 7.

  • We call «Properties» of My computer.
  • In the window that opens, click on the link «Device Manager».
  • Expand the category where the hardware component is located, the software of which needs to be removed, and call the appropriate command through the element’s context menu or use the toolbar button of the same name.
  • We confirm the removal of the software.
  • Reboot the computer after the uninstallation is complete.

In some cases, you may need to check the box to uninstall related software to remove the driver completely.

If you want to get rid of a driver that does not appear in Device Manager by default, follow these steps.

  • Call «View» from the main menu of the application.
  • Check the «Show hidden devices» option.

As a result, an additional line “Drivers for non-self-configuring devices” will appear in the window. In most cases, you should not touch anything here, but in our situation, after uninstalling Bluestacks, some kind of driver remained. Let’s delete it.

  • Click on the icon or name of the element and call its context menu.
  • Click «Delete».
  • Click Yes.
  • Click «Yes» to immediately restart Windows 7, as a result of which the selected software will be removed.

Threexy Driver Fusion Utility

The program is designed to work with drivers on computers with Windows 7 and newer operating systems from Microsoft.

Switching to Russian is highly discouraged, because it is easier to work with the English-language interface than with the machine translated into Russian.

  • Go to «Driver family».
  • Select the type of device whose drivers we want to remove.
  • Select the manufacturer of the equipment whose drivers you want to remove, and click «Delete».
  • Click «Yes» and restart Windows 7.

The disadvantage of the utility is the lack of a list of programs installed on the PC to manage the operation of devices, which makes removing unnecessary software a chore.

Driver Sweeper

Another free utility designed to uninstall software that controls the operation of the equipment.

  • After starting the program, switch the language of its interface to «Russian» by clicking «Language» in the «Options» menu.
  • Select «Russian» and click «Apply».
  • Go to Analysis and Cleanup.
  • Select sections and click «Analyze» to search for related software.
  • Check all items (both files and registry entries) and click «Cleanup».
  • We confirm the deletion.

Reboot Windows 7 to complete the uninstallation.

How to uninstall a driver from a Windows 7 system: step-by-step instructions

Any component or device on your computer will not function properly unless you install special software for it. Drivers are used to ensure that the system understands exactly how the connected device should work. Over time, the computer’s memory begins to fill up with various garbage, including files of already removed components, which leads to a decrease in performance. The question of how to remove a driver from a Windows 7 system arises for various reasons. Sometimes you just need to get rid of unnecessary files, and sometimes you need to install software in order for the connected device to work correctly.

Software uninstallation

Even powerful laptops and PCs can malfunction. In some cases, an update is required to restore system functionality. Often the problem lies in outdated drivers for various components. To fix it, you will need to either update them or completely uninstall and then reinstall. Below is the easiest way to completely uninstall the Windows 7 driver:

  • First you need to open the «Control Panel» section in the «Start» menu.
  • In the window that opens, select the «Programs and Features» tab.
  • After a few seconds, a list of all installed applications, including drivers, will be displayed.
  • If the user sees unnecessary files, he can select them and select the Delete/Change command.
  • The uninstallation process is incredibly simple, you just need to follow the wizard’s further advice. After the process is completed, it is recommended to restart the computer.

Another way to remove drivers from a computer involves using the Device Manager, which is available in all versions of Windows, including 7. To do this, perform the following steps:

  • In the search bar, enter «cmd», then call context menu via the console icon. The tool should be opened by running Administrator rights.
  • A command prompt will open, in which you need to enter the value «».
  • The next step involves opening the Device Manager using the «devmgmt. msc» command.
  • You can also open the Device Manager using the «Start» menu, right-clicking on the «Computer» line, selecting «Properties» and then going to the remote control.
  • Once Device Manager is launched, click the View tab at the top of the dialog box.
  • In the display line, it is recommended to set a checkbox that allows you to see hidden devices in standard mode.
  • When you know where the component you want to get rid of is located, expand the list of devices in the corresponding section.

  • If the computer has been in use for a long time, there will most likely be several drive models listed, but only one of them is active.
  • Having selected one of the unused components, the user will have to press the «Enter» key.
  • After that, go to the «Driver» section and click on the button with the name «Details».
  • A new window will open showing all information about system files. Software components are stored in special directories (under the Windows 7 directory). To remove installed drivers, you need to right-click on the corresponding name.

Using these instructions, you can uninstall the software of any device, but you need to be careful, otherwise it is easy to violate the integrity of the system, and serious malfunctions will appear.

How to uninstall video card drivers

The performance of the operating system as a whole largely depends on the operation of the video card. To stabilize its operation, in most cases it is enough just to make an update. Nvidia, Intel offer users their own installation packages. With their help, it is not always possible to solve the problem, so you may need to completely remove the Windows 7 video card drivers. How to do this will be described later.

One of the methods involves the use of third-party utilities, such as Treexy Driver Fusion. The tool has a Russian-language interface, but as practice shows, the English version works better and without failures. The application is also convenient in that it can be used to remove video card drivers from Windows 7 without affecting the boot software of the computer. After downloading and installing:

  • Open the utility and go to the «Driver Family» tab.
  • Here you must specify the type of equipment whose system files you want to clean.
  • We recommend that you also include the manufacturer’s name and details. How to find out more detailed information was described above.
  • After selecting a component, the user must press the «Delete» button.
  • The «Yes» command confirms the uninstall process.

After cleaning is complete, the computer must be restarted, after which the old hardware software will permanently disappear from the system.

Using this program, you can remove drivers for video cards from Radeon, Nvidia and other manufacturers from Windows 7. If you only need to temporarily disable the program files, it is recommended to download the Display Driver Uninstaller. It is better to run the utility in safe mode. To do this, press the Win + R buttons, then in the window that appears, enter the “msconfig” command. In the «Boot» tab, the operating system used is indicated and the «Safe Mode» item is highlighted. In the main window of the application, the user can select the desired action, among which there is the option of disabling unnecessary drivers or completely removing them from the Windows 7 system.0003

In the case of the second option, the tool will offer to create a restore point (in case the uninstall process fails). At the end of the process, experienced users recommend performing a Windows performance test to determine how well the software components work.

How to remove unnecessary drivers in Windows (Windows) 7

0002

The longer a computer is used, the more various information accumulates on it, which, in fact, is not used at all. Drivers are installed on a PC during the operation of various equipment: flash drives, printers, headsets, etc. After this equipment is no longer used, its software components simply take up free disk space, and in addition, they can even cause system conflicts. In this case, it would be useful to clean the PC from the files clogging it.

Read also:
How to uninstall apps in Windows 10
How to uninstall updates in Windows 10

Contents : Command line

  • Method 4: Third-party programs
  • If you decide to connect a new device to your computer, you will definitely need to install drivers on it, which may conflict with already installed components. In order to prevent such a situation from occurring, you should periodically clean your PC from outdated information. Let’s look at techniques for removing unnecessary drivers for Windows 7.

    Method 1: Device Manager

    Although the procedure is quite simple, you should be extremely careful not to accidentally remove the necessary drivers, after which you may need to do a system rollback.

    1. Find the «Computer» icon and right-click on it to open the menu.
    2. In the displayed list, select the value «Properties» .
    3. In the left part of the window that opens, select parameter «Device Manager» .
    4. You will see a list of used devices on the PC. You need to find the tab «View» and click on the item «Show hidden devices» , after which all components available on the PC will be displayed, including those that have not been used for a very long time.
    5. Right-click on the device whose driver you want to uninstall and select «Remove device» , after which it remains only to confirm the action in the pop-up window.

    Method 2: Control Panel

    There are no special tools in Windows 7 that help you uninstall drivers, but this procedure can be performed using the standard OS function for working with installed components.

    1. Go to «Control Panel» and find the heading «Programs and Features» .
    2. Now click on «Publisher» . Select the publisher of the driver from the drop-down menu. For example, if you need to remove outdated ASUS laptop drivers, then select the items where there is a word «ASUS» .
    3. You will see a list of all drivers installed on the PC, to uninstall them, just select one of the components from the list and click «Uninstall / Change» .
    4. Give your consent to the deletion in the pop-up window by clicking on the OK button .

    Method 3: Command line

    This method is much more complicated than the other driver removal options described. Most often, it is used by fairly experienced users and only when there is no way to erase components in other ways.

    1. Launch a command prompt and type the following command: pnputil –e > C:\Users\User_Name\Desktop\driver. txt
    2. A document will appear on your desktop containing information about all drivers available on your PC.
    3. Identify the component you are interested in and pay attention to its full name.
    4. Go back to the command line and type the following text: pnputil -f –d filename.inf

      Sometimes the PC refuses to uninstall some components, in this case, you can add -f , which will bypass the system prohibition and forcefully uninstall the driver.

    Method 4: Third-Party Programs

    If for some reason you cannot remove the drivers using standard PC tools, you can always install special utilities that can easily cope with such a task. There are many such applications on the Internet, one of them is Driver Sweeper.

    1. Download the program from the Internet and install it on your computer.
    2. Run the application and in the main window select from the proposed list of manufacturers whose components you want to find on your PC.
    3. Press button Analysis .
    4. Select the driver to be removed and click on the inscription «Clean» .

    As you can see, there is nothing difficult in removing the drivers. The most important thing is not to erase those components whose purpose you do not know. This can lead to unpredictable consequences and malfunctions of the PC. You should be most careful when working with system and non-self-tuning components.

    Remove old drivers from the Windows Driver Store

    When you install or update device drivers in Windows, old versions of drivers are saved in the system. This allows the user to roll back to a previous driver version if the new driver is unstable. However, Windows does not automatically remove old and unused versions of drivers, so over time, the amount of space occupied by drivers on the system drive becomes quite large. In this article, we will look at several ways to remove old versions of drivers (duplicates) in Windows using built-in and third-party tools.

    Contents:

    • Find and remove old drivers in Windows using PowerShell
    • Remove old drivers in Windows using the cleanmgr disk cleanup utility
    • Remove unused drivers using DevManView

    repositories of drivers (Driver Store), located in the directory
    %WINDIR%\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository.

    The size of the driver directory can be obtained using PowerShell (
    "{0:N2} GB" -f ((gci -force $Env:windir\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue| measure Length -s).sum / 1Gb)
    ) or graphic utilities. In my case, on my home Windows laptop, the FileRepository directory takes up about 11 GB on disk and contains >5000 files. Specifically, there are more than 20 different versions of the Nvidia video driver stored in this directory.

    Important !

    1. Do not manually delete driver files and directories from the DriverStore folder;
    2. It is highly recommended that you create a system restore point before cleaning up your drivers (
      Checkpoint-Computer -Description "BeforeDriversDelete"
      ) or a system image backup;
    3. When connecting new devices, you will have to download and install drivers again.

    How to Find and Remove Old Driver Versions in Windows Using PowerShell

    Let’s look at how to find and remove old driver versions in Windows. You can display a complete list of installed drivers using PowerShell and WMI (CIM) class Win32_PnPSignedDriver:

    Get-WmiObject Win32_PnPSignedDriver| select DeviceName, DeviceClass,Manufacturer, DriverVersion, DriverDate,InfName|Out-GridView

    In our example, we got an Out-GridView table with a list of drivers in the Windows repository in the format: device name, device class, manufacturer, driver version, installation date, driver inf file name ( oemXXX.inf ).

    You can get a list of third-party drivers installed on Windows using the cmdlet:

    Get-WindowsDriver –Online| select Driver, ClassName, BootCritical, ProviderName, Date, Version, OriginalFileName|Out-GridView

    You can remove any of the installed drivers using the utility pnputil :

    pnputil. exe /remove-device oemxxx.inf

    Note . In some cases, you can only remove the driver with the force (-f) switch:
    pnputil /remove-device oemxxx.inf /force

    Search the table for drivers that have multiple versions and remove all older driver versions (except the latest one) with pnputil.

    Be especially careful with drivers that are important when booting Windows (
    BootCritical=True
    )

    You can also export the list of drivers to a text file and import it into Excel:

    dism /online /get-drivers /format:table > c:\tmp\drivers.txt

    Delete all unnecessary data in the table and leave only the columns: driver file in the system ( oemXXX.inf ), original inf file name, device class, manufacturer, installation date and driver version. Sort the table by columns B (contains the name of the original inf file) and column F (date the driver was installed). Among the groups of drivers with the same name, mark for removal all versions of drivers, except for the latest one. In my case, it can be seen that most of the older driver versions belong to NVIDIA.

    For convenience, in an empty column, form a command to remove each driver using the formula
    =CONCATENATE("pnputil.exe -d ";A21)

    It remains to copy the pnputil commands and execute them on the command line or in a bat file.

    In my case, I uninstalled about 40 old versions of drivers in Windows and freed up about 8 GB of space (mostly due to NVIDIA graphics card drivers).

    You can use the ready-made PowerShell script FindDriverDuplicates.ps1 9 to automatically search for device drivers for which multiple driver versions (duplicates) are installed0470 (https://github.com/winadm/posh/blob/master/Desktop/FindDriverDuplicates.ps1).

    The script will display a list of old versions of drivers that can be removed, because. newer versions are installed for these devices. Lines with automatic deletion of found drivers are commented out in the script by default.

    Removing old drivers in Windows using the cleanmgr disk cleanup utility

    In modern versions of Windows 10 and 11, you can use the disk cleanup utility
    cleanmgr.exe

    to remove old driver versions (the same utility also removes obsolete updates).

    Note . You can back up drivers by exporting all third-party drivers to a separate directory using the PoweShell Export-WindowsDriver cmdlet.

    1. Run the Disk Cleanup utility: Win+R -> cleanmgr
    2. Select the system drive
    3. Click on the button Clean up system files
    4. Check Device driver packages
    5. Click OK;
    6. This cleanup task will remove all previous versions of drivers installed through Windows Update or manually. Windows will only keep the latest version for each of the drivers. In this case, the “RollBack Driver” button in the driver properties in Device Manager will become inactive.

      The cleanmgr cleanup job removes only duplicate (version) drivers. Unused device drivers you will have to remove manually.

    Remove unused drivers using DevManView

    To view the list of installed drivers in Windows, you can use a small free utility DevManView from NirSoft (https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/device_manager_view.html)

    DevManView utility provides an alternative to the standard Windows Device Manager and allows you to present a list of drivers installed on your computer in the form of a flat list (table).

    1. Download and run the DevManView utility;
    2. Enable the following options in the Options menu: Mark Connected Devices and Show Non Plug and Play Drivers;
    3. Sort the table by column Connected . This will allow you to understand which devices are currently connected and which are not;
    4. For stability purposes, we recommend disabling the selected drivers first ( Disable Selected Devices –> F6) and only after a reboot, remove the drivers using the option Uninstall Selected Devices .

    How to remove drivers from a Windows 7 computer: instructions

    You probably know that the components of all modern computers need so-called «drivers». This is software that kind of explains to the operating system the operation of the connected device (video card, for example) and ensures its full and stable operation. Without the correct driver, the component either works incorrectly or does not work at all. Installing the driver is a very simple matter. Modern versions of Windows 10 are able to download drivers automatically from the update center, eliminating the need for the user to download something manually. Others prefer to install them on their own, but this business also does not require special skills or knowledge. Problems can start when you need to reinstall or uninstall the driver. This guide will tell you how to uninstall a driver in Windows 10 and then revert it back.

    Why reinstall a driver

    Reinstalling drivers (rolling them back or removing them completely) often solves a large number of potential problems. A software glitch, incorrect driver, buggy version, or other driver problems are almost 100% likely to cause problems with the device for which this driver was created. For example, the video card may not give out the maximum of its capabilities, the network card stops working, the card reader turns off, or the computer completely reboots or falls into the blue screen of death. It is precisely at such a moment that it becomes necessary to uninstall the driver in Windows 10 and reinstall it.

    Programs for removing drivers

    The best thing to do right away is to completely remove all unnecessary «firewood», only after that start installing new ones. This will not only help you completely avoid conflict situations on your software, but also prevent unnecessary ballast from accumulating that slows down your work.

    Long-installed drivers leave behind a whole bunch of unnecessary information, which also needs to be removed in a timely manner. You can perform cleaning using the tools available in the software, but you should pay close attention to ensuring that there are absolutely no traces of the software being removed. It should also be taken into account that most often the cleaning procedure by the standard method will be ineffective, leaving behind some documents, empty files or registry entries, which will eventually interfere with the normal operation of the system as a whole.

    This is what special tools for uninstalling drivers are designed for.

    How to uninstall a driver in Windows 10

    There are several ways to perform this procedure. The first is performed through the Device Manager — a special section of the operating system, which contains a list of all connected devices to your computer.

    FYI : To uninstall a driver on Windows 10, you need an Administrator account or password.

    For help : Removing the drivers will automatically disable the device. If you uninstall the graphics card driver, the screen resolution will automatically drop to very low. When you uninstall the Bluetooth drivers, all connected peripherals will automatically turn off, and uninstalling the network card driver will lead to the disappearance of the Internet connection, and so on. Keep this in mind.

    1. Click Win + X and in the menu that appears select Device Manager . This is the fastest way to open this section, although links to Device Manager can be found elsewhere in the system.

    2. For the convenience of the user, the devices are divided into categories. This makes it easier to find the right component. For example, you want to uninstall a video card driver. To do this, expand Video Adapters, right-click on the graphics card that appears, and select Properties.
    3. In the new window, go to tab Driver and click Remove device . Confirm your action and wait for the procedure to complete.

    The second method to uninstall drivers is through the Applications and Features interface in Settings or Control Panel. This method is not suitable for all devices, since not all drivers are displayed in the list of installed applications. If you cannot find the driver you need in the Applications & features section, use the first method.

    1. Press Win + I and go to Applications — Applications and Features .

    2. Find your hardware driver in the list of installed applications, click on it, and then click Uninstall . Keep in mind that some devices (video card, for example) may have multiple applications included in the driver package. You need to remove everything that can slightly complicate the task.

    Optionally, you can use the classic Control Panel interface. The essence is the same, just the interfaces are a little more familiar for those who have only recently switched to Windows 10, and before that they “sat” on Windows 8.1 / 7 and older.

    1. Press Win + R and type Control .
    2. In the Control Panel window that appears, click Uninstall a program .

    3. Find the driver you need in the list and uninstall it.

    There is also a third way to uninstall and reinstall the drivers. It involves the use of so-called «driver managers». These are applications that scan the system and its drivers, check for new versions, and prompt you to update them. There are paid and free versions, but the quality and reliability of their work is an endless source of debate among Windows enthusiasts. In our instructions, we talk about the methods built into the system and rarely touch on third-party applications. Of course, driver managers in some sense can make life easier for the user, but we recommend that you learn how to figure out the process of installing or uninstalling drivers yourself.

    TOP of the best programs for uninstalling drivers

    The very procedure for removing a driver from the OS is needed for a variety of purposes. The reasons may be:

    • replacement of some parts of the device;
    • incorrect utility loading;
    • Installing a completely new version of the application.

    Residual components of remote drivers that have gone through the usual procedure using standard methods can provoke failures due to conflicts with innovative software. To completely get rid of past tools, it is recommended to use a driver uninstaller.

    Regardless of which means you decide to use to get rid of unnecessary software, there is a recommendation to create an operating system restore point, which will help minimize the risks associated with the correct operation of the computer. You do not need to uninstall the driver if you have nothing to put in its place, since restoring it after is potentially problematic. There are both free utilities and paid ones in the software removal software industry, but most often they are inexpensive.

    Display Driver Uninstaller

    Display Driver Uninstaller is a utility to completely clean the system of video card drivers. The program completely removes all the tails included in the package. Display Driver Uninstaller is truly the best application that can help in situations where standard methods are powerless, and if you need maximum software elimination, it will come to the rescue and help you deal with the problem 100%. This utility is designed to eliminate such drivers as: NVIDIA, AMD, Intel and Physics. OS registry keys, documents and files, directories and other items will easily and without a trace go into oblivion from your computer. With this application, you can not only get rid of the “firewood” of the video card, but also get complete information about the operation of the device, model and ID number. The program menu allows you to select the language of use, which is convenient for switching to the Russian version. It is quite easy to function with Display Driver Uninstaller, although the algorithm of such applications is similar. After installing this software, you should start the device in safe mode, then the video driver is already visible in the normal mode (in case the card manufacturer is displayed incorrectly, you must manually select from the list).

    You can see all the detailed information about the operation of the video card in the overview log of the program window. In the selection field, the names of all the drivers to be removed should be highlighted — Intel, NVIDIA or AMD. When all this is visible, click «Delete» (the most suitable option is to automatically restart the system or turn off the computer if you plan to replace the video adapter in the context). After executing all the above commands, there will be no residual «comets» and hosts at all. This development is supported and updated regularly by Windows 10.

    Driver Sweeper

    Driver Sweeper is an excellent free application for uninstalling not only video card drivers, but also other software such as sound cards, printers, USB ports, etc. This product allows you to completely remove all tails, get rid of excess junk in the registry of the system, files and other objects related to the replaced driver. It so happened that this utility no longer has support from the developer, as a result of which it is shamelessly outdated, but with all this it absolutely does not lose popularity among the number of users.

    Interface settings help to change the language to a more suitable one — Russian. When you go to the “Analysis and Cleaning” footnote, a list of all previously installed firewood manufacturers is displayed, such as: keyboard, sound installations, AMD, NVIDIA, Intel video adapters, Canon and HP printers or other PC functionality.

    It is important to correctly check the boxes next to the software intended for demolition and click «Delete», as a result of which Driver Sweeper will detect all objects associated with unnecessary drivers. The specified utility has the ability and offers to create a backup copy of obsolete driver systems before starting the removal in order to be able to return them if necessary. There is also an option unlike any other — maintaining the decency of placing desktop icons, which is quite convenient when installing a new video card to replace the old one.

    Driver Fusion

    Driver Fusion is a new software development for uninstalling drivers and their comets, which was created to replace Driver Sweeper. There are both paid (has the largest number of options) and free versions of this utility. With this upgrade, you can remove drivers such as: NVIDIA, Marvell, AMD, Intel, Realtek, HP, Canon and others. Even using the free version of this program with a set of limited functions, you can solve problems with uninstalling software quite well, at least this utility is able to remove the most popular drivers.

    There are also options:

    • save the order of icons on the desktop;
    • creating backups that can restore everything to its original state;
    • the ability to check the relevance of installed drivers;
    • you can set the required filtering;
    • Russian language can be selected.

    To successfully remove drivers using Driver Fusion, follow the instructions:

    1. On the left, select «Driver Cleaner».
    2. Mark device type and manufacturer.
    3. Click the «Clear» button.
    4. Reboot device.

    Paid development is a functionality for cleaning protected files and system registry keys. This application has developer support and updates and is supported by the latest versions of Windows OS.

    Driver Cleaner

    Driver Cleaner is paid content, but its price is quite high. This product works with the drivers of virtually all computers of our time, regardless of the operating base. In this development, there is the following set of options — the choice of language settings and the backup option, which helps to return to the original state of affairs on the device. After installing the application, you should immediately update it using the tools menu, after which you need to restart the utility. The entire list of actions is similar to the developments listed above. In situations where you need to select the desired file or registry key after starting the scanner, you should also check the box next to “Use Advanced clearning”, then click the Scan icon to start the analysis, and after complete completion, check the boxes on the items found, click “Clean” and restart gadget.

    In conclusion, I would like to remind you that all operations associated with the removal of old drivers must be completed with a mandatory restart of the system. Otherwise, the device will slow down, and the worst thing that can happen after cleaning is registry lists, which are potentially very problematic to edit manually, which is why bring the procedure to its logical conclusion. Use special upgrades created for this purpose. And it is up to you to decide which one is suitable for a particular case. Successful deletions without errors!

    How to reinstall the driver in Windows 10

    After uninstalling the driver, there is a logical need to reinstall it. Again, there are several ways to do this.

    The first and most reliable is to download the driver from the manufacturer’s website. There you can always find the latest and most up-to-date drivers for supported operating systems. Also, manufacturers often offer previous versions of the software. This is necessary so that in the event of a buggy update, users can download the previous stable version and wait for the corrected driver to be released. Go to the official website of the manufacturer, find your device, download the driver installation file and install it. The matter is very simple and not as scary as it might seem to a novice user.

    The second way is for lazy people. You can let the system do everything for you. After uninstalling the driver, go to Windows Update and check for updates. Windows should find the missing driver, download it, and install it.

    Keep in mind that not all manufacturers publish their software on Windows Update. Also, the latest version of the driver is not always available there. This method is well suited for those who do not have the time or desire to surf the Internet in search of the right driver. If the search through the update center did not return any results, go to the manufacturer’s website and manually download the driver you need.

    The third way is the same driver managers. They can scan the system for driver updates or devices that do not have software installed. There is nothing shameful in using such software, but true users always do everything manually.

    Driver Sweeper

    Another free utility designed to uninstall software that controls the operation of the equipment.

    • After starting the program, switch the language of its interface to «Russian» by clicking «Language» in the «Options» menu.
    • Select «Russian» and click «Apply».
    • Go to Analysis and Cleanup.
    • Select sections and click «Analyze» to search for related software.
    • Check all items (both files and registry entries) and click «Cleanup».

    Look also: Windows 7 computer shutdown timer

    • We confirm the deletion.

    Reboot Windows 7 to complete the uninstallation.

    How to update a driver on Windows 10

    Modern computer components are designed in such a way that their drivers come with utilities that can automatically update drivers. These utilities can download updates without user intervention at all. If you want to check for driver updates, check out these utilities first. You can also download and install the latest drivers from the manufacturer’s official website. When installed, the driver will do all the updating work for the user.

    You can also update the driver the old fashioned way from the Device Manager.

    1. Download the new version of the driver and extract (if the driver is zipped) to the folder you need.
    2. Press Win + X and select Device Manager .
    3. In the list of devices, find the one you need and right-click on it. Select Properties .
    4. Click the Driver tab and click Update driver.

    5. You can choose Automatically search for updated drivers or Search for drivers on this computer . In the first case, the system itself will try to find the right driver on the Internet and Windows Update. If you downloaded the driver manually before, choose the second option. Sometimes the automatic search for drivers on the Internet does not work, so it is best to use the last option of manually specifying the location of the new driver.

    6. Specify the folder where the new driver files are located and click Next . Wait for the system to complete the update.

    FYI : Driver signature error can sometimes occur when manually installing drivers. In this case, you need to disable driver digital signature verification in Windows, and then reinstall the driver.

    Threexy Driver Fusion Utility

    The program is designed to work with drivers on computers with Windows 7 and newer operating systems from Microsoft.

    Switching to Russian is highly discouraged, because it is easier to work with the English-language interface than with the machine translated into Russian.

    • Go to «Driver family».
    • Select the type of device whose drivers we want to remove.
    • Select the manufacturer of the equipment whose drivers you want to remove, and click «Delete».
    • Click «Yes» and restart Windows 7.

    The disadvantage of the utility is the lack of a list of programs installed on the PC to manage the operation of devices, which makes removing unnecessary software a chore.

    How to roll back to a previous driver version in Windows 10

    Roll back a driver to diagnose problems with your hardware or work around a bug in a new driver version. For example, you notice hardware problems and are trying to find the source of them, or you experience stability or performance problems immediately after updating a driver. Rolling back a driver is similar to uninstalling it.

    1. Press Win + X and select Device Manager .
    2. Find the category you need in the list of devices, expand it and select the required component. For example, a video card.
    3. Right click on the device and select Properties . Click the driver tab and click Rollback . Here you may encounter the fact that the rollback button will not be available. This means that the previous versions of the drivers are not saved in the system. Some drivers are designed in such a way that they automatically remove previous versions after updates. If you are faced with such a situation, then the only option for you is to uninstall the driver, download the previous version of the driver from the manufacturer’s website and then install it. Also keep in mind that Windows only stores one previous version of a driver. In other words, the system does not archive all installed drivers.

    4. If the button Rollback is available, feel free to click on it, confirm the action and wait for the procedure to complete.

    After the rollback is complete, restart your computer.

    The easiest way

    The easiest way to remove an unnecessary driver is to use a tool that is included with any Windows operating system. It’s Uninstall Programs.

    • We call the «Control Panel».
    • We find the item «Uninstall programs» or «Programs and components», depending on the way its elements are visualized.

    After a few seconds, a list of applications installed in Windows 7 will appear, including some drivers, for example, for sound and video cards.

    • Select unnecessary software and click «Delete/Change» or call this command through the context menu of the element.
    • Follow the instructions of the uninstaller and restart the computer when it is finished.

    The disadvantage of the method is that the list contains only single drivers and they relate, by and large, to peripheral devices: video card, sound card, printer, modem.

    Regular removal

    Surface cleaning

    1. Open the Start menu.

    2. Right-click on the Computer panel that appears. Select «Properties» from the list of commands.

    3. In the column on the left, click Device Manager.

    4. In the dispatcher window, in the horizontal menu, open the «View» section and click «Show hidden devices».

    5. Open the USB Controllers directory.

    6. Remove the old or unused driver: right-click on its name → click «Delete».

    Deep cleaning

    1. Hold down the Win key and press the Pause/Break key. Or open: Start → right-click «Computer» → Properties.

    2. In the window that opens, in the left panel, click «Advanced system settings».

    3. On the Advanced tab, click the Environment Variables button.

    4. In the top box, click Create.

    5. In the window «New user variable»:

    • in the line «Variable name» enter — devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices;
    • in Variable Value is 1.

    6. Click OK in the Variables panel and in the Environment Variables window.

    7. Return to the system properties window (Win+Break) and click «Device Manager».

    8. In the manager, open: View → Show hidden…

    9. Click the Update configuration… button (the last one in the panel).

    10. The icons of unused drivers in the manager are gray (that is, you can remove this driver). Open the following directories one by one and remove unnecessary elements (right-click on the name → Delete): In this directory, you can also remove old drivers installed by programs that are already uninstalled from Windows (for example, the Comodo firewall package).

    This section of devices displays installed drivers for flash drives, readers, hard drives. Transparent object icons indicate that they are not used (not connected). So, you can safely get rid of them.

    11. Reboot your PC when cleaning is complete.

    Regular removal

    Surface cleaning

    1. Open the Start menu.

    2. Right-click on the Computer panel that appears. Select «Properties» from the list of commands.

    3. In the column on the left, click Device Manager.

    4. In the dispatcher window, in the horizontal menu, open the «View» section and click «Show hidden devices».

    5. Open the USB Controllers directory.

    6. Remove the old or unused driver: right-click on its name → click «Delete».

    Deep cleaning

    1. Hold down the Win key and press the Pause/Break key. Or open: Start → right-click «Computer» → Properties.

    2. In the window that opens, in the left panel, click «Advanced system settings».

    3. On the Advanced tab, click the Environment Variables button.

    4. In the top box, click Create.

    5. In the window «New user variable»:

    • in the line «Variable name» enter — devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices;
    • in Variable Value is 1.

    6. Click OK in the Variables panel and in the Environment Variables window.

    7. Return to the system properties window (Win+Break) and click «Device Manager».

    8. In the manager, open: View → Show hidden…

    9. Click the Update configuration… button (the last one in the panel).

    10. The icons of unused drivers in the manager are gray (that is, you can remove this driver). Open the following directories one by one and remove unnecessary elements (right-click on the name → Delete): In this directory, you can also remove old drivers installed by programs that are already uninstalled from Windows (for example, the Comodo firewall package).

    This section of devices displays installed drivers for flash drives, readers, hard drives. Transparent object icons indicate that they are not used (not connected). So, you can safely get rid of them.

    11. Reboot your PC when cleaning is complete.

    How to uninstall the printer driver completely in Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 (5 ways)

    Windows: 7, 8, 8.1 and 10. We will talk about how to do a complete uninstall from the system so that you can then install the desired driver on your computer. Indeed, removing and then installing the driver may well solve many problems that concern your device. So, our task is to remove the old driver.

    This manual will show you how to do this on different systems. This means that this article will help all users to do this procedure on their computer. Now let’s get started.

    Contents:

    • Uninstalling drivers via «Uninstall programs»
    • Uninstalling from «Devices and Printers»
    • Manual method of uninstalling
    • Deleting files manually
    • Automatic method (Driver Sweeper) 90 «Uninstalling programs»

    »

    Open the control panel («Start» — «Control Panel») — Windows 7. If you have a new system installed on your computer (Windows 8 or Windows 10), then you need to right-click on the bottom left of the screen and select «Panel management». You can also use the special keys «Windows» + «X» to open this menu.

    Select «Uninstall a program» (located at the bottom of the window).

    Attention! Disconnect the printer from the computer. In the future, we will tell you when it will be necessary to connect it.

    In this window, find all the software products associated with your printer and click «Uninstall» and then follow the instructions. In the screenshot below, we see that the drivers and programs for the Canon printer were once installed. To uninstall drivers and utilities, you need to select each item in turn that relates to a Canon printer (you may have HP, Samsung, Panasonic, etc., but this does not change anything) and click «Delete».

    Remove from Devices and Printers

    The first step has been taken, but this is still an incomplete solution to the problem, then you should remove the device from the system, you can do it like this:

    In the control panel, select «View devices and printers» (located in the «Hardware and Sound» category)

    In the window that appears, right-click on your printer and select «Remove Device».

    Confirm the deletion in the pop-up window by clicking «Yes».

    You can now close the open window, as you will no longer need it.

    Manual removal method

    Next, you need to go to Windows settings and remove the driver from there. Do not worry that you can harm your system, this is done no more difficult than the previous methods.

    Type Start — Run (for Windows 7) or press the following key combination «Win» + «R» (suitable for all systems, also for Windows 7) — Windows 8 or Windows 10.

    Another one The option to find «Run» in Windows 8 and Windows 10 is to use the «Win» + «X» keys. We told how to enter this menu above (read if you didn’t succeed).

    In the input line, write the following code: «printui /s» (without quotes) and click «OK».

    You will see a window — properties of the print server. To find the drivers you need to uninstall, go to the Drivers tab and select your printer. Then click «Delete . ..».

    A new window will appear, check the box next to «Remove driver and driver package» and click «OK».

    Confirm, click Yes.

    After that, the system will show which files are related to this printer. It remains to click «Delete». When the drivers are removed, click OK.

    You may have installed several drivers for your printer on your computer (for example, you tried to install different drivers), in this case, perform these manipulations with each driver.

    Deleting files manually

    We recommend that you look in the C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86) folder for folders that may be related to your device. By default, the software is usually installed there. If you find such a folder, then you need to delete it.

    In our case, we still have a Canon folder that needs to be deleted. Then read the article further.

    Automatic method (Driver Sweeper)

    This program allows you to uninstall drivers automatically. But you can also uninstall other (important) drivers, so be careful. To download the program, use Yandex or Google. Enter Driver Sweeper and download the program to your computer.

    Now install it on your computer. The installation is simple — select the Russian language, click «Next», accept the license agreement for the program, click «Next», «Next», «Next» again and at the end click «Install». After installation, run the program. If you need to make a program in Russian, then this can be done in the «Options» menu.

    Now select the drivers (check the box) that you want to remove. In our case, these are drivers from the HP manufacturer. Then click «Analyze».

    After a while, data related to the HP printer will appear. Now click «Clear». In the window that appears, click «OK». When all the steps are done, you just have to restart your computer.

    That’s all. How to remove the printer driver, I think you figured it out, there is nothing complicated about it.