How to Update Drivers in Windows
These steps can be used to update drivers in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP. It usually takes around 15 minutes to update a driver in Windows. If you’d like to follow the process below, but with more details and screenshots for each step, use our Step by Step Guide to Updating Drivers in Windows instead.
Windows 11, 10 & 8: Right-click or press-and-hold on the hardware’s name or icon and choose Update Driver (W11/10) or Update Driver Software (W8).Windows 7 & Vista: Right-click on the hardware’s name or icon, choose Properties, then the Driver tab, followed by the Update Drive button.
The Update Drivers or Update Driver Software wizard will begin, which we’ll completely step through to finish the driver update for this piece of hardware.
Windows XP Only: Right-click on the hardware item, choose Properties, the Driver tab, and then the Update Drive button. From the Hardware Update Wizard, choose No, not this time to the Windows Update question, followed by Next >. From the search and installation options screen, choose Don’t search I will choose the driver to install option, again followed by Next >. Skip to Step 7 below.
Find several INF files in one folder? Don’t worry about this. The driver update wizard loads information from all the INF files in the folder you’re in automatically, so it doesn’t matter which one you choose.Find many folders with INF files? Try an INF file from each folder until you find the correct one.Didn’t find an INF file in the folder you chose? Look through other folders, if there are any, until you find one with an INF file.Didn’t find any INF files? If you haven’t found an INF file in any folder included in the extracted driver download, it’s possible that the download was corrupted. Try downloading and extracting the driver package again.
Windows cannot verify that the driver is compatible: If you’re sure this driver is the right one, select Yes to continue installing it. Choose No if you think you might have the driver for the wrong model or something like that, in which case you should look for other INF files or maybe an entirely different driver download. Checking the Show compatible hardware box, if available, located on the window from Step 12, can help prevent this. Windows can’t verify the publisher of this driver software: Choose Yes to continue installing this driver only if you received it directly from the manufacturer or from their installation disc. Choose No if you downloaded the driver elsewhere and didn’t exhaust your search for a manufacturer-provided one. This driver hasn’t been signed: Similarly to the publisher verification problem above, choose Yes only when you’re confident about the driver’s source. Windows requires a digitally signed driver: In 64-bit versions of Windows, you won’t even see the above two messages because Windows won’t let you install a driver that has a digital signature issue. If you see this message, end the driver update process and locate the correct driver from the hardware maker’s website.
Select Close. You can now also close Device Manager. Driver updates involve changes to the Windows Registry and other important parts of Windows, so restarting is a good way to make sure that this update hasn’t negatively impacted some other part of Windows. If you do find that the driver update caused some kind of problem, just roll back the driver to the previous version and then try updating it again.
